.22 ammo testing
- Thread starter 1lnbrdg
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CCI standard velocity shoots really good in my Ruger MK 1 Target and Ruger American Rimfire rifle. I've shot some more expensive SK and Eley stuff, but CCI stands right with them.
Nice stocks on the Semi. 
Might be interesting to test your and the ammo's accuracy, is one, two or three shots, at each bullseye, at 50 feet, rested on a bench, then offhand.
Then take it out to 25/50 yards.
Blowing large holes, into one target,
is great, for eliminating the star and winning a Teddy Bear, at a carnival.
Shooting a 200/18x is a good sign at 50 feet.
I also like 2" printed black circles at 25 yards, and 20 yards with a bow, only one arrow per circle. Call me Robin.
Might be interesting to test your and the ammo's accuracy, is one, two or three shots, at each bullseye, at 50 feet, rested on a bench, then offhand.
Then take it out to 25/50 yards.
Blowing large holes, into one target,
is great, for eliminating the star and winning a Teddy Bear, at a carnival.
Shooting a 200/18x is a good sign at 50 feet.
I also like 2" printed black circles at 25 yards, and 20 yards with a bow, only one arrow per circle. Call me Robin.
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Will be testing different ammo, with the Ruger Target MKIV stainless, with a recently installed Volquartsen trigger and Leupold 2.5-8x32mm scope.
Will test the old long barreled 17-4 with the same scope and ammo.
Just waiting to finish a heavy aluminum, 18 pound, roller rest.
CCI standard velocity ammo on hand.
Will test the old long barreled 17-4 with the same scope and ammo.
Just waiting to finish a heavy aluminum, 18 pound, roller rest.
CCI standard velocity ammo on hand.
Smithboomer
Member
CCI standard velocity .22 LR is the go-to ammo at hundreds of summer camps in the USA. Millions of rounds each year.
OP
Nice target, I may have to try that out.Nice stocks on the Semi.
Might be interesting to test your and the ammo's accuracy, is one, two or three shots, at each bullseye, at 50 feet, rested on a bench, then offhand.
Then take it out to 25/50 yards.
Blowing large holes, into one target,
is great, for eliminating the star and winning a Teddy Bear, at a carnival.
Shooting a 200/18x is a good sign at 50 feet.
I also like 2" printed black circles at 25 yards, and 20 yards with a bow, only one arrow per circle. Call me Robin.
View attachment 801516
Shooting offhand would be testing me, not the was ammo.
I think the S&W 17-2 will out shoot the conversion unit but my mark-1 eyeballs deal better with the dot sight on the conversion unit.
rockquarry
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You're to be commended for doing your testing at a useful 25 yards. Up closer is a waste of time and tells you nothing useful. I've done the following procedure twice in the last twenty years to find out what .22 LR works best for me...
I got 50-round boxes of about twenty-five ammos; lots of variety - standard velocity, high velocity, hollow point, solid point round nose, copper coated, uncoated lead, etc. No expensive target ammos were used. Instead I used stuff that was in the price range most shooters would be willing to spend. I did use the cheap bulk junk ammo as well as higher priced ammo.
I used two non-target unmodified handguns with known accuracy potential, a revolver and a semi-auto, both with adjustable sights. Same with two non-target but accurate rifles, both bolt-actions, one with a 4X scope, the other with a 6X scope. At twenty-five yards, I fired five, five-shot groups with each handgun using each ammo from a benchrested position. Same with the rifles except at 50 yards.
Of all the ammos, the CCI SV was the best OVERALL from a perspective of accuracy, but not the single best accuracy-wise in every test gun. It will OVERALL shoot better in a variety of guns than other ammos, i.e., if you have a lot of .22s, it's a very good choice rather than buying different ammos. It also functions well in all the .22 auto pistols I've tried it in, not just the test semi-auto (Ruger MKII).
I've been buying CCI SV by the case for years. After many thousands of rounds in many .22s, I had one failure to fire a few years back. One. I think that speaks well of CCI SV reliability.
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Did a rain dance, so no lawn chores today.
Will get back on the pistol/rifle rest.
Will get back on the pistol/rifle rest.
langss
Member
I don't know what exactly changed, but the difference in .22lr ammunition from say the 60's to today is like night to day. In my never ending quest to get back to normal after the 94 earthquake, I found some long forgotten "Boy Scout" era stuff and a box with different brands of .22lr. So I went to the range and shot some of it.The "OLD Peters, Remington, Winchester stuff still went bang and by comparison to some of the stuff I have recently shot, almost looked like the gun had not been fired. Everything today is Dirty compared to the old stuff. Now I will say the CCI that I have, is pretty clean, but not like the old stuff. Did they find something cheaper to use making up the powder that made it dirtier as compared to the old formula...I don't know.
A-300 Dave
Member
About a year ago I tested a number of different 22LR's @ 50 yds using a scope mounted Ruger 10/22 from a bench rest & lead sled. I used Remington, Winchester, Federal, CCI & Eley ammo, as this is commonly available around where I live. The Eley was the most accurate, but the CCI Velocitor was a very close second, and a lot cheaper. The CCI Stinger won the velocity contest, but was the least accurate. I might add that I shot 5 rounds each and used the grouping to determine accuracy. A Garmin Xero C1 chronograph to measure velocity & the targets were NRA small bore 25/50 yrd targets. If I wanted to hit the center of the bullseye each shot I would go with Eley. If I would be satisfied with 5 shots somewhere in the bullseye circle I would go with the CCI Velocitor and if I were to decide to hunt bears with a .22 I would go with the CCI Stinger. Finally, none of the ammo that I tested was really bad, but would have "flyers". Best to test and determine what is best for you...
OP
Eley is going to be a little out of my price range for general range time but it'll shoot a bit better. Also the SK Match shoots better than these 2.
Since I'm not shooting Smallbore Prone anymore I don't have to save any of it back but I hate to shoot that mostly Redbox ammo up if the other will keep it mostly in the 10-ring.
Since I'm not shooting Smallbore Prone anymore I don't have to save any of it back but I hate to shoot that mostly Redbox ammo up if the other will keep it mostly in the 10-ring.
Graham Emberson
Member
Nothing wrong with the CCI .22 LR 1070 fps ammunition, excellent, reliable and well-priced that works in everything except my S&W M41. I experienced frequent jams due to cartridges failing to eject properly and lying trapped across the breach. I eventually decided the previous owner changed the recoil spring for more powerful one. I changed to CCI Mini-mags 1235 fps and haven't had a jam since
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You are to be commended for such diligence.
rockquarry
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Thank you. The results of my testing were published in the 2019 GUN DIGEST. I did a similar article for them about twenty years ago.
I've done two separate accuracy tests at 15 yards with my 1974 Ruger Standard. I did not use any CCI Standard Velocity, as my Ruger prefers higher velocity ammo. I shot mostly CCIs: MiniMag 40 and MiniMag 36, and Stinger 32. I also shot a few Browning BPR 40 and Federal Champion 40. In the first test, the Stingers were far and away the winners. In the second test, done two years later, my shooting had improved, as the differences between the various rounds had narrowed. The Stingers were still the best, but close behind were the MiniMag 36s and the Federal Champion 40s. The differences were probably not statistically significant. In both tests the MiniMag 40s were the least accurate, but were still not bad. With my Ruger, the higher the velocity of the ammo, the more accurate it is.
I've always found CCI .22 lr rounds to be well-made and reliable, so I recommend CCI. Since the high velocity CCI Stingers (1640 fps) are about twice as expensive as CCI MiniMag or CCI Standard Velocity (which are both about 8 to 10 cents per round), my bottom line recommendation is to go with the MiniMag 36s. They're the best blend of accuracy and economy based on my results. As always, your results may vary.
PS: Buy a few Stingers anyway. In addition to being very accurate, they make an impressive flame when you shoot them.
I've always found CCI .22 lr rounds to be well-made and reliable, so I recommend CCI. Since the high velocity CCI Stingers (1640 fps) are about twice as expensive as CCI MiniMag or CCI Standard Velocity (which are both about 8 to 10 cents per round), my bottom line recommendation is to go with the MiniMag 36s. They're the best blend of accuracy and economy based on my results. As always, your results may vary.
PS: Buy a few Stingers anyway. In addition to being very accurate, they make an impressive flame when you shoot them.
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CCI Standard shoot well in my Ruger Mark 4. 10/22, CZ. In my 617 I shoot both Standard and Quiet - 22 from CCI and it is very quiet
chief38
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CCI standard velocity in most handguns and CCI MiniMags in most rifles work the best for me. They are about the most accurate .22RF available. In my handguns guns the CCI Standard Velocity actually out performs the coveted Eley that I have tried. Not to say you won't get a stinker once in a while, but that's rimfire in general and at least CCI keeps it to a minimum.
I change my standard 22lr ammo to keep in stock at home to Federal 711B in the early '90's . I was never the cheapest out there but always had a low enough price for the accuracy it returned for me . Like others I need a dot optic to shoot to my best so my old colt huntsman does not get used like in years gone by bgut a dot optic on a ruger mk3 and scoped rifles let me shoot well still . Never was sold on CCI standard and I do not shot high velocity or hyper 22lr at all . Federal 22lr today is not as good as the early Gray stripped boxes and recessed bass on the brass years but I can still shoot hit 12ga hulls on short #3 rebar with the ruger at 15 yards not 25 like the colt and still shoot moa groups most times with several of our 22lr rifles with some of the older 711b stock I have . I use to buy a case at a time . Now just a couple bricks at a time . Now its barely under 50 bucks a brick !
CCI SV is my standard .22lr to stock. It's plenty accurate, functions most of my semi-autos, is reasonably clean and it's quiet through a suppressor. In my accurate rifles, CCI SV will group about as well as more expensive target ammo at 50yd, but demonstrates a higher rate of flyers. At 100yd the more expensive stuff starts to pull ahead in group size, but it's not always worth 2-5x the expense.
I do have a couple of semi-auto handguns that need CCI Mini-Mags to be 100% reliable. SV is about 80% in those guns. Another bulk ammo alternative I keep in stock for my less picky guns or where extreme accuracy isn't goal is Federal Champion in the 525rnd bulk box. This stuff runs well and is pretty clean. I haven't tested it for accuracy in my target rifles, and right now it's not much cheaper than Mini-Mags.
I do have a couple of semi-auto handguns that need CCI Mini-Mags to be 100% reliable. SV is about 80% in those guns. Another bulk ammo alternative I keep in stock for my less picky guns or where extreme accuracy isn't goal is Federal Champion in the 525rnd bulk box. This stuff runs well and is pretty clean. I haven't tested it for accuracy in my target rifles, and right now it's not much cheaper than Mini-Mags.
