Cleanest 22LR?

[JHZR2]

Curious what’s your favorite and cleanest shooting?

Been getting much more into .22LR recently. I generally shoot a combo of us made bulk pack stuff and CCI Clean, which is my favorite.

Recently shot some Armscor .22 and it was gross. Very smoky and dirty. Cheap, but I’d rather pay a fraction of a penny more and not have as much smoke in my face.

I haven’t used much CCI standard velocity. Most of what I shoot is bolt/LA/revolver. I do also run a Winchester 63 and Glock 44. So higher pressure/velocity variants are also of interest.

What’s your favorite?

 

[billt460]

I've found a lot of rimfire "cleanliness" and accuracy can be better determined by barrel length and action type, than by brand. Most .22 ammunition is designed to consume it's propellant in a 16" rifle barrel. (Unless it is packaged as "pistol match" or some other designed for handguns).

The older Winchester "T-22" ammo was a good example of this. It was filthy if fired in pistols and revolvers. And somewhat filthy if shot in semi auto rifles.

But I've shot bricks of the stuff in bolt action .22 rifles with 16" to 22" barrels, and it was very clean. It's hard to produce clean .22 ammo, because manufacturers have no idea what it's going to be shot in.

Most of the cheap, bulk packaged .22 ammo is made to be somewhat "universal". While .22 pistol ammo is designed around powder consumption in a 6" barrel.

And .22 rifle ammo uses powder to be consumed in a 16" barrel. Bulk ammo uses powder designed for consumption somewhere in the middle..... Say around 10" to 14".

Even the super expensive Olympic Match .22 rifles, and Biathlon rifles, that appear to have very long barrels, are sleeved, so they can achieve a longer sight radius. If you look at them from the muzzle, it's a long, hollowed out tube that contains a 16" barrel inside.

This is why the better brands of .22 ammunition like Eley and Lapua make literally dozens of different types of match ammo for .22's. They even make a special Biathlon .22 ammo designed with a powder for better cold weather performance..... In both a Winter and Summer "flavor".

It's also why this ammo costs as much or more per round as a lot of centerfire ammunition. Much more care and expense is placed on handling, inspecting, and packaging it as well.

Bottom line is if your .22 ammo "shoots filthy". Try it in a different gun. It very well could perform much better.

 

[Wingo]

CCI is a good mid range round, definitely a step up from the cheaper bricks/buckets. Other than that you can go to match grade stuff. Can't recommend any particular brand, I'm too cheap to buy it. CCI is as high as I go.

 

[jstert]

reliability and cleanliness go together for me. i’m no ammo snob but cci, which includes blazer, is about the best in quality and value. i’ve been happy with trying a bit of aguila too. i used to like remington golden bullets in the 100 round square plastic boxes from walmart for $7 but these, and federal 300 round bulk pack, seem to have deteriorated as of late. i now order most of my 22lr ammo online direct from cci.

 

[4WD]

CCI is a good mid range round, definitely a step up from the cheaper bricks/buckets. Other than that you can go to match grade stuff. Can't recommend any particular brand, I'm too cheap to buy it. CCI is as high as I go.

Yeah - same .22LR/WMR is their cup of tea …

 

[JHZR2]

I just wish cci clean was more available….

I've found a lot of rimfire "cleanliness" and accuracy can be better determined by barrel length and action type, than by brand. Most .22 ammunition is designed to consume it's propellant in a 16" rifle barrel. (Unless it is packaged as "pistol match" or some other designed for handguns).

The older Winchester "T-22" ammo was a good example of this. It was filthy if fired in pistols and revolvers. And somewhat filthy if shot in semi auto rifles.

But I've shot bricks of the stuff in bolt action .22 rifles with 16" to 22" barrels, and it was very clean. It's hard to produce clean .22 ammo, because manufacturers have no idea what it's going to be shot in.

Most of the cheap, bulk packaged .22 ammo is made to be somewhat "universal". While .22 pistol ammo is designed around powder consumption in a 6" barrel.

And .22 rifle ammo uses powder to be consumed in a 16" barrel. Bulk ammo uses powder designed for consumption somewhere in the middle..... Say around 10" to 14".

Even the super expensive Olympic Match .22 rifles, and Biathlon rifles, that appear to have very long barrels, are sleeved, so they can achieve a longer sight radius. If you look at them from the muzzle, it's a long, hollowed out tube that contains a 16" barrel inside.

This is why the better brands of .22 ammunition like Eley and Lapua make literally dozens of different types of match ammo for .22's. They even make a special Biathlon .22 ammo designed with a powder for better cold weather performance..... In both a Winter and Summer "flavor".

It's also why this ammo costs as much or more per round as a lot of centerfire ammunition. Much more care and expense is placed on handling, inspecting, and packaging it as well.

Bottom line is if your .22 ammo "shoots filthy". Try it in a different gun. It very well could perform much better.

Well, I shot the armscor in a Winchester 63 and a Glock 44. It was smoky in both. Like decent plume of smoke comes out each round. And this was 150 rounds in. Not like there was oil in the barrel.

It was the same in both, and was quite obvious. Never have that with my cci clean ammo, which I’ve shot in both. No complaints with the cheap bulk pack stuff either. It seems like the Armscor ammo is just smokier and smellier regardless of short vs long barrel.

 

[billt460]

I just wish cci clean was more available….



Well, I shot the armscor in a Winchester 63 and a Glock 44. It was smoky in both. Like decent plume of smoke comes out each round. And this was 150 rounds in. Not like there was oil in the barrel.

It was the same in both, and was quite obvious. Never have that with my cci clean ammo, which I’ve shot in both. No complaints with the cheap bulk pack stuff either. It seems like the Armscor ammo is just smokier and smellier regardless of short vs long barrel.

I'll take your word on that. The only experience I've had with Armscor ammo was with .45 ACP. And it shot as well as any other 230 grain Ball ammo.

 

[JHZR2]

I'll take your word on that. The only experience I've had with Armscor ammo was with .45 ACP. And it shot as well as any other 230 grain Ball ammo.

Center fire tends to be a little cleaner in general, I think. No?

 

[billt460]

Center fire tends to be a little cleaner in general, I think. No?

Absolutely.

 

[Inked]

Never had any issues with CCI. Dirtiest I‘ve shot was Aguila but admittedly I haven’t shot any in years so maybe they’ve improved.

 

[JHZR2]

Never had any issues with CCI. Dirtiest I‘ve shot was Aguila but admittedly I haven’t shot any in years so maybe they’ve improved.

Yeah cci is my go to. Not sure why their clean product is so hard to find. That and the federal syntech are excellent IMO.

 

[UncleDave]

Yeah cci is my go to. Not sure why their clean product is so hard to find. That and the federal syntech are excellent IMO.

Same.

 

[Warlord]

I don’t find any of it so dirty that I would be in some way disadvantaged. I judge 22 ammo strictly by price/accuracy ratio. Aguila is doing well lately.

 

[ensoniqman]

Always like 22Thunderbolt or Golden Remington and CCI. Had issues in the past with Aguila.

 

[JHZR2]

Hooray! Found some!

 

[Elkins45]

I bought a case of CCI standard velocity to shoot thru my silencer. I’m a big fan.

 

[Shannow]

I bought a case of CCI standard velocity to shoot thru my silencer. I’m a big fan.

CCI blue box is my regular go to...then if I get serious, green tag.
My understanding (decades old, may be different) was that the batches of blue box with the highest consistency became green tag...don't shoot if that's changed.

 

[Spring Break '92]

CCI Standard and SK (made by Lapua) are very clean .22 rounds.

 

[Cujet]

I have always liked the "Velocitor" ammo.

 

[totegoat]

I like the smoke.