Noob question about 22 ammo

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Spokanesteve
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Noob question about 22 ammo

Post by Spokanesteve » Fri May 20, 2016 8:13 am

Hello all:

I have an old Colt Woodsman pistol. I was shooting it last week and another person there told me it should only shoot standard velocity 22LR ammunition. I tried to look it up on the internet and that appears to be correct based on the serial number and the cross-hatch on the backstrap area.

So my question is how do I determine what type of 22LR ammunition I have? I have about 5 different types and none of them specify high-velocity or standard velocity on the boxes. In trying to look on the internet many of the online ammunition stores don't really specify either.

I'm sure there is a relatively simple answer and I appreciate the help.

Cheers, Steve.

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bladebum
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Re: Noob question about 22 ammo

Post by bladebum » Fri May 20, 2016 12:28 pm

This may be of some help... :)
Standard velocity

The velocity of standard-velocity .22 LR rounds varies between manufacturers. Some standard velocity ammo may be slightly supersonic-around 1,125 ft/s (343 m/s), other ammo such as CCI Standard Velocity .22 LR ammunition is rated at 1070 fps. Most standard velocity ammo has a bullet weight of 40 gr (2.6 g). Standard-velocity cartridges generate near or slightly supersonic velocities. These rounds generally do not develop these velocities in handguns because their short barrels do not take full advantage of the slower powder.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.22_Long_Rifle

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Re: Noob question about 22 ammo

Post by casper » Sun May 22, 2016 3:07 am

This page has a pretty comprehensive list of. 22 ammo with velositys and what they are best used for, make sure you look at the lower part of the article.

http://www.chuckhawks.com/ammo_roundup_22LR.htm

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Re: Noob question about 22 ammo

Post by ron » Sun May 22, 2016 5:03 pm

casper wrote:This page has a pretty comprehensive list of. 22 ammo with velositys and what they are best used for, make sure you look at the lower part of the article.

http://www.chuckhawks.com/ammo_roundup_22LR.htm

That's a pretty good article. Generally, High velocity ammo these days is what has become the industry standard. "Standard Velocity" ammo is harder to find but it will be labled "Standard Velocity". Also whether or not it says "High velocity" it will usually give the velocity and the industry standard for high velocity ammo is between 1230 and 1250 fps while standard velocity is between 1050 and 1100 fps.

With that beautiful old woodsman pistol you need to stick to standard velocity only. Guns do not wear out from old age but springs lose their tension and the recoil spring is what keeps a semi-auto from beating itself up.
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Re: Noob question about 22 ammo

Post by scrappy » Sun May 22, 2016 10:28 pm

I have a couple bricks of old red/white box Remington 22lr. Rons list of velocities today is right on. Interesting comparison to this older ammo though in that it consistently runs a solid 100fps faster than today's high velocity stuff, right around 1350.
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Re: Noob question about 22 ammo

Post by theAKguy » Wed Jul 06, 2016 9:30 pm

If you look at all the competition grade 22LR from the entry level Wolf MT/SK Standard Plus all the way up to the Eley Tenex/ Lapua Center X, it is ALL standard velocity. High velocity rounds will go trans-sonic at distance and de-stabilize and not group well. I think the perfect balance between cost and performance is CCI Standard Velocity for around 9 cents/rd.

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