.22LR Ammo quality after the drought

[Sgt.Y]

My wife and I went shooting her virgin M&P 22 yesterday at the range and bought Federal cheapo ammo half way through the 50 rounds the ammo refused to cycle. We noticed the rounds were loose in the cartridges I have been shooting big bore handguns my whole life I never had much experience with the 22 other than .223 Winchester, not even close. But I knew what was happening was the bullet was not seated in the cartridge properly and was having sealing issues. We were experiencing blowby and it concerned me that we could have a bullet lodge in the barrel due to insufficient pressure. Talking with the manager about the problem he claimed 22's were always loose. I tended to not believe him and felt he was trying to keep a sale. But he did say that all M&P guns were high quality, which I already knew. We returned the two unspent boxes for refund. When we got home later that afternoon, I proceeded to shoot four clips of CCI Choot-ems with no issues. The CCI's were paraffin dipped and has substantially tighter seats than the Federals we bought. My thought is they are cranking out ammo so fast that the machinery may be out of spec, way before they realize it and poor quality control is letting junk get out there. Was it a fluke or have anyone else seen this problem too.

 

[Comrad]

I've seen a few that don't seem to be brand specific and suspect like everything else made today, quality has suffered. I haven't had a failure to fire but did notice some seem to little wiggle.

 

[AlHunt]

I can remember 22 bullets spinning in the case years and years ago. I just test-spun a couple of different brands and none of them spin. Can't speak to why they wouldn't cycle the action. Maybe a stiff action on a new gun and cheapo low powered ammo?

 

[arjay]

Bulk ammo has always been that way,cci is a step up

 

[Sgt.Y]

One thing I did not mention I live in the country so shooting on my property is allowed when firing the four clips.

Any suggestions or lists of quality ammunition, I use winchester white box or PMC Bronze for most of my other calibers for targeting but it seems 22 is an overlooked round from manufacturer for quality.

 

[cyphertext]

Perfectly normal for .22lr to be loose. It is not a "sealing issue". The projectile is heeled, where the outer diameter is the same as the case, but towards the back of the bullet, it is smaller so that it fits in the case. The crimp just holds the bullet, but doesn't keep it from spinning.

 

[Ballistic147]

Any suggestions or lists of quality ammunition, I use winchester white box or PMC Bronze for most of my other calibers for targeting but it seems 22 is an overlooked round from manufacturer for quality.

I've always had good luck with CCI Mini Mags and luckily we have an LGS here that generally has them in stock for $8.95 per 100 box. The only issue I've ever had with them is a bad primer but this is maybe 1 out of 500 rounds. IMO this is somewhat common with 22lr.

 

[Florida J Frame]

Shot up a brick of Remington Cyclone with the grand kids last weekend. Not a bad round in the bunch in a variety of weapons.

 

[Speedo2]

One thing I did not mention I live in the country so shooting on my property is allowed when firing the four clips.

Any suggestions or lists of quality ammunition, I use winchester white box or PMC Bronze for most of my other calibers for targeting but it seems 22 is an overlooked round from manufacturer for quality.

22 rifles and ammo are a system when it comes to accuracy; some rifles like certain brands of ammo, often without rhyme or reason, or so it seems. Consequently it's hard to recommend any specific brand for somebody else's rifle. You'll have to try several to find out what your wife's M&P15 likes.

All that said, it is generally known that sub-sonic 22 ammo is more accurate for target shooting out to and beyond 50 yards; the bullets don't tumble when they drop back through the sound barrier. Therefore if you're just punching holes in paper, CCI Standard Velocity is a good place to start, provided that they cycle in your gun. If not, try CCI Mini-Mags, if you can find them.

I've had good luck with SK "Standard Plus", SK "Magazine", and Norma "Match Target"; they all shoot well in my bolt action rifles. My daughter-in-law has one of those Ishmesh Biathlon toggle action rifles that loves Federal bulk 550, the kind we used to be able to get really cheaply at Walmart; she's lucky. You just have to try several brands to see what shoots best for you. The internet is your friend when it comes to locating 22 ammo. -S2

 

[scattershot]

I've been shooting for 60 years +, and never had any problems until recently. New production is junk, in my experience. The cheapest rounds you could buy when I was a kid was good stuff. Stick with CCI, if you can find it. Minimags are the gold standard.

 

[cyphertext]

I've been shooting for 60 years +, and never had any problems until recently. New production is junk, in my experience. The cheapest rounds you could buy when I was a kid was good stuff. Stick with CCI, if you can find it. Minimags are the gold standard.

When you were shooting .22lr 60 years ago, what were you shooting it out of? I bet it wasn't a semi auto with removable magazine. Probably more likely to be a bolt gun, which rarely have feeding issues... even when using today's "junk" ammo.

 

[scattershot]

You're right.

 

[susieqz]

federal bulk has the most box to box variability i've seen.
it's just plinking ammo i save for revolvers.

 

[teletech]

I've had awful luck with Remington for the last couple years. I stocked up about 3-4 years ago and have had about a %3 failure rate on that ammo, bought from a LGS and stored at friendly temperatures. Very frustrating! Never had any trouble with any brand .22 until that batch unless it was stored badly and seldom even then.

 

[speedyquad]

I have a box of Winchester that have some in that are very loose. So loose that they would angle and would refuse to feed in my 15-22. They When I find them, I put them up for my lever action 22.

Everything has cycled in the 15-22 except for the 20 or so that were extremely loose and angled.

 

[scattershot]

I may be able to shed some light on this. I have a brick of Winchester Wildcats that are 30 years old, at least, and that have been stored in a stable environment since I bought them ( for $9.95, if memory serves). I'll break them out and do a report on them next time I go to the range.

 

[springer99]

My wife and I went shooting her virgin M&P 22 yesterday at the range and bought Federal cheapo ammo half way through the 50 rounds the ammo refused to cycle. We noticed the rounds were loose in the cartridges I have been shooting big bore handguns my whole life I never had much experience with the 22 other than .223 Winchester, not even close. But I knew what was happening was the bullet was not seated in the cartridge properly and was having sealing issues. We were experiencing blowby and it concerned me that we could have a bullet lodge in the barrel due to insufficient pressure. Talking with the manager about the problem he claimed 22's were always loose. I tended to not believe him and felt he was trying to keep a sale. But he did say that all M&P guns were high quality, which I already knew. We returned the two unspent boxes for refund. When we got home later that afternoon, I proceeded to shoot four clips of CCI Choot-ems with no issues. The CCI's were paraffin dipped and has substantially tighter seats than the Federals we bought. My thought is they are cranking out ammo so fast that the machinery may be out of spec, way before they realize it and poor quality control is letting junk get out there. Was it a fluke or have anyone else seen this problem too.

22LR rounds must have a good crimp on them to assure good ignition. If the crimps are erratic, IT WILL lead to poor performance, bloopers, and failure to cycle properly. Was the Federal "cheapo" ammo perhaps Federal AutoMatch? For some reason, Federal seems to periodically have machine setup problems that lead to this. I'd suggest making a note of the lot numbers off those boxes and give Federal a call. My guess is that they'll gladly send you a UPS return label and pay you to send the faulty ammo back. I went thru this with them about 2 years ago and they were more than happy to get the duds back.

 

[Hamster65]

I haven't checked it lately but in the past, I've noticed that a lot of the cheap bulk 22LR would spin in the casing. I've also noticed some that sounded low powered when fired and of those, some that wouldn't cycle my weapon. I stopped using those years ago though, because most are very "smokey" and will dirty up your gun after just a few rounds. Even the brick of CCI Blazer I bought would smoke us out at the indoor range.
It's a bit more expensive but now, I stick to brands such as Armscor and Fiocchi when I can find them in stock.

P.S. As I stated in one of my range reports, American Eagle 22LR is also VERY dirty and inconsistent so, you may want to avoid those as well.

 

[Krogen]

All of the above are some of the reasons I've switched over to SK. CCI SV used to be my go-to 22LR ammo. But, prices of CCI SV have gone way up and typically one can only buy a brick at a time - if it can be found. These days, SK Standard Plus isn't horribly expensive compared to CCI SV and can usually be found in case lots. For me, SK has not exhibited the quality variances the big domestic producers and I don't need to scour the universe to find CCI SV a brick at a time.

SK brings out the best in my 22s. The greasy lube is annoying. However the lube may be responsible for making a recalcitrant Model 41 much better behaved. And >that< makes me happy!

 

[GM4spd]

When you were shooting .22lr 60 years ago, what were you shooting it out of? I bet it wasn't a semi auto with removable magazine. Probably more likely to be a bolt gun, which rarely have feeding issues... even when using today's "junk" ammo.

Well 50 years ago I was shooting a Ruger 22 pistol and never
had any ammo problems with it. The only problem I had was
getting the Ruger back together after you disassembled it. There
was no utube video! Pete

 

[scattershot]

Here they are. 30years old, and all the bullets are tight in the cases, with no oxidation or tarnish. I hope to shoot some of them tomorrow, and will report back.

 

[scattershot]

Went to,the range today, with my 10/22 and Ruger MkII. Group size with the rifle was the same with both types of ammo. Oddly enough, the only bobble I had was with the CCI MiniMags, one failure to feed. Other than that, the rifle ran flawlessly with the 30 year old cheapo,ammo.

The pistol ran fine with both types of ammo, too, but I had two instances where the empty case ejected, but the bolt didn't pick up the next round in the magazine. This was with the Wildcats.

Not sure what conclusions to draw from this, other than the thirty year old cheapie ammo is at least as good as you can buy today, especially considering its age. For me, MiniMags are still the gold standard, but the older bulk ammo is better than most of the junk you can buy today.

 

[Old-Veteran]

When you were shooting .22lr 60 years ago, what were you shooting it out of? I bet it wasn't a semi auto with removable magazine. Probably more likely to be a bolt gun, which rarely have feeding issues... even when using today's "junk" ammo.

About 50 years ago I was shooting .22lr out of a Ruger Standard Model with a removable magazine and had virtually no issues with the ammo. Recently I have noticed a lot of problems with various .22lr ammo from various manufacturers. Mostly with the bulk ammo. Maybe it's my failing memory, but as I recall even the "cheaper" ammo was reliable if not necessarily match grade in the accuracy department. My high school rifle team used to get a lot of Canuck .22lr ammo which we called Cajunk because it wasn't very accurate, but I did used to shoot it in a Ruger semi-auto and didn't have issues with firing or cycling.

 

[Old-Veteran]

federal bulk has the most box to box variability i've seen.
it's just plinking ammo i save for revolvers.

I've had the same issue with Federal bulk ammo in my pistols. Multiple FTF, FTL, FTE and stovepipes. I have a few hundred rounds that I will only shoot in my Single Six revolver.

 

[Old-Veteran]

I may be able to shed some light on this. I have a brick of Winchester Wildcats that are 30 years old, at least, and that have been stored in a stable environment since I bought them ( for $9.95, if memory serves). I'll break them out and do a report on them next time I go to the range.

I bet you get very good results with the Wildcats. I have been shooting some that is about 20 years old and it is flawless.

 

[unobrownsfan]

Eley .22lr ammo has worked well for me. I think it's manufactured in the United Kingdom. There is also a Remington/Eley .22lr which I don't think is as good. I agree that the ammo shortage and subsequent attempt to rectify it resulted in substantially reduced quality control for some ammo companies. BAD Karma for them.

 

[Salty RI]

You ever watch that show, How It's Made, a while back they were in a factory that was making 22's, they were coming out of that machine so fast, it's a wonder any of them work.

 

[Kframerbluvr]

I may be able to shed some light on this. I have a brick of Winchester Wildcats that are 30 years old, at least, and that have been stored in a stable environment since I bought them ( for $9.95, if memory serves). I'll break them out and do a report on them next time I go to the range.

That brings back memories. The local Singleton's store would put Wildcats on sale for $5.99 a brick in the early '70s. With a single shot Glenfield bolt gun as my only .22, a brick lasted quite a while.
I don't remember the .22 ammo from the '70s being as dirty as some of the stuff produced recently.
My son's Scout troop bought bulk Winchester .22 before the 2013 ammo drought for Rifle merit badge weekend. That was the filthiest .22 I have ever dealt with.

 

[Edknn123]

Just had my 10/22 out last week. Fired Golden bullets, Automatch, Winchester 333, and 50 year old Remington. All fired perfect. The 50 year old ammo was stored in a relatives attic, with temps from 120 degrees to -20 and humidity. Fired better than most new ammo. So far, I haven't found any ammo my 50 year old 10/22 didn't love.

 

[patrickd]

Can't speak for the M&P, but my Ruger home built Volquartsen 1022 seems to just love the hell out of CCI Velocitors. I get 9/16- 5/8" groups at 50 yds. Trouble is I can't seem to find anymore as of late.