April 27, 2018
By Jake Edmondson
I don't know how many times it's been said about the .22 Long Rifle round, but it may be the most underappreciated cartridge of 'em all. Even so, I happen to be a big fan of the versatile rimfire round. It's great for plinking, small-game hunting, and target shooting, and a lot of great-performing .22 Long Rifle ammunition is made by Aguila. A quick look of the company's website shows it currently offers 13 .22 Long Rifle loadings, including a 30-grain SuperMaximum loading that is rated at a blistering 1,700 fps (Aguila says it's the fastest .22 LR on the market). The company also offers .22 Short, .22 WMR, centerfire handgun ammo ranging from .25 ACP to .45 Colt, centerfire rifle ammo ranging from .223 Remington to 7.62 NATO, and a whole array of shotshells from 12 gauge to .410 Bore.
Four of my favorite Aguila .22 LR loadings are the .22 Super Extra High Velocity 40-grain Copper Plated Solid, the .22 Super Extra Standard Velocity 40-grain Lead Solid, the .22 Interceptor 40-grain Copper Plated Solid, and the .22 Target Competition 40-grain Lead Solid. The .22 Super Extra High Velocity 40-grain Copper Plated Solid has a factory-rated velocity of 1,255 fps. The .22 Super Extra Standard Velocity 40-grain Lead Solid is rated at 1,130 fps. The .22 Interceptor 40-grain Copper Plated Solid is rated at 1,470 fps. And the .22 Target Competition 40-grain Lead Solid is rated at 1,080 fps. I buy Aguila ammo at my local Farm King, but if you don't know where to get it, Aguila's website has a tab to help you locate dealers in your area.
For this report, I fired the four loadings in my Ruger 10/22 carbine and my Smith & Wesson Victory pistol. As you can see from the chart, the loads were accurate, and their low velocity extreme spreads and standard deviations indicate the great consistency with which they are manufactured. I particularly like the Interceptor even though it wasn't the most accurate load in my carbine because its high velocity makes it great for hunting squirrels. And I like the Target Competition for my pistol because it's soft shooting and very accurate.
MSRP: $2.47 to $7.13
aguilaammo.com
