best bulk ammo for .22 conversion?

[evidens83]

Finally snagged up a CMMG .22 conversion kit for my AR for some fun cheap plinking fun Now before I go to Wal Mart and just buy whichever bulk pack I come across I want to hear from you guys which bulk pack gave your CMMG/Spikes/Ciener conversion the least amount of problems??? 36gr or 40gr? Hollow points or solid? Winchester, Remington, Federal? Which bulk pack feeds the best? Sorry if this question has been beat to death I'm a .22 noob please forgive me.

[NorCalDustin]

Go buy 2x 50rnd boxes of each brand and see what runs in YOUR gun.

What runs in my conversion, may not run in yours.

[lmudave]

CCI MiniMags seem to cycle my Spike's Conversion perfectly, other bulk ammo has issues.

[Mssr. Eleganté]

NorCalDustin gives good advice. But if you don't have the time or access to lots of ammo choices then be aware that the Federal 36gr copper plated hollow points that come in 550 round boxes at Walmart have the best reputation in most of the .22LR conversions.

[evidens83]

How about those red 333rnd packs? My WM has lots of those boxes. So Federal 36gr has good rep I will look for those then. What color box are they and how much?

[MrPlink]

How about those red 333rnd packs? My WM has lots of those boxes. So Federal 36gr has good rep I will look for those then. What color box are they and how much?

most prefer and have better luck with the FED bulk packs.
Ive run tons of both and have had slightly better luck with the 333, but I tend to find the Fed boxes locally more than 333, so its my go to round.

[Mssr. Eleganté]

...So Federal 36gr has good rep I will look for those then. What color box are they and how much?

Here's an image from another Calgunner's for sale thread...



I think Walmart is currently selling them for $19.95

It should also be mentioned that Remington bulk packs have a really, really bad reputation.

[SoCal Bob]

+1 on the Federal from Wally World. My son has the CMMG conversion for his AR and it has no problems with the bulk Federal.

[INJUNTOM]

My old Marlin 60 I've had for 30 years always jammed a little, and when firing it recently after nearly 30 years of storage I found that it jams quite a bit. Can't remember which ammo I was using, but I believe it was Remington. No problem in the revolvers though.

I have some of the 333 packs, so I'll have to give those a try..

[Droppin Deuces]

Here's an image from another Calgunner's for sale thread...



I think Walmart is currently selling them for $19.95

It should also be mentioned that Remington bulk packs have a really, really bad reputation.

I bought a box of this after having used Winchester XPERT HV 36 grain for the past several months. I thought since it had similar numbers on the box that it would perform similarly. It does not. The Federal had way too many jams for my liking and had noticeably less recoil. When I tested it back to back with the Winchester, accuracy was way off comparably as well. Very disappointing.

[railroader]

I kind of like the federal auto match ammo. It's a 40 grain round nose bullet that feeds well. It seems pretty accurate too. I have a bunch of the winchester 333 ammo but it isn't as reliable. It's a hollowpoint that doesn't feed as well. Mark

[evidens83]

RANGE REPORT!

I rememberred I had an open box of Federal bulk(blue box 36gr HP) sitting in my safe for like 5 years so I decided to test it out. It was so weird because I took 2 of my noob shooting buddies with me and whenever I shot it I would get maybe if only one FTF/FTE every other mag or so BUT when they would try shooting it it would jam up every few rounds!! The only thing I can think of was that they were riding the charging handle forward. I tried to teach them proper charging and tap rack bang but for whatever reason it just kept malfunctioning with them and when it was my turn I have two smooth magazines Overall out of maybe 300-350 rounds, we had a estimated 40% failure rate. I could tell they were getting frustrated so I'm glad I also brought the 870 to destroy the targets. Next time I go I'm gonna go by myself and see if it causes problems because I had a good time shooting with very minimal malfunctions. Is there a breaking-in period for these conversions or do I just need to keep testing ammo until I find the magic ticket? I was told CCI mini mags are GTG but they dont sell them in bulk packs??? Are they really worth $10/box or should I stick with the $20/bulk and continue to experience FTE/FTFs until it "breaks" in?

[Droppin Deuces]

^^^

From their website:

"Typically, if a kit will have problems, it will be during the first hundred rounds or so. This is the break in period. We recommend the following procedure if misfires, FTEs, FTFs, and other malfunctions occur. Note the malfunction list isn't all inclusive but the following procedures still applies to other issues not listed. The instructions below may be performed after each outing to ensure best performance.

Note, parkerized units will typically break in and give best performance after first 200rds. The Stainless Steel Kits do not have any break in. All kits are designed and built to run the widest variety of ammo possible."

I found this to be true until I switched over to the Federal bulk stuff. I had more jams with that than I ever did with Winchester XPERT HV. Since switching back, it's butter again.