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most reliably hi-speed 22 ammo


zzt

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I have been using CCI AR Tactical 22LR (1200fps) for Steel Challenge.  I get about 1 FTF in every 120-150 rounds, even if I manually cock the hammer at try again a couple of times.   With my race upper that is not a problem.  I developed a problem with consistent light hits with this upper and had to switch to my backup gun.  That is a Marvel Precision Unit 1.  It runs flawlessly, except it has a tight chamber.  If you get a FTF, you cannot eject the chambered round.  So I end up with a 30 second score for every stage that happens on.

 

I want hi-speed ammo, because it is nearly impossible to hear the ting using low speed match ammo.  Does anyone make hi-speed ammo with the 100% ignition rate of standard match ammo.

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About the only way to know with a .22 is to get some of as many brands as you can find and try it in your gun.  What runs great in one gun sometimes is a failure in another.  Same with accuracy.

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CCI MiniMags are 100% thus far in my little Fake Plastic M&P.

 

I am also doing well with Aquila HV in my ACE, even though it is not going to be 100% with anything, just not in the nature of the floating chamber guns. 

 

"Minimum match chambers" (actually undersize) are the bane of the shooting games. 

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My .22LR upper consists of a CMMG AR conversion and an older Taccom barrel.  To avoid light strikes, the lower has a Hiperfire 24c trigger with the springs for the lightest trigger pull (which gives the hardest hammer hit).

 

I have good reliability with CCI MiniMags and Federal Bulk ammo (the high velocity stuff with the 36 grain copper coated bullets).

 

Most everything else is a crapshoot. The ammo with bare lead round nose bullets and anything with a Winchester logo on the box is relegated to other guns.

 

When I do have failure to extract with the above ammo, its past time to clean the chamber.  I put a .22 brass brush on a cordless drill soaked in Hoppes.  Don't over do it.  Just enough to get it real clean.

Edited by Flatland Shooter
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The problem is your hammer spring, not your ammo.

 

I use mainly CCI AR Tactical and Swamp People (Choot 'Ems). The AR Tacts are basically mini-mags with a different profile projectile. The Choot 'Ems are 36hr hollow point mini-mags. All work perfectly in my guns.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

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I went from a 17 lb hammer spring to a 19 and that cured the problem for a while.  Now it's back in spades, so it has to be something in the bolt slowing the firing pin.  I'll fix the race upper.  That is not the issue.  What I am specifically asking is can anyone recommend a brand of hi-speed ammo (that you can actually purchase) that has the ignition characteristics of standard speed match ammo, such as Eley and SK.

 

In the Unit 1 I rub CCI standard plastic box (0032) for practice and almost never have a FTF.  I think I recall one in the last half case.  Yet when i put CCI AR Tactical or Minimags in the same pistol I get FTFs every 100-150 rounds.  The only difference is I put a heavier recoil spring in for the hi-speed stuff.  I've seen the same thing with Aguila.  Their Match Pistol and Rifle ammo is superb.  Their hi-speed stuff- not so much.

 

BTW, I don't wait for the ting before moving on.  I'm already on the next target.  I like to hear it for confirmation, because I cannot see a 22 splatter on a 35 yard target.

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I went from a 17 lb hammer spring to a 19 and that cured the problem for a while.  Now it's back in spades, so it has to be something in the bolt slowing the firing pin.  I'll fix the race upper.  That is not the issue.  What I am specifically asking is can anyone recommend a brand of hi-speed ammo (that you can actually purchase) that has the ignition characteristics of standard speed match ammo, such as Eley and SK.
 
In the Unit 1 I rub CCI standard plastic box (0032) for practice and almost never have a FTF.  I think I recall one in the last half case.  Yet when i put CCI AR Tactical or Minimags in the same pistol I get FTFs every 100-150 rounds.  The only difference is I put a heavier recoil spring in for the hi-speed stuff.  I've seen the same thing with Aguila.  Their Match Pistol and Rifle ammo is superb.  Their hi-speed stuff- not so much.
 
BTW, I don't wait for the ting before moving on.  I'm already on the next target.  I like to hear it for confirmation, because I cannot see a 22 splatter on a 35 yard target.


Most of my Steel Challenge buddies shoot a custom built 1911 with custom Marvel 1 top end. When they have a problem it is almost always one of these problems so check on your race gun:
1. Weak recoil spring not returning completely to battery.
2. Dirty chamber not allowing round to fully seat.
3. Heavy recoil spring not allowing slide to fully recoil and reset trigger.
4. Thumb riding the slide (I'm not suggesting this is your problem, but I've seen it).
5. Hammer spring too light for reliable ignition.

Those are the problems I've personally witnessed that cause failure to go bang.

Save your "bad" CCI rounds and shoot them in your rimfire rifle. If they all go bang, it isn't the ammo.



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One reason I built a custom Ruger instead of doing a 1911 22 (and BJ recommended it). Mine shoots almost everything 100% but I only use 40/36g MiniMags in matches because it never fails to fire (maybe one in a 1000 does not). Everything else is for practice. For my custom 10/22 it only gets AR-Tactical for matches and AutoMatch for practice.

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On 6/13/2017 at 8:44 AM, zzt said:

In the Unit 1 I rub CCI standard plastic box (0032) for practice and almost never have a FTF.  I think I recall one in the last half case.  Yet when i put CCI AR Tactical or Minimags in the same pistol I get FTFs every 100-150 rounds.  The only difference is I put a heavier recoil spring in for the hi-speed stuff.  I've seen the same thing with Aguila.  Their Match Pistol and Rifle ammo is superb.  Their hi-speed stuff- not so much.

 

Have you tried it without putting in the heavier recoil spring?

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photo, interesting.  I'm the MD and RO for our Wednesday Night Steel matches.  I see almost every kind of 22 pistol out there.  The most problems are with Ruger Mark IIs.

 

I used to love the AR Tactical rounds in my Buckmark race gun.  They worked great in the conversion units.  And then there is the last case I bought.  FTFs in every 22 pistol I own, so it cannot be gun related.  Plus, every one of them fires CCI Standard, Eley Target and SK Standard+ ammo just fine.  I think I just got a bad lot of AR Tactical.  I just ordered a case of Aguila SuperExtra  Hi-Speed 40 gr.  It is Eley primed.  If that works I'll use it for matches and shoot up the AR Tactical for practice.  If not, I'll go back to using standard velocity.

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Tom, I did try the 'normal' recoil spring.  It was too violent.  I can see why the manufacturer specifically warns against using hi-speed ammo with the 'stock' spring.

 

The problem is not gun related.  It is ammo related.  As I wrote above, everything else works, so it has to be that lot of ammo.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I received my case of Aguila SuperExtra HiSpeed 40gr @ 1250fps ammo.  It is Aguila primed, not Eley.  I ran a couple hundred through my Unit 1 with no problems, plus a loaded round will extract.

 

I also ran a string of ten across my chono, then ran a string of AR Tactical for comparison.  What a difference.  Aguila- 1086 fps out of a 5" barrel with an SD of 4.71.  CCI AR TActical- 1028 fps, SD 20.16.  I had previously run a five shot string of CCI Minimag 40 gr @ 1235 fps.  Results were 1057 fps, SD 31.29.  

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  • 2 months later...
On ‎6‎/‎12‎/‎2017 at 5:56 PM, Old3GNR said:

If you're waiting for the "ting" you're going too slow.  Trust your called shot and move on.

Ditto. I use nothing but Mini-Mags in the pistols and AR-Tactical in the rifles. I never have duds or other issues in a match since maybe early 2016.

I have used Aguila SE 40g and while my pistols shoot it fine I actually get a dud or two on occasion. It still runs better than most of the other ammo I use (I use Fed AE 38g and 40g during the winter because it has less lube than most anything else) so I keep some around. I find Norma Tac-22 is pretty good but slow so I generally use it in place of CCI-SV in silhouette matches. Fed AutoMatch is good enough for practice and that's it. Winchester is OK for varmints but not competition. Remington is good for just about nothing and you have to clean your firearm more often. I usually give it to friends that don't care.

The SD of a round used for shooting steel under 35 yards is basically a worthless stat. Even that deviation will still be on a plate. The only thing that counts when shooting steel is that everytime you pull the trigger the firearm goes BANG. Nothing else means anything unless you are shooting farther away.

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Well, after a lot more experience with the Aguila, it is not 100% in my race upper.  The Winchester 40 @ 1255 is a disaster.  The new lot od CCI AR Tactical ran well.  I only had one ftf in the last 16 stages.  More than half the rimfire shooters at yesterday's match were using AR Tactical.  The rest used a hodge-podge.  One shooter on my squad used Eley Force (HV) and Contact (SV).  It is all black oxidized ammo he claims is made specifically for semi-auto firearms.  He said he uses it because it goes bang 100% of the time.  I'll try some if I can find it.

Edited by zzt
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I use Eley Force and Eley Contact almost exclusively at matches. I just came back from PA and the rifle and pistol was ran twice by me and my son. Not 1 ammo issue. I choked but the gun did not. The extra cost is worth it at a match with so much on the line.

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