Which .22 ammo for surviving in the woods?

B

billym

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Jan 8, 2006
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So we pretty much agree as far as guns go that a .22 rifle or handgun would be most useful for getting some meat in the wilderness.
So now the question remains what do you all prefer for ammo?
The .22 has a lot of options depending on the gun; .22 short, long, LR etc.
But just for the sake of this discussion what .22LR ammo do you find most useful?
I have been recently reading that subsonic rounds might be the best for small game as it is more accurate and does not damage the meat.
Until recently I used a lot "brick" ammo but have also read recently that allowing the ammo to get dinged and scratched will diminish its accuracy. Is it better to buy ammo that is packaged in little organizers to prevent damage? Or is this getting a little too anal?
I buy all kinds of .22LR ammo (sub,hyper,standard) but have not done much small game hunting with a .22 recently. In the past we used normal old standard velocity but definitely not hypervelocity. So I figured I would toss this question out there.
Bill
 
I think the most important thing to consider is reliability (ie: no misfires), then accuracy. These qualities are generally 'givens' however....well at least most popular brands generally fire every time and are generally accurate enough for close range hunting.

Solid nosed ammo may penetrate further than hollow. However the use of this would require very accurate shot placement to ensure that the vitals were damaged. It also, in my opinion, is more likely to have a ricochet than hollow ammo.

Most of my .22 hunting in the last few years has been done using Winchester Subsonics. Accurate, reliable, and it certainly seems to do the job. I've shot small game along with larger animals - namely feral goats and hogs. Bullet placement is very important here.

I use a silencer, but even if silencers are not permitted the subsonic rounds should be quieter anyway. No point in making more noise than you have to.

I believe that it would be better to carry ammo so it cant rattle together. A little bit of rattling probably doesn't matter, but over a long time it could cause the heads to get loose and the lubricant to wear off. The ammo I carry in my pocket will often be in a plastic film container with toilet tissue jammed into the container to stop it rattling.

I sometimes tie a bit of rubber glove, or a balloon, around my forestock like a rubber band. I then might jam one or two spare cartidges under this band as my 'immediate' reloads should I need them.

For the relatively few rounds you might be carrying in a survival situation, it would probably be best to buy ammo of a recognized quality that comes in packets with the perforated plastic tray. And this ammo should be well protected in some sort of a waterproof container. You want everything in your favour.
 
Personally, I like plain old .22LR lead round nose. Winchester WIldcats are pretty good jack-of-all-trades rounds.

When I still hunted regularly, on small game like rabbits and squirrels, the only thing I ever noticed hyper-velocity stuff was good for was destroying more meat.
 
I've come to prefer CCI rimfire ammo. In my experience it is the most reliable and shoots accurately in all of my .22s. I shoot CCI .22 LR Subsonic HPs in my Savage Mark IIGL bolt action and Ruger 10/22 semiauto rifles, and my S&W Model 18 revolver. I run Mini Mags in a Ruger Mark III 22/45 semiauto pistol.

In my Savage 93GL .22 Magnum bolt action rifle, I mostly shoot CCI Maxi Mag JHPs.
 
CCI minimags HP, get my vote. Most reliable of the .22 ammo. Stay away off the wal mart special good for target shooting but may or may not go off when trigger is pulled
 
Maybe CCI Minimags, for sake of reliability and consistency. But really, I've found every common brand .22LR sufficiently reliable such that I'd be satisfied with any of the common stuff that goes for about $10 a brick.
 
I no longer shoot, in fact here in Australia I don't shoot at all (too many stupid rules). When I did shoot, and was a good shot, I found that I had to shoot a lot. If you shoot enough with your chosen survival .22 to be a GOOD shot, you'll figure out what works best for you. One thing to keep in mind; Short hollow points make very little noise. They won't take other than small game, but you won't be advertising your presence and you will have to develop your hunting skills to use them. My .22 ( a BLR in the U.S.), will shoot them as well as all the rest of the available .22 ammo. It would make sense to become proficient with them as well as LRs.
 
I prefer CCI Velocitors but I love CCI in general. I used to carry the Stingers but like the Velocitor performance better in my rifles/handgungs. Minimags are amazing in both solid and hollow point.

Just an FYI, some guys on one of the most popular rimfire forums have said the CCI Stingers have a longer case than standard rounds and can cause assorted problems for the user. The problems are probabaly from really tight precision chambers, I don't know. I've used Stingers and have never had a problem but for the sake of full disclosure I thought I'd point it out.
 
coote said:
I think the most important thing to consider is reliability (ie: no misfires), then accuracy. These qualities are generally 'givens' however....well at least most popular brands generally fire every time and are generally accurate enough for close range hunting.

Solid nosed ammo may penetrate further than hollow. However the use of this would require very accurate shot placement to ensure that the vitals were damaged. It also, in my opinion, is more likely to have a ricochet than hollow ammo.

Most of my .22 hunting in the last few years has been done using Winchester Subsonics. Accurate, reliable, and it certainly seems to do the job. I've shot small game along with larger animals - namely feral goats and hogs. Bullet placement is very important here.

I use a silencer, but even if silencers are not permitted the subsonic rounds should be quieter anyway. No point in making more noise than you have to.

I believe that it would be better to carry ammo so it cant rattle together. A little bit of rattling probably doesn't matter, but over a long time it could cause the heads to get loose and the lubricant to wear off. The ammo I carry in my pocket will often be in a plastic film container with toilet tissue jammed into the container to stop it rattling.

I sometimes tie a bit of rubber glove, or a balloon, around my forestock like a rubber band. I then might jam one or two spare cartidges under this band as my 'immediate' reloads should I need them.

For the relatively few rounds you might be carrying in a survival situation, it would probably be best to buy ammo of a recognized quality that comes in packets with the perforated plastic tray. And this ammo should be well protected in some sort of a waterproof container. You want everything in your favour.
Click to expand...

How about upgrading from a rubber glove to a piece of bicycle inner tube. Just as cheap, but a lot more sturdy :)
 
One of the subsonic rounds has a 60gr bullet solid nose whick should give a harder hit with tearing up much meat plus a litle more lead for slightly biger than small game.
 
Another vote for Stingers here, though try for head shots, as they are pretty destructive of meat.
 
I used to use federal lightning's,$10 a brick and in individual boxed of 50. They shot as well as anything in all my guns,and I never had 1 out of the 10's of thousands I shot misfire. Remingtons seem very accurate, but often jam and misfire. I like hi velocity rounds best,not hyper and for small game see no real need for hollow points and for larger game would rather have the added penetration of a solid point. I shoot alot of cci cb's, though they don't travel as far, they ricochete very easily. Since I've quite finding the federal's I've used mini mags and winchester super x, the wincesters seem to be softer lead, so they work well for small game.
 
I've done some simple short range testing, (only 20 rds per type) but I found that there was no difference in expansion into a sand target between round or HP, mostly i think because most .22 HP are just a standard RN with a dimple. not like my 125gr sierra JHP that expand about 25% more than 150gr sabertips from my 30-30win. I didn't have any hyper velocity ammo to test as we figured it was a waste of money. I'll second all of the votes for reliability and whatever works best for your gun. My little single shot chipmunk eat anything but seemed to like federal the best, but my dad's russian bolt action would split cases from federal, and only worked really well with winchester wildcats. I don't have much experience with CCI but I haven't heard from any of the gun people that I know that they are worth the extra price, and I know of a 10/22 that won't take more than three stingers before its shaved enough lead off them to jam, but it might be the only one that does it. So buy lots and see what your gun likes i guess. Round noses are pretty forgiving for dents, it's not like your planning any 200yrd+ hunting right? I've carried many .22lrs in many pockets for many summers, and have only had 2 misfires, both straight out of the same bulk can, not found in the back of the glove box on the 4x4. If I was able to pack a rifle for camping, Id be taking no less than 500rds, because if I can carry it, then the squirrels will be legal. tasty
 
I favor the added 'slap' of the 1640 fps stinger. The round is on the high power side of the rimfire clan so you have to avoid shots to the body which may destroy too much meat. Another vote for the speed demon!
 
And for some reason, the Stingers have been more accurate in every gun I've shot them in, which includes quite a few.
 
While I've never hunted with it as my rifle doesn't like it ,the flat point was highly recommended .Much more effective than the RN. I don't remember who makes it. Usually I use subsonic HP .The 'chuck sometimes disappears but never returns !!
 
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