What is the best 22 Long ammo out there?

Probably just about any brand you can find. Isn't it really scarce these days?

I have been happy with the CCI .22 CB Long for short range pest control in the back yard. Very low report and MV of 710 FPS. The new CCI .22 LR Quiet is a much better round for my purpose.

quote:

Originally posted by vicvanb:
Probably just about any brand you can find. Isn't it really scarce these days?

I haven't seen a box of "Longs" for several years now. Don't know if the .22 Long is even stll offered.

I believe the only maker of .22 longs is CCI....

Winchester makes a CB long at about 800 FPS.....but it's questionable if this is truly a long....CCI's version is a true 1200 FPS

Anyone with better info?

22 Long:

http://www.midwayusa.com/find?...orydimensionid=10121

Both Winchester and CCI make .22 Long cartridges. I just got some of each from Graf and Sons, Mexico, Mo. The Winchester and CCI are misnamed, though. They label them "CB Long" but they are nothing more than regular .22 Longs. "CB" longs have conical bulletes (hence the name CB) and both of these makes are round-nose. Both of these items are labeled "Match" but that remains to be seen.

There is no one best .22 cartridge. It is the cartridge that shoots best in your rifle at the range you shoot. I have tested over 112 different types in my M52 with Lyman Super Targetspot and have been amazed at the variation in .22 ammunition. Some standard shorts outshot some snootie-pootie top-priced brands, some brands would put five into a dime at 25 yards and you couldn't cover them with a half-dollar at 50 yards, others couldn't get under a quarter at 25 but didn't exceed that at 50 yards. You will have to just try as many as you can afford. You might want to read the feedback in the Midway website wherein each cartridge offered has a feedback window and most of them have several comments from users which are most helpful.

The .22 Long is an odd duck that was perhaps the 19th Century version of today's Stingers and Hyper Velocity .22 LR ammunition. The traditional .22 Long uses a .22 Long Rifle case with a .22 Short bullet, usually about 29 grains (as compared with the standard 40-grainer of the .22 LR.) The .22 Long boosted the velocity of the 29 grain bullet by 100 fps or so over the .22 Short.

In regard to .22 rimfire ammunition in general, Wahoo said it well. I have been surprised at how some of my .22 rifles shoot the El Cheapo bulk ammunition sometimes better than expensive match-type ammunition. Also, not only does the ammunition vary, but each gun will vary as to which ammunition it likes. In testing two very high-dollar bolt action .22's a week or so ago, I found that both grouped pretty well with three different brands of ammunition, but one rifle grouped each brand in a distictively different place on the target, whereas the other rifle grouped all three one on top of the other. Neither rifle particularly "liked" some expensive "match" stuff, and one rifle made extraordinary one-hole groups with some "crummy" Federal Champion promo ammunition.

Go figure.

quote:

JIm Yackley: I have been happy with the CCI .22 CB Long for short range pest control in the back yard. Very low report and MV of 710 FPS. The new CCI .22 LR Quiet is a much better round for my purpose.

+1

I have a Winchester octagonal barreled pump rifle in 22 long, and I shoot CCI's in it.

The short was a gallery pistol cartridge and as stated the long had a velocity gain but was still a pistol or revolver cartridge while the long rifle was a rifle cartridge using the long case and a heavier bullet, hence the name, long rifle. I thought both the long and long rifle originally had the same velocity?

The Long and the Long Rifle case are the same. The Long had a 29 gr bullet, then the Long Rifle was developed to give the same velocity out of a rifle that the Long generated from a pistol. The Long, as I understand it, was more lightly loaded and only need a pistol length barrel. It actually gave lower velocities in a rifle barrel.

About any modern 29 grain load should chamber in a Long. The question is whether the specific gun is safe at the higher pressures.

The only exception, I believe, is the CCI Stinger. I believe it actually has a longer case to hold more powder and make the OAL the same as a regular Long Rifle load. I would think 29 gr target ammo would be ideal.

As to the accuracy of target ammo, I have seen this a lot, and it is due to the fact that dedicated target guns have very tight chambers and different leades and generally are very finicky as to loading. Normal .22's, even high end ones, have much different chambers, and the minimum dimensioned target ammo rattles around a lot. I have observed, in about all cases, that hunting guns prefer regular ammo, and target guns the target stuff. However, in all cases, a properly tuned and fed target rifle will outshoot any hunting rifle, no matter what the quality. A properly set up .22 bench rifle with the correct ammo is one of the most accurate rifles you will ever shoot, very nearly as good as a top level air rifle.