OP, there are all sorts of reasons for choosing a brand of 22rf for any particular rifle. If you are shooting a semi auto, you need a brand that will reliably operate the action as well as give you acceptable accuracy.
If you're shooting a bolt action it depends on what you're looking for again. Highest velocity or accuracy.
I have done a lot of extensive testing on the 22 lr chambered rifles I have kept for the simple reason they are very accurate all but two are bolt actions. Two are semi autos. I don't know how one of the semis shoot because I haven't shot it yet and won't until the outside temps warm up. The other is a BSA RaLock. All of my bolt actions are blessed with tight bores. The largest has a .222 major diameter and the smallest has a .220 major diameter. The rifle with the tightest bore, an Anschutz is the most accurate repeater. The next is a recent purchase/trade Brno No2. with a .221 bore. The difference between these two as far as accuracy goes is minimal with "standard" velocity ammo. The groups open up dramatically with high velocity ammo. The RaLock is a different story. It seems to have a preference for high velocity ammo to be reliable. However it prefers standard velocity ammo for accuracy.
Most of the newer 22 rimfire firearms made seem to have .223 or .224 bores. This is OK but makes it difficult to find what ammo the firearm will shoot best. I find that most firearms that shoot cast lead bullets like bullets to be a few thousandths of an inch oversize for best accuracy. I look for ammo that has cast bullets with slightly larger diameters. Yes, it does exist. Aquila is a brand where it's relatively common. When I find a lot that has the diameters I'm interested in I buy a case of it if I have enough cash on hand. I take a box of it out to my vehicle and measure the diameter of the bullets with a micrometer. More often than not, the bullet diameters will be .224 but some are .222-223. Not all 22rf diameter bullets are cast alike.
This doesn't mean they won't give good accuracy. It depends on what you call good. If you're planning on plinking cans at 20 meters they will be fine. If you're planning on shooting tight little groups at 25m or 50-100m, if your rifle has a .224 or larger bore you won't be happy.
Today's firearms are phenomenally consistent as far as dimensions are concerned. I checked 10 Ruger 10-22 rifles bores for diameter last fall. Every single one of them had .2235 bore diameters. All shot OK, none were spectacular. I haven't had the opportunity to slug and measure a 10-22 match barrel. I suspect they measure .223???
Most of the rim fire ammo I find is .224 diameter. Once in a while I will find a lot of ammo that is .225. When I do, I purchase a case of 5000 even it has to go on the credit card.
By far the most accurate 22 rimfire rifle I have is a BSA Martini built on a heavy wall action. It is surprising because it is a take down rifle. It is a chore to take down though because the tolerances are extremely tight. It has .220 stamped on the barrel. The bore slugs out to .220 with no loose spots from the chamber to muzzle. The muzzle of the rifle had been buried in a carpet in a closet for many years before I got it and the last cm of the muzzle was full of rust. I chucked the barrel up in the lathe and cut off about 3mm at a time until the bright shiny bore appeared. I felt extremely lucky that I only lost 1cm of the barrel. A quick crown job and this lovely little rifle turned into a true "tack driver."
I went through the whole gambit if measuring rim diameters and it was a big waste of time IMHO.
I noticed an article in the January Rifle mag about the 22WMR. It was a disappointing article in that very little was written about the 22 WMR but a lot extolling the 17HMR and 22lr. The best thing about that article was the uselessness of measuring rim thicknesses and measuring bore diameters. The author's findings were very close to mine.
My CZ 22WMR has a .2235 bore diameter. With ammo it likes it's a consistent Rocky Mountain Snowshoe killer out past 100m. The best ammo I have ever used in it was CCI loaded with Speer TNT jacketed hollowpoint bullets of .2245 diameter. I can't find this ammo in Canada anymore. The next best type is the Remington 33grain offering with jacketed bullets. These also measure .2245 diameter. Everything else, I have been able to test is loaded with cast lead that quality control seems to be able to keep consistently at .2235 to 224 diameter.
My rifle shoots the cast lead bullets OK but certainly isn't acceptable for small game out to 100m IMHO.
Now, we get to another accuracy killer, scopes. Rimfire scopes have adjustable parallax from 3m to 100m mostly but some to infinity. You didn't ask about scopes though so I won't go into that. Something to Google though before you stick a scope onto a rimfire rifle and wonder why your rifle isn't accurate.
If you're shooting a bolt action it depends on what you're looking for again. Highest velocity or accuracy.
I have done a lot of extensive testing on the 22 lr chambered rifles I have kept for the simple reason they are very accurate all but two are bolt actions. Two are semi autos. I don't know how one of the semis shoot because I haven't shot it yet and won't until the outside temps warm up. The other is a BSA RaLock. All of my bolt actions are blessed with tight bores. The largest has a .222 major diameter and the smallest has a .220 major diameter. The rifle with the tightest bore, an Anschutz is the most accurate repeater. The next is a recent purchase/trade Brno No2. with a .221 bore. The difference between these two as far as accuracy goes is minimal with "standard" velocity ammo. The groups open up dramatically with high velocity ammo. The RaLock is a different story. It seems to have a preference for high velocity ammo to be reliable. However it prefers standard velocity ammo for accuracy.
Most of the newer 22 rimfire firearms made seem to have .223 or .224 bores. This is OK but makes it difficult to find what ammo the firearm will shoot best. I find that most firearms that shoot cast lead bullets like bullets to be a few thousandths of an inch oversize for best accuracy. I look for ammo that has cast bullets with slightly larger diameters. Yes, it does exist. Aquila is a brand where it's relatively common. When I find a lot that has the diameters I'm interested in I buy a case of it if I have enough cash on hand. I take a box of it out to my vehicle and measure the diameter of the bullets with a micrometer. More often than not, the bullet diameters will be .224 but some are .222-223. Not all 22rf diameter bullets are cast alike.
This doesn't mean they won't give good accuracy. It depends on what you call good. If you're planning on plinking cans at 20 meters they will be fine. If you're planning on shooting tight little groups at 25m or 50-100m, if your rifle has a .224 or larger bore you won't be happy.
Today's firearms are phenomenally consistent as far as dimensions are concerned. I checked 10 Ruger 10-22 rifles bores for diameter last fall. Every single one of them had .2235 bore diameters. All shot OK, none were spectacular. I haven't had the opportunity to slug and measure a 10-22 match barrel. I suspect they measure .223???
Most of the rim fire ammo I find is .224 diameter. Once in a while I will find a lot of ammo that is .225. When I do, I purchase a case of 5000 even it has to go on the credit card.
By far the most accurate 22 rimfire rifle I have is a BSA Martini built on a heavy wall action. It is surprising because it is a take down rifle. It is a chore to take down though because the tolerances are extremely tight. It has .220 stamped on the barrel. The bore slugs out to .220 with no loose spots from the chamber to muzzle. The muzzle of the rifle had been buried in a carpet in a closet for many years before I got it and the last cm of the muzzle was full of rust. I chucked the barrel up in the lathe and cut off about 3mm at a time until the bright shiny bore appeared. I felt extremely lucky that I only lost 1cm of the barrel. A quick crown job and this lovely little rifle turned into a true "tack driver."
I went through the whole gambit if measuring rim diameters and it was a big waste of time IMHO.
I noticed an article in the January Rifle mag about the 22WMR. It was a disappointing article in that very little was written about the 22 WMR but a lot extolling the 17HMR and 22lr. The best thing about that article was the uselessness of measuring rim thicknesses and measuring bore diameters. The author's findings were very close to mine.
My CZ 22WMR has a .2235 bore diameter. With ammo it likes it's a consistent Rocky Mountain Snowshoe killer out past 100m. The best ammo I have ever used in it was CCI loaded with Speer TNT jacketed hollowpoint bullets of .2245 diameter. I can't find this ammo in Canada anymore. The next best type is the Remington 33grain offering with jacketed bullets. These also measure .2245 diameter. Everything else, I have been able to test is loaded with cast lead that quality control seems to be able to keep consistently at .2235 to 224 diameter.
My rifle shoots the cast lead bullets OK but certainly isn't acceptable for small game out to 100m IMHO.
Now, we get to another accuracy killer, scopes. Rimfire scopes have adjustable parallax from 3m to 100m mostly but some to infinity. You didn't ask about scopes though so I won't go into that. Something to Google though before you stick a scope onto a rimfire rifle and wonder why your rifle isn't accurate.
