.22 LR Ammunition - any updates on availability?

[k0ua]

I found that out very quickly. Ready to give my hardly dented box of 525 away in a two for one deal. Lots of failure to load. Hoping it isn't my new Ruger. Need to try some different ammo. Hearing CCI is good.

CCI is good, but even the bulk pack 525 Federals have all run thru my Mark II and .22/45 without incident.

 

[dragoneggs]

CCI is good, but even the bulk pack 525 Federals have all run thru my Mark II and .22/45 without incident.

Hoping to get out to the range next weekend after buying small amounts of several different brands and prove my gun isn't at fault.

 

[k0ua]

Hoping to get out to the range next weekend after buying small amounts of several different brands and prove my gun isn't at fault.

What kind of trouble are you having, perhaps I could help. In general terms proper lube and cleaning of course are where we start. How does the bolt feel when retracted against the tension of the recoil spring? It should be smooth and even with no "hitches" in its operation. Inspect the captive recoil spring and its guide for burrs, and the top of the bolt in the channel it rides on. All smooth and happy?

 

[dragoneggs]

What kind of trouble are you having, perhaps I could help. In general terms proper lube and cleaning of course are where we start. How does the bolt feel when retracted against the tension of the recoil spring? It should be smooth and even with no "hitches" in its operation. Inspect the captive recoil spring and its guide for burrs, and the top of the bolt in the channel it rides on. All smooth and happy?

James, I appreciate your assistance here and will take you up on it in detail when I get back. For some reason, TSA isn't fond of me bringing my little friends along with me. :laughing:

I've only shot my new Mk IV Lite once a couple weeks ago, and I did tear it down at the range and quickly reassembled (the pure beauty of this gun!). I will take another careful look when I can. All I know, is the bullet was clearly being 'dented' just off center from the tip. Sometimes two in a row! Way too many occurrences. Maybe 10% of the time! Really was pissing me off. I was using both supplied mags. I didn't pay attention to whether it was happening for both but I think so. Again, I need to take better notes at the range. One of my bad non habits.

 

[PJSprog]

I found that out very quickly. Ready to give my hardly dented box of 525 away in a two for one deal. Lots of failure to load. Hoping it isn't my new Ruger. Need to try some different ammo. Hearing CCI is good.

Our experience with the cheapies:

Winchester Wildcats
Savage MkII - no issues
S&W 622 - occasional feed issue when dirty
Ruger 10/22 - no issues
Walther P-22 - feed issues at nearly 50% rate

Remington Thunderbolts
Savage MkII - failures to fire about 1 in 10
S&W 622 - failures to fire about 1 in 10, failures to feed when dirty
Ruger 10/22 - no issues
Walther P-22 - rare occasional failure to fire issue

Federal Automatch
Savage MkII - no issues
S&W 622 - no issues
Ruger 10/22 - no issues
Walther P-22 - no issues

Both of our semi-auto handguns are rather persnickety. But when even my bolt rifle won't consistently fire something, it's just not good.

We still have a couple bricks of the Winchesters and a couple bricks of the Remington stuff that we're keeping as "back-up" ammo, knowing that they work OK in some guns. In the last couple of years, though, we're only buying Federal.

 

[k0ua]

James, I appreciate your assistance here and will take you up on it in detail when I get back. For some reason, TSA isn't fond of me bringing my little friends along with me. :laughing:

I've only shot my new Mk IV Lite once a couple weeks ago, and I did tear it down at the range and quickly reassembled (the pure beauty of this gun!). I will take another careful look when I can. All I know, is the bullet was clearly being 'dented' just off center from the tip. Sometimes two in a row! Way too many occurrences. Maybe 10% of the time! Really was pissing me off. I was using both supplied mags. I didn't pay attention to whether it was happening for both but I think so. Again, I need to take better notes at the range. One of my bad non habits.

Hmm.. different problem.. Seems like the bullet nose is hanging up on the feed ramp?. Is the feed ramp smooth? I know you can't answer any of this now. Yes the TSA seems to not be much fun when it comes to firearms. Of course as you have already mentioned the mags play into this problem too, in that the feed lips must present the bullets at the right angle to the ramp .

 

[k0ua]

The first thing I would do is polish the feed ramp. I don't mean remove metal, Just polish what is there. Take your dremel tool with a felt tip that comes close to fitting the little feed ramp on the Ruger, and coat the felt tip in red jewelers rouge. Polish it for several minutes until it looks like a mirror. I would still check the top of the bolt and polish it too where the captive recoil spring rides. It won't hurt and can "slick up" that channel as well to prevent short stroking of the bolt. Remember you recoil spring is as stiff as it will ever be because it is new. A good polishing on these surfaces will do no harm and simulate the natural wear of several thousand rounds shot thru the pistol. Again, do not remove any metal or use any kind of abrasive tip unless you find a visible burr. And even then, be very careful.

 

[dragoneggs]

The first thing I would do is polish the feed ramp. I don't mean remove metal, Just polish what is there. Take your dremel tool with a felt tip that comes close to fitting the little feed ramp on the Ruger, and coat the felt tip in red jewelers rouge. Polish it for several minutes until it looks like a mirror. I would still check the top of the bolt and polish it too where the captive recoil spring rides. It won't hurt and can "slick up" that channel as well to prevent short stroking of the bolt. Remember you recoil spring is as stiff as it will ever be because it is new. A good polishing on these surfaces will do no harm and simulate the natural wear of several thousand rounds shot thru the pistol. Again, do not remove any metal or use any kind of abrasive tip unless you find a visible burr. And even then, be very careful.

Great advice sir! :thumbsup: Will do as prescribed and report back health. Makes me want to come home even more now.

These 'road' trips while I wouldn't trade them for a desk job (been dare done dat)... do take a toll.

 

[LD1]

I actually really like the thunderbolts in my bolt guns.

Shortly after I got my CMMG 22LR conversion bolt to test in a few different AR's of mine, I thought I'd do some comprehensive testing with several of them and my other 22LR's.

I tested the thunderbolts, wildcats, golden bullets, and the bulk winchester 222,333,555 stuff.

My personal results

Marlin 880SQ, heavy barrel bolt action with scope (most accurate 22 I have ever owned)
Thunderbolts....tackdriver. No issues ever. Dime sized 10 shot groups at 50yds. Have used this ammo in this gun for 10 years+
Wildcats. No firing issue, but group grows to quarter or half dollar size
Bulk winchester 555 - no firing issues, and pretty accurate too. Not much different than thunderbolts, but I think thunderbolts have a slight edge accuracy wise in this gun.
Golden bullets - cant hit squat. Baseball-softball size groups. But again, no issues firing.

Old mossberg bolt action open sights
Pretty much same results as above. No firing issues. Winchester bulk and thunderbolts are dead accurate. Wildcats a bit worse, and golden bullets suck

AR conversion with KMtactical 24" heavy fluted stainless upper and 10-40x scope with 3# JP trigger
Wildcats - baseball sized groups, maybe 1 in 10 fail to load properly (either fail to eject completely or fail to close bolt all the way on next round
Thunderbolts - horrible in AR conversion. 1 in 5 failures same as above, and not real accurate. And a few fail to fires. These must not like the lighter firing pin strikes with the #3 hammer/trigger combo
Golden bullets - Not quite as bad as the thunderbolts for feeding/jamming, but close. And accuracy far worse.
Winchester 555 - Runs flawless. And accuracy that rivals the thunderbolts.

AR conversion with KM 18" upper and reflex sight with mil-spec trigger
Pretty much same as the other AR. Feeding issues with the unplated wildcats and thunderbolts. But without any mis-fires with the thunderbolts because full weight mil-spec trigger.

Results with the AR's were as expected. Because everyone said unplated bullets dont feed well. My go-to ammo now is the winchester bulk 222/333/555 stuff. Because its splitting hairs when it comes to accuracy vs the thunderbolts in the bolt guns. Even though the TB's have a slight edge. They just dont work well in the 22 conversions.

 

[k0ua]

It is interesting how finicky .22's are when it comes to feeding them. Find something that works and stay with them. I have had very good luck with the bulk pack Federals in all of mine.