Review: CCI Blazer 22rf ammo bulk pak

[GetReal]

I was running out of CCI Standard Velocity, so I came across some CCI Blazer (edit) bulk pack (pictured below) and thought I'd give it a try for reliability, velocity, recoil etc for use in Rimfire Challenge competition. The following is my review. ( I found only good reviews online, ranging from 4.4 to 4.9 (out of 5) stars.

The Guns used:

1 - S&W SW22 Performace Center Victory Reviewed here ( https://www.snipershide.com/shooting/threads/need-new-22rf-pistol-steel-challenge-gun.7002901/ )
2 - Ruger 10/22 receiver with TdK bolt, barrel and trigger

I fired approximately 120 rounds in both guns, and observed the following:

Ammo tested:

CCI Blazer, 38 grain, 1235 fps. $39.95 / 1,050 rounds at Walmart
CCI Standard Velocity, 40 gr, 1070 fps

SW22 - 100 % reliability with a measurably greater recoil impulse. That it would have a greater recoil at 150 fps faster is not suprising. That it was as noticeable as it was did suprise me. Its 22 rf....were not talking 300 WinMag here. But when measuring string times in hundredths of a second, the Balzerwould be a time handicap. Accuracy: PoA was consistently PoI (using Vortex Viper red dot)

TdK 10/22 - of the 120ish rounds fired, about 7 failures to feed, with the bolt riding over the cartridge and denting the side of the round. (I failed to get a pic of the damage). By meaurement the Blazers are about 0.032" shorter than the Standard Velocity. Why it causes FtFire in the 10/22 and not the SW22 eludes me. A slightly greater recoil impulse was barely noticeable. The CCI SV has always fed 99.99% reliably. Accuracy: PoA was consistently PoI (using Vortex Viper red dot) Both CCI Stinger and CCI SV rim diameter averaged the same - 0.272 - 0.273, so rim diamter doesntt seem to be the cause of the bolt riding over the CCI Blazer rounds

No FtFire in any rounds tested. The Blazer seemes to take a deeper primer hit indentation than the CCI SV.

The harder recoil in the SW22 and the unreliability in the 10/22 scared me away. So I just ordered 5,000 rounds of the CCI SV.

Seeing only good reviews online, I thought I'd share this review with y'all.

 

[Nodak]

Sorry dude, those are Blazer, Stanger are 32gr hp running 1640.

 

[GetReal]

Sorry dude, those are Blazer, Stanger are 32gr hp running 1640.

Noted and corrrected. Thanx !

 

[jbuck88]

Blazer use to be a good cheap ammo. For the price it was more accurate and didn't have nearly as many failure to fire as the winchester wildcats or remington thunder bolts.

That's disappointing that you are getting failure to feed in your ruger. I have a case upstairs plinking.

 

[GetReal]

Blazer use to be a good cheap ammo. For the price it was more accurate and didn't have nearly as many failure to fire as the winchester wildcats or remington thunder bolts.

That's disappointing that you are getting failure to feed in your ruger. I have a case upstairs plinking.

all I can attribute that to is due to the shorter overall cartridge length of the blazer versus the standard velocity.

 

[jbuck88]

Did you try different magazines? I have 1 bx25 that is more likely to fail feedings then the rest.

 

[chevy_man]

It shoots like the reject ammo for me.


I do know one guy who uses a bullet sizer to reshape the lead on them. He shoots them very well at 50' indoor. I couldn't tell a difference between blazer, sv, or green tag at 50' with zero wind.

He then falls apart past 25 yards on the outdoor range. He thinks because he gets hits on a 4'x4' steel plate at 300 it's good long range ammo too. His average nrl22 score proves it's crap.



Remember the online reviews are people that are happy they hit a beer can at 10'. They're not using a vudoo and $2 ammo.

 

[GetReal]

Did you try different magazines? I have 1 bx25 that is more likely to fail feedings then the rest.

Not for this test. This time it was one mag, for both CCI SV and CCI Blazer in the 10/22 clone. Only the Blazer had any jams.

 

[jbuck88]

It shoots like the reject ammo for me.


I do know one guy who uses a bullet sizer to reshape the lead on them. He shoots them very well at 50' indoor. I couldn't tell a difference between blazer, sv, or green tag at 50' with zero wind.

He then falls apart past 25 yards on the outdoor range. He thinks because he gets hits on a 4'x4' steel plate at 300 it's good long range ammo too. His average nrl22 score proves it's crap.



Remember the online reviews are people that are happy they hit a beer can at 10'. They're not using a vudoo and $2 ammo.

I agree. When I use to buy and shoot a lot. It was a price point ammo. I didn't expect it to shoot like target ammo, I the last time I bought it in bulk it was around 2 cents a round.

 

[stevebla]

Blazer has gone downhill, I have some in 50 round boxes that has to be pushed out of the plastic sleeves and is hard to chamber. Maybe a bad lot.

 

[Steel head]

Years ago I bought 2 cases of blazer.
I’m down to about 3 bricks.
I can’t remember a single dud.

Unfortunate to hear it’s not what it used to be.

 

[gunsnjeeps]

I started shooting a .22 indoor pistol league in 96. Ruger MKII 22/45,no mods, and Thunderbolts. Sam's Club used to sell it in 2 brick packs for Christmas. My wife would get me 2 packs for Christmas.

Anyhow, used to shoot fairly well with it. As the years went by I started shooting the Remington Target 22. I noticed the reduction in recoil and more time to shoot Timed and Rapid targets. After Sea Duty kept me from shooting for a couple seasons I picked up some Target 22 and it had several Failure to Fires in 30 rounds. It was so bad a fellow shooter gave me a box of CCI Green Label to finish the night. Since then I've shot Aguila Match Rifle, worked fine in a pistol, and after that case CCI Standard Velocity for the past 7 years or so.

I've read lately their may be problems with a lot of Standard Velocity and primer consistency. I guess some of the pistol shooters were having problems with it last year and found some that wouldn't fire after turning and shooting again.

ETA: I haven't shot Thunderbolts in years, but have heard a lot of quality control complaints on them also, 4 or 5% failure to fire.

 

[GetReal]

I've read lately their may be problems with a lot of Standard Velocity and primer consistency. I guess some of the pistol shooters were having problems with it last year and found some that wouldn't fire after turning and shooting again.

I've had some FTFire in CCI SV.... about 1 in 100. Not really much worse than other "lower end" ammo.

I've had very little FTFire in Texex, Center-X and Midas + (high end stuff)

Wanna play? gotta pay.

 

[gunsnjeeps]

I've had some FTFire in CCI SV.... about 1 in 100. Not really much worse than other "lower end" ammo.

I've had very little FTFire in Texex, Center-X and Midas + (high end stuff)

Wanna play? gotta pay.

I can honestly say I have one every so often, not enough that I've kept track of them or had a problem. If I could get past the Ruger stovepipeing after 250 to 300 rounds I'd be happier, it gets dirty and the ejected shell gets stuck above the round feeding. I'm trying to find someone to make a part i drew up to fix it.

If I were shooting. 22 rifle I'd try some of the pricier stuff, for pistol it is me not the ammo.

Link for the CCI Standard Velocity thread if your interested. https://www.bullseyeforum.net/t13077-new-sv-cci-22-35-in-paper-box-issues

 

[10ring1]

Blazer is my go to bulk ammo. Has served me well for many years.

 

[GetReal]

Blazer is my go to bulk ammo. Has served me well for many years.

Others have indicated quality has declined in more recent manufacture. Is that your experience?

 

[GetReal]

I can honestly say I have one every so often, not enough that I've kept track of them or had a problem. If I could get past the Ruger stovepipeing after 250 to 300 rounds I'd be happier, it gets dirty and the ejected shell gets stuck above the round feeding. I'm trying to find someone to make a part i drew up to fix it.

If I were shooting. 22 rifle I'd try some of the pricier stuff, for pistol it is me not the ammo.

Link for the CCI Standard Velocity thread if your interested. https://www.bullseyeforum.net/t13077-new-sv-cci-22-35-in-paper-box-issues

Since I'm using it for Rimfire Challenge / speed on steel competitions, I need super reliable ammo more than super accurate. (15 yards and under) And I don't mind spending alot for match 22rf ammo.

So I'm thinking of using the CCI SV just for rimfire practice where I easily burn thru 200 rounds. With CCI SV that's cost me about $12 each time.

Matches I'll shoot about 200 runds also. At $10 / box for Center - X or SK, that'll be about $40 / month.

 

[Hellbender]

Your FTF in the Ruger was probably because of the higher velocity instead of any difference in the OAL of the round.
The bolt moving faster was not allowing the mag to raise the round fast enough to catch the rim.
A different mag (or maybe just clean/slick that one up) may allow the round to rise faster and fix the problem.
I bolt buffer may or may not help also, but I would look at mags first.

 

[GetReal]

Your FTF in the Ruger was probably because of the higher velocity instead of any difference in the OAL of the round.
The bolt moving faster was not allowing the mag to raise the round fast enough to catch the rim.
A different mag (or maybe just clean/slick that one up) may allow the round to rise faster and fix the problem.
I bolt buffer may or may not help also, but I would look at mags first.

I'll try that. The bolt was riding right over the live round. I've got a good Volquartsen buffer in there, so yeah....mags /velocity.

 

[Jory45acp]

Others have indicated quality has declined in more recent manufacture. Is that your experience?

I've seen this said about almost all brands of RF ammo, barring the few elite highest $$$ stuff. CCI SV was gold standard for comparison for many many people for years now you read complaints all the time. I'm not sure if overall the RF industry ammo has lost a step in quality or we've gotten better and better rifles and expect more from low grade bulk ammo.

 

[Pbeal]

I've seen this said about almost all brands of RF ammo, barring the few elite highest $$$ stuff. CCI SV was gold standard for comparison for many many people for years now you read complaints all the time. I'm not sure if overall the RF industry ammo has lost a step in quality or we've gotten better and better rifles and expect more from low grade bulk ammo.

I've been searching the interwebs for reviews on the differences between Blazer and CCI .22LR, and the consensus appears to be no consensus at all other than it depends on the rifle/handgun used, which has become a truism. The other possibility is that more people are shooting these days and sharing their experiences online. That by itself would increase the anecdotal accounts and thereby increase the explanatory noise so-to-speak. Having said that, I've had more FTF lately with CCI SV than I can remember - half a dozen in several hundred rounds. Probably just a bad batch.

I know, a weird first post....

 

[chevy_man]

Blazer has always been cheap.

Doesn't matter what you paid, it's cheap ammo.

 

[Appalachian]

Blazer used to have 40gr. bullets. Now they have 38gr. bullets. I’ve had some good lots of the 40gr. The newer 38gr. is just okay. No failures at all for me with either though.