Tag Archives: ammo test

Shooting Sports

CZ457: CCI vs Aguila Standard

In honor of the 250th anniversary of the founding of this great nation, I’m dedicating this .22 rimfire comparison to the good old US of A. I tested the best North America can offer. I’ll compare US-made CCI Standard versus Mexico-made Aguila Super Extra Standard velocity in my factory CZ457 VPC rifle with a Discovery Optics XED 6-36×56 precision scope.

Aguila Super Extra comes in two varieties: High Velocity a Copper Plate version, and Standard, a lead round nose. Likewise, CCI comes in Mini-Mag, a copper-plated, high-velocity round, and Standard, which is a sub-sonic lead round nose. Both of these rimfire bullets have a wax coating.

I expected CCI to group better at 100 yards, because ‘Merica! Actually its because Aguila’s stated muzzle velocity is slightly faster than the speed of sound, common wisdom states that it should be slightly unstable as the round slows down below the speed of sound.

CCI did end up with slightly smaller groups than Aguila, which wasn’t too far behind in performance. But Aguila does beat CCI in price, 30%-50% less than CCI Standard. And nothing is more ‘American’ than a good bargain.

SHOP

XED 6-36×56
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Shooting Sports

RPR Ammo Test: Aguila HV vs. CCI Mini-Mag

Aguila Super Extra High Velocity and CCI Mini-Mags are my go-to 22LR for my pistols and semi-auto rifles. Super Extra HV is usually cheaper but CCI runs more reliably on more of my pistols. Both are 40grn CPRN bullets with only a 20fps difference in their velocities. While Super-Extra HV claims faster speed, Mini-Mags shoot with more pronounced pop.

Testing both in my factory Ruger Precision Rimfire Rifle (RPR), Aguila edged CCI by a significant margin (2x) in the data. CCI did experience more random fliers than Aguila, causing worse scores. But looking at the groups, the differences between the rounds appeared subjectively closer.

BUY

Discovery Optics LHD

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RESULTS

Aguila Super Extra HV
Avg. Group Size: 2.17″
Average: 2.07 MOA
Mean Radius: .83″ / 0.79 MOA

CCI Mini-Mag
Avg. Group Size: 3.43″
Average: 3.28 MOA
Mean Radius: 1.21″ / 1.15 MOA

Shooting Sports

CZ457 Tac-22 vs CCI Standard

I am testing various 22LR rimfire ammunition at 100 yards to determine which produces the tightest groups in my CZ 457 rifle. My rifle build is a factory-stock CZ 457 VPC, topped with an Area 419 Picatinny rail, and a Discovery Optics XED 6-36×56 scope (their top-tier long-range optic with Japanese eXtra Low Dispersion ED glass).

For this attempt, I am trying out Norma Tac-22. RWS manufactures this ammunition in Germany, which is also the company used to proof CZ 457 rifles at the factory. I have heard good reports on this ammo but my experience with my Ruger Precision Rimfire rifle yielded mixed results. For the test, I’m comparing it to CCI Standard Velocity, which many consider the best overall “bulk” rimfire ammo for bolt-action rifles and bullseye pistols.

After shooting 20 rounds of each, the results were essentially a tie. CCI produced slightly tighter groups but TAC-22’s 2nd group was tighter than any of CCI’s.

BUY

Discovery Optics Website: https://discoveryopt.com
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100 yard RESULTS

NORMA TAC-22
Avg Group: 1.38″
Mean Radius: .46 MOA

CCI STANDARD
Avg Group: 1.32″
Mean Radius: .47 MOA

Shooting Sports

22lr Accuracy Test: Aguila vs. Federal vs. CCI

Aguila Super Extra HV vs. Federal Auto Match vs. CCI Mini-Mag. Guess which ammo came in first in our test? The test results were surprising to me because CCI’s have been the gold-standard for high-quality 22LR. I rotated between the different ammo brands during the test to isolate the effects of barrel heating affecting the group size (any heating would affect all brands equally).

The results below were calculated using the Range Buddy App for Android OS.