Can i use this ammo?

[mobplaya2569]

Hey

I have a S&W MP 15-22. Can i use Remington thunderbolt .22 ammo?

Adam

 

[jlanecole]

It's on the 'not recommended' list in the owner's manual.

Past that, I don't know.

 

[Pisgah]

Sure. Your rifle may or may not like it, but just about every .22 has some ammo it thrives on and some ammo it hates. Try every .22 load you can find and you will see what I mean.

 

[PDL]

Remington THunderbolt was the worst .22 ammo I ever bought. More failure to fire, failure to eject etc. Didn't matter which of 5 .22s they all had mega failures.
Never will purchase that again.

Edit to add: Sorry, forgot to say welcome to the forum.

 

[rburg]

As stated above, there are different experiences with brands of ammo. Some guns do well where others are miserable. There is no danger by using it, just maybe less than optimal results. Accuracy is for whatever reason unique to some weapons over others. Some ammo from some lots or runs does seem to fire more or less satisfactorily. You can discover it for yourself. I don't trust anyone else's experiences. I just buy some and try whatever. My personal favorite due to price concerns is WallyWorld special Federals. They're cheaper per shot and seem to function in almost any semi-auto.

My suggestion to anyone is to find and buy 2 sets of pliers. Cheap is good. Yard sale or flea market bargains. When a round misfires, I don't just dump it and forget it. I grab the bullet with one plier and the case with the other. Then I bend the bullet sideways. Dump the powder on the grass, its good fertilizer. pitch the bullet in the range garbage can and look in the case. You're looking for priming compound. You can try to fire it with a 2nd hammer blow, but it won't tell you as much if the firing pin indentation is deep enough. Only experience will tell you that. But what you'll find is either a total absence of primer or compound part way around the case. It that last happens, the misfire is because the firing pin hit in the area where there was none. We'll never know how many "defective" rounds with half compound went off because of luck. Or maybe they weren't because they went bang.

Many of us seek out cheap 22s to burn up. What we see is the lowest price rounds often show less quality control. And the high dollar match grade almost never fail to fire. For play, cheap is probably good enough.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

There is usually a very good reason for a manufacturer to tell you not to use a certain ammo. If that ammo was at all serviceable in the M&P15-22 it would not be on the exemption list. I'm sure S&W did a lot of testing before they made those lists of good and bad ammo for the M&P15-22. If you're looking for inexpensive plinking ammo Federal American Eagle ammo is a good choice.

From Page 10 in the M&P15-22 Owners Manual:

Based on the design and action of the M&P15-22, Smith & Wesson recommends that you use the following brands and types of .22LR ammunition for optimal performance in your M&P15-22 rifle:

• CCI Standard Velocity
• Federal American Eagle
• CCI Mini-Mag
• Federal GameShock
• CCI Stinger
• Winchester Super-X High Velocity
• Aguila Super Extra High Velocity
• Aguila Super Extra Std. Velocity

Smith & Wesson suggests that you fire several boxes of a recommended brand of ammunition through your M&P15-22 before you put it into regular use to determine reliability of ignition and performance of your ammunition. If "failure to fire" or other issues should occur, try different recommended brands and types until a reliable load is found.


Through our testing, Smith & Wesson has also found that there are several brands and types of .22LR ammunition that do not perform consistently or reliably. Consequently, Smith & Wesson DOES NOT RECOMMEND that the following brands or types of .22LR ammunition be used in your M&P15-22 rifle:

• Remington Golden Bullet
• Remington Thunderbolt
• Remington Target 22
• Winchester Wildcat
• Any and all sub-sonic brands and types

 

[chief38]

Regardless of firearm.............

Remington Thunderbolt is sheer rubbish, junk, ****, garbage, most unreliable
inconsistent .22 ammo I have ever tried!

At our Range there is a box to throw your Dud's in for safe disposal. Guess which brand makes up 95% of that box's contents?

Chief38

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Regardless of firearm.............

Remington Thunderbolt is sheer rubbish, junk, ****, garbage, most unreliable
inconsistent .22 ammo I have ever tried!

At our Range there is a box to throw your Dud's in for safe disposal. Guess which brand makes up 95% of that box's contents?

Chief38

So, Chief, tell us how you really feel about Thunderbolt ammo?

I agree, total garbage not worth buying...

 

[TSQUARED]

qThe only time I ever leaded the barrel of a pistol was using Remington Thunderbolt and not allowing the barrel to cool after ca 25 shots.
On the plus side Remington Thunderbolt was very accurate ammo in my semi auto pistols. I let the barrel cool down after firing 20 to 25 rounds and it functions reliably.