Selecting One Rimfire Brand

Narragansett

Narragansett

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Ok, the other day, I had my New CZ 457 Varmint sighted in pretty good at 50 yards. I went back to the range yesterday, same gun, but with different ammo. Not thinking, my first thought was that my scope won't hold zero. Then it hit me, a different brand of ammo. The ammo grouped, but low and to the left. Unfortunately, I did not have any more CCI mini-mags with me so I stopped using the old Federal I wanted to use u, and rezeroed with CCI Standard velocity.

So I am all done with targets and had a few minutes left so I started shooting at clumps of dirt on the 100 yard berm using the crosshair vertical graduation marks. Using the CCI SV, some shots went over and some under the targeted dirt clumps by as much as a foot. Some were dead on. This was probably me, but I have to ask, Is there a variance round to round to be concerned with?

It does seem however that It would be best to find what the rifle likes, and then not deviate from that, agreed?
 
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I've found CCI SV provides the best accuracy in a greater variety of firearms, handguns and rifles, than any other .22 ammo I've tried and I've tried many in approximately the same or lower price range. It is not the single best in every instance, but in most cases it's plenty accurate. If you want to simplify things and not keep different ammos on hand, CCI SV is a good choice. It's very rare that CCI SV doesn't fire when you pull the trigger and it functions reliably in about everything including semi-autos.
 
100 yds may be stretching it for CCI Std Velocity. I've gotten good groups with it at 100, but with the occasional flyer as you noted. Muzzle velocity variations are the likely problem. We shoot Long Range Silhouette out to 200 meters. CCI std falls apart and gives vertical stringing - at least with my guns, and the ammo lot I tested. Eley Target is better and Eley Match is good enough that misses are all shooter-caused. It doesn't take much muzzle velocity variation to string at long distances. I proved that to myself with a chronograph and paper target. At 100 you may get away with cheaper ammo but I bet your CZ will like Eley of some sort a lot better.
 
Krogen said:
100 yds may be stretching it for CCI Std Velocity. I've gotten good groups with it at 100, but with the occasional flyer as you noted. Muzzle velocity variations are the likely problem. We shoot Long Range Silhouette out to 200 meters. CCI std falls apart and gives vertical stringing - at least with my guns, and the ammo lot I tested. Eley Target is better and Eley Match is good enough that misses are all shooter-caused. It doesn't take much muzzle velocity variation to string at long distances. I proved that to myself with a chronograph and paper target. At 100 you may get away with cheaper ammo but I bet your CZ will like Eley of some sort a lot better.
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That could be right. I don't shoot past 100 yards with .22 long rifle ammo, so have no experience with 200 yard rimfire shooting. In my post, however, I referred to .22 ammo in approximately the same price range as CCI SV.
 
You have to put the work in, and 100 yds is to far , start at 50. I've been shooting Rimfire a long time and ammo and lots matter. When I find a lot that works, I buy as much of it as I can. Eley and Sk Standard make about the most consistent rimfire ammo in my testing. CCI is overall for the money pretty good.
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People need to understand that .22 LR is mostly cheaply made in large lots and there is variation between lots. I have chronographed a LOT of .22 LR over the years and velocity does vary from lot to lot. The exact same brand and type of .22 LR may have fine ball powder in one lot and flake powder in a different lot. The bullet shape may even vary slightly in different lots. Trying to assure consistency by sticking to one brand is going to be fruitless.
 
What he said, above me.

.22 Rimfire ammo is pretty cheaply made, so variations are going to be significant sometimes. I've found my guns like certain types generally, but there will still be variations. One rifle loves Green Tag, but another won't shoot it for anything. That one likes Blue Tag/SV. Then the pistols, same thing.

Best thing is to invest in a chronograph. My preference is the little Garmin. Tracking variations in velocity will help with your quest.
 
I buy multiple bricks of CCI standard velocity and use it in everything except my Bersa Thunder .22 pistol. The main reason I buy it is for my suppressed guns but its always been accurate and reliable in everything except the Bersa which has an all steel slide and the round doesn't have enough power to function the slide properly. So I buy CCI Blazers and its 100% reliable and I've tried Winchester Wildcat, Federal Auto match, and a few others and they're not reliable in the Bersa either so I've stuck with CCI for several years and am happy with them.
 
IIRC, USAF smallbore issued ammo, for four position, indoor/outdoor and prone 50/100yd two man team, was Remington 22 Short Match.
Got me and my team mate, the pewter beer mugs, at El Monte, in '68, for two man team. Gusty winds and mirage. Fun day.
 
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If I were limited to just one brand of 22lr ammo, it would be CCI. To my mind it sits about in the middle of the 22lr quality scale; not the best, not the worst.
 
I like CCI for general shooting and especially the indoor range. Ely is my ammo of choice for consistent performance, my model 41 loves it. I fired a box of Winchester labeled ammo last week and in my P22 and my results with 3 failures to fire the first time, all fired on restrike and it seemed to have a lot of fouling.
 
In over 50 years of rimfire shooting ... and shooting is a passion with me ... CCI has proven to be the best overall in quality and reliability .
I have always preferred to shoot some form of CCI ammo ...
Stinger , Mini-Mags , Standard Velocity , Green Tag and even ...Shorts , have all been used with great success .
True a gun may prefer one flavor over another but they all do well with CCI Brand Ammo .

My least desirable ... Winchester Wildcat and Super-X of recent manufacture ... poor quality controll , they was stinkers !
Gary
 
From a cost benefit basis, the CCI-SV is a very good pick. Can you get more accurate 22lr? Yes but a much higher price. Cheaper ammunition can be found but at a cost of accuracy and reliability. Like others, I’ve found it to be a very good ammunition for several of my 22lr rifles and pistols.

Acquire as many types of 22lr you can find then do a lot of testing, and find the one that suits your needs and then stock up with that one.
 
Bastogne71 said:
From a cost benefit basis, the CCI-SV is a very good pick. Can you get more accurate 22lr? Yes but a much higher price. Cheaper ammunition can be found but at a cost of accuracy and reliability. Like others, I’ve found it to be a very good ammunition for several of my 22lr rifles and pistols.
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My CZ 452 shoots CCI SV very well and it is very accurate in my S&W 41 and 617. Unfortunately it lower power makes it marginally unreliable in the 41 and 22 Compact I own. And due to the tight chambers in the cylinders of my 617 revolver like all lead ammo extraction gets very sticky after about 50 rounds.

So I only use CCI SV in the bolt action CZ 452 rifle, use CCI BLazer in the 41 and 22 Compact and CCI MiniMags in the 617. As much as I wish I could find one specific type of ammo for all my 22s and stock up on it that is just not going to happen. My 22s are all picky about what type of ammo they shoot best and that is typical. But I have settled on one brand, CCI, since it is more reliable and consistent than low cost 22 ammo but less expensive than match grade ammo.

CCI Blazer isn't quite as accurate as SV but still shoots well enough in handguns that accuracy is mostly limited by my shooting abilities, not the ammo. Its inexpensive and almost always goes bang when it gets a good primer strike. Federal Automatch is similar but not quite as good as Blazer in my guns.

CCI MiniMags have a copper washed bullet that produces less fouling than lead. It is also less accurate than CCI SV but once again, the limiting factor with my 617 is mostly me. It is also my goto ammo when someone complains about their semiauto 22 being unreliable. There are exceptions but in general I have found if a 22 will not shoot reliably with MiniMags it will not shoot reliably with any other brand either.
 
I would like to add; and would like Harv 24 feedback. Most brands of .22 seem to use different type and amount of wax/lube. I have noticed, when shooting, accuracy from a clean bore will take a certain amount of shots for the barrel to get coated with lube. Then, switching brand, different lube, will affect accuracy. Usually, when testing ammo in my CZ 452, and 455, I try and clean the bore, shoot to foul, and test, between brands. Not to hi jack thread, but would be interested in others test/shooting experience.
 
armadillo said:
At 100 yds my CZ gets the best groups with:

CCI Mini Mag 40 gr. round nose
Winchester 37 gr hollow point high velocity
Winchester 40 gr Hollow Point - Hyper Velocity

The best all around is the CCI, it works best in almost every rifle or pistol for me.
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For accuracy I have found CCI mini mag 40 gr round nose the most consistent in my rifles at fifty yards. Don’t have a high end .22 rifle but in my 15-22, Remington 572, Marlin Golden 39A, Marlin Model 60 they work well. All have economical scopes except the 15-22 which has a Nikon P-22 scope with BDC crosshairs. If shooting at 100 yards I use the 15-22 with bipod. I am not an expert by any means. Go to the range maybe 5 times a year.
 

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Rustywrench said:
I would like to add; and would like Harv 24 feedback. Most brands of .22 seem to use different type and amount of wax/lube. I have noticed, when shooting, accuracy from a clean bore will take a certain amount of shots for the barrel to get coated with lube. Then, switching brand, different lube, will affect accuracy. Usually, when testing ammo in my CZ 452, and 455, I try and clean the bore, shoot to foul, and test, between brands. Not to hi jack thread, but would be interested in others test/shooting experience.
Click to expand...
On my precision 22's I don't clean the barrel......ever.
Not yet anyways
 
My old gun club in colorado holds a rimfire bench match every month. They shoot 50 and 100 yards with 22 and 17. Most use CZ's. They clean between relays with a small patch and Hoppes #9. One swipe only. For accuracy They use a torque screwdriver and set the stock screws at 20 in lbs for a starter. Then go up and down on each screw until the sweet spot is reached.1lb increments. Fantastic difference and great accuracy. Most use CCI SV or CCI green tag, WW target and lately Aquila Match.
 
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