best 22 ammo?

[Fausty]

for carry? i know, not like 22 is really sufficient for defense, but i just ordered a pt22 for plinking, and as i only own a glock 23 right now, i will probably carry this as a bug until i get a proper 380 or 9 single stack.

so yeah, what do you all think? best ballistics, best penetration? if you only had a 22 what would be your carry ammo?

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[yz9890]

the round nose ammo seems to feed more reliably for many people. I like the standard Rem 40gr RN lead Thunderbolds standard velocity for plinking with my 10/22, Buckmark, and Phoenix so if I thought I needed a 22lr for self defense for some reason, I'd stick with what I knew worked.

[sgb]

CCI 40gr solid Mini Mag

[Burns]

Glad you finally got that plinker you've been looking for, pics when you get it!

[QKShooter]

For carry I would go with any MATCH GRADE .22LR that functions 100% in your handgun.
Match Grade IS much more $$$ than typical bulk .22 ammo but, the quality control is incredibly much tighter during the manufacture.
As far as off the shelf non "Match" grade CCI is probably the most reliable. I have shot up piles of ELY Tenex & Fed Gold Max.
Just pick any high quality .22 ammo that feeds/functions flawlessly.

[hogdaddy]

CCI Velocitors, 36gr & Segments in three seperate parts JMO ; )
H/D

[BAR]

.Sometimes by necessity and sometimes by choice, a .22 is the firearm we carry. Often my Glock 23 is too large to carry while hiking or simply going for a stroll. Often my weapon of choice is a Ruger SR22 semi automatic. To determine which load to carry, (for defensive purpses), I st up a simple test of a frame that placed several 5/8" thick pine boards spaced 1" apart. Shooting from a distance of 15' I found that the Winchester 37gr. Superspeed and the Aquila 30gr. SP, HV Supermax both far surpassed others tested. (They both penetrated 5 boards while most others penetrated 3). Of course this is not a gel test but all the testing is proprotional to one another. Since the .22 is such a small bullet, penetration is the important factor.

[CP14.45]

CCI SGB(small game bullet)
I like the flat nose profile for hunting.
JMHO

Clarence

[gasmitty]

If you have to rely on ,22 rimfire for defense, then at least avoid the bulk pack ammo and get the stuff that comes in boxes of 100 or less. The bulk pack seems to have fewer quality checks and is overall less reliable. I'd probably go with solids over any HPs, but as far as "terminal ballistics" go that's probably splitting hairs. .22s tend to do their damage on humans by bouncing around once they enter the body.

[Burns]

.22s tend to do their damage on humans by bouncing around once they enter the body.

Agreed. I heard a lot about .22-.380 not being "capable", but that's one factor a lot of people seem to forget.

[ntkb]

If you’re going to carry it, I would avoid all ammo that has the bullet loose in the case. Remington and Winchester both have this type, the reason is moisture could get in and cause a failure to fire or reduce the velocity as to not come out of the barrel (a real bad thing) or not operate the slide with enough energy to load another round.

CCI has bullets that are tight to the case and don’t move there may be others, as to type of bullet I don’t think it will make that much difference. Just make sure it functions in your gun whatever you use.

[Fausty]

oh yeah, squib load is a scary thing. witnessed someone have one first hand. dude was lucky to walk away unhurt.

i was looking at cci stingers. they advertise 1680 fps on a 36 grain bullet. i am sure that will be less out of a 2.5" barrel...

[BugDude]

The kind that says ".357 Magnum" on the side of the box.

[Superhouse 15]

CCI Velocitors, 36gr & Segments in three seperate parts JMO ; )
H/D

The "Segmented Hollow Point", not the Velocitor, is the pre-fragmented round. It's the latest version of the old MPB Quick Shok load. They make it in a full power and subsonic (and the subsonic is THE suppressed pest control gun load). The CCI stock number is 0064 for the full power amd 0074 for the subsonic. The Velocitor is 0047. My defensive use for a .22 is mostly against the odd stray dog in the woods where my family walks, and I was thinking the SHP was a little light on penetration.

I use the Viper from Remington in the .22s I carry for woods walking purposes, but not every gun will feed it. It's a solid point LSWC. For a HP I mostly use Velocitor, Stinger, or the Yellow Jacket Remington. Problem is every .22 likes different loads. Try a bunch of premium loads first. I wouldn't use any bulk pack loads for serious SD.

[GlennO87]

CCI 40gr solid Mini Mag

Dead on the money....