Thread: Bad .22 ammo - what's good?

Remember a couple summers ago when ammo was scarce - and shameless mercenaries were asking $30+ for a brick of .22 at the gun shows? I hope none of them actually sold any. I held out and waited.

Finally started finding .22 again in some of the big discount stores later in 2008 and bought a few bricks of Winchester Xpert HV. What garbage.

Sadly, I didn't shoot any of it until recently after using up all my older reliable stuff. Malfunctioned repeatedly in a pistol and three rifles, so I'm satisfied it's not the gun. Just a few FTF, but lots of FTE in the semis. Super inconsistent, some barely making any pop at all. None stuck in the barrels, but I sure got tired of clearing and checking.

So with no receipt, and no ammo returns where I got it, do I have any recourse? Or do I just take my lumps and make sure I never waste a penny on that cr*p again?

Without going "boutique," what's the best common brick of .22 for a stock 10/22? I swear I'll never pounce on a bargain again unless it's a proven brand without such a dismal failure rate.

I just shoot federal bulk :shrug:

They only come in boxes of 100 not 500 but you will never go wrong with CCI mini-mags. If your talking off the shelf, get anywhere .22 rounds I would doubt anyone would say these aren't the best.

Originally Posted by BigCat

I just shoot federal bulk :shrug:

Originally Posted by keystir

They only come in boxes of 100 not 500 but you will never go wrong with CCI mini-mags. If your talking off the shelf, get anywhere .22 rounds I would doubt anyone would say these aren't the best.

+1. I haven't had any problem with Remington Gold either, and I've put that through my 10/22, my 15-22, or my buddy's P22.

Federal Champion hp's (blue box) are the only bulk ammo that my 10/22 likes. It chokes on any of the Remington bulk that I've tried.

cci mini mags are my go to .22's, they work well in anything I have tried them in

Guns chambered in .22lr are odd because some guns work well with one brand while another might not. My beretta neos works great with remington golden HP but not well with federal HP. Although it works great with the federal Solid points. I tend to stay away from the golden remington HP because they're probably the dirtiest .22 ammo that i've ever used .

From what I've read about 22 ammo and the guns in general, reliability is sketchy. One load will run perfect in one gun and the next guy says that the same load has issues in his same model gun. The best bet is to go buy several 50 round boxes of various quality brands and try them in your guns. Once you figure out what works best, go buy bulk. From my experience and several others, federal bulk and cci minimags seem to be the most consistently reliable in most guns. Also try switching from hp to solids when choosing plinking ammo. Solids generally are more reliable for feeding in most 22s. Also, running a boresnake every 200 rounds or so will keep you running smooth as 22s in general are dirty shooting rounds.
Good luck, I'm sure you will find what works best for you.

I shoot American Eagle, its made by Federal. CCI makes great ammo too.

Worst .22lr ammo I've shot: remington golden bullet bulk packs. Invariably there is at least 1 (often more) dud per 100 rounds.

Acceptable bulk ammo: Federal Champion

Very nice affordable ammo: CCI mini-mags and all the other CCI ones that come in those 100rd plastic boxes. These tend to run in even the pickiest of guns.

Best: Eley, Lapua, Wolf Match Target. This stuff is rather spendy for .22lr, but if you want to make a .22-sized hole with 10 rounds at 100 yards this is what you want to buy.

I also find cci mini mag to be the best. Its interesting though to hear what other people's guns like. Mine prefers remington thunderbolt for bulk boxes. I get FTE every 6-7 rounds with federal though. In the end, it only matters what your weapons like and function well with.

I have had great luck with Winchester 333 from wal mart had them cycle in semi and full auto ar as well as semi and full auto 10 22

Seems like the Rem Golden Bulk pack seems to get the worst reviews overall.


My main goto for plinking is Federal 550 Bulk pack. I have shot cases (not bricks) of this stuff. It has run well in most things I have tried. Only gun I had that didnt like it at first was my Lakeside Razorback belt fed. After a break in and a bit of tweeking it runs fine now.

I use Rem SS with most of my semi auto suppressed rifles. I accidentlly got a case of 38gr Aguila SS vs the 40gr SS and it would not run in my semi that I wanted it for. It now runs in my suppressed 77/22 with great results.

I always have a few boxes of misc .22 around to test if needed.

Only ammo I have not been able to find is a SS that will run in my CMMG .22 AR upper.

My 10/22, as well as my Mark III 22/45 will pretty much eat any and all .22lr ammo I put through them, including Thunderbolts, and some old russian stuff.

My Walther G22 (different than a P22) is more fussy, usually working best with Federal Bulk Pack or CCI. The Remington Gold bulk just won't cycle consistently for a full magazine.

Haven't tried the Winchester 333's yet, but they have to be better than bulk rem gold.

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Remington golden is junk IMHO. Federal to me is the best bulk ammo. But for bricks I like the American Eagle in the 400 round bricks, they are good quality and are hung suspended like the CCI's. For me its more about what I stay away from. Bad experiences with one kind of remmington makes me less likely to try other types of remminmgton 22 ammo.

American Eagle seems to be the dirtiest, with Remington Golden bullet second dirtiest. I prefer the Federal stuff really. Mind you I only run cheap .22 through my .22's.

American eagle would not cycle a remington Model 60 semi auto I had. It worked on bulk federal and bulk remington.

I've had poor results with Remington golden bullets (ftf, fte, duds with good firing pin strike and I agree they are dirty) in my Taurus 63.

I have some Federal Automatch on the way. Haven't tried it before, but am hoping it will run cleaner and more reliably than the cheap stuff.

The guy at Bi-Mart recommended the American Eagle (by Federal) with a "definitely". Comes in a 400-round brick for about $17 (sometimes $15 on sale). It's all I've ever shot through my 10/22...so I don't know any better