22 lr ammo recommendation for a 617

[HitTheTarget]

After a lot of reading and checking one out at the local gun shop I'll probably take the plunge and get a 617 with the 4" barrel. Hard to picture going wrong with that choice. My main goals are non-competitive target shooting and getting better with the DA trigger. I'm curious what people find to be the best 22lr ammo for target shooting-especially the 617 owners in the group. I did use the search function and found some older posts going back several years. Any more recent updates are most appreciated. Thanks in advance for the input!!

 

[Smith357]

.22s can be very picky about ammo. You can get two of the exact same guns off the line that were produced in the same batch and each one may prefer a different ammo. You will have to go and get a box of many different brands and test them to see which works the best in your particular revolver then go and buy as much of that lot of ammo as you can find.

With that said, I prefer to use the higher end target ammo as they tend to liberally apply the wax lube they use which eases in extraction of the fired cases.

 

[Erich]

[I see a post went up while I was typing - and that we said much the same thing! ]

Unfortunately, .22 handguns are some of the most individualistic firearms when it comes to ammo preferences. A 617 that came off the line the day before yours might have completely different preferences than yours does. So what works for folks here might well not work for you.

Based on shooting dozens of .22 handguns for over a quarter century, I would advise that you purchase a selection of .22 ammo and try it out to see what your gun prefers. Fortunately, .22 LR is relatively inexpensive and it's just fun to try different ammos out. I just did this with a new .22 handgun yesterday (I keep a two or three dozen varieties on hand, and am often surprised with what turns out to be the most accurate from a given gun).

For what it's worth (which may well be nothing, as I've noted), my friend who purchased a 617 for the sort of shooting you describe (as well as some friendly competitive shooting with her local club) has gravitated toward the Federal Auto Match 40-grain RNL bulk ammo that's available from Wal-Mart in packs of 325 for about $14. It works well for her in her 617, and I've found it to be a nice, clean, accurate and reliable ammo in most of my .22 handguns. Nothing wrong with Eley match, either, which she's used in competitions.

(Interestingly, while this Auto Match ammo was accurate and gave decent velocities in the new handgun I was breaking in yesterday, it would not reliably operate the slide. My friend's gun of the same model gobbled it up. Go figure: all .22 handguns are individuals.)

Good luck to you, and have fun figuring out what your gun likes.

 

[Nevada Ed]

not all 22 LR are the same velosity or length plus the different bullet shapes can also make a difference on what works in your gun.
Here is a picture of some loads that I have run across to give you an idea of what I am talking about, notice the case length of the Stinger on the far right.

PS;
Remington ammo seems to have the most misfires of all the brands that I have used.

 

[ImprovedModel56Fan]

My limited experience over forty-some years has been that there's no telling what's best. I've had Kit Guns only 40 apart in serial number that were entirely different. Try a lot of different ammo, and be sure that other factors are held constant. My inclination is to try CCI first in case of extraction problems, but other than that, there's no telling what will work best in your gun. Even my recommendation is probably wrong some (or much) of the time.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

For target shooting I like the CCI Standard Velocity ammo. Now, if you do decide to buy it look around for the 500 round bricks because the 50 or 100 round plastic boxes are way too expensive. You can buy the bricks for ~$25. It's really accurate ammo in any revolver, semi-auto or rifle I've used it in.

 

[Joewisc]

Federal, Blazer and especially CCI mini-mags all work pretty well. I find hollow points a bit less accurate.

 

[S&WIowegan]

A group of us in this area have been very active in shooting 617 10-shot 4" barrel guns at indoor pin-top matches in the winter and at steel challenge style matches during the warm months.

We narrowed our best performing ammo down to Federal bulk pack 36 gr. plated HPs. Primary reasons for this choice are rare occurence of duds and no leading.

Something we collectively learned also is that some 617s have slightly out-of-spec. chambers that cause very sticky extraction. The straight-forward cure for this is to buy a reamer that cleans up those chambers.

Have fun!

 

[HitTheTarget]

Thanks for the input-22lr ammo recommendations

Let me thank all those who provided input on the best 22lr ammo for a 617. As a new member I'm finding the collective wisdom of the members is quite a valuable asset!!

 

[TSQUARED]

In my older K-22's I use SV ammo usually Aguilla SE or Wolf MAtch Target. In the 617 which I use totally in the Da mode I prefer the copper plated/washed ammo and gravitae to the Federal bulk pack but have used Remington Golden.

 

[ACP230]

I have found that most .22 handguns I've tried do well with Wolf Match
Target. These include a S&W M18 and a Ruger Mark II bull barrel.
I would get some of that and try it, along with the other types mentioned.

Aquila Rifle Match has also shot quite weil in some of my guns.

 

[Erich]

I thought that a link to an article on the subject about which the OP was asking might be of interest to folks who read this thread in the future:

Beartooth Bullets > Tech Notes > Wring Out That Rimfire!

 

[walkin jack]

I have had many .22s. I have used many many makes of .22lr ammo. But the one single .22lr ammo that seems to be compatible with most of my current or previously owned .22lr guns, both rifle and hand gun, has been the Federal 550 round Value Pack. High Velocity. 36 gr, Copper plated. Hollow point. All 4 of my current .22s are as accurate and consistent with this ammo as with any I have tried in them.

I would avoid the subsonic ammo with all semi autos because they don't cycle properly. Also, just my opinion based upon experience, Remington .22 lr ammo is junk. All of it. Good luck.

.22s can be very picky about ammo. You can get two of the exact same guns off the line that were produced in the same batch and each one may prefer a different ammo. You will have to go and get a box of many different brands and test them to see which works the best in your particular revolver then go and buy as much of that lot of ammo as you can find.

With that said, I prefer to use the higher end target ammo as they tend to liberally apply the wax lube they use which eases in extraction of the fired cases.

 

[steamloco76]

For target shooting I like the CCI Standard Velocity ammo. Now, if you do decide to buy it look around for the 500 round bricks because the 50 or 100 round plastic boxes are way too expensive. You can buy the bricks for ~$25. It's really accurate ammo in any revolver, semi-auto or rifle I've used it in.

Unfortunately, CCI Standard, which is my favorite .22 LR ammo, tends to stick tight in the chambers of all but one S&W revolver I shoot. Ditto for Mini-mags. The Federal Auto-Match ammo is accurate and works well, as does the inexpensive Federal 510 40 grain load. Both eject easily and are quite accurate. Several Aguila loads have also worked in my guns. Your experience and mileage may vary!

 

[SMSgt]

CCI Mini-Mags work in my Glock 30 .22 conversion when others don't work as reliably. Fortunately, .22s are cheap and it doesn't take a large amount of $$ to try a lot of brands/loads.