Best .22 LR ammo

[Rob]

I am looking to stock up on some premuim target loads for a 22 LR.  What brands have been most reliable/accurate for folks?

[h20hunter]

I have shot some of the the high veloctiy winchester. Comes in a sleeve of 100, red plastic, about 7 bucks. Not cheap for .22 but shoots well for me.

[CP]

CCI is always reliable and consistent.

[carpsniperg2]

Anything CCI! I also shoot a ton of Federal ammo. Never had a prob with that stuff either and it shoots great.

[thinkingman]

Wolf Match is as 'premium' as I care to go.
I have not spend the $ on Lapua, Eley, or any of the other competition brands.
Don't let anybody tell you all Wolf ammo is junk.

[JackOfAllTrades]

The gun will let you know what shoots best from it. You need to test several brands/models to see what is truly best for target accuracy and reliability.

What gun?

For my Bullseye pistol competition, I use Aguila SV. From my Model 12 H&R (Pretty much a Win 52), Aguila Golden Eagle is accurate and reliable. CCI SV in the blue box is good too.

There are several top end target rimfire cartridges available. Some guns, like the Smith 41 were built around the spec of CCI blue box ammo. Remington Target, (green tag) is pretty good stuff but hard to find. Same with CCI green tag. Wolf is OK, but too waxy for my guns. My Rugers also like Win T-22 but that is also tough to find. Federal match is good stuff, and would be better if they didn't bulk package it.

I've tested a lot of rimfire ammo to find what functions reliably and is also accurate through my guns. Believe it or not, Blazer is pretty accurate, but dirty as hell to shoot.

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-Steve

[BlackRidge]

Anything CCI!

QFT! All my 22's absolutely love the stuff

Always seem to have problems when I stray from them (i.e, anything that comes in an inexpensive 333/525rnd box)

[thinkingman]

The gun will let you know what shoots best from it. You need to test several brands/models to see what is truly best for target accuracy and reliability.

What gun?

For my Bullseye pistol competition, I use Aguila SV. From my Model 12 H&R (Pretty much a Win 52), Aguila Golden Eagle is accurate and reliable. CCI SV in the blue box is good too.

There are several top end target rimfire cartridges available. Some guns, like the Smith 52 were built around the spec of CCI blue box ammo. Remington Target, (green tag) is pretty good stuff but hard to find. Same with CCI green tag. Wolf is OK, but too waxy for my guns. My Rugers also like Win T-22 but that is also tough to find. Federal match is good stuff, and would be better if they didn't bulk package it.

I've tested a lot of rimfire ammo to find what functions reliably and is also accurate through my guns. Believe it or not, Blazer is pretty accurate, but dirty as hell to shoot.

Join RimfireCentral.com and you'll get hundreds of answers for your question.

-Steve

I was going to mention Blazer, too, but it didn't meet the OP request for 'premium target ammo'.
I was surprised to see the groups it shot.

[JackOfAllTrades]

I was going to mention Blazer, too, but it didn't meet the OP request for 'premium target ammo'.
I was surprised to see the groups it shot.

I've shot Blazer through a $2400 Hammerli pistol at 50yds, and seen groups less than 1".  Not too shabby for a 'non-premium' rimfire cartridge.

-Steve

[Rob]

Thanks for the info.  I'll invest in a few blazers to see how they shoot, I'll also try out some CCI's. 

I know that each gun will have a load it likes best, but I wanted suggestions from folks to see what they have had good luck with so I could get some starting ammo to play with.  I'm just shooting out of a 10/22 right now, but I want don't mind paying a bit more for higher quality ammo. 

It seems to me that I should be able to get sub MOA at 100 yards with a 22 no problem, but the groups just seem to be kinda scattered.  I have a good trigger and I have tried a couple different barrels on it with minimal changes in accuracy so I wanted to change up the ammo next.

I was at the handgun range today over lunch and found that my ruger MKII simply hates the Remington thunderbolts.  They won't feed.  the blunt noses seem to get caught on the feeding ramp. 

[buckhorn2]

 I like cci and use the copper bullets the lead bullets seem to gum up my gun.

[JackOfAllTrades]

You have aftermarket bull barrels for your 10-22?

Don't shoot the Blazers in a 10-22 unless you like to clean a lot. They'll gum up the rotary mag. '

Also, the chamber cut in the bull barrels are different than your run of the mill 22's. You should inquire with the barrel manufacture as to what cartridge is best for that barrel. Some have faster/slower twists, deep or shallow rifling.

Contact your barrel manufacture, and/or get on Rimfire central. 1" groups at 100yds is not easy with most 10-22's unless you've got a bug-hole tuner installed and are shooting premium ammo. Outdoors.. You've got wind to deal with for a bullet that's leaving the muzzle at only 1200fps. (you'd be surprised)

-Steve

[thinkingman]

You have aftermarket bull barrels for your 10-22?

Don't shoot the Blazers in a 10-22 unless you like to clean a lot. They'll gum up the rotary mag. '

Also, the chamber cut in the bull barrels are different than your run of the mill 22's. You should inquire with the barrel manufacture as to what cartridge is best for that barrel. Some have faster/slower twists, deep or shallow rifling.

Contact your barrel manufacture, and/or get on Rimfire central. 1" groups at 100yds is not easy with most 10-22's unless you've got a bug-hole tuner installed and are shooting premium ammo. Outdoors.. You've got wind to deal with for a bullet that's leaving the muzzle at only 1200fps. (you'd be surprised)

-Steve

Yeah...1moa at 100yds out of a 10/22 is pretty ambitious....any autoloader 22lr, for that matter.
I have only shot 1 inch at 100yds with a bolt action.

[C-Money]

I like the Federal ammo that was in the blue box with a lightning bolt accross it. Guess what ever Federal is making now would be my choice. Federal Champion?

[Bigshooter]

Anything CCI except for blazers.