"Holy Grail" of cheap & match ammo.

[Pete A.]

I think I'm looking for the elusive "holy grail' of smallbore ammo.

This is 2 22lr ammo's; one accurate 'match' ammo ($3.50+/box) and one cheap ($1.25+/box) but decent ammo that use EXACTLY the same settings from chickens to rams.

I seek this for 2 reason; one I got 2 boys who 'guzzle' ammo but who can't/won't deal with differing set of sight settings. Two I try to guzzle ammo but I'm not smart enough to deal with differing set of sight settings (old dog new tricks).

Anyone yet find the magical combo? I've come close with Fed 714 & SK Standard Plus. 711B & 714 are different enough at Tur & Rams to miss.

Advice? (please think cheap here for poor dad; keep your 'cheap ammo' choice low buck)

Pete A.

[BlauBear]

Unfortunately Federal 714 is discontinued, so if you know where some is stashed you might want to buy a bunch! And tell your new friends where it is, too... 711B works really well in my rifles, but if your club is okay with high velocity ammunition you might try Federal AutoMatch AM22, about $11 for a bulk pack of 350. Really good stuff for the money.

[ajj]

"Cheap" is a relative term and a sad fact of life these days is that $3.50 is looking cheaper by the day. As for same point of impact, you're just going to have to experiment with your own rifles. My best idea for practice ammo under $2.00 is Aguila Standard Vel. There are others that might be acceptable for practice. You just have to go testing. It's a crapshoot.
What you don't want to hear is that it's really best to spring for a case of Wolf or SK or something else in that price range which works well in the particular rifle and then practice with the match ammo. If your practice ammo doesn't group as well as the match ammo, the effectiveness of your practice is compromised. Again, not what you asked, but (1) we seldom end up practicing as often as we plan to, so a case might last longer than you think it will and (2) if you're shooting up half a brick in a practice session, you're probably wasting time and ammo anyway.
Some personal prejudices here, so forgive me, but I've made these mistakes myself. Hope this helps.

[BlauBear]

Others at OFGC like Eley Sport and are getting good results from it. I dislike it because it just feels cheap. Brass is thin, finish is dull and it leaves relatively large particles behind, but it does shoot pretty well.

[papabear]

I tried the ELEY Sport and except for the fact that my 1712 and Kimber HS will not eject it after the 50th shot , I like it but I would not want to clean my rifle after every fifty shots.

My friends that shoot CZ doeas not have a problem at all.

I still have a lot of the old ELEY practice and still uses it and Wolf Match for practice.

Good Luck in you quest,

[kevinpagano]

Eley sport causes ejection problems in my CZ 452 and my 1712. Just not worth the extra effort in my opinion. I agree that using sk or wolf for practice and match is the way to go. I have always heard that you shoot in a match like you practice so I try to practice with the same stuff as I shoot at a match. I have had decent results from the cheap federal champion ammo in the blue box from wal mart out of the cz452 guns.

Kevin

[BlauBear]

None of my rifles care for the Federal blue box ammunition but they all like 711B, especially my 1712's. The Evelio 504 with a Lilja barrel much prefers Eley Club/EPS, of course, but that definitely falls outside the definition of cheap.

[jneihouse]

Actually, Blaubear, just for clarification purposes the Eley Club that your gun likes so well is downgraded Red Box EPS Eley, which runs at about 13.00 a clip right now.....Boy am I glad I bought several cases when I had the chance.....To me, thats like finding the holy grail of ammo.....

Kitty

[BlauBear]

And when the one case I bought is gone the 504Mc (Mc504?) will have to change its diet...

[Pete A.]

Fed 714 is alive & well. Check at Dick's Sporting Goods. They sell for $15/brick or $13/brick/case there. Boxes are Blue like the 510 stuff.

We don't have one here in Houston but I get to Dallas often on business so I buy a new supply when I up there. Both stores at Flower Mound & Arlington keep it in stock.

Pete A.

PS. I've tried Eley sport & Aguila; did not like the results at Pigs with either.

[BlauBear]

Buy it while you can!

[Bob259]

I like SK Rifle Match and also use the SK Practice (yellow box). But I bought a case of the Eley Sport for indoor shooting because indoors (50') it all shoots good and at $135 a case it sure beats the $300 or $400 a case for the SK and shoots the same group size... 1 ragged hole.

This means MORE shooting and less pain when the Credit Card bill arrives

Besides the Eley primer mix smells so good indoors

[pistolero45]

I have done a ton of .22 ammo testing and finally settled on SK Standard Plus because it shoots great in both of my rifles.

Federal AM-22 shoots very well and if you needed a practice round, that would be my recommendation.

Winchester used to make the Winchester Powerpoint .22 that shot almost as well as match ammo. It did have a little too much velocity for our rifle game, but worked great in pistol silhouette as it hit the rams harder than most .22 rounds. Interestingly, I saw some Winchester .22 Powerpoints at BPS just last week, but do not know if it is the same round as in the past.

[glen ring]

I shoot winchester dynapoints and federal gold medal. Both seem to impact the same in my kimber. The federal gold medal is much more consistant but the dynapoint is good practice stuff for my class of shooter and so much cheaper.

[BlauBear]

Just to clarify on the Federal 714, if I could find a case I would buy it just on reputation, but Federal does not list it on their website which means it is not currently produced. By reputation it is excellent low cost ammunition that is out of production.