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From a prepping point of view, should "buy cheap and stack deep" apply to 22 long rifle? What kind of accuracy could we expect to see between cheap and expensive 22 long rifle? I decided to put those questions to a test at a local sand pit.
My oldest son brought his new Remington model 597 and my girlfriend brought her Walther P22.
With the Walther P22 we were looking at reliability. With the Remington 597 we were looking at accuracy.
For this trip we used a single rifle. In the coming months I will go back to the sand pit and use a variety of rifles. We will then be able to look at the results spread out over several weeks.
Ammunition used:
Federal game-shok 38 grain
Federal Champion 40 grain
Remington golden bullet, 550 round brick, 36 grain
CCI mini-mag 36 grain
Winchester super-x, 40 grain, red box of 100 rounds, varmint and small game
Walther P22
Winchester super-x failed to fire and failed to cycle. Because of the problems Winchester super-x was excluded from the rest of the testing on this trip.
All other brands functioned properly.
The handgun test was not included in the video.
Remington 597
This is a new rifle with less than 100 rounds through it. In the coming weeks I will go back to the sand pit with a verity of older rifles and repeat the test.
Four rounds were fired of each type of ammo.
Federal game-shok - Produced a nice 3 round group with one flier. I suspect this one flier may of been shooter error, but further testing needs to be done.
The three shot group measures 1/2 inch. With the flier the group measures 1 1/2 inches.
Federal champion - Produced a nice 4 shot group that went from left to right in a straight line.
The group measures 3/4 inch.
Remington golden bullet - Was the worst group. two rounds hit next to each other while the other two were off.
At its widest point this group measures 1 5/8 inches.
CCI mini-mag - Two groups were shot with this type of ammo. I shot 5 rounds while my son shot 4 rounds.
My group measures 3/4 inch. My sons group measures 1 1/16 inch.
In the prepping community the Remington golden bullet in bricks of 550 rounds is the go to round for stockpiling. The question I have is why? Why are we stockpiling the cheapest 22 long rifle ammunition?
In the accuracy testing, which was off a bench rest at 25 yards, the Remington golden bullet gave the worst results.
I am going back to the sand pit in a couple of weeks to test the Winchester and will bring a couple of different rifles. But the fact stands. Using a brand new Remington model 597 the golden bullet gave the worst accuracy. So why are survivalist / preppers stockpiling it?
In another post we talked about how tacticool has no place in prepping. Why are we buying the best in certain things, then stockpiling the cheapest ammo we can find?
I have to ask again, should the "buy cheap and stack deep" mentality apply to 22 long rifle? For that matter, should it apply to ammunition in general? While we are on the topic, should buy cheap and stack deep apply to anything?
If you are serious about prepping and want to make sure your family survives an all out collapse, are you going to bet on cheap ammo?
22 long rifle is the corner stone small game hunting ammunition. Why stockpile the cheapest corner stones you can find? Why not spend a few more dollars and build a good foundation to hunt small game with? Isn't your family worth spending a few more dollars on quality 22 long rifle ammunition?
Next round of test
Same 22 long rifle ammunition, but Winchester will be included.
Marlin model 60, Ruger 10/22, H&R bolt action rifle, Remington 597 will be used for testing.
Probably include some more types of 22 long rifle in the nest test. I am thinking of keeping each round of test to about 5 different types of ammo.
My 22 long rifle stockpile is an area of my preps that are unproven. How do I know for a fact that CCI mini-mags will shoot good through my Ruger 10/22? That is the purpose of this test is to make sure that I know how the type of ammunition I am stockpiling will preform when needed.
My oldest son brought his new Remington model 597 and my girlfriend brought her Walther P22.
With the Walther P22 we were looking at reliability. With the Remington 597 we were looking at accuracy.
For this trip we used a single rifle. In the coming months I will go back to the sand pit and use a variety of rifles. We will then be able to look at the results spread out over several weeks.
Ammunition used:
Federal game-shok 38 grain
Federal Champion 40 grain
Remington golden bullet, 550 round brick, 36 grain
CCI mini-mag 36 grain
Winchester super-x, 40 grain, red box of 100 rounds, varmint and small game
Walther P22
Winchester super-x failed to fire and failed to cycle. Because of the problems Winchester super-x was excluded from the rest of the testing on this trip.
All other brands functioned properly.
The handgun test was not included in the video.
Remington 597
This is a new rifle with less than 100 rounds through it. In the coming weeks I will go back to the sand pit with a verity of older rifles and repeat the test.
Four rounds were fired of each type of ammo.
Federal game-shok - Produced a nice 3 round group with one flier. I suspect this one flier may of been shooter error, but further testing needs to be done.
The three shot group measures 1/2 inch. With the flier the group measures 1 1/2 inches.

Federal champion - Produced a nice 4 shot group that went from left to right in a straight line.
The group measures 3/4 inch.

Remington golden bullet - Was the worst group. two rounds hit next to each other while the other two were off.
At its widest point this group measures 1 5/8 inches.

CCI mini-mag - Two groups were shot with this type of ammo. I shot 5 rounds while my son shot 4 rounds.
My group measures 3/4 inch. My sons group measures 1 1/16 inch.

In the prepping community the Remington golden bullet in bricks of 550 rounds is the go to round for stockpiling. The question I have is why? Why are we stockpiling the cheapest 22 long rifle ammunition?
In the accuracy testing, which was off a bench rest at 25 yards, the Remington golden bullet gave the worst results.
I am going back to the sand pit in a couple of weeks to test the Winchester and will bring a couple of different rifles. But the fact stands. Using a brand new Remington model 597 the golden bullet gave the worst accuracy. So why are survivalist / preppers stockpiling it?
In another post we talked about how tacticool has no place in prepping. Why are we buying the best in certain things, then stockpiling the cheapest ammo we can find?
I have to ask again, should the "buy cheap and stack deep" mentality apply to 22 long rifle? For that matter, should it apply to ammunition in general? While we are on the topic, should buy cheap and stack deep apply to anything?
If you are serious about prepping and want to make sure your family survives an all out collapse, are you going to bet on cheap ammo?
22 long rifle is the corner stone small game hunting ammunition. Why stockpile the cheapest corner stones you can find? Why not spend a few more dollars and build a good foundation to hunt small game with? Isn't your family worth spending a few more dollars on quality 22 long rifle ammunition?
Next round of test
Same 22 long rifle ammunition, but Winchester will be included.
Marlin model 60, Ruger 10/22, H&R bolt action rifle, Remington 597 will be used for testing.
Probably include some more types of 22 long rifle in the nest test. I am thinking of keeping each round of test to about 5 different types of ammo.
My 22 long rifle stockpile is an area of my preps that are unproven. How do I know for a fact that CCI mini-mags will shoot good through my Ruger 10/22? That is the purpose of this test is to make sure that I know how the type of ammunition I am stockpiling will preform when needed.