Budget ammo advice for 22lr stretching out

[Tomspanks]

We can still find 22lr up in Canada(for now) so I wanna load up while the gettings good. No idea of what to buy....


Currently shooting winchester and remington high velocity bulk. Super x shoots great in my CZ 452 at 50 yards....

What should I buy to get out to 100? 150, 200? Looking to hit steel but will test groups at 100.



Remington target standard velocity and remington subsonics are available for reasonable $$$ up here- those any good?


Not into match ammo by any means just looking to get maybe $150 worth of something cheap and decent to keep me shooting through the upcoming ammo drought.

 

[Defusion]

For the cheap stuff I only shoot CCI standard (it's all i can get that isn't target/match grade).
You don't want high velocity (supersonic), because it becomes unstable when going from super to subsonic (generally around 70y or so). This leads to large groups.

 

[hatidua]

If you want cheap but decent? -Aguila Super Extra Subsonic (either the 38gr hollow-point or 40gr solid point). Both of those, if it's not FREEZING out, have worked just fine for me on 18" gongs at 425 yards.

 

[BigJimFish]

The hardest thing for .22lr ammo manufacturers to get consistent is velocity. This is also the most vital aspect of the ammunition for shooting long range as slight differences in initial velocity magnify with distance. As has been mentioned, you must use standard velocity ammo because HV stuff goes unstable when it becomes subsonic. You will find all match ammo is subsonic anyway though. Only cheap stuff and some special purpose varmint ammo is high velocity.

With .22lr ammo rifles always seem to have preferences of one ammo or another and even one velocity range over another. On the high end, both my rifles prefer Eley match to RWS R-50. In the middle price they prefer Federal 711b and even Eley sport to Wolf / SK. Beyond individual rifle preference you more often than not really get what you pay for with .22lr ammo. I don't think that their are really stellar values to be had and real dogs outside of ammos that your particular rifle doesn't like.

The take away is that you have to buy 50 rd boxes and test them in your rifle. Then you buy large quantities of the ammo lots that performed well and fall in your price range. For what it is worth, my wife's CZ452 seems to perform well with the relatively inexpensive cci std vel. Be sure to purchase this in brick form and not in those stupid plastic boxes. This fall, when I last bought std vel, it was $26 a brick. That is quite a value. If I remember correctly, plastic boxes put in in the $36 range for $500. That is a lot of money to pay for a box you are going to throw away.

One last note, Federal 711b and Winchester T-22 vary greatly from lot to lot. One of the best lots of ammo I have ever had was T-22. It delivered average groups at 50yds in the .4" range. The next brick I bought shot a 1.2" average, worse than many bulk high velocity bricks. I try a box of these two American ammos every time I can because the value can be so good. When it shoots poorly I just use the rest of the box in my handgun.

 

[callen3615]

For the cheap stuff I only shoot CCI standard (it's all i can get that isn't target/match grade).
You don't want high velocity (supersonic), because it becomes unstable when going from super to subsonic (generally around 70y or so). This leads to large groups.

I have a beef with this.

In theory I would agree but as far as shooting steel goes I cant really agree.

It seems like with the faster rounds my elevation needed to shoot 200yds is significantly less than with standard velocity. Consequently, the higher velocity rounds are less effected by the wind because they get there faster. I have also noticed that standard velocity has more of vertical dispersion than bulk especially when shooting with, or against the wind. I assume since the SV rounds require a greater arc to go 200-300 yards they are subjected to more vertical changes by 12 oclock or 6 oclock winds than flatter shooting rounds. SV groups marginally better on paper through my savage than bulk but not enough to merit shooting it at steel past 100. YMMV

 

[armorpl8chikn]

I have a beef with this.

In theory I would agree but as far as shooting steel goes I cant really agree.

It seems like with the faster rounds my elevation needed to shoot 200yds is significantly less than with standard velocity. Consequently, the higher velocity rounds are less effected by the wind because they get there faster. I have also noticed that standard velocity has more of vertical dispersion than bulk especially when shooting with, or against the wind. I assume since the SV rounds require a greater arc to go 200-300 yards they are subjected to more vertical changes by 12 oclock or 6 oclock winds than flatter shooting rounds. SV groups marginally better on paper through my savage than bulk but not enough to merit shooting it at steel past 100. YMMV

You can agree in theory but not in real world conditions? That is a bit confusing. In my experience all the high vel stuff showed the accuracy of a thrown brick after 75yds. If you can't hit the target what good is saving elevation. I have seen match ammo shoot 1" groups at 200yds. How much elevation one has to use is completely irrelevant to accuracy. Accuracy is the only factor you need to consider unless you are just slinging lead.

 

[Defusion]

I can understand the benefits of higher velocity over the more stable standard velocity rounds. I suppose it would depend on how much it is affected by the wind versus how much it is affected by the instability.
Sadly I can't provide real-life experience on the wind part, as I'm limited to indoor ranges. I'd love to hear more experiences in this regard.