I'm relatively new to the .22 scene.
1) I see 32, 36, 38 &40gr rounds. What is each used/best for?
2) Lead nose and copper jacket. I'll assume the jacketed are cleaner, but just how 'dirty' are lead nose? Is there any other reason to use one over the other?

Picking up a Henry Classic 22LR and want to have the right ammo for the right job.

Thanks, gents.

22 LR guns can be very finicky about what they like best. Recommend you buy as many different types of ammo as possible, and shoot them from the bench for accuracy. Once you know what your gun likes, then you can buy in bulk.

The traditional 22 Long Rifle bullet weight was 40 grains. Hollow points were originally 36 grains (as I recall without looking). Later, higher velocity hollow point bullets were sometimes somewhat lighter, evidently to permit higher velocities or perhaps for other reasons.

It’s sort of an article of faith among shooters that 22 LR rifles are highly ammunition sensitive and that it’s best to buy a box each of as many different kinds of ammunition and test them in your rifle to determine which the gun “likes” the best. That is, of course, if best precision is a major concern rather than economy or what’s best for a specific purpose like hunting. In my experience, for example, the “hyper” velocity loads that produce the most dramatic wounding effects aren’t as precise as traditional standard velocity loads.

Bullets without jackets or some sort of copper or gilding metal plating are usually lubricated with wax or something similar. I have never experienced any leading of the bore with such loads, and many shooters (including me) never clean the bores of guns that shoot such ammunition. (There is some esoteric discussion of the need to clean the bores of high precision 22 LR rifles and then break them back in with a certain number of follow up shots, but I doubt that would be an issue with your rifle.)

CCI Mini mags of various bullet weights run fine in my Henry rifle. Other brands such as Federal Automatch not so much. The advice in the previous post is quite accurate.

Agree with most of the above. Your needs / requirements and the performance in your individual weapons will dictate what you end up using.

Way back when I was shooting indoor NRA 22 pistol matches I did a lot of evaluation to find the most accurate and reliable fodder to use. Several times I'd have to repeat the exercise when acquiring new supply because of performance differences with newer lots.

Currently I only have one 22LR rifle, a WWII vintage Remington 513-T MatchMaster 27" heavy barrel with globe/aperature sights. It sees only non-jacketed and non-gilded ammo meaning lead only. Several brands have worked very well.

Thanks, gents. Guess I’ll just have to buy a bunch of small batches and go out and shoot. Isn’t that too bad...

quote:

Originally posted by USAFA71:
22 LR guns can be very finicky about what they like best.
<snip>

Some .22 pistols are finicky about ammo, but my Beretta 87 Target eats anything.

But I’ve settled on Aguila Pistol Match. At 1080 FPS it’s at the low end of standard velocity. A bit easier on the gun, and leaves the breech cleaner. Its 40 gr lead bullet is well clinched in its case. Moderately priced, and accurate.

Aguila is an Eley brand, and has the Eley primer technology.

quote:

Originally posted by Pipe Smoker:
I’ve settled on Aguila

+1 on Aquila. Their Super Extra (standard velocity 40gr lead) ammo is great in my old 513-T.



Here's an article on Aquila rimfire ammo that may be of interest:

https://www.shootingillustrate...-rimfire-ammunition/

If you need a versatile and nearly universally reliable brand to buy cheap and stack deep I would suggest CCI Mini-mag hp.

I say nearly universally reliable because I can't rule out exceptions I don't know of, but I've never heard of anyone saying they more than rarely (if ever) jammed anything.

From a rifle they will provide dramatic impact results.

I have shot this and that, but my target grade guns get CCI SV except one that is using up my last brick of Aquila SV.
My plinkers are shooting Aquila HV.

quote:

Originally posted by Jim Watson:
I have shot this and that, but my target grade guns get CCI SV

Most guns favor a certain 22 ammo but CCI SV is the most consistent in most of my 22's. If I get a new gun the first rounds out of it are CCI SV and then I'll test other ammo.

quote:

Originally posted by M-11:
I'm relatively new to the .22 scene.
Picking up a Henry Classic 22LR and want to have the right ammo for the right job.

Henry's website states that your rifle shoots LR, long, and short .22 rimfire ammo.
First of all, if you shoot short or long ammo, clean your chamber before transitioning to long or LR ammo, respectively.

Given that your Henry shoots multiple lengths of .22 ammo, certain compromises are generally made in the chamber's dimensions to provide such flexibility. This generally means that you won't obtain exceptional accuracy with really expensive match-grade .22LR ammo. Which is not necessarily a bad thing. Value-line ammo may work just as well is the expensive stuff.

If accuracy is your primary goal, try various types of 40-grain blunt-nosed lead-bullet sub-sonic ammo. As noted in other posts, CCI Standard Velocity is a good place to start. Your chamber is likely cut long enough to shoot super-sonic ammo with lighter (36-38 grain) bullets, both plated and solid lead. CCI's mini-mag is a place to start.

Super-sonic ammo tends to lose accuracy as the bullet's speed drops from Mach 1.2-ish to Mach .95-ish. However, if your rifle really likes a specific type of super-sonic ammo, the accuracy deterioration is reduced.

The bullets used in .22 ammo have poor performance in cross winds. You'll understand this very well as your distances to target increase.

For a few reasons, switching among types or brands of ammo generally requires 10-15 rounds of the new ammo before accuracy reaches its full potential. Thus, if you're trying a number of ammo types, be prepared to shoot quite a few rounds.

Ammo for hunting varmints often uses plated hollow point bullets and is generally supersonic.

There are few hard and fast rules for .22 ammo and rifles. Every rifle and every barrel is a little different, with the results showing up in how ammo performs. Shoot a lot, and experiment.

I generally use CCI Mini-mags, 40gr, because they are plated (cleaner barrel and action), are very consistent in velocity, and work well in any .22LR pistol or rifle I own. When I get a new .22, I break it in with Mini-mags!

When I was shooting competitive pistol, I used CCI SV for the slow and timed stage, and CCI Mini-mag in the rapid stage. Got my best scores doing that, despite the criticism I received from other veteran shooters.

My .22's eat anything from Federal or Winchester bulk packs.....the .36 grain LRN or the copper washed hollow points.40 grain from the bulk packs. A browning buckmark standard S/S and a Ruger 10/22. The copper washed helps the barrel from getting leaded up. I had that issue once with my browning buckmark. I haven't noticed them being any cleaner otherwise. The Remington anything .22 LR is junk.....very poor crimps, you can easily spin the bullets in the case on half of their rounds.

My savage Mark II bolt action only likes Remington subsonic....
I’ve shot:
Remington 40:grain lead I think it’s thunderbolt..
Federal
Blazer
Cci
Cci minimags
Aguila


The subsonic is the best group and also extracts every time. All the other stuff sticks in the chamber at least once in ten...very frustrating

In my ruger 10/22, I can mix a bag of anything and it will shoot it all.

My mark II 22-45 shoot anything.

Try them all. That’s the only way to be sure. I have a SMLE .22 trainer. Tried all kinds of ammo including expensive stuff. The best ammo accuracy wise by a long shot is plain ole’ Remington Thunderbolt. I figured it was because maybe it was like the ammo they used back then.

I am of the school of thought that clean your action don’t clean the bore ever.

I have the following 22lr rifles:

Walther barreled AR15
Ruger 10\22
Kimber 82
CZ 455

They all shoot well out to 100 yards with SK Standard Plus, Wolf Match Target (old and new), and Aguila SV, both subsconic and standard velocity. I tried some Ely Tenex, Match, and Club. The Ely works best out of the Kimber, which shouldn't come as a surprise. In the other rifles it didn't produce any better practical accuracy.

quote:

Originally posted by apprentice:
If you need a versatile and nearly universally reliable brand to buy cheap and stack deep I would suggest CCI Mini-mag hp.

I say nearly universally reliable because I can't rule out exceptions I don't know of, but I've never heard of anyone saying they more than rarely (if ever) jammed anything.

From a rifle they will provide dramatic impact results.

+1 IME CCI mini-mags are the benchmark to judge others by

-------------------------------------------

quote:

Originally posted by Sig209:
+1 IME CCI mini-mags are the benchmark to judge others by

This has been my go-to in .22LR also...just like Federal 9BP is in 9mm

The finickiness is more about accuracy than function. But some guns do have function problems with some ammo.

Try CCI standard velocity. It is good ammo that I have never had trouble with, and has been decently to very accurate in everything I have tried it in.