...so we now know what's bad...tell us what's good....IYHO...
You would think it's a simple answer, but sadly no. Reason is that:
*guns and barrels are so different...even within the same line due to differences in manufacturing.
*bullets can differ too based on batch as well as when and where it is manufactured (that's why top shooters buy ammo in lots with the same lot number and do tests before they shoot in competition)
*performance can sometimes be the shooter themselves...you'd like to think you're consistent, but usually you're the biggest factor.
However to answer the question,
my experience is that these are the best of the ones I've tested a lot and note that I purchased much of these a number of years ago before the .22lr ammo became more scarce than a non-flaming political thread here:
*CCI Standard - Standard velocity, so may not work on all Semi-autos; however it shoots very accurately and very reliably.
*CCI Minimag - Higher velocity, so it functions better in SAs, but not as accurate as above. More recent lots I've used seem to have a few more duds, which used to be extremely rare. Dud = good strike on end, but no boom...reload in, fire again with another good strike and nothing.
*Federal Champion (in boxes of 550 and 525...used to be available at Walmart and Gander Mountain) - Great all around round...very reliable, cheap, not dirty, very accurate for non-target ammo. Hardly ever a problem in almost all guns. I've likely fired 10,000 rounds of this last year alone across maybe a dozen or more .22lr guns. My standard practice ammo...good thing I bought a lot of it years ago when it was on sale with a rebate!
*Eley ammo - Some of the best target ammo, but hard to get and very pricey...Eley Tenex is considered the standard target ammo for competition and last I checked went for about $20 for a small box of 50.
*Federal Automatch - When I first used it, it seemed like the Fed Champions, but a bit more accurate. I used to find it at Walmart for about $15 for a box of 325...now I haven't seen it on the shelf in maybe 4 years. Also the more recent batches I found locally at gun shops seem to have more duds, so I no longer try hard to find this. My shooting partner only used this ammo in his S&W Model 41.
*Aguila ammo - Not common; however I bought some through mail order ammo companies a number of years back and it shot very well. I used it at my most recent NRA Sectional and it shot great; unfortunately I had malfunctions since I apparently forgot to oil the slide when I last cleaned my pistol (note that I use SuperExtra, which is lower velocity and isn't meant for Semi-autos, but my modded Sig Trailside shot it great...as long as I had oil on the slide).
Happy shooting with whatever .22lr ammo you can find!
