Realistic expectations at 100 yards with a .22lr?

[bilbo]

Most .22LR ammo is crap ammo.

I've always had relatively good luck until I got a brick a couple years ago. It was branded Federal, in a blue box, with a bunch of little boxes in it. The first box I broke into had a few rounds that just went piff, and you could watch the bullet pop out of the barrel and hit the ground 10-15 feet ahead. I'd say every 5th round or so. So I chucked that and tried another box, same thing. Ended up throwing out the rest of the brick. I knew to pay attention, but if one of my kids was shooting and wasn't, and ended up with an obstructed barrel, that could be bad. Probably not as violent as a larger centerfire, but dangerous nonetheless.

 

[Roert42]

I've always had relatively good luck until I got a brick a couple years ago. It was branded Federal, in a blue box, with a bunch of little boxes in it. The first box I broke into had a few rounds that just went piff, and you could watch the bullet pop out of the barrel and hit the ground 10-15 feet ahead. I'd say every 5th round or so. So I chucked that and tried another box, same thing. Ended up throwing out the rest of the brick. I knew to pay attention, but if one of my kids was shooting and wasn't, and ended up with an obstructed barrel, that could be bad. Probably not as violent as a larger centerfire, but dangerous nonetheless.

Wait till you buy a box of loose .22 branded WinchesterX or even better, a 1gallon bucket of loose Remington.

that brick of Federal or Remington thunderbolts will seem like high brow stuff.

 

[Dirtman]

I had one of those "bucket-o-bullets" once. Almost half of the bullets literally just fell out of the casings as I went to load them...

 

[sgtsandman]

I’ve had good reliability with Remington Golden Bullet. With Remington going out of business and being split up, I don’t know if they are still being made.

CCI is reputed to be pretty good ammo but I never tried them.

 

[Uncle Gump]

My 10/22 mag likes CCI. But I think their quality has headed south much like all the others. I still have a smallish stash of CCI in both 22 mag and 22lr... along with some other stuff that i preferred less.

I did find a couple bricks of Remington Thunderbolts back during the pandemic. I have yet to shoot a single round of it... but I plan to shoot all of it through the Ruger Wrangler. I've heard it's pretty dirty but they all seem to fire... the Wrangler is the best place to use it.

 

[sgtsandman]

Thunderbolts have been ok for me. So far they even run the action on my semiautomatics. Not a guarantee with them and anything less than high velocity rounds.

 

[Dirtman]

When I first got my Ruger SR22 I tried feeding it every round imaginable and CCI mini mag was the only round that was 100% consistent. Not one failure ever in that gun and very accurate so I just assumed CCI mini mag was the best stuff out there. But now I'm starting to learn that .22 ammo is a match making game all about finding what the gun likes not what I like or people on the internet say is the best.

There is garbage for sure though... I'll never buy the bucket again.

 

[Roert42]

I find most guns are that way.

 

[Dirtman]

I find most guns are that way.

My 9mm and .357 handguns do not care at all what you put in them. I buy what's on sale and they shoot it. The only thing I absolutely won't buy for my 9mm is anything with steel casings cause Sig says not too, I'm assuming those things wear out the extractor or something because they are too hard?

 

[sgtsandman]

Steel case ammo used in firearms not designed for it can, not necessarily will, wear and break things. People swear they have no problems with steel case ammo.

They may be right but other than trying a box to make sure it will run, I’d rather not test it.

 

[Roert42]

My .45 will run anything I put in there, I frequently use cheap imported alum case ammo. However, I've found S&B run runs amazing and I get great accuracy. The alum case crap is all over the place.

However what runs great in my .45 may not run great in yours.

That's why the guys who are serious about target shooting all load their own stuff, dial it in perfectly.

 

[Dirtman]

Steel case ammo used in firearms not designed for it can, not necessarily will, wear and break things. People swear they have no problems with steel case ammo.

They may be right but other than trying a box to make sure it will run, I’d rather not test it.

Considering steel is no cheaper than brass 9mm I have no reason or desire to ever use it. Sig says the P229 can happily and safely shoot +p+ defense rounds but don't use steal cases so I stick with Winchester 115 grain target for plinking (brass) or Hornady critical +P 124 grain which is nickle plated brass for funzies.

 

[bilbo]

I never had a problem with the buckets or 'bulk pack' type ammo, and I've shot a lot of it. Just that one brick of blue box Federal. Of course, the reliability standard of 22LR in general is well below that of centerfire rounds, but still.

I've only ever used my 22s for plinking. When I used to shoot more, they filled the time between shooting the bigger guns while the barrels cooled off.

I stay away from the steel cases for the same reason as Dirtman for my centerfire stuff. It's never been significantly cheaper unless it's sketchy as hell (listed on BisMan in burlap wrappers that look like they're stolen from some crypt sketchy). I have a progressive press my Uncle gave me that's set up for 9mm. I don't buy much of that anymore unless it's super cheap on sale, so not lately.

 

[Dirtman]

I showed my butt to a man from Minnesota one crisp fall evening. He clapped for 11 minutes and ran off screaming into the night. True story.

 

[Eddo Rogue]

The most accurate open sighted .22 I have ever experienced was a Henry lever action. Watched my buddy lob em over 200+ yds dinging an empty 1 gallon propane can consistently. I forget what ammo but it was nothing special...I think remington.