Problem with Herter's Target .22LR

[Faulkner]

A few weeks ago I took this unopened box of "HERTER'S" Target .22 LR ammo to the range with me along with several .22 pistols and a .22 revolver. The box says it's 36 grain plated hollow point "target" ammo. I supposed "target" is just marketing hype and is supposed to make you think it's something like match grade or some other premium ammo.

I can't tell where it was made from looking at the box but I bought it at the Bass Pro/Cabela's store in Little Rock and I've had it a while, four or five years at least.

I loaded up two magazines for my Ruger MKII with PAC-LITE upper and noticed with I cycled the first round it seemed to drag into the chamber, as though the chamber was dirty, which is not possible because I'm a clean gun freak and I clean all my guns after every shooting session. I fired off the first magazine and didn't have any issues, but when I inserted the 2nd magazine the first round did not seat well in the chamber and I hand to give the bolt a little push with my thumb. I experienced three failure to feed jams in the second magazine, all though the ammo seemed to be accurate enough on the target. I reloaded the first magazine and experienced several more FTF's. What's odd is that I've fired zillions of rounds of ammo through this MKII and I rarely have any issues with it.

I also tried out the ammo in a MKII 22/45 and a MKIV 22/45 with the same results.

At this point I'm thinking I'm not real impressed with this ammo, I get better performance out of cheap/bulk Remington Thunderbolts and my Rugers are just not typically finicky about ammo.

So I laid the semi-autos aside and pulled out an .22 LR SAA and figured I'd give the ammo a try out of a revolver. I flipped open the loading gate and slipped in a round . . . but the round would not go all the way into the cylinder. What the heck!?! I tried each cylinder with similar results. I pulled out the cylinder pin and removed the cylinder and stuck rounds into the cylinder and, low and behold, the ammo won't go in. That's when I determined that the ammo case is somewhat out of spec.

A few days later I decided to try out the "HERTERS" ammo at home with a few other .22 LR rifles and pistols. It was obvious that the ammo was tight going into all of guns I tried it in except one. My Ruger SR22 didn't seem to have a problem with it and the ammo actually shot quite well from it, but then again my experience with a Ruger SR22 is that it's like the Glock of .22's.

So, looks like I'll set this bulk box of HERTERS ammo aside and just feed it to my SR22.

 

[SS336]

According to Mr. Google it is made in the USA.
It is odd that it doesn’t chamber in your MKII. Mine seems to eat anything. Your PAC-LITE upper probably has a snug match chamber so that would not surprise me much.

 

[rockquarry]

Spend a little more and get good ammo, like CCI SV. Works and functions in every gun I've tried it in (probably fifteen or twenty, rifles and handguns) and it's pretty accurate. After many years of using it by the case, I've had one round that didn't fire on the first pull of the trigger. That was about two years ago.

I've experimented with many, many expensive, moderately priced, and cheap bulk ammo over a long time and fired lots of groups. Some of the cheap stuff actually works well if you get a good batch, but good batches of low rent ammo are few and far between; consistency from lot to lot is anyone's guess with this stuff.

 

[Greyman50]

I’ll second CCI standard velocity, wally world has boxes and boxes on their shelves for under $5.

 

[fordson]

I’ll second CCI standard velocity, wally world has boxes and boxes on their shelves for under $5.

It that the WallyWorld on FI? Haven’t shopped there in a while. It would be worth a visit if they have 22’s.

 

[BE Mike]

What distance did you shoot that target? Being old enough to remember the REAL Herter's company, I have to say I suspect anything lately manufactured with that brand. Same with BSA. These companies just have the rights to use the brand. One exception would be Henry!

 

[.455_Hunter]

It's made by Winchester/Olin.

 

[2152hq]

The Herters 22 ammo has a pretty bad reputation.
The 'Target' brand is just a marketing thing as the ammo is HV, not StdVel as some may think.

The quality of the mfg is the biggest complaint.
Many of the rounds are found to have bullets seated slightly tilted in the case.
Some with a smear of lead slightly down off of one side of th bullet and onto the case.

Others report the bullet seated and crimped improperly causing a very slight bulge in the brass case at the mouth.

Any of these can be the cause of the rounds not chambering freely.

S&B used to make the Herters brand ammo for Cabellas. Then Winchester took over the production of the ammo.
It's just one or the other packaged into the Herters box.

The compliants of poor quality usually come from what most say is the Winchester made ammo.

22rf ammo in general in the past few yrs has been pretty bad no matter what you seem to buy.

 

[rockquarry]

The Herters 22 ammo has a pretty bad reputation.
The 'Target' brand is just a marketing thing as the ammo is HV, not StdVel as some may think.

The quality of the mfg is the biggest complaint.
Many of the rounds are found to have bullets seated slightly tilted in the case.
Some with a smear of lead slightly down off of one side of th bullet and onto the case.

Others report the bullet seated and crimped improperly causing a very slight bulge in the brass case at the mouth.

Any of these can be the cause of the rounds not chambering freely.

S&B used to make the Herters brand ammo for Cabellas. Then Winchester took over the production of the ammo.
It's just one or the other packaged into the Herters box.

The compliants of poor quality usually come from what most say is the Winchester made ammo.

22rf ammo in general in the past few yrs has been pretty bad no matter what you seem to buy.

I haven't shot any Winchester ammo in several years, but found the Wildcat was about the most inaccurate .22 LR I've ever run across. However, as with most everything that costs more, the more expensive Winchester 40 grain Hyper Velocity HP (plated) was very accurate, in fact, just a hair more accurate than CCI SV.

 

[TX-Dennis]

I've had more problems with Winchester over the years than any other brand of rimfire ammo. I will no longer purchase any rimfire made by Winchester, although I do still have some on hand from purchases made years ago. It's stuff I will only (try to) shoot if/when I run out of everything else.

 

[jgarysmith]

Herter's is re-branded Winchester. I know people who like it. I won't shoot it. I've seen both Winchester Super-X and Herter's blow the rim off of casings. It appears that some are over-loaded. The Herter's was rated at 1300 fps (on the box). We have a store nearby that carries CCI seconds at decent (by today's standard) price. I shoot it. It's accurate and reliable. I shoot 10/22, Thompson TCR 22, and S&W Victory. No issues with CCI at all. Please don't judge, but I've never had problems with Aguila either. I've only shot about 15 thousand rounds or so of Aguila.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

Looks like another ammo to avoid.
I have some Herters 9mm which is also Win but don't have any Herters 22.
I do have some Win 22.
Strange how the results vary that much in different Guns!

 

[DesertFox]

Herter's is one of the only brands that I've had issues with. In particular, some .308 Win steel cased that I suspect caused failure on an M1A1 I was shooting. Like stock came apart...

The .223 and 5.56 stuff has been GTG. No experience with the 22LR.

 

[Drm50]

The main problem with Herters ammo, it says Herters on it. They don’t make anything. It’s all repackaged ammo. Haven’t had good experience with any of it.

 

[BE Mike]

I would write a letter to Bass Pro with your experiences with that ammo, including photos and lot number, if available. Responsible companies like CCI welcome such feedback.

 

[Faulkner]

What distance did you shoot that target? Being old enough to remember the REAL Herter's company, I have to say I suspect anything lately manufactured with that brand. Same with BSA. These companies just have the rights to use the brand. One exception would be Henry!

I was shooting these at 15 yards.

Herter's is re-branded Winchester. I know people who like it. I won't shoot it. I've seen both Winchester Super-X and Herter's blow the rim off of casings. It appears that some are over-loaded. The Herter's was rated at 1300 fps (on the box). We have a store nearby that carries CCI seconds at decent (by today's standard) price. I shoot it. It's accurate and reliable. I shoot 10/22, Thompson TCR 22, and S&W Victory. No issues with CCI at all. Please don't judge, but I've never had problems with Aguila either. I've only shot about 15 thousand rounds or so of Aguila.

I'm an Aguila fan as well. I bought a case of the stuff back during the Obama administration and I've never had a problem with any of it either.

 

[ispcapt]

I had the same problem with Browning .22. Normally I shoot Federal and get very good results. Hunting I'll use CCI HP. Over the years I've run about every make of .22 ammo I have found. The only make that caused a problem was the Browning. Just like Faulkner described they all seemed to be just a bit oversized. Didn't matter what gun I tried them in they were tight.
I haven't seen Herters ammo locally.