Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Rimfires Why is so much of the bulk .22lr ammo 36g HP?

I was just looking at my .22lr inventory and most of it is in bulk boxes of 36g. HP. Some of the guns that I like to shoot do better in the functioning department with that wee bit heavier bullet to provide some inertia to get the bolt or slide working.

I would think that making HP ammo would require an additional step to hollow out the bullet. When you're making up these bulk boxes of 500 or 525 would you, as a manufacturer want to stuff them with the bullets that are the cheapest to make and require the fewest production steps?

Anyone familiar with the production of .22lr bullets?

No but it may be worth calling Remington or Federal and asking them direct. Now you have me curious about the same thing.

I think HP's are the most popular (purchased) type of .22LR bullet for general plinking/varmint control. Solids for paper.

They make 'em because people want 'em. That's what sells, and selling is what business people are all about. It's as simple as that.

Given the choice, I usually pick the HP version, myself. I'm just one of the gang, I suppose, but when I was a kid, I wanted something I would hunt with, and there wasn't the money to buy "target" ammo and "hunting" ammo both.So guess what got bought?

The HP's are much better for larger varmints - way less crawl offs in my experience. That is why I like them, now IF I could just find them again.

Myself I prefer H.P. rounds for all around shooting. If it's not broke ,don't fix it.

Thats the truth. I remember as a kid popping jack rabbits. With solids they almost always ran a good distnce before giving up the ghost. With mini-mag HPs they didn't usually do anything more then fall over kicking.

Of course 22LR is tough too find here too no matter what the type or brand...

Redhill: You (and I) are lucky to have an "inventory" of 22 L.R. ammunition - no matter what the weight.
I have been in 7 sport/gun shops in the last two days and saw exactly NO 22 L.R. ammo on the shelves - one shop was eking it out from the "back room" to known gun buying customers a couple of small boxes at a time.
I have enough right now to last me two years of heavy Varminting and small game Hunting (or one giant revolution!).
I know several people who are scrambling to find ANY 22 ammo right now.
I use a BUNCH of 36 grain hollow-point 22 L.R. ammunition for Varminting.
I also use some 40 grain hollow-point 22 L.R. ammunition and these are VERY accurate in my higher quality 22 Rifles.
I tried some 37 grain Winchester Power-Points (hollow-points) this past year and they shot quite well and were very lethal on small Varmints also.
I think the 36 to 40 grain bullets are a good choice for accuracy and lethality - I am not prepared to comment on how (if?) they help functionality of certain semi-auto guns.
It would be interesting to hear others experiences in that regard.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

I doubt there is an extra step, since the point is probably formed at the same time as the rest of the bullet. As mentioned, most prefer a hollow point. Finally, less lead = lower cost. I shoot a bunch of it and have hunted with it, but I prefer a 40 grain HP like the Winchester PowerPoint to hunt with.

A couple of years ago, my dear kid sister gave me a WallyWorld gift card for Christmas. Being of sound mind and cheap azz, I went directly to the sporting goods dept. and carried out a BUNCH of .22LR. Still working on it, got a bunch left, also. It was Winchester HPs, not the better Federal stuff, but hey, the 10/22 likes it, even if the other rifles don't. With the money I didn't spend on Winchester, I DID buy CCI Mini Mags.

Just found a case of Win 36g HP's in the basement. They're 333 round boxes 10 boxes in a case. I usually rat hole the Federal 550 or 525 packs but must have picked up the win's in 2008 when things were scarce. All my guns are dialed with federals so I'll have to sell these win's while the demand is up. Too bad KSL.com doesn't let you sell ammo anymore. I'll have to find some other local classifieds.

Bb

I shoot 40gr, plain old lead 22 lr's most of the time. Winchester Wildcat 500 packs when I can find 'em, CCI Mini Mags when I can't.

Yep

Ernie

Being a good Canadian boy, I can shed a bit of light on our "good old days". As a young guy in the 50's and early 60's, we very seldom bought HP ammo, or "mushroom", as they were known then. It was more expensive, and not all that common. Most of us rural boys bought CIL Dominion "Super Clean" or "Whiz Bang" short, long, or long rifle almost exclusively. Seldom did we even see anything else in the field.

Mushroom shorts were fairly available, and longs were also common. Shorts were the cheapest, next was long, then long rifle. Needless to say, zillions of shorts were used on everything from gophers to Prairie Chicken and Ruffed Grouse, and whitetail deer. My Dad told me that he shot many a duck for supper with his little old .22 during the 1930's.

I can still recall the excitement I had when I received a box of 500 Whiz Bangs for Christmas!