Quiet 1

I recommend and have always had excellent results with CCI Standard Velocity 40 gr. round nose.

I purchase it by the case. (10 bricks per case, 10 boxes of 50 per brick, total 5000 rounds.) Cost, including shipping, is $5.46 per 100. They work well in everything I shoot them through.

jsiberians

The most reliable and cleanest I've found are the CCI mini mags and the CCI stingers which I keep loaded for SD.
For practice I found that the Win. 555 , 333 , 222 (all the same ammo packaged different quantities) Cycle well in semis and are very clean and at a low price.
Our 21a bobcat loves em and it's a picky eater. I'd say the Win. dynapoints were also clean but 120psi lighter.

Jack D

I've tried (recently) Federal bulk, Remington Goldens bulk and CCI Blasers bulk. They are all dirty, but function well in my guns. The Blasers are wax coated and especially sticky. For clean shooting, I favor the Mini Mags and for clean power, Stingers.

Not sure what OP meant by "cheap".......price??? If it's price, I'd say that's a good thing. If it's something else, I'm puzzled.

Iowegan

All blow back semi-auto rifles and pistols get very dirty from any brand of ammo. Some are worse than others. I've found CCI Mini-Mags foul the least and all bulk pack 22s are the worst with Remington bulk packs being the worst of the worst.

I wouldn't get to excited about it ... go for the ammo that cycles good and is accurate in your gun. Again, CCI Mini-Mags seem to work best for me. I do shoot a lot of Federal Bulk pack ammo ... not quite as accurate, not as clean, but it's cheap and functions well in all my 22s.

Dsteele

I go for the best of both worlds. CCI Blazer. As far as I can tell its exactly the same as a Mini mag, but with a plain lead RN bullet. No copper wash. A little dirty but very reliable for me. That being said my 10/22 is NOT picky at all. Ive only had a couple issues on Thunderbolts.

DevB22

Lol! It should come with a free gun or at least nice lunch date...

Around me Cabela's is the only one who carries the 375 round box, so of course they will charge what they want...

I rarely shop there anyway.

You can pretty much find that 300-500 rounds of CCI online for $22-$30 depending.

MZ5

Like Iowegan, I favor the Mini-Mags (and Maxi-Mags in my WMR) for cleanliness and reliability. Still, I shoot LOTS of other stuff, as Mini-Mags are pricey to buy in larger quantities.

You know, it's funny how much 22lr ammo comes off the line(s) at CCI in Lewiston...
Not all identical ammo, but they make A LOT of what you see with American brand names on it.

krwada

The cleanest .22LR that I have seen is the match grade stuff. So far, the Eley Club Extra burns very clean. The RWS also burns very clean. I have not tried the Eley Tenex ammo. However, for this price it had better be good!

As to the lower cost stuff, all the CCI .22LR ammo seems to work and burn very clean also. You pay a bit extra for CCI, but the quality is very good for the lower cost ammo.

3482jl

Try Federal Auto Match--around $15 for a 325 round bulk box. Utterly reliable, accurate, match grade (1200 FPS), and CLEAN !!

Tiger Ruger

I would say after shooting 1000+ rounds of Federal Champion JHP 22LR I think that is the cleanest ammo I have encountered. CCI Minimags come a close second if it weren't for the waxy residue it leaves behind in the mags and barrel. Overall I only have to take a soft brush and a bore snake without cleaning solution after one day at the range and wipe it down, then lube.

ZommyGun

Well I logged in today to start a thread on the dirtiest 22 ammo to find out what NOT to buy on a 'try it and see' basis...

Saw this thread and after reading it I can see there is no point...

There are people on here saying Blazers are clean...after 300 rounds of it I can say they shoot well...but are the only ammo I have cycling problems with...and they are extremely dirty imo...the cycling problems are feeding problems and the feeding problems... as I have figured out... started when I bought a box of Blazers...for some reason they are the only bullets that clog up the feed ramps on my magazines...the feeding problems carried over to other ammo although blazers were still the worst...after cleaning the mags and running 200 rounds of mini mags and game shok with zero problems...ran some blazers and first were great but then came back the feeding problems...cleaned the mag ramps and went back to other ammo...no feeding problems...more blazers...more problems...not happy with blazers...not going to buy any more...

The most reliable, best cycling and either cleanest or as clean as any ammo I have tried are the mini mags...

One thing I have observed is that the brand is not the last word in clean/dirty...

Neither is lubed or dry...

Neither is lead or copper plated or washed...

I find that price, bullet type, velocity, brand have nothing to do with clean or reliable for me...I find both clean/dirty and reliable/unreliable across the board in brands/bullet/lubed/dry/velocity...

Federal Game Shok is EXTREMELY close to mini mags in all respects except that in my 10/22 with TacSol barrel they are more accurate...especially at 100 yards + ... $7.50/100pk...local price

For me locally mini mags are usually $7/100pk...

However...the bottom line for me so far is that for cheap bulk ammo...under $20/500...the cleanest by far that I have used is the PETERS brand which is a Remington co.

The Super X HV were not as good as mini mags for accuracy...clean yes...quite a few didn't fire...not buying them anymore...the SuperX 1435 was more accurate than mini mags or velocitors at 100 yards in my 10/22...

The Golden bullets are filthy as hell...however, accuracy is surprisingly good...I started out with these in my 10/22 and couldn't go more than two rounds w/o a stove pipe...got some mini mags and it was a little better...got a sharp claw extractor and that went away...thousands of rounds with no stove pipes...yesterday went back to the golden to 're-evaluate' them...accurate as heck...filthy...stove pipes...nowhere near as bad as the factory extractor but still consistently the only round that stove pipes on me...

CCI Standard Velocity seems to be clean and top quality...priced along with mini mags and not as accurate in my 10/22 so I am not buying anymore of them...only exception is that being lower velocity there is less recoil...mine being a short aluminum barrel with no muzzle brake does flip the muzzle significantly with high and hyper velocity...the only exception being the SuperX 1650fps which is a 26gr bullet and not a lot of powder...the recoil is amazingly non existent...however, the rounds are not high quality...the price is quite high...they are not accurate at all in my 10/22...

So...for cheap bulk ammo this is what I got...

Blazers... Feed problems and very dirty... the mini mags have a different lube...the wax on the blazers seems more solidified/hardened...flakes, hard goobers on the bullet noses...the nose of the bullets seems 'fat' to me compared to all the others but I didn't measure them so it could be an illusion...

Golden... Stove pipes and very dirty... not buying any more of these...

Federal red box...this batch was a decade old and not particularly dirty...ran well...accuracy good enough at 50 yards...lots of fail to fire...no stove pipes with sharp claw...I would buy Federal bulk again but not my first choice...

Peters... Run great... accuracy not the best but not bad at 50 yards...pretty clean...one or two will fail to fire but no jambs...unfired rounds eject w/o delay...

So at this point I do want to find out if there is something just as good or better for the money than the Peters...I have run through 1000 rounds and the store has not had any for months now...would like to get more...

Was considering the AR tactical but if they are essentially the same price as mini mags there is no point in it that I can see...

I suppose I will try a box of the Winchester and see what they do...

The trial and error wouldn't be so bad if the successful ammo was always available...

At least I have a good supply of mini mags to draw from thanks to...

heymattew

3482jl

Well, just to confuse the issue a little more, here's my .02. I shot CCI Blazers by the thousands through my Marks II and III and was very pleased until just recently--they seem to have become very dirty, as in "TOO WAXY". So I tried what a shooting buddy has been touting as the "cleanest ,reliable and accurate" stuff he's ever used in his Mark III---that is the Fedreral Auto Match. I shot a box ( 325 rounds) last week; and he may be right. I'm switching over to them for now.

krwada

Thanks for the great post Zommy Gun. A couple of questions here:
1. What are the rough specs on your 10/22?
2. What is your definition of a good group at 50 yards?

I am thinking about running out and buying a box of Remington Peters now.

Thanks!
krwada

ZommyGun

Yes it does get confusing to say the least...

Thank you for the comment...I am simply trying to pay forward on all the information I get from others that has been very helpful to me...

Let me just disclaimer a few things...

I am not the person to consult for 'accuracy' testing...

My comments regarding accuracy are just my general impression overall...I am still in the process of getting better at pulling the trigger etc and trying to sort out what works and doesn't regarding reliability and accuracy in the MACRO sense...

What I mean by that...if I go out and try four types of ammo on paper at the range (most ideal test conditions with bench, shade, chair, target stands, accurately measured distances) trying to figure things out and find one ammo consistently can't stay inside 3" where another can then I eliminate the one that can't...

That is not a high standard...and that is where I am at...for me...my gun...at this time...with the ammo I have tried to date...any ten shot group under 2.5" is in the good range...the very best I have done so far is 5 shot groups in the 1.75" range...

I don't even get into measurement with a ruler or use a 'method' for measuring groups yet...I will later...for now I just go by the smallest diameter circle that will include the entire bullet hole of all the shots...the only exception to that is if I run 10 or more rounds and know full well some of them were just bad shots on my part...since I am trying to evaluate the ammo/barrel/scope whatever and not me...I will sometimes exclude the wild shots...for me this is about getting things sorted out...

TacSol barrel I have 'specs' the barrel performance at 1" with mini mags at 50 yards as a 'guarantee'...

I THINK the factory barrel can do that if all things are good...

Also...it's been a long time since I bothered to shoot at paper at 50yards...but the last time I did I was probably shooting the factory barrel with peep sights and hundreds of Peters and basically getting one large hole in the center in the 1.5-2.0" range...and I think I did test the barrel when new with a scope at 50 yards no paper and believe it was in the 3/4" range for 10 shot groups with mini mags...I really don't recall specifically anymore...

I am sure I can do 1" 5 shot groups at 50 yards from a rest if really trying to with little or no wind and good ammo...that is not impressive by competition standards and not sure what my 'best' would be...

Wind is a big factor too...it's rare that we don't have lots of gusting winds to deal with...

Good luck finding the Peters...I haven't seen it on the shelf for months...

I don't claim any good accuracy with them only that I like it all things considered including price...keeping in mind that is for chasing pop cans at relatively short range...under 60 yards...

So I guess that is a long winded way of saying when it comes to the finer points of accuracy... I don't know...I have more questions than answers...

Specs...I put all the junk in my signature not to impress people but for reference as to what I have just to reference what I base my opinions on...

Not sure it shows up for everyone...

TacSol barrel...sharp claw extractor...Fajen plastic stock...Leupold 2-7x28mm scope...VQ target hammer, PC adjustable sear...trigger over travel stop...

I have also been using that toilet stopper on the end of my barrel lately...

Since I have so much trouble being consistent and problem free lately it has been extremely hard to tell if it helps, hurts, makes no difference...

I can tell you it does NOT dampen the recoil any I can tell...and I didn't see any BIG changes in accuracy...

So still not sure one way or the other if it is worth having...my general impression so far is NO...withholding further comment until I am sure I can say with certainty what the deal is on it...

The only definition of accuracy I will apply to my standards now is that if I were able to consistently stay under 1.5" at 100 yards I would say I have arrived...

Which leads me back to ammo...

I just went and looked at the CCI product literature on the AR Tactical ammo...

They claim no accuracy for the mini mags...but claim 'clean' for the mini mags...which I certainly agree with...

The AR Tactical is clearly a slightly slower velocity version of mini mags...and they claim 1.5" accuracy at 100 yards...not sure what gun/barrel but obviously a semi auto and not bolt action gun...they make no claim on "clean"...

Okay... if the AR Tactical is indeed more accurate at 100 yards in a 10/22 I will definitely try them as the Game Shok is the only ammo I have found that can do that...

I think I will have to have a thread for the AR...

jon p

works out to 6 cents a round, plus you get the nice ammo can!! i usually shoot federal 550 bulk at 4 cents a round. $100. for 1600 rounds packed in 100 round plastic boxes.