Best Buy On .22 Shells

In Bend, Or, the best buy on .22s is at Wal-Mart. They have a 550 round bulk pack for $13.47. The next best is BI-Mart ( when on sale ) with a 525 round bulk pack for $14.99. Both are Federal 36 grain hollow points, which shoot the best in my Remington 552 semi-auto rifle. Now, here's the catch. The federals you buy at Bi-Mart have a muzzle velocity of 1280 FPS, velocity at 100 yds 1020. 131 ft lbs energy at muzzle and 83 ft lbs at 100 yds. Drop at 100 yds 3.4". Wal-Mart's Federals don't hold up as well. Muzzle velocity 1260, velocity at 100 yds 1000 fps. 125 ft lbs of energy at the muzzle, 80 ft lbs at 100 yds and a 5.6" drop at 100 yds. Wal-Mart must have made a deal with Federal for lighter loads to keep the price down. So you run the numbers and figure out the best deal for you. We shoot so many rounds that opting for the more expensive shells like cci, we pass on. What I have done is. I bought quite a few .22s at Wal-Mart before I figured out the diference, so I am shooting up all my 1280 fps .22s first and then I will sight in my rifles again and switch to the several bricks of 1260 fps that I have. Check out the shooting pivot rifle rest I build under Sage Rats. Bullseyes and Tight Lines