Guru question-.22ammo in AR platform

[emmab]

Hello, I was wondering if any body has any thoughts on a good choice of ammo for an AR system. I have an AP74 which I finally got the papers for (May '05) and found that it worked great for around 2-3 mags, then it would start to jam. Stove pipes and FTE's. I was using Federal Champ. 40gr. I believe it could be from dirty ammo or maybe ammo that didn't have enough kick to cycle properly. So I was thinking of getting the real hot stuff and seeing if this changed the situation. I don't know much about .22 ammo so I thought I'd ask for some input. What's hot and what's not? Any other AR .22 shooters out there that might have other ideas about my problem? Thanks Pete

 

[flip1]

I have 3 AP74's. One is no problem regardless of which mag or ammo. One is so-so, and the 3rd one is a POS.

I have changed internals back and forth, and the problems do not change.

The fundamental issue is the relationship between the mag and the loading ramp, and the loading ramp itself. The angles must be perfect and clean.

Do not spend money on high dollar rounds. But do not try to use bulk cheap hollow points. You need decent quality round nose WITHOUT LUBE. Anything with lube will jam. Likewise, most of the high performance rounds are lighter bullets and they are more pointy not round.

Clean and polish the ramp into the chamber (try very fine steel wool), and also make sure the ejector is clean and working. If you have several mags, are there any differences? Given the fact that it worked for a while, tells me that while it is fussy, obviously dirt is your biggest enemy.

By the way, I just bought 5 new 15-round mags from ammoclip. Not cheap but not unreasonable either.

Good luck.

 

[emmab]

Thanks Flip, great info on the ramp. What type of ammo do you use in your ap's? I can see the idea of not using hollowpoints too. Is ammoclip down south? I have only one mag. I'll look them up. Thanks Pete

 

[flip1]

Ammoclip is in Minneapolis Minnesota.

As for ammo, I have found basic Federal High Power or any other HP round nose 40 grain to work. The hollow point seems to deform on the way up the ramp and the Remington Yellow Jackets and Stingers are too pointy. Again, stay away from anything with lube. I thought lube was a thing of the past until I paid big bucks for Zappers, only to have them gum up everything from tube mags to 10/22's and my AP74's.

Tonight I took out the 5 new mags and they worked flawlessly on the 2 good guns, but I didn't try the troublesome one. Obviously the angle of the follower matches the ramp.

JB