Accurate .22 Ammo?

SWAMPFOX

Senior Member
I'm setting up a Cricket .22 rifle for my 9 year old grandson for squirrels and I was wondering what reliably accurate .22 ammo brand might be?

Anyone here with hands on experience with good brand you'd recommend. I'm willing to pay a bit more for a good brand since I want him to be successful.

Thanks.
 

NE GA Pappy

Mr. Pappy
CCI standard velocity works well in my son's Cricket

Eley target is the best in it, but hard to find
 

Miguel Cervantes

Jedi Master
When I shot BR-50 comp we used a Russian sub-sonic round for the best accuracy. About any match grade sub-sonic round will serve you best for accuracy.
 

NCHillbilly

Administrator
Staff member
The Federal AutoMatch 40 gr lead roundnose are some of the best for the money out there, IMO. Consistent and accurate. You can get the 325 cartons for around $20 now most places. They perform good on small game, also.
 

greg_n_clayton

Senior Member
I believe in standard velocity too for accuracy. CCI being my go to. But, I believe you have to find the ammo that your gun likes, after break in !! Some of the higher end ammo, like Pappy said is hard to find, pricey when ya do, but consistent when it comes to groups in the target.
 
CCI standard velocity is excellent ammo. You will not find better for the price. Devastating on squirrels. Shoots clean. I have no need for any other 22 ammo
 

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ky55

Senior Member
Wolf Match Target and SK Standard Plus have worked well for me.
 
is that a savage ? cci for me as well

Yes, it's a savage. I don't want to like it. The stock is featureless and cheap. The blueing is poor. Trigger guard is made of plastic. But man oh man will it shoot. I wanted a CZ 452 but can't find a reason with the results from the cheap Savage. From a utility standpoint it's a fine rifle. My other 22 is a Marlin 39A made in 1968, great 22, but its got nothing on that Savage.
As far as ammo goes. I don't see where you would get any benefit from buying match grade ammo for a child to shoot squirrels with a cricket. This is coming from a guy that LOVES to squirrel hunt. Shot those in the pic Monday. Good on you for taking a kid. My granddaddy did the same!
 
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markland

Senior Member
CCI standard velocity and Norma TAC-22 seem to be good shooters in most guns, pretty much anything that stays around subsonic shoots well.
 

NE GA Pappy

Mr. Pappy
The Federal AutoMatch 40 gr lead roundnose are some of the best for the money out there, IMO. Consistent and accurate. You can get the 325 cartons for around $20 now most places. They perform good on small game, also.

Automatch does a good job in my 10/22.

we haven't tried it in the Cricket
 

GunnSmokeer

Senior Member
CCI is my "go to" brand for accurate .22 rimfire ammo, especially when I haven't yet tested many other brands in some particular gun and I just want to take something off the shelf and use it without rigorous bench-rest shooting to see what that particular gun likes best.

CCI mini-mag HP's are good for power and expanding in tissue.
CCI standard velocity are subsonic in all my firearms, so they make less noise. And they're reliable, and accurate.

CCI "quiet" 40-grain loads (only 650 feet per second, or something like that) are REALLY quiet fired from a rifle with a pretty long barrel. I've never tried them in a 16" barreled gun, though. They seem to have plenty of penetration in stacks of old phone books and newspapers. Watch out for excessive bullet drop past about 50 feet though.
 

markland

Senior Member
Heading down to the lease tomorrow with about 10 or so different brands and loads of .22 to shoot in my new RAR 22 rifle and see which groups the best, have most of the popular ones so looking forward to finding "that" load!
 

NCHillbilly

Administrator
Staff member
Automatch does a good job in my 10/22.

we haven't tried it in the Cricket

It works great in every rifle or pistol I've tried it in. I like the CCI standard roundnose, a lot, too.
 

Hillbilly stalker

Senior Member
Well I'll throw my 2 cents in. I ain't no crack shot, but I squirrel hunt 6-8 times a week so I get a lot of practice. I bumped my scope and had to check it, so I took a picture cause that works better for some then a bunch of opinions. The dot on the left is 3 rounds of Winchester white box ( cheap), the dot on the right is 5 or 6 rounds of Remington ( cheap). I was shooting a $99 savage from wal-mart with a good scope at 25 yards off a bag on my truck tool box. The 2 lower shots is where I adjusted my scope. My only point being is you can spend a lot of money on a high dollar gun and bullets....but truth being told, most guns perform better than the shooter. I'd spend my money on bullets for a youngster, he will have more fun. The dimes for size comparison. That's plenty good for shooting squirrels in the head.
 

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HunterJoe24

Senior Member
Yes, it's a savage. I don't want to like it. The stock is featureless and cheap. The blueing is poor. Trigger guard is made of plastic. But man oh man will it shoot. I wanted a CZ 452 but can't find a reason with the results from the cheap Savage. From a utility standpoint it's a fine rifle. QUOTE]

That's how I feel about mine. I don't want to love it so much because of how cheap its made, especially on the blueing, but no other .22 I have shoots like it
 

jigman29

Senior Member
I don't shoot a 22 lr a lot these days as I mostly carry my magnum. But, I like cci mini-mag for most applications. I love the stingers as well but I cant see paying the difference for them.
 
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