.22 ammunition reliability test.

[Andre in Alberton]

I have been shooting 22lr for 30 years. Now up to 4 firearms, which are a Beretta 71, Ruger Single Six, Ruger American Rimfire and Henry lever action. All of these are pretty reliable and are cleaned after ever range session.

I loved the Swartklip ammo. When that started running out i switched to S&B which has become my goto 22lr ammo. I don't like the wax residue but it has not caused me any hassles. If u want to get past this, S&B makes a high velocity round with a copper bullet which is very clean and super reliable. My son-in-law runs that in his Walther Colt M4 carbine which is a little ammo picky.

If u want premium ammo, look at CCI. The SK brand is also very good. Have not used much Eley. Fiocchi has several offerings. The lowest cost budget range is not that great. The more expensibe ones are much better. I am not nuts about Remington Thunderbolts but they work pretty ok at a budget price. Winchester 555 is another budget line but the quality is not what it used to be.

The "experts" say u should change carry ammo regularly if u are carrying 22lr. That is good advice due to the rimfire construction. But having said that, my late dad would carry his Beretta 71 with a full mag for more than a year before it was shot and ammo changed. That Swartklip ammo was very reliable.

[Tayls]

Just for interest sake. I had a few hundred Swartklip standard velocity from 1989. I can't recall a single FTF. On the other hand, I've had Remingtons Cyclones that gave me one or two out of 500.

Here is another question. Are Rimfire ammunition less prone to FTF in a rifle(Firing pin is driven by a larger spring) compared to a Handgun(Hammer/Striker)?

I have also had a similar experience, Killzone.

Shot a bunch (probably about 100-150 rounds of old Swartklip SV and HV .22LR ammo through my semi-auto and had really great accuracy and no FTF or FTF's. This ammo was from, I would guess, around 1985-1987.

By contrast, some of the newer .22LR ammo I have bought from S&O, I have found to be rather prone to FTF or FTF and much more inaccurate (like Remington Golden Bullet, 40gr HV, RN). Even with the Federal American Eagle ammo (38gr, copper plated HV (HP)), I have had a few failures to fire but which then fired upon re-chambering...

[Tayls]

When the gunk (Wax or whatever) from shooting 22lr fills the chamber area. When the next round seats. It stops just short from flush. Firing pin hits it. And then the round moves slightly forward as its hit. Instead of being flush against the barrel face I will call it. And it moves forward to it. Energy is lost and the round does not go off.

This happens more in pistols. As in a rifle when you close the bolt. The bolt with locking lugs will force the bullet in to the same spot everytime. Unless its so dirty that you cant close the bolt at all.

So happens less in rifles due to this one cause of failure to fire.

For some reason, I find that my semi-auto .22LR tends to give issues if it has been shot fairly quickly and when the feed ramp, chamber and bolt face start to "gunk" up with wax and other residue. I suspect that this is not as bad with a bolt action .22LR (due to the shooter ensuring a proper lock-up of the locking lugs when the bolt is closed.

[killzone]

I have also had a similar experience, Killzone.Shot a bunch (probably about 100-150 rounds of old Swartklip SV and HV .22LR ammo through my semi-auto and had really great accuracy and no FTF or FTF's. This ammo was from, I would guess, around 1985-1987.By contrast, some of the newer .22LR ammo I have bought from S&O, I have found to be rather prone to FTF or FTF and much more inaccurate (like Remington Golden Bullet, 40gr HV, RN). Even with the Federal American Eagle ammo (38gr, copper plated HV (HP)), I have had a few failures to fire but which then fired upon re-chambering...

I guess the old saying is true "They don't make them like they used to do"