.22 rimfire ammo suggestions
- Thread starter zerohedspace
- Start date
OkayShooter
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Nova Scotia
What they said.
I love getting a new .22. Pull out a box of every type of ammo I have and start shooting. It becomes clear very fast which one the rifle is gonna like. Hopefully not the most expensive brand. 
My 10/22 absolutely loves Eley, but it also does ok with CCI HV brands. Price dictates that it gets CCI more often than Eley.
My 10/22 absolutely loves Eley, but it also does ok with CCI HV brands. Price dictates that it gets CCI more often than Eley.
Federal Champion .22lr is good ammo overall, accurate, clean, and incredibly reliable.
Sellier & Bellot Canadian Match .22lr is very accurate for being priced as cheap ammo, clean, but does have average reliability.
These are my two faves for bolt action.
CCI Mini-mag .22lr is the go to for most semi auto rifles with it being clean and mostly reliable ammo although not necessary for a bolt action.
I don’t have much experience with this ammo as I only own bolt actions, but I have to bought it to use in other people’s semi auto rifles and it simply works.
Aguila Super Extra .22lr is the only ammo I’ve had issues with, refused to extract is my Savage MKII so I would be careful buying it, there is some info online about it being great for the TM22 so if that’s what you get it might be worth a buy.
Avoid all Remington copper plated .22lr, I found the copper coating flakes off and gets everywhere like copper anti-sieze.
As mentioned above buy a box of each and make sure it works, then buy in bulk.
Sellier & Bellot Canadian Match .22lr is very accurate for being priced as cheap ammo, clean, but does have average reliability.
These are my two faves for bolt action.
CCI Mini-mag .22lr is the go to for most semi auto rifles with it being clean and mostly reliable ammo although not necessary for a bolt action.
I don’t have much experience with this ammo as I only own bolt actions, but I have to bought it to use in other people’s semi auto rifles and it simply works.
Aguila Super Extra .22lr is the only ammo I’ve had issues with, refused to extract is my Savage MKII so I would be careful buying it, there is some info online about it being great for the TM22 so if that’s what you get it might be worth a buy.
Avoid all Remington copper plated .22lr, I found the copper coating flakes off and gets everywhere like copper anti-sieze.
As mentioned above buy a box of each and make sure it works, then buy in bulk.
For plinking ammo I would grab a box of each of the following and start there:
-cci standard velocity (clean, seems to be consistently decent across lots of rifles. Doesn't seem to be readily available these days and there was a report a while back of a bad lot resulting in detonation out of battery. I've taken to buying it by the case)
- Norma TAC 22 (heavy wax on this stuff that can gum up mags, but otherwise pretty consistent.)
-S&B Canadian match (dirtier than the other two, but still shoots fine and seems to be readily available)
If none of those are giving you the accuracy you're looking for, you can have a look at the ELEY/RWS/SK offerings.
-cci standard velocity (clean, seems to be consistently decent across lots of rifles. Doesn't seem to be readily available these days and there was a report a while back of a bad lot resulting in detonation out of battery. I've taken to buying it by the case)
- Norma TAC 22 (heavy wax on this stuff that can gum up mags, but otherwise pretty consistent.)
-S&B Canadian match (dirtier than the other two, but still shoots fine and seems to be readily available)
If none of those are giving you the accuracy you're looking for, you can have a look at the ELEY/RWS/SK offerings.
NZClaybuster
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Calgary, Alberta
norma tac has been the best value for me. so far. Centre x has been the best performer. SK rifle match is my choice, but has become unobtainable.
SOME rifles do very well with federal AutoMatch... but not all
SOME rifles do very well with federal AutoMatch... but not all
I shoot for precision. 25 yards indoors. My goal is to put every round through the same hole. It's my thing—leave me alone.
I started with a Ruger 10/22, the plastic one that came with a scope. Now, the only things on my rifle that are original are the trigger housing and the receiver, literally. I use a 40x scope and shoot strictly from the bench. Most of the time, I can put 10 rounds through the same hole. (Yeah, I hear you—with a 40x scope at 25 yards, you should.)
I’ve had the best luck buying ammo from G4C Sports. When they have it in stock, you can get CCI (SV), 5,000 rounds for $580. I haven’t seen it cheaper.
I don’t hunt, and I don’t plink. 25 yards, same hole. For that, CCI (SV) is pretty darn good. CCI Mini-Mags are not as accurate for me. Eley is more consistent than CCI (SV), but it costs big bucks. My best ammo is Eley Semi-Auto Benchrest Precision. For my rifle, this is better than Match, Team, Tenex, or Club.
All comments pertain to me and my gun. Your results may vary.
The worst was SK Semi-Auto Rifle. It wouldn’t even chamber in my precision barrel.
Norma TAC-22 was not as accurate for me as CCI (SV). Norma was also the dirtiest ammo I’ve ever put down my barrel. I would say 100 rounds of TAC-22 is equivalent in dirt to about 600 rounds of anything else I’ve shot.
Blazer was okay-ish, but I used to get a lot of FTEs and stove pipes with my original gun. I haven’t shot them since.
Don’t underestimate the make and model of the round when it comes to accuracy. Probably the biggest improvement, out of the $2,500 I’ve spent on my rifle for accuracy, has been the ammunition.
Somebody above said it (at least bolt action part). In hindsight, and doing what I do, I would have bought CZ457 Varmint MTR if I was starting again.
I started with a Ruger 10/22, the plastic one that came with a scope. Now, the only things on my rifle that are original are the trigger housing and the receiver, literally. I use a 40x scope and shoot strictly from the bench. Most of the time, I can put 10 rounds through the same hole. (Yeah, I hear you—with a 40x scope at 25 yards, you should.)
I’ve had the best luck buying ammo from G4C Sports. When they have it in stock, you can get CCI (SV), 5,000 rounds for $580. I haven’t seen it cheaper.
I don’t hunt, and I don’t plink. 25 yards, same hole. For that, CCI (SV) is pretty darn good. CCI Mini-Mags are not as accurate for me. Eley is more consistent than CCI (SV), but it costs big bucks. My best ammo is Eley Semi-Auto Benchrest Precision. For my rifle, this is better than Match, Team, Tenex, or Club.
All comments pertain to me and my gun. Your results may vary.
The worst was SK Semi-Auto Rifle. It wouldn’t even chamber in my precision barrel.
Norma TAC-22 was not as accurate for me as CCI (SV). Norma was also the dirtiest ammo I’ve ever put down my barrel. I would say 100 rounds of TAC-22 is equivalent in dirt to about 600 rounds of anything else I’ve shot.
Blazer was okay-ish, but I used to get a lot of FTEs and stove pipes with my original gun. I haven’t shot them since.
Don’t underestimate the make and model of the round when it comes to accuracy. Probably the biggest improvement, out of the $2,500 I’ve spent on my rifle for accuracy, has been the ammunition.
Somebody above said it (at least bolt action part). In hindsight, and doing what I do, I would have bought CZ457 Varmint MTR if I was starting again.
Last edited:
NZClaybuster
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Calgary, Alberta
i have not had good success with any cci yet... i know my experience is unusual, but i also had extrodinarily good experience with M-22 the first batch.. the rest as not successful in my rifle
