22 lr ammo advice

[JimInFL]

Picked up a Ruger 10/22 the other day - caught them on sale. Already have a Browning Buckmark in the safe.

I've never really played much in the rimfire arena. I was hoping to get some advice on ammo. Not that I can find any right now anyway.

My use will only be plinking out to 50 yards or so - no hunting.

Should I stay away from lead bullets and stay with something jacketed/plated if I'm a little lazy about cleaning ? Does it matter that much ?

Will these sub-sonic rounds (seems to be a lot of them listed) reliably run an automatic ? What sort of velocities should I be looking for ?

Specific brands/types you've had good/bad luck with ?

I'm open to all advice. Maybe a 3x9 scope on the rifle ? Maybe play with a dot instead ? Looks like you could spend about a million dollars on these little rifles on goodies. Already put a dot on the Buckmark.

JimInFL

[G-ManBart]

For plinking and target work, you don't need (or really want) anything more than standard velocity lead 22LR. The most accurate rimfire ammo available (Eley Tenex) is just a touch over 1000fps and lead. I don't have a 10/22 but I'd be surprised if one wouldn't run with standard velocity ammo....hopefully someone else can chime in with more info.

CCI Standard Velocity is extremely good stuff for the money. It's also just slightly over 1000fps in most pistols (think it's listed at something like 1035pfs) but it'll be higher in a rifle. You can go cheaper, but I'd recommend staying away from the bulk Remington stuff....lots of duds.

Generally speaking you want to clean the chamber every couple of hundred rounds (every gun is different) but there's no need to run anything down the bore. In fact, if you change between brands/versions you'll usually find a slight shift in point of impact or larger groups until the barrel settles in...this is because of the different wax/lube on the bullets. You'll change, the groups will open up and after something like 10-20rds it'll settle in and shoot normally again.

I'd try to get a box or two of different brands/versions and make sure that they'll run both the 10/22 and the Buckmark, but you shouldn't have to buy expensive stuff to find something that will work in both and provide acceptable accuracy. R,

[kevin c]

I only have a couple .22's, both pistols. I asked around and basically got the same advice as GmanBart offered.

Lead is fine.

Clean the chamber and breachface occasionally, leave the bore alone.

The higher velocity rounds might be needed in a .22 auto pistol where you have the mass of the reciprocating slide to deal with, but most (but not all) guns with just a reciprocating bolt will run with std velocity stuff.

Every barrel is different, and some will run inexpensive ammo pretty well.

The .22 LR is a pretty accurate round intrinsically.

More money gets you more consistency in the ammo you buy, which generally translates into more accuracy potential, but if your barrel doesn't like it, you will not necessarily get better groups.

Given the last three points, buy a little of several different brands (I think I got 10 or 12) and try them out to see what shoots best. Then pick a plinking round of reasonable accuracy and cost, and, if you really want a benchmark or to extend your abilities, something that gives you one hole potential.

I ended up using bulk pack Federal for my Ruger MkII/45, and Remington bulk pack for the AA Glock conversion (I don't mind the duds in the Remmie's, since it's only for IPSC practice and the occasional malfunction drill is good, as is the fact that I can check for flinch ).

Ely Std Pistol got me good groups through the Ruger, but won't run in the AA (which also won't run the Federals - something about the rim keeps them from extracting well). CCI MiniMags are what I use in the AA when I need more accuracy and reliability.

Have fun!

Edited March 31, 2009 by kevin c

[Hank Ellis]

More rimfire firearms have been damaged by over cleaning than under cleaning. Ding the crown and it's over with. My barrel cleaning procedure is from the rimfire benchrest crowd.

Get a piece of weedeater line. Cut one end at a sharp angle. Take a lighter and melt the other to a ball. Thread a soaked patch from the sharp end to the ball. Insert the sharp end in the breech and feed till it comes out of the muzzle. Pull the patch through. Follow with 2 runs of dry patches. Take any old rag and wipe out the breechface and boltface. Done. Play around with the ball size till you get a snug fit with a dry patch.

Standard velocity ammo running about 1080 fps tends to give better accuracy than higher velocity ammo. The reason is that some high velocity ammo leaves the muzzle supersonic but slows down to subsonic prior to reaching the target. Going through that trans-sonic range can do wierd things to bullet trajectory. Stick with standard velocity and you take that variable out of the picture.

Ammo running around 1000 fps can give problems in some semi-autos. There just isn't enough poop to push the bolt back all for way for it to cycle. In the 10/22 this can be fixed by sending your bolt to Randy at CPC. http://www.ct-precision.com/ He'll radius the rear edge of the bolt so nearly anything will cycle in your gun. In addition he headspaces the boltface, pin the firing pin, and prizm jeweled for $55 shipped.

In between centerfire chrono runs I've been doing rimfire chrono runs. Go to http://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=99009. In the second post is what I have so far in the 10/22.

Every rimfire is a law onto itself. The only way to find out what your gun likes is to buy a few boxes of everything you can get your hands on and try it at the bench. Go to www.rimfirecentral.com and you'll find guys (and gals) who swear by and swear at every make and model of ammo out there. Myself included.

For a rimfire scope you can't go wrong with a Mueller APV. http://www.muelleroptics.com/products/MAPV451440.html $130 list. $115 shipped from www.mizzoumuleguns.com.

[Tom D.]

I've had good results with Federal Auto Match in both auto loaders & bolt actions.

Thanks for the weed eater bore cleaner tip. Gotta try that.

[MichiganShootist]

I shoot quite a bit of 22 through 4 rifles and 2 pistols.. my only advise is dan't stock up on ammo until you have tested it in your guns. They can have very different "appetites" for ammo