Tactical .22LR AMMO

[The Wolfhound]

Okay, I see this stuff starting to show up, in a couple of "flavors", in my catalogs and on shelves at retailers.  It claims to be better for autoloaders.  Anyone got any experience with it?  Will it operate better in my CMMG drop-in conversion?  Is it worth the extra 2-3 cents per round over regular bulk ammo?  Or as I suspect, Is it all hype?

[2 clicks low]

First, I have not tried it. I found that Blazers work very well in my 10/22 and pistols so I don't feel the need to shop around. That said, if you are not as happy as I am with "my bulk ammo" you should certinaly buy a box or 2 of each and give them a try. Each rifle is different. They can have consuctive serial numbers and like different ammo.

2cl

[KodyJaret]

I've come to think that the determinat when choosing ammo to run trugh 'blow-back' actions is muzzle velocity of 'at least' 1200fps. That, and a clean burning cartridge, will probably do as much to enhance reliability as anything. It doesn't hurt that the manufacturer takes some care in priming the cartridge as well.
Haven't seen 'tactical' .22 rimffire, what's the advertised MV ?

[George63]

since .22 is more available this year have seen lots of variety, the one to avoid is federal automatch for out of battery issues. I will second the cci blazers (the lowest price readily available .22) for good function and accuracy in a variety of rifles, so to answer the original ? no, it is unlikely the tactical .22 is worth more $$

[dalesp]

The CCI stuff was specifically tested for S&W M&P 15/22.

.22 Long Rifle CCI AR Tactical rimfire cartridge, 40-grain copper-plated round nose target bullet, 1200 fps.

http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/76294-1.html

I don't have a S&W M&P 15/22, but I bought a couple of boxes and used them in my 2 Marlin 795s and my daughter's 10/22.

Good accurate ammo.  No failures at all.

On the other hand -- It worked the same as the Federal Blue Box bulk, CCI Mini-mags and Remmington Golden bullets -- FOR ME -- your mileage may vary.

[TN_Dadx5]

I use the Fed AutoMatch in a tweaked 10/22 that won't reliably shoot Fed bulk.  I bought 5000 rounds and haven't had a problem.  This 10/22 has a match chamber, but the AutoMatch feeds fine and no OOB problems.

[Mudcat]

I seen some of the M22 from Winchester this weekend at a shoot and it was working well. Gander had it on sale for $49 for 1000 and I picked a couple up to try it out. I have shot a hundred or so and really like it in one of my 10/22s but it usually eats everything I feed it. I have another that requires a more expensive ammo and it works well in it too. I will keep using it to see how it goes.

[The Wolfhound]

Thanks, Mudcat.  That is the kind of info I was looking for.  Let's see if anyone else has any more direct experience to add.

[Mark Davis]

Fed automatch has been running good for me.
My out of battery issues have been poor mantience on my part.

[336]

I bought the M-22 1000 round box and have tried a bit.  I have only fired about 50 rounds of it but did have one dud.  My match 10/22 doesn't like the Federal Champion solid lead (510) so I have been using CCI mini-mag (7.3 cents a shot) and wanted to see if this stuff will work.  Found it at Academy for $45.

Hopefully I will get more of it thrown down range before long and will give an update.  I don't know that anything is special about it other than the copper plating has a black dye in it or something to that effect.  It is quite a bit cheaper than CCI mini-mags though.

[TomM1Thumb]

I do like Winchester M-22 ammo, Had only one failure to extract, late on a very Hot Sunday, after a Thunderstorm with a rifle that had Not been cleaned the night before (I know Excuses, excuses).

Very accurate ammo thru 4 different 10/22's. If it were a little cheaper I would run this ammo exclusively.

[SSG Platz]

I can't say I like the M22 ammo at all, for the price it dosen't shoot any better then the federal bulk ammo that is cheaper. It makes quarter sized groups at 25, but is very inconsistant, with bullet placement. I feel if you don't use quality amuntion you will never know if that flyer is from you or the ammo. Spend a little extra and buy the target stuff, it's still cheaper than most bulk center fire ammo.

[336]

I did use the whole box of W-22.  It ended up being OK, but not great.  There were a few duds but I didn't have any squib loads.  The guns definately like CCI Mini-Mag the best but they also don't do bad with CCI Blazer (Black and grey box).

[Sly223]

I think George 63, and KodyJaret, are on the mark, for my seamens conversion kit I need 1200fps and 40gr. to avoid malfunctions,I also do not believe the new ammo is far Superior, They did not reinvent the wheel they just came up with a new marketing scheme.
My.02$

[lowrider12]

The CCI stuff was specifically tested for S&W M&P 15/22.

.22 Long Rifle CCI AR Tactical rimfire cartridge, 40-grain copper-plated round nose target bullet, 1200 fps.

Good accurate ammo.  No failures at all.

On the other hand -- It worked the same as the Federal Blue Box bulk, CCI Mini-mags and Remmington Golden bullets -- FOR ME -- your mileage may vary.

I have been using this exact ammo because I like a copper-plated round nose.  Winchester Super-X is almost the same and slightly cheaper.  Both kinds have been working fine for me.

pic of the super-x:
http://media.midwayusa.com/productimages/880x660/primary/340/340606.jpg

[Nero]

I've been using the CCI 'Tactical' when testing/sighting and getting some occasional trigger time on my loaners (two 10/22 carbines, one compact model).  Their claim that it's cleaner seems to be true, at least in comparison to Mini-mags, which is what I used before, so it's probably just a powder reformulation.

Have had no ammo failure problems, accuracy seems better than bulk stuff, not so good as the Wolf Match Target I use when shooting for score.

[Edheler]

I have also been using the CCI 'Tactical' and have had exactly one misfire in about 3000 rounds.

I've been using the CCI 'Tactical' when testing/sighting and getting some occasional trigger time on my loaners (two 10/22 carbines, one compact model).  Their claim that it's cleaner seems to be true, at least in comparison to Mini-mags, which is what I used before, so it's probably just a powder reformulation.

Have had no ammo failure problems, accuracy seems better than bulk stuff, not so good as the Wolf Match Target I use when shooting for score.

[JOEMORGAN]

We've been using M22 thru 5 AS w/ range time and it's worked real well in both the 10-22s and my Umarex M16.  Sampling is around 4000-4500 rounds. It's a spendy ammo but I usually buy on sale and/or with coupons/gift cards.

[Mark Davis]

Update on Federal Automatch.
After three cases I will not buy any more unless it is the last 22 ammo avalable.
My perception is that the lubricant on this ammo forms a hard deposit on any surface the smoke touches.
Much easyer to clean off the gooey black muck from greasy ole remingtons.

Blazers shoot good, can be bought at reasonable prices, current favorite and now shooting in my rifle.

[Dude]

Used the Walmart Federal stuff in the past with pretty fair results.  CCI Blue box was  even better, but my daughter and I both shot 2 rifleman scores using Blazer. Winchester seemed to give us the most problems.

[Nero]

Had a Winchester white box 22LR round squib in a shooter's rifle, a couple of weekends ago at a light rifle class that I teach.  Fortunately the young girl who was shooting her dad's rifle had just heard the ammo safety talk, did the right thing, and stopped shooting and called me over.  We tapped the bullet out of the barrel and she got a souvenir and a big 'attagirl' - could have been a lot worse!

[Snoplop]

  I usually don't chime in on these forums but will throw my two cents in for what it's worth.
  Prior to our first Appleseed I set out to find one brand of 22 ammo our 3- 10/22's and Sig522 would digest without issues. Over a two week period I benched all 4 guns with each type- cleaned prior to each change and 'seasoned' each with 10 rounds minimum - second group of 10 rounds for results- sometimes more before any conclusions- of over a dozen different brands and various bullet weights. Bought every brand on the shelves of every store I wandered into until satisfied the selection represented the limits of acceptable behavior.
Objective was to make a large purchase of one brand of ammo that all would shoot without any glitches, had the least amount of fliers- easy to find on store shelves, and not high priced. For us it came down to 5 brands/type/bullet weights. Bought another quantity of the 5 types and after more lead down range dismissed the expensive and CCI Standard Velocity was an easy choice. Mini-mags BTW produced way too many fliers.

That said - keep in mind, individual results may vary due to your rifles personality.

Now I realize everyone hopes for a magic pill or an edge, myself included. Sorry to break it to ya but what red hats say is true (heed their voice of experience) the most important thing is to listen and apply what they try to teach you. It's probably not the rifle nor the ammo.
And yes I still keep my list of excuses ready but hedged our bet with CCI Standard Velocity over all the others.
Just sayin- seems to work well for us anyway.   

[Kosciusko]

CCI Blazer 500-rd bricks  works in everything I've tried it in and shoots a RM score all the time.  Getting hard to find.  Fleet Farm is out, and has been for 6 months.   The Runnings chain has it.  I just bought the the last 15 bricks I could lay my hands on.

[Charles McKinley]

CCI Blazer is plentiful aroud here.  I have noticed that there is a difference in the lube on the BULK 525 box andthe individually boxed brick of 500.  The loose bulk ammo has a lot of a waxy lube on it
the boxed 50  rounds do not.  This has made problems with extraction even pushing it out of my revolver. 

WalMart has 1600 rounds of CCI mini mags (16 packs of 100 rounds) in an ammo can for $98. right now.

[Kosciusko]

The 500 round brick is the better stuff.

Wallyworld central shipped 5 plastic ammo cans  of the minimags to the local store, it works out $6/100, plus $2 for the plastic ammo can

Fleet Farm carries the 100 rd mini-mags for $5.99, so it's the same price.