Quote:
Originally Posted by Hawkeye Mole
I want to recreationally shoot long term, and see ammo prices going up and availability going down. My goal is 1,000 rounds stored per long gun and pistol, with 10,000 rounds per .22. Aim for a high percentage of reloadable brass in your stockpile. I periodically swap out ammo to keep it fresh.
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Well said. With that, .22lr "bulk ammo" (sold in the 500-550 count boxes-Walmart) are very cheaply made and should not be considered reliable by any means. These are meant for plinking and target applications.
I CANNOT begin to tell you how many times I have had a squirrel in my sights, only to pull the trigger and a loud "click" gives my position away.
The unreliable nature of these rounds can be attributed to lax manufacturing standards as well as the fact that they do not always have a fixed amount of primer in the bottom of the rimfire shell.The nature of rimfire ammo also makes them more succeptable to moisture. I used to keep a spare box (about 40 shells CCI) in the garage, untill I tried using them a year later.
EVEry single one of these shells left the barrel with little more than the power of a thrown rock. They made a very muffled, retarded "pop", not the crisp SNAP" that a .22 should make. These rounds did not penetrate the untreated 2x4 that I aimed at, they all bounced off. I have moved all ammo inside, and into waterproof ammo boxes along with the other emergency supplies.
Before a shoot, I purchase a new box of whatever shells I will be using, and take the older stock with me to shoot(replacing it with the new box).
I have since repeated this experiment with Remington and federal-all with the same results....."duds"
CCI, Hornady, remington, Federal etc-sold in the smaller packs are a much better choice. Not like you'll ever need to use a .22lr for self defense(hopefully), but If you were presented with a survival situation and had to feed your family, every meal that gets away, may never return.