Seeking feedback

[OldSwabbie]

Has anyone had any experience with CCI Mini-Mag ammo at an AS event, with their totally stock 10/22 carbine? I have an event coming up in December, and I'm looking for something more reliable than Federal Auto Match. Had a bunch of stove-pipes and FTEs, over the weekend, toward the end of having fired about 120 shots, something I attributed to a dirty receiver, etc., caused by the Fed. Auto Match ammo. Carbine was clean and lubed, prior to this.

Would one consider the Mini-Mag to be overkill?

Any feedback is welcome.

[Mark Davis]

Mini mags are good. Overkill would be wolf sk, eley match and such.
10-22s often come with some problems, paint inside the reciever starts to come off some spots and stack up other spots.

My experience with fed auto match was about 3000 rounds with out cleaning, residue for the ammo was very hard and took some cleaning to remove.

The ammo you fired at your last shoot would have to be much worse that the automatch I had to stop your function in 120 rounds.

[maxwell]

CCI Mini-Mag is reliable in all of my 10/22s and my son's Marlin 60, whereas Auto Match consistently stovepipes. CCI Standard Velocity is more accurate for me, but YMMV. Reliable cycling in semiautos is worth paying for.

[Monkey]

Another CCI fan here:  SV, Blazer, and Mini-Mag.  All have functioned very well in my 10/22s....

...except...

...for that batch of ammo I left in my truck one summer, which unevenly redistributed the wax coating and made feeding a little wonky. 

#DontDoThat
#StoreAmmoLikePotatoesCoolAndDry
#LetMyLifeBeALessonToOthers

[BamaFan7]

I first qualified with CCI MiniMag, but have since switched to CCI Standard. I get a little better accuracy with it. I've yet to have a malfunction with either.

[OldSwabbie]

Thank you, all, for the feedback! Would the age of the ammo have a negative effect, in anyone's opinion? Mark Davis, you mentioned 3000 rounds, before cleaning! Wow! What other factors may have caused the malfunctions. The firearm in question is practically brand new...less than 300 rounds through it.

[ArmyVet]

10-22s often come with some problems, paint inside the reciever starts to come off some spots and stack up other spots.

I can vouch for this. Inside the receiver, where the bolt travels is problematic. I sand it down as well as sand the top of the charging handle that rides over the bolt. Smooth action ever since. I don't know if this is a recent problem or if it has been address by Ruger.

[OldSwabbie]

10-22s often come with some problems, paint inside the reciever starts to come off some spots and stack up other spots.

I can vouch for this. Inside the receiver, where the bolt travels is problematic. I sand it down as well as sand the top of the charging handle that rides over the bolt. Smooth action ever since. I don't know if this is a recent problem or if it has been address by Ruger.

I do notice some rough edges, in the casting, where the bolt slides, especially at the ejection port.

[TaosGlock]

CCI Mini-Mag, Blazer and Aguila see link below.
We have run thousands of rounds of this stuff thru many rifles at the NRA WC Youth Adventure where I was Rifle Instructor/Camp Director.
https://www.shortroundsupply.com/aguila-ammunition-rimfire-22lr-40-grain-solid-point-standard-velocity-50-round-box-1b222332.html?utm_source=Short+Round%27s+News&utm_campaign=937f9a2526-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_11_22_09_10_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c88fda089d-937f9a2526-335991241&goal=0_c88fda089d-937f9a2526-335991241&mc_cid=937f9a2526&mc_eid=74951a6d6e

[2 clicks low]

10-22s often come with some problems, paint inside the reciever starts to come off some spots and stack up other spots.

Ummmm...... I guess I haven't been paying attention, MY 10/22 is anodized. When did they start to paint them? Why paint?

2ck

[Mark Davis]

My first painted 10-22 receiver was purchased new about 2007. I have a walnut stocked 10-22, that is anodized.

To remove paint, I like to use acetone applied carefully with Q-tips, wiping with cotton rags.
When needed, steel wool used gently as an abrasive.

[Timber Wolf]

CCI is good to go.  With two rifles to feed (mine and my daughter's) I have been chasing cheap ammo for a couple of years.  Now it is all pretty cheap and actually available.  Find something your rifle likes and stack it deep while it is cheap.

[OldSwabbie]

10-22s often come with some problems, paint inside the reciever starts to come off some spots and stack up other spots.

Ummmm...... I guess I haven't been paying attention, MY 10/22 is anodized. When did they start to paint them? Why paint?

2ck

My guess, probably cheaper. Mine has some black overspray, in the receiver, and at some point I'll try removing it.

[TomM1Thumb]

I could be wrong about this, But the 10/22's sold by Walmart where painted black in the Recievers

[AF5US]

Bit late to the party, but I'll throw my vote behind the CCI standard velocity as well.

[floydf]

... Would the age of the ammo have a negative effect, in anyone's opinion?

Yes it could.  During the Great Ammo Drought after Dec '12, when 22 was scarcer then hen's teeth and selling for 10 to 15 cents a round, there was some truly awful stuff on the market, even from name brands (Winchester comes to mind).  So if the ammo was purchased between 2013 and maybe even as late as 2016, and in bulk boxes (325, 550), well I wouldn't call it a problem until I had seen it happen with a more recent batch.

It's not that ammo ages, just during that time there was some really awful stuff sold.

[Charles McKinley]

I've noticed on the forums Federal rimfire ammo has been having issues the last year or so.  It is a shame auto match used to be very reliable.

Since its availability has returned I've picked up a case of CCI Blazer.  As mentioned above Standard Velotity is a little more accurate in my rifle as well.

[Faramir]

Federal Automatch has never treated me all that well (saw that name come up a couple times in earlier responses).

My vote (and my dad's) goes behind CCI Mini-Mag; the extra "zip" is great, and for my rifle, the accuracy is unparalleled. My stock 10/22 runs Federal Premium quite well, too, though Mini-Mag is my go-to AS event ammunition.

[Kennebago]

 

I could be wrong about this, But the 10/22's sold by Walmart where painted black in the Recievers

All of the black 10/22's I've handled recently had a spray finish. In and of itself that's nothing to be worried about.

That said, Ruger receivers are notoriously rough these days and their extractors can be iffy - I'd try an aftermarket one and see if that fixes it.

If standard velocity doesn't function in a rimfire semiauto, something's usually up.

Edit: think I hit an emote icon by mistake (phone posting) - whoops!

[TrapperPete]

definitely not overkill if it gives you 100% function and others have not.

my early 2000 10/22 didn't want to run anything but CCI stingers for the first few hundred rounds.  after breaking in it would run with Blazer and other ammo's but I had to very thoroughly clean each day I was going to run any volume of ammo besides stingers to be reliable .

age and very much how your ammo is stored can very much effect how clean or dirty it burns as well as reliability of the priming compound.

I have made that mistake I had a case of auto match 3250 rounds 60% was shot the year it was purchased 40% shot the next year , it lived in the gun locker in my van for that year just in the card board box I noticed where I had 0 to 1 in a box of 325 need a second strike or just not go off , after sitting it was noticeably more around 6 in each box of 325 would fail to ignite. they were mostly run in bolt rifles with strong springs and the hits were not light strikes, the same rifles as the previous year the rifles were clean and stored inside in a climate controlled space.

325/6 = 1 in 55 rounds didn't go off , that will mess up some AQTs  luckily I wasn't shooting these in AQT.

CCI standard velocity is my GO to ammo for reliability , and accuracy , I suspect SV burns a bit faster it seems to cycle the bolt well on my 10/22  and burn clean leaving less residue than the Remington I have tried.

if you are having FTF and stove pipe issues , don't for get to clean and dry lube your magazines .

my son and his fiend were having feed issues at the last Appleseed , they lubed their 10/22s and pulled a bore snake in prep with little effect then they got the idea to spray Rem-oil into the magazines and that made a noticeable improvement  in feed reliability.

age can also degrade 22lr ammo I had some 20 year old Remington , it would cause stoppages in 75-125 rounds through my 10/22 a full cleaning of the action and it would run that many more before the same  where nearly every other round had to be hand cycled.

if you find old ammo in your stash , bolt action practice is the place for it.

my 10/22 had outright sharp edges and burs on the firing pin , cleaning that up did help buffing the bolt may have helped.  time and a lot of rounds helped , mine suffered from the flaking off of the coating in the inside of the receiver also.


I sometimes wonder if I should vacuum pack ammo but generally opening the case when you get it and pack into ammo cans with good seals and keep it in the house air conditioned and heated  is enough good rotation with dates would be helpful also but sometimes you just find a box that you put away many years before and lost track of.

with the shortage and the people stocking any they could , you can expect people are sitting on many billions of rounds collectively , we can only hope it is being stored well we may be seeing it at Appleseeds for many years.


Keep your powder dry.

[TallSteve]

In my 10/22 I lightly hand sanded the interior of the receiver to remove the roughness. 
When Federal Auto Match goes bang in my rifle it has acceptable accuracy.  However I probably have about a 1-2 percent failure to fire problem with Federal Auto Match bulk packs.
When I use CCI Mini Mag or CCI Standard Velocity my rifle works very well and has very good accuracy.  I agree that the SV is slightly more accurate.

The best round for the money that my wife and I have found is SK Standard Plus.  It works exceptionally well in her Ruger American and my 10/22. Very accurate, 100 percent functionality.  We try to buy it when we see it for about a dime a round or less. 

[Tennessee Beast]

The only ammo I run in my 10/22 DSP is Mini Mags.  I used to run the 36 grain, but now run 40 grain.  I have found that some lots shoot better than others. 

[Gus]

CCI Mini Mag ammo is very good. Especially when it's cold like it was this past winter in AK. I have several 10/22s and a Marlin 795. All shoot Mini Mags, the RN or the HP, very well.

Velocities are in the 1200 fps range when it is below zero and 1250 fps when it's above 50 F.

I did have one 10/22 that needed a Volquartsen extractor.  Easy kitchen table project.  Look up a youtube video and it is presto change-o simple.

Gus