.22 LR ammo and guns are very picky.

[LakeTrout]

I wouldn’t waste anyone’s time or money on recommending or requiring a 22 to start with. 9mm is fine and then they don’t have to go and buy a 9mm in addition to a 22 thereafter.

Not against 22s. I think they’re great for a lot of things. Just commenting specifically about the training courses that encourage or require one to start vs a center fire cartridge.

 

[hminsky]

I have found CCI mini-mags are the cure for 90% of .22 failure to feed/eject problems. Maybe 95%

 

[RKG]

In my experience, most reliable .22 auto pistol is Ruger SR-22. Most reliable .22 ammo is CCI, either "Target" or "Mini-Mag."

 

[Mountain]

Winchester Wildcat has NEVER been good.

Are you the guy running the class? Was it your ammo you were supplying?
As soon as you have a student with a malfunctioning firearm, you tell them to box it up. It's done. Put a known, functioning gun in their hands. Nobody can learn if they are wondering "is this thing going to go bang?.

Do they still make it? Maybe the ammo is from the 80's?

 

[milktree]

Nobody can learn if they are wondering "is this thing going to go bang?.

It’s great for ball and dummy drills!

(It’s a joke, son, a joke)

 

[gerrycaruso]

Semi and full auto .22s don't seem to tolerate cheap ammo very well. I've found CCI to be very good but Aguila is even better. Cheaper, slightly more accurate and much cleaner.

 

[chris_1001]

In my experience, most reliable .22 auto pistol is Ruger SR-22. Most reliable .22 ammo is CCI, either "Target" or "Mini-Mag."

Mini mag and mini mag target are my preferred .22’s

I’ve literally shot well over 100k over the years.

My SR-22 is a great pistol also

 

[Fezzik68]

I'll take a fixed barrel Mark III/IV over the SR-22 any day. Accurate out to 50 yards for Precison Pistol matches with the right ammo. Still can plink, sillouette, steel plate, etc.
Now...the High Standards, those are overall length dependent, no feed ramp, very fussy. Tune the magazines to feed that brand and you've got a damn nice pistol.
Smith 41, add a drop of oil to the first round in every mag, still might need some tuning.
Fixed barrel 22 is where it's at. Cheap, accurate, fun.
I get more trigger time every week because of the lowly 22LR mouse guns.

 

[LTCRN]

I'll take a fixed barrel Mark III/IV over the SR-22 any day. Accurate out to 50 yards for Precison Pistol matches with the right ammo. Still can plink, sillouette, steel plate, etc.

I'd take either one, both great pistols The MK series are great to practice accuracy with and introduce new shooters to the game. The SR 22 fits well and is fun to shoot too!

 

[Mountain]

Yet to have any sort of failure in a 22LR bolt action rifle nor 22LR revolver

 

[Bt74]

I have found CCI mini-mags are the cure for 90% of .22 failure to feed/eject problems. Maybe 95%

I have a couple of Llama "Baby 1911s" in .22LR . Really fun pistols but will ONLY function well with CCI Mini Mags. Had Thunderbolts that would not even chamber in a pump action...too large dia.. Gave those away. The absolute worst .22 I've run into beside Thunderturds are Winchester Super Suppressed subsonic. They look nice with the black copper plating, get rave reviews, but don't function well in any of my pistols. Too bad I bought 1600 rnds of them.

 

[T-Unit]

Yet to have any sort of failure in a 22LR bolt action rifle nor 22LR revolver

When feeding and cycling is eliminated from the .22 what's left is entirely the quality of the ammo. Does it go bang or click? When it goes bang is it consistent? When it's consistent, is it accurate? It was in the revolvers that I found Winchester is actually pretty accurate ammo and because it's a revolver the occasional dud is not a dealbreaker given you get to the next round you just pull the trigger again.

CCI is probably the king for autoloading rimfires, but I'm trying out Aguila because the price on their ammo is lower and they make the Interceptor, which is almost as fast as .22 Mag in a short barrel, but costs half as much. CCI Velocitor is a great hollow point and pretty accurate, but in a handgun those are nearly useless comapred to raw power, which the Interceptor has.

 

[gerrycaruso]

T-Unit, I think you'll be pleased with Aguila.

 

[T-Unit]

T-Unit, I think you'll be pleased with Aguila.

I've used their high velocity, Interceptor, and 60gr SSS before, but never their standard velocity. When I shoot .22 for general plinking, I prefer standard velocity because it seems to be more accurate than higher velocity stuff.

Hot stuff like Interceptor is for social work, but I have to test it in more than just my LCR to see if the velocity holds up and they function well.

 

[straightshooterjake]

Aguila makes very good quality .22 long rifle ammo. They are my second choice after CCI. Like CCI, they make make a very wide range of .22 LR options, so of course, not all of them are wonderful. But overall, their quality is good, and due to their moderate prices, the value for Aguila is often very good.

I sometimes keep quiet about recommending Aguila, because I don't want everyone to know my secret about how to find good ammo at decent prices. But since people are asking, I will go ahead and say it here.

When I can get my preferred types of CCI ammo at good prices, that is still my first choice. But after that, I consider Aguila to be better than Federal, Winchester or Remington. When I hear people making fun of that "funny smelling Mexican stuff," I can tell they haven't shot much of it.

 

[gerrycaruso]

Aguila does smell funny but it shoots great.