Which Bulk .22 LR Ammo Is Most Accurate? - East Ridge Outdoors

Which Bulk .22 LR Ammo Is Most Accurate? - Henry Lever Action

While premium ammo is known to be more accurate, I always keep some 22 LR bulk ammo on hand.

It's affordable, easy to find, and perfect for plinking, small game hunting, and recreational target shooting.

After sighting in the scope on my Henry .22 LR, I wanted to see if there were noticeable differences between common brands of bulk ammunition.

So I reached for my .22 LR ammo boxes and chose three options to test:

  • Federal Champion
  • Remington Thunderbolt
  • CCI Blazer

Test Setup

The rifle used for this test was my Henry .22 LR lever action fitted with a Bushnell 3-9x32 scope.

I fired:

  • 10-round groups
  • 25-yard distance
  • Front and rear shooting rests

Getting ready to test 22 LR bulk ammo

This test wasn't scientific. My goal was to see which ammunition shot most consistently from my rifle.

Federal Champion

Federal Champion was first up since I had already used it to sight in the scope.

Overall, the ammunition performed reasonably well.

Eight of the ten rounds formed a group measuring approximately one inch.

However, two rounds landed well outside the main group, impacting low and to the right.

10 shot group with Federal Champion .22 LR ammo at 25 yards

Both shots sounded different out of the barrel, and I had a feeling they would be flyers before I even checked the target.

Those two rounds significantly increased the overall group size and suggested some inconsistency within the ammunition.

Remington Thunderbolt

Next up was Remington Thunderbolt.

These rounds landed slightly higher than the Federal Champion ammunition, but hitting the bullseye wasn't important since scope adjustments can always be made to compensate.

Today, the focus was ammunition consistency.

Like the Federal ammunition, eight of the ten shots formed the main group. This group was slightly tighter, measuring under one inch.

Unfortunately, two rounds again landed well outside the main group.

10 shot group at 25 yards with Remington Thunderbolt .22 LR ammo

Interestingly, both impacted in nearly the exact same location low and left of the group.

Those two flyers were far enough from the others to significantly affect the overall results.

CCI Blazer

The final ammunition tested was CCI Blazer.

This was the most consistent ammunition of the three.

The ten-shot group measured under one inch and, unlike the other brands, there were no significant flyers.

10 round group with CCI Blazer 22 LR ammo at 25 yards

One shot landed slightly higher than the rest, but it remained close enough to the group that it didn't raise any concerns.

Without that single impact, the group would have measured roughly half an inch.

Based on this small sample, CCI Blazer clearly produced the best results from my Henry.

Early Winner

It's important to remember that this was only one range session.

To truly evaluate consistency, I'll need to shoot each brand more and take note of how many flyers each one produces.

That said, 2 out of 10 for both the Federal and Remington ammo is something to be aware of.

Based on these initial 10-round groups, CCI Blazer was the most accurate and most consistent bulk .22 LR ammunition in my Henry lever action.

For now, CCI Blazer appears to be the ammunition to beat.

The next step is seeing how it holds up against higher-end .22 LR ammo.

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