My view of certain .22 LR rounds.

[ironglows]

  It is said that lightning never hits twice in the same place!  For that reason, I figure Remington lightnings and thunderbolts are well named.
  Wildcats are crazy, erratic creatures..and that's why believe Winchester named those particular cartridges very well.

  Anyone agree ?

[Dee]

Never had any problems with any of'em

[orerancher]

Some of My .22's shoot that Cheap Promotional Stuff Okay...Some, Ya can't Hit the Ground with Em...

[ironglows]

I haven't had a great deal of function problems with them, but their accuracy leaves much to be desired, not even considering target grade ammo.
  but I think both lines suffer across the board, when compared to anything CCI..especially the CCI standards.  CCI being my "go to" line for about 50 years now.
   Again, as a complete line, the Aguilas shine, but are a bit harder to find around here.

   Needless to say, I am a big rimfire fan.

[BUGEYE]

I’ve had good luck with everything except thunderbolts which gave me roughly 10% duds from the two bricks I once owned.
Wildcats always went bang, but accuracy was spotty.
I still have two bricks of Winchester T-22 that’s very accurate in my Cricket but not in my Sears model 43.
I have several bricks of Federal HVHP and enough Winchester dynapoints to equip an army.
That is, I had all that stuff until the boating accident.

[Dee]

I sold everything when prices skyrocketed, and cashed in on the shortages.  My go to plan is keeping my phone close in case I need to call 911.

[BUGEYE]

I sold everything when prices skyrocketed, and cashed in on the shortages.  My go to plan is keeping my phone close in case I need to call 911.

Yep, the cops will be there in 30 seconds or less. 

[Graybeard]

Nope don't agree Ironglow. Never shot Lightning so no opinion on them. I picked up brick of the Thunderbolt and it has worked well and been accurate. Mostly tho I tend to avoid Remington rimfire since a long ago incident I think was old and improperly stored ammo so really not Remington's fault.

In my competition shooting days my best friend and shooting partner used only Wildcat cuz it was cheap. No one ever beat him due to the ammo. If you wanted to beat him you had to earn it.

I mostly shot Winchester copper washed ammo or CCI HPs. The CCI was most accurate in my guns but hard to come by. The Winchester was almost equally accurate and easy to buy in case (5000 rounds) quantities so I didn't have to buy as often.

[ironglows]

I’ve had good luck with everything except thunderbolts which gave me roughly 10% duds from the two bricks I once owned.
Wildcats always went bang, but accuracy was spotty.
I still have two bricks of Winchester T-22 that’s very accurate in my Cricket but not in my Sears model 43.
I have several bricks of Federal HVHP and enough Winchester dynapoints to equip an army.
That is, I had all that stuff until the boating accident.

  There was a time, many years ago, when the T-22 was my go to for accuracy, before CCI came out with their standards.  Actually from what I understand, the CCI "selects", are the real go-to rounds now.
  My grandson told me the selects all come off one machine at CCI, because it produces superior rounds.  He didn't elaborate whether that was by accident or design !

   Although I am a rimfire fan, I have no large selection of rimfire rounds around home.   Closest source would probably be, Cabelas  about 45-50 miles away.  So I rarely get into the Eleys, SKs, Wolf or Lapuas. I would like to find a good source for Aguilas, soince I have found many of their choices to be accurate.
   In the gun stores around here, we have the usual; Winchesters, Remingtons, Federals and CCIs..  .CCIs are very dominant, I presume others choose them for the same reason I choose them.
  Hornadys available in .22 Mags and .17 HMRs.

 

[Bob Riebe]

Interesting reading.
When I started collecting ammunition for collecting purposes, .22 boxes, many no longer around , were comparatively cheap, then, my brother bought a vintage Remington top line .22 bolt action, so I thought, well we can shoot these and see which is most accurate.
BUT
he got married and last for all practical purposes gave the rifle away,  (he could have gotten half of what they gave him, had he just sold the RARE extra magazines online).
So now I have a couple of thousand rounds of very varied .22 rimfire.
I do have my Stevens  87J  .22 semi-auto, which dad won at a Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing drawing, (how times have changed)  but have to work on the firing pin so it does not misfire on rare occasions.
At that while it served me well in my rabbit hunting days it was never exceptionally accurate.
When I put a Weaver V22 on it  fifty years ago, I was very happy with the results.

When I think of .22 long rifle I still think of the yellow .22 Western we had up here, no Winchester; green Remington Golden Bullet; Federal, back then it was just Federal; and then came along CCI, plus when the farm store opened they had, and we were OH WOW British ammunition, Eley; oh i almost forgot Coast to Coast (CIL).
Now I think the only one of those still around in the form I grew up with is the Remington Golden Bullet.

Here is an interesting bit of information:
https://www.accurateshooter.com/guns-of-week/22lr-rimfire-ammo-comparison-test/

[BUGEYE]

I’ve had good luck with everything except thunderbolts which gave me roughly 10% duds from the two bricks I once owned.
Wildcats always went bang, but accuracy was spotty.
I still have two bricks of Winchester T-22 that’s very accurate in my Cricket but not in my Sears model 43.
I have several bricks of Federal HVHP and enough Winchester dynapoints to equip an army.
That is, I had all that stuff until the boating accident.

  There was a time, many years ago, when the T-22 was my go to for accuracy, before CCI came out with their standards.  Actually from what I understand, the CCI "selects", are the real go-to rounds now.
  My grandson told me the selects all come off one machine at CCI, because it produces superior rounds.  He didn't elaborate whether that was by accident or design !

   Although I am a rimfire fan, I have no large selection of rimfire rounds around home.   Closest source would probably be, Cabelas  about 45-50 miles away.  So I rarely get into the Eleys, SKs, Wolf or Lapuas. I would like to find a good source for Aguilas, soince I have found many of their choices to be accurate.
   In the gun stores around here, we have the usual; Winchesters, Remingtons, Federals and CCIs..  .CCIs are very dominant, I presume others choose them for the same reason I choose them.
  Hornadys available in .22 Mags and .17 HMRs.

 

Before the boating accident I had nearly a brick of Aguila HVHP and with my then Remington 581 I shot some of my best groups.  One group at 50 yards was a perfect cloverleaf that measured 3/8”
I glued that one on the wall of my little shop.

[Lloyd Smale]

ive had probably my worse luck with accuracy and the most miss fires out of thunderbolts then the rest combined. I swear i can even here the sound change from one round to another in some batches. best cheap stuff is blazers. They shoot as well as some of my match ammo. Dont worry about it much anymore. I drifted away from 22s a couple years ago and rarely shoot them anymore. For one im nervous about using my stash and not being able to replace it and also found i can shoot reloaded cast 9s darned near as cheap as 22s and they are just more fun to pound steel with.

[Land_Owner]

I have not had ANY "bad" 22LR ammo and I have a stainless Ruger K77/22RP bolt rifle that will shoot most brands (have not tried them "all") to a degree of accuracy (formerly out to 25 yards) that exceeds my specifications (center of "X" between ears and eyes of hog).  I am a Happy Camper that the rifle likes cheap (when I bought it) bulk boxes of Remington 550 count.

[ironglows]

The tests that Bob posted was very comprehensive and informative, but here is the kicker with .22 LR ammo, actually with any ammo.. 
  Change the gun or change the shooter, and the results can change dramatically. Here for instance, is a different shooter/different gun, with a fairly broad set of samples..  With this shooter, you don't have to sit through the shooting process..he goes almost directly to
 thee target results.

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGdA2c9N_-I

  Still another shooter, another gun..
   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M43_zxGrovU

[oldandslow]

I sold everything when prices skyrocketed, and cashed in on the shortages.  My go to plan is keeping my phone close in case I need to call 911.

Suuuure you did and suuuure you are. Not calling you a liar, just taking those statements with a very large grain of salt and in the same vein as my statement about having to rely on a grub hoe handle.

[Dee]

I have since bought a sturdy walking cane for balance and possibly protection.

[oldandslow]

I've though about a shillalie (is that the way it's spelled?) but the Irish want too much money for a knobby stick.

[Graybeard]

Proper spelling is: shillelagh

Long, long ago I worked on the guidance system for an Army missile by that same name.

[45/70fan]

I shot a bunch of Wildcat's in my youth in the old Ruger 10/22 I still have. They worked well with no complaints. The Thunderbolt's weren't as accurate in my gun.

[Graybeard]

In my youth, Ruger was not yet making guns. But then I am 2 days older than dirt.

[ironglows]

My first gun was a Stevens single shot, with a "Tenite" (plastic) stock.  Then when I turned 16, I made a trip to the local hardware store, and bought a Winchester single shot, bolt action rifle.
  Imagine that, 16 years old, the hardware man sells me a gun...and nobody ever got hurt with that gun...except for some woodchucks, pigeons and crows!

[Steve E]

Thunder Bolts were the second worse grouping 22 ammo I have ever used,  the first was some 22 lr from Russia called Vostok or something like that, half duds and then the half that would fire sounded like a 22 magnum and some sounded like they were fired through a suppressor. You were lucky to get any to hit a sheet of paper @ 50 yds. and they were the stinkingest things I have ever fired.

Steve............

[Graybeard]

Only Russia 22 ammo I've had any knowledge of was some target stuff a friend got somewhere a great many years ago.

It was very accurate and 100% reliable but seemed to be coated with some kinda grease or oil, in handling it you got your hands all lubed up. It did kinda stink when ya fired it but other wise it was fine ammo. No clue the brand.

[Ranger99]

If they go bang and squirt a lead pill
out the end, IMO they're worth keeping
for JIC use if things truly went to pot.
Crap ammo is better than a gun full
of air. Just like having a Hi Point pistol
or nothing

[Lloyd Smale]

i have to take back my poor review of thunder bolts. Over the last 4 days ive shot two bricks through my new ar-22 smith and one of those bricks with a binary trigger going full tilt and they havent missed a beat. Shot pretty decent groups too. Not as good as what the gun likes best which is pmc and rem golden bullet hps but as good as the average. Maybe they had some teething pains back years ago. New ones or at least the ones i bought recently seem to be decent ammo. Like ranger said in todays market you take what you can get and if they go bang your a winner. Found a decent deal when my wife was at walmart. She called and said they had rem golden bullet 525 round bricks for 40 bucks. About as cheap as ive found bare lead 22s. I told her to buy all she could. They told her 3 brick limit buts she begged a bit and came home with 5. Ive been buying all i can afford even at these inflated prices. I just dont want to sit back and wait for prices to come down and find out there never going to. With this russia thing coming on i can see it becoming even harder to find ammo.

[Ranger99]

40 dollars for promo type 22 ammo
isn't an objectionable price, and isn't
much over what it was a decade ago.
As long as it's not a bunch of duds,
I'd take that over nothing.
I could still take animals with crap
ammo. I'd just have to make sure
they were still in range. I've shot several
deer right underneath me with an
arrow that I probably could have put on
the ground with a wrist rocket and a
thumbnail sized ball bearing.
After you've killed deer with a bow
at 15 yards,  killing one with a worn
out rifle and cheap ammo is like
using a death ray gun

[ironglow]

 Many years ago, I found some Yellow Jackets that fired nicely in my Ruger 10/22, but that was the best Rems I ever found.
  Used to be Rems were quite dirty...how do the newer Thunderbolts work in that regard, Lloyd?

[Lloyd Smale]

i dont recall them not running in my 1022s they did ass up with wildcats pretty regularly though. Honestly I have 2 1022s. A basic birtch on i bought in the 80s and a take down stainless i bought about 5 years ago. Dont think ive shot either of them in a few years. I kind of got hooked on the smith 15-22s. they are more reliable. Can get by longer without cleaning and are more accurate then the two 10-22s i have. I wont selll these two but doubt id by another.

Many years ago, I found some Yellow Jackets that fired nicely in my Ruger 10/22, but that was the best Rems I ever found.
  Used to be Rems were quite dirty...how do the newer Thunderbolts work in that regard, Lloyd?

[ironglow]

   i have a TCR 22 by Thompson Center...which I understand is now owned by S & W..

   I really like that little rifle real well.  Based on the 10/22 action, and IMO a much better execution of the design..

[Lloyd Smale]

probably gets some flack over this statement but in my opinion the marlin semi autos and the old rem nylons both ran more reliably then a 10-22. Keep in mind my 22s rarely get cleaned. Matter of fact ive got one full sized smith ar thats probably got 10k through it and its never been cleaned. Only thing ive done is take the bolt out once in a while and wipe  it off. Which by the way is much easier then pulling the bolt out of a 10-22. This kind of reminded me that i intended on cleaning that thing. Oh well maybe tommarrow or next month. Or maybe next year. It just keeps running and the barrel isnt leaded. Isnt like im trusting my life to it anyway. Gave one away to my oldest grandson and his dad pissed and moaned that he wanted it. This little ones so much fun it will probably not get alot of use anymore so maybe ill let him clean it. What i should do is make a deal that if he cleans it ill give him my birch stocked 10-22.