Dud-free .22 LR brands?

[Fishslayer]

CCI MiniMags.
Remington Match.

Last session with my 10/22 I fired 100 consecutive rounds of malf/dud free Federal bulk.

 

[mtime7]

I run through about 1 Fed Bulk pack .36grn HP box a month in the summer, they seem to be the most accurate out of my M18.. I get about one dud per box of 550.. I use the American Eagle bricks (I think 38grn HP) in my Henry levers with about the same dud rate (they probaly come off the same line), I have had lots of duds but I can't remember the names because I quit using them

 

[Frank46]

I bought some brass cased russian junior, olympic and sniper all have given me exactly zero duds. I have some czech 22rf that was sold by the case some years back think it was made by Sellier & Bellot, no duds. never had a dud with the federal value packs. Winchester t-22 or their dynapoint have had a couple duds. Remington I refuse to buy. I sat at our local gun range and watched a guy with a revolver trying to get decent accuracy. I asked what he was shooting, remington golden yellow bees. Since that time have never bought any remington 22rf ammo. Now I have fired some really old cci mini mags in a marlin model 60. Reports of the shots were bang, pop,pop, bang and you get the idea. Dirty rifle, nope cleaner her the night before.Age may have played a part with the old ammo. Frank

 

[MTPioneer]

I don't know which is best, but Winchester 333 has been the worst for me. Numerous duds every outing. Last night I even had one not make it out the barrel. Luckily enough was sticking out the end to get pliers on it to pull it out.

 

[scattershot]

Yep, never had a dud with any .22 ammo until recently, with the Remington. I've been shooting since I was six, and in that time I have used some very cheap ammo. I use CCI now, almost exclusively.

 

[Geo9547]

I have been using CCI Blazers 40gr and get few if any FTF's. I have put over 5K rounds through my 22A and Ruger 10/22 rifle and am currently working on my second load of 5,000 (10 bulk boxes of 525 each)from Palmetto State. Comes out to about $3.20/100 including freight.

 

[VAdoublegunner]

I just yesterday did some testing of ammo in a Ruger MKII Standard Pistol, 4.75" bbl, for a friend and posted the results on that forum in the rimfire section.

My criteria in that testing were utter reliability, adequate penetration potential, and clean.

Here are some of the results:
Temp 73F; Wind 12-15, with gusts, from behind; PACT MKIV chrono, distance 5 yards

CCI Mini-Mag solids, 40 grains; 10 shots (ammo ~8 years old)
Hi: 1072 fps
Lo: 1022 fps
ES: 50
Avg: 1046 fps

CCI Mini-Mag solids - test 2, 40 grains, 10 shots (new sleeve of current production)
Hi: 1066 fps
Lo: 995 fps
ES: 72
Avg: 1041 fps
This ammo has been 100% reliable for over 300 rounds in this pistol. In fact, in talking to a couple of friends of mine, who have been using CCI Mini-Mags as I have since it first came out, we can't really recall many problems *ever* with it, if at all.

CCI Velocitor, 40 grains (new), 20 shots
Hi: 1158 fps
Lo: 1088 fps
ES: 75
Avg: 1114 fps
This ammo has also been 100% reliable for 100 rounds, but it has a louder report and a lot of bolt slap. It is certainly worth testing more. I don't think using it would cause any problems for the gun for limited use. I may recommend reserving it for keeping the mag loaded and recommend the Mini-Mags for most practice. The gain of ~70fps is notable when penetration velocity is about your best ally for the 22LR.


CCI Blazer Bulk, 40 grains, 10 shots (new)
Hi: 1099 fps
Lo: 1054 fps
ES: 45
Avg: 1081 fps

CCI Blazer Bulk - test 2, 40 grains, 10 shots (new)
Hi: 1092 fps
Lo: 1044 fps
ES: 48
Avg: 1074 fps
This one was a surprise, both for velocity and consistency. It has also been very reliable in the gun for over 300 rounds , in fact it is in most things I shoot it in. Although, it does tend to lead up the cylinder face of my Single-Sixes after an few hundred rounds and is dirtier than the CCI Mini-Mags. Still, I was both surprised and impressed with the numbers.

I get excellent accuracy from these, at least within the 15 yards tested.

For long range accuracy and reliable function, I have always liked Win Dynapoints, but they are not as easy to find any longer and I am keeping my stash for hunting! I also get pretty decent results from Bulk Federal too and the Win 555.

W/R/T the Rem bulk pack Golden Bullets, yeah they do seem to have some misfire potential but so what? One of the LGS has them for $16.99 for 550. If I get a 2% failure rate, that's 11 cartridges. Even at 5% for that price I can live with it. They seem fine for plinking. My S&W 17-8 seems to like them just fine.

If I am doing "serious" target plinking, then the Blazer Bulk works pretty well (if I'm doing really serious target shooting like with my Anschutz Match 54 then I use the Ely orange box ammo or Wolf Match Target). Some of the more accurate cheap 22LR, besides the much beloved Dynapoints, I've tried lately have been Federal Lightning. I'm getting really good groups from them in a scoped Ruger MKII Competition at 50 yards, rarely if ever over 1.5". My S&Ws like them too.