22LR High Standard Bullet Choice

[darticus]

Is there a difference between ammo? Thanks Ron

[bntii]

First off most will tell you to stick with standard velocity ammo to protect the frame from unnecessary battering.

I have shot Federal 'Champion' target #714, Wolf target, aquila standard velocity, and CCI standard velocity in mine.

They all shoot fine and I have no problems.

If it were me I would just shoot the cheapest ammo that works in your gun.

My current ammo of choice is the Federal which is selling at Dick's for ~$15 a brick.

[clark2245]

Is there a difference between ammo? Thanks Ron

Do stick with the standard velocity for this gun but also consider doing some basic accuracy testing before buying any large quantities of ammo. Most high quality 22's will shoot a variety of types fairly accurately, but some can be very picky about what they like. If you are serious about making small groups you really need to do some testing for accuracy as well as function. You can find some good suggestions on how to do it on this web site, which is also a good source of info on Bullseye shooting: www.bullseyepistol.com/feed.htm

Clark

[darticus]

It looks like Eley Tenex seem to make the best 22LR. Can't believe there is such a difference.

[Dogchaser]

Start out with some kind of cheap standard velocity ammo like Aguilla or CCI Standard.

You don't need Eley Tenex if you still shoot 6's and 7's. I've shot plenty of Master scores with Wal Mart box ammo.

[darticus]

According to the testing using junk let you shoot 6's and 7's, No?

[Dogchaser]

Even the worst ammo will still shoot 3" at 50yards, the 8 ring ring must be at least 9".

Testing a couple different cheap ammos at our indoor 50ft range they would hold the 10 ring or better on a reduced 50ft Free Pistol target with open sights from a sandbag rest.

Last night I watched a guy have 4-5 misses during a 50ft rimfire match shooting CCI Pistol Match ammo. I shot 855/900 with some 1984 Federal Lightning that I just bought for $7.50/500.

Get some ammo that functions in your gun and work on trigger control and have fun with it. If you makebad shots you should know it's you.

As an experiment, buy some Tenex and do a back to back comparison to something cheap that functions in your gun. See if there is a difference in score worth the money.

[jr_roosa]

I have a Hamden Supermatic Trophy with a 7.5" barrel and original magazine. For me problem #1 is reliability. Accuracy is not as big a concern because I don't shoot well enough for it to matter. Jams and misfires are more likely to hurt my score than even the least accurate ammunition.

Here's what I found:

Remington target stinks...5-10% misfires.
Green Tag stinks...the thick waxy lube makes the fit too tight and they keep the slide from returning to battery.
Winchester T22 is better than remington, but still 3% misfires.
Eley Target Pistol is great, but expensive. It smells funny.
Federal Auto Match is a good cheap round. It comes in a carton. No misfires or failure to feed for 500 rounds.
Federal Standard Velocity (the $15 stuff from Dick's mentioned above) is also a good cheap round. No misfires or failure to feed for 150 rounds.
Federal Gold Medal Match (719) is what I use for league. No misfires or failures to feed for 300 rounds. I think I have fewer flyers with this stuff, but it might just be in my head.

Supposedly standard velocity is best because it's easier on the gun, but I can't find a reasonably priced standard velocity round that I like. The Federal Standard Velocity is closest, but I feel like I get more flyers with it. Federal Gold Medal Target (711B) would probably be great, but they have trouble getting it reliably where I buy ammo so I haven't tried it. The Eley is great, but I'm poor. I'd probably just shoot Eley if money grew on trees. Not because of the accuracy, but because it is well primed and feeds well.

Here's what I did. I started with Remington and was shocked at how bad it was, even in different batches. I went to www.22ammo.com and ordered 100 rounds of a little of everything and went to the range. If you don't get good results with the first brand you try, maybe just order a bunch of different stuff and see what your gun likes best.

-J.

[Dogchaser]

+1 on the Rem. Target.

I tried a box of that from WalMart and had 3 misfires on the first slow fire stage. I just took the rest of the box home and put it in the stash. I had a couple bricks of the same ammo from the 70's and it worked fine in both my 41s.

When it matters i just shoot CCI Standard. I've had 1 missfire in the last 1600 rounds. For weekly matches I shoot whatever is cheap.

[darticus]

I bought some federal target champion today anyone try them? Ron

[bntii]

That Federal 'target' champion is the stuff mentioned by myself and another poster. Look on the box to see the #714.

For my gun it shoots great. Very rare to have a bad primer/miss fire.

It is FAR more accurate than I am- my best groups are about 2" at the short line (25 yds) and 5-6" are far more common.
I am betting- if tested in a rest the Federal would group a good deal <1" at the short line.

[darticus]

bntii
They are the #714. Sounds like you like them which is good enough for me. I wonder how they compare to the Eley's? Now for me to get some time to test them. Thanks Ron

[Scott H.]

I picked up a High Standard Ten--X at a gun show, a few years ago. Had everything with it, including the test target, signed by Bob Shea.

The test target was shot with Remington Standard Velocity, and the group was impressive. I'd never had any luck with Remington SV (Blue box), and, instead, tried the Eley and RWS stuff that my Pardini shot so well.

I was not impressed. Eley Standard Pistol, Target Pistol, RWS Target, ....surprisingly mediocre.

In frustration, and desperation, I bought a box of Remington SV.

My groups tightened right up.

The Moral: Every .22 is a law unto itself, as far as its taste in ammo goes.

[jr_roosa]

Here's a general rule that I was just thinking of:

"If you haven't been shooting long enough to figure out by trial and error what round is most accurate and reliable in your pistol, you probably don't yet shoot well enough for the accuracy to matter."

Would that be generally true? Maybe it wouldn't apply if you're getting a new gun.

As a new bullseye shooter, I certainly don't feel like the accuracy of my ammo is anywhere near holding me back, and probably won't be an issue for at least another few seasons, if it ever is.

-J.

[darticus]

Try shooting good ammo you will boost your scores. Shooting with crap breeds crap. Asking for suggestions for ammo for two new guns as many have wise suggestions helps. Gives me a head start on scores.[/b]

[jr_roosa]

That sounds reasonable too, Ron. I was kind of thinking out loud, and wondering at what point in my career I'd feel the need to do another round of testing but with top-of-the-line stuff and actually look at accuracy rather than reliability at 25yd or 50yd.

I shoot in the 70-80s now, but I do about the same with an air pistol that I know puts pellets in the same hole if I'm not part of the equation.

Maybe the corollary that would apply to me is: "I don't know what the most accurate ammo is in my pistol because I haven't shot long enough for that to matter yet."

Maybe I'd do it if my air pistol scores start to clearly eclipse my rimfire scores?

Maybe if I just have a bunch of free time and I get a bug in my butt about finding the best possible ammo?

Certainly at this point taking a few range days and $200 worth of competition grade ammo followed by buying a $1400 case of Tenex or whatever wouldn't be as valuable as taking a few range days and just focusing on improving my technique with ammo that I know feeds and fires well. I don't know when it would become worth it. I guess I'll have to wait and see.

-J.

[darticus]

I'm sure you will do great! Don't worry be happy!

[jr_roosa]

Here's a thought, I'm posting it to see if you all think my logic is flawed or I'm missing something.

I was looking at the www.bullseyepistol.com link higher up. His worst ammo was making 3" groups at 50yd, and his best is making about 1" from a vise.

You could imagine that would mean I'd be shooting an extra inch from the center at 50yds if I was unlucky enough to pick the worst ammo.

On my best day I shoot about a 12" group slow fire at 50yds (really 6" at 25yds, but I'll scale everything up), give or take. So the best case scenario for me would be to find an ammo that will bring me down to a 10" group, povided that what I'm already shooting is all over the place.

If I move all of my shots 1" closer to the center (which isn't really what would happen) I go from a 75 to an 81 on one of my recent slow fire targets, a 6 point bump.

I think the way the math really works is that it would be more like moving half of the shots 1" closer, or maybe moving all of them 1/2" closer. So really I'd be looking at going from 75 to 78 or so, worst case to best case.

I'd take 3 points, but 3 points in the 70s is much different than 3 points in the 90s.

I guess that answers my question from before. When I feel like 3 points would really help, I should borrow a vise and see what my current ammo does. If it's tight, I'm all set. If it's scattered, it's time to think about more testing.

Does that sound right?

Thanks for bringing up an interesting topic.

-J.

[solomon grundy]

I think that there was a change in the Remington 'formula' at some point. The current generation Remington is, in my experience, extremely poor ammo. But I've spoken to older shooters who talk of having used Remington years ago, and that it was very good.

If you're going to be doing some testing, try the SK Jagd Match or Match Pistol ammo. It's moderately priced and I've found the accuracy and consistency to be very good - this is after ~1500 rds. http://www.championshooters.com/ammo.htm

[Scott H.]

sol,

My point was not to extoll the virtues of Remington SV. My point was that .22's do seem to have their favorite ammo, and that trying a variety is a good idea.