Steel Challenge Rimfire Ammo Selection

[Gundles]

ill be the unpopular one here, i run rem thunderbolts, they function in all of my 22's with no issues. that said, they are DIRTY!

[lgh]

20 hours ago, firewood said:

Now that I have a better understanding of how things work I'm going to see if I can find something a little bit cleaner.

Minimags seem to run in anything. Like others, I find AR Tactical also runs great.

[robert3405]

I've shot Federal Auto Match, CCI Blazer, Aguila Super Extra, CCI mini mag and Fiocchi .22LR ammo in my S&W Victory without any issues.  I picked up a T/C R22 rifle over the winter to start shooting RFRO and it will absolutely eat anything you put in it.  

[ezra650]

I had good performance with the Winchester 222, 333, and 555 packs. They are copper plated and are the same power wise as mini mags. I ended up switching to federal automatch 325rd pack because it shoots softer, only downside is exposed lead bullet so a little dirty. I wipe down the gun/chamber and lube every 300rd or so otherwise I get slower ejection no matter what ammo I use. I have had one failure in the automatch. Incomplete primer. I rotated the case and the round fired fine.

 

 

Edited April 9, 2019 by ezra650

[lgh]

2 hours ago, robert3405 said:

in my S&W Victory without any issues

My Victory seems to process just about anything.

For those interested, here's manufacturers' velocity on a bunch of 22 ammo. It's important to me because I shoot in Wisconsin. When the temp drops, lower velocity ammo may not cycle.

FED ATUO MATCH, 40GR 1200

 

MINI-MAG, 40GR 1235

 

FED BULK, 36GR 1260

 

REM GOLD, 36GR 1280

 

WIN SUPER X 1300

 

[MatroskinT]

I strongly advise against Aguila CPRN 40gr. It is not feeding or extracted reliably in my 2 rimfire guns.

CCI mini mags and Federal Champion 36gr runs fine.


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[dramey]

Blazer 40gr LRN is what is most accurate in my   Ruger Mark III Target and my  Ruger 10/22 .  It seems anything by CCI is 100% reliable in my guns.

[dtuns]

On 4/1/2019 at 1:42 PM, zzt said:

The AR Tactical nose shape was designed specifically for the M&P 15-22.  It works well for everything.  I was using it for outlaw steel matches because of its consistency.  So I just stayed with it for SCSA.

 

I RO at all the Steel matches I go to, so I get to see it all.  At least in Area 8, the most popular 22 round that works is the AR Tactical.  MiniMags are next.  A lot of shooters use the new Eley black ammo. CCI standard works as close to 100% as any 22 ammo, but I don't see it used as much.  The shooters having misfires are those using cheap junk ammo.  I include Federal Automatch in that category.  Yes, some pistols run the trash just fine.  All I can say is when there is a problem, it is almost always with someone shooting trashy ammo.

 

I don't get it.  You drive two hours to the match, pay $60 for each gun, and you want to save $1 on each box of 22 ammo?  

 

I mostly shoot my custom CWA upper on a 1911 frame and use AR Tactical, because standard will not cycle the slide.  When I use my Marvel Unit One conversion, I use Eley Target.  It goes bang 100% and that's what they used for the .423" group size they sent with the gun.

I built a dedicated .22LR AR and was about to give up on iy till I tried the AR Tactical bought a box of 300 all went through flawless I have a case on the way now.

[verla]

Consider CCI mini mag 40 grain copper plated solid bullet 1325 fps. These have worked very well for me in my Ruger 10/22 and MK III. Very few duds. Ammo always feeds from clip into chamber. Cost of the ammo is reasonable by the case.

Another good one is the Winchester 40 gr copper plated bullet 1300 fps or the power point 40 grain HP 1280 fps. Both of these are equivalent to the CCI mini mag in cost and performance.

[AzShooter]

I did a lot of soul searching over the last year and  found that in  spite of the cost Eley Practice was working fine in  my Ruger Mark IVs.   Then, for giggles I tried Blazer again and it outshoots the Eley.  I also get 100% reliability with it and it groups better than all but the expensive ammos.  I bought two cases when it was $19.99 a brick and have enough for the next  6 months.  Hopefully it will go back on sale before I get too low.

[nso123]

I have been using the Mini Mag 40gr in my 10/22 with good results. In my MKIV I have had great luck with... gasp... Aguila SE.  It works 100 percent of the time for me in the MKIV, but not the 10/22. 

[robert3405]

I've been shooting nothing but the CCI AR Tactical since May.  Shot the Area 5 match with it.  Stuff is awesome!  I use the other stuff during practice but matches it's nothing but the AR Tactical 

[JHB]

Blazers in the MKIV,Victory and 10-22 in the Browning Mini Mags.

[AzShooter]

I've been using Blazers with a lot of luck.  They work perfectly in my Mark IVs and give the best groups in all of my .22s.  Until today.

 

I tried Eley Force just to see how it works.  WOW.  off hand groups are about twice as tight as my Blazers.  

 

Next week is our State Championship.  I have no illusion of winning anything but I'm going to shoot Force for the fun of it.  Probably the only match I will do this, I'll go back to Blazers because they work 100% of the time and are much cheaper.

Edited October 10, 2019 by AzShooter

[Frozen]

I just shot the Alaska state championship match, I was very shocked , I used the cci clean ammo (red) high velocity with zero malfunction !!! However My go to ammo for matches is the cci mini mag 40 grain , I was concerned ,but it all worked out great [emoji106] I will start using this new clean ammo after I shoot up my shock of mini mags

[nso123]

2 hours ago, Frozen said:

I just shot the Alaska state championship match, I was very shocked , I used the cci clean ammo (red) high velocity with zero malfunction !!! However My go to ammo for matches is the cci mini mag 40 grain , I was concerned ,but it all worked out great I will start using this new clean ammo after I shoot up my shock of mini mags

I am in the same boat. I had been using Mini Mags and tried the clean ammo. I really like the lack of lube on it. It seems to keep everything much cleaner, and I have had no malfunctions with it. 

[zzt]

My last case of CCI AR Tactical is not as reliable as the previous ones.  Now I get a FtF at least once a match.  Previously it had been once a thousand or so.  So I tried a bunch of new ammo.  Eley ammo always goes bang in all three of my 22s.  So I bought a bunch of Force and Contact.  I also tried the new CCI Clean ammo.  The Clean ammo did not work at all in two of my guns (both 1911 45s with conversions).  Both had match chambers and the thick coating prevented the round from chambering completely.  I could cock the hammer and fire again, but it mostly took 2 or 3 tries before the hammer strikes push the bullet in far enough to fire.  They worked 9 times out of 10 in my race Buckmark.  I gave the rest away.

 

The Eley Force is one hot round.  If your conversion is a Marvel Unit One or a Nelson, you definitely do not want to use Force in them.  Slide action, even with the red spring is so violent, you batter them.  Force works fine with the HD spring and buffer in my Chet Whistle custom upper, but the rough case causes extraction problems when the gun gets dirty.  Using the old bullseye trick of putting a line of oil on the top round in the mag cures that.  Contact works perfectly.  Aguila is unreliable.  SH Standard + works perfectly in the Marvel.

[Matt1911]

I'll add Aguila super extra for another round that has been absolutely reliable for me in a MKIII 22/45

[Frozen]

I'll add Aguila super extra for another round that has been absolutely reliable for me in a MKIII 22/45

I had good results also , however I do not like the smell of the burnt powder aftertastes [emoji15][emoji15]


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[nso123]

3 hours ago, zzt said:

My last case of CCI AR Tactical is not as reliable as the previous ones.  Now I get a FtF at least once a match.  Previously it had been once a thousand or so.  So I tried a bunch of new ammo.  Eley ammo always goes bang in all three of my 22s.  So I bought a bunch of Force and Contact.  I also tried the new CCI Clean ammo.  The Clean ammo did not work at all in two of my guns (both 1911 45s with conversions).  Both had match chambers and the thick coating prevented the round from chambering completely.  I could cock the hammer and fire again, but it mostly took 2 or 3 tries before the hammer strikes push the bullet in far enough to fire.  They worked 9 times out of 10 in my race Buckmark.  I gave the rest away.

 

The Eley Force is one hot round.  If your conversion is a Marvel Unit One or a Nelson, you definitely do not want to use Force in them.  Slide action, even with the red spring is so violent, you batter them.  Force works fine with the HD spring and buffer in my Chet Whistle custom upper, but the rough case causes extraction problems when the gun gets dirty.  Using the old bullseye trick of putting a line of oil on the top round in the mag cures that.  Contact works perfectly.  Aguila is unreliable.  SH Standard + works perfectly in the Marvel.

I have started spraying some Otis Dry Lube on a q-tip and rubbing it around the edge of the chamber on my X-Ring and PCC both. I have not had a single feed or extraction issue since I started doing that. I also sonic clean the bolt after each match and then lube with the same dry lube. No burned powder residue or anything is present after shooting a few hundred rounds, so that is one of the things I really like about the dry lube. It makes my cleaning process seem almost cosmetic. 

[BillChunn]

Results for the first 5 months in RFRO with Volquartsen 10/22 Ultralite.

 

Aguila Super Extra - Jammed on the third round with FtF.

Winchester Super X Power Points - These are hollow points and the nose is flat and ever so slightly shorter than their round nose ammunition.  Will not feed the 1st round.

Winchester Super X Round Nose - Runs well.

CCI Mini-Mag - Also runs well.

 

Rifle seems to like the higher speed ammunition, so sticking with what works.

 

Ordered 2 cases of Winchester Super X round nose.  Shot 5 stages on Saturday with no failures (other than the trigger operator)....

 

BC

Edited October 14, 2019 by BillChunn

[jrdoran]

Now you can get 'official' steel challenge ammo !   

 

https://www.ssusa.org/articles/2020/1/27/new-cci-clean-22-steel-challenge/

Edited February 4, 2020 by jrdoran

[nso123]

13 hours ago, jrdoran said:

Now you can get 'official' steel challenge ammo !   

 

https://www.ssusa.org/articles/2020/1/27/new-cci-clean-22-steel-challenge/

There is an interesting discussion about these on the Rimfire Raceguns Facebook page right now. 

[tke37617]

CCI Standard Velocity is running great in all of my guns.  Several others in our club use the same with great success.  

[jrdoran]

I recently did some accuracy testing ( not super bullseye benchrest stuff ) but enough at 20yds and I see a definitive accuracy advantage of CCI SV over CCI blue coated.  I really did not want this to be the case.  Not enough that it would throw a match for me, but there was a difference.  

 

I will shoot up the rest of my cci clean ( blue ) and then probably switch to CCI SV.  A little more cleaning but I'm nuts about that anyway.   

 

Just my updated .02