What ammo to use

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maxim08

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Ontario
I'm just starting back into regular shooting and want to focus on .22 for now. I have 3 guns to choose from, all of them 'vintage': a late 1950s Stevens, an early '60s heavy barreled Walther and a .22 calbire Mk4/1 Lee Enfield conversion. I recognise that these aren't the latest and best but the're what I have.
Ammo will be the big question as I'd like to shoot quite a bit at the local range, probably 2 to 3 times a week, so economical ammo would be good but I don't want something that is inconsistent over 50 and 100 yds. I'll have enough challenges without blameing the ammunition!
Any recommendations?
Regards,
John
 
Get a couple boxes of each of whatever is available locally, and get thee to the range to try them out.

You won't find out what works in YOUR gun, by asking around. Some guns perform really well on the stupid cheap ammo, others don't shine until you feed them the expensive stuff.

Shoot say, a box at 50, and a box at 100, of each, in 5 shot groups, and put some effort into it, and you'll get a pretty decent idea what you want to buy. May surprise you.

Cheers
Trev
 
Try a box of federal 525 stuff, just for the hell of it. My CZ loves it. I had a lot of jams with it in my marlin 60, but I discovered the recoil buffer was in pieces when I took it apart, probably since I got it secondhand. No problems now. The winchester bulk stuff is not worth the trouble, from what I hear.
 
Don't forget to try different bullet grains. My .22 lever loves shooting 33 grain Yellow Jackets 5 rounds under .5" at 40 Yards and 37 grain Winchester Super X (100 round plastic red box). Where as it looks like a shotgun was used (2-3 inch at 40 Yards) with the typical 40 Grain of anything I tried to date.
 
To the OP
I see you are from Ontario,
If you are close to Toronto, Bass Pro has he Remington Golden Bullet 525 packs on sale right now for $15.99

They have worked well in all my 22's
 
Your Walther will probably due very well with Lapua Super Club. Mine do ;). Get a good scope with parallax adjustment for rimfires.

The SC ammo is greet for 20-50 yards. You may need to find something with more zip for up to 100 yards. The ammo that shoots well further isn't always the same as the most accurate up closer. Experimentation will be the key.
 
I have a particular lot of Eley, and a particular lot of R50 RWS, plus some Lapua Midas M that perform exceptionally well in my high end rimfires. It is truly gratifying to see shot after shot drop right into the bull on a 100 yard target on a calm day. Some have mentioned that certain rifles seem to prefer the cheaper stuff. Well, I have yet to see a "good" 22 rimfire that did not do it's best with one form of pricey target ammo or other. Sure, some cheap stuff may appear to do fairly well, but if you are at a match, that stuff will let you down, every time! Now if you have an old "keeper" 22 of some type or other, it may not be able to tell the difference as much, but match chambered 22's do show the difference, that in spades! Regards, Eagleye.
 
Eagle is correct in saying that more expensive ammo is much more accurate on a consistant basis. I have a wack of Federal American Eagle that I use to hunt gophers with and they do just fine. the Rem game load bullet is another I find to be very good in my Cz rimfire rifles. But when I want to try shooting fine groups at the range I pull out the Lapua Master M, it is the best I have tried. I have some super club and it is 2nd best, 3rd best is the Lapua trainer. My best shooting rimfire isn't a real expensive piece, it is a full stock CZ 452. FS
 
Thanks for all of the feedback and advice.

Went to Bass Pro on a .22 buying spree to discover that they had very little in stock so I ended up with 100rds each of Eley Club Extra, Winchester Super X and 500 Remington Golden Bullet, just because they were on sale. I will try each out in each rifle and see which gun likes what (or which I shoot the best) and keep my eyes open for some of the other brands that this forum has recommended.

Regards,
John
 
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