Kadet ammo report

[sberres]

  Everybody has their comments, observations, and opinions as to what sort of ammo is the best through the Kadet and, of course, some of those are weighted heavily in the purpose of the Kadet. Some members here are competing and for them consistency and reliability are at a premium. Others shy away from the bottom shelf brands for various reasons. But one thing for certain is that all can appreciate shooting the Kadet.
  Myself, I wanted to be able to shoot more often with less noise and lower cost.  Beyond that I love the way that the 75 fits and feels. Wanting to shoot more for less I am willing to endure some of the minor reliability upsets and cleaning aspects associated with lower tier ammo. So I thought I'd share a little more here as I expand my list of what I've tried as I've picked up what I've found at the lower price points.
Federal Auto Match - they've been pretty decent.
Remington Thunderbolt - they've run pretty well but are dirty as heck. Lots of grime left behind and plenty of lead.  A good cleaning with a lead removing bore solvent is a must but then I'm not shooting more than a few hundred rounds between cleanings.
Remington Golden Bullet - these have run well and are less subsceptible to leading than the TB's but plenty grimy.
Federal Champion - these are about the only ones that have caused me real fits/multiple problems per mag.
Federal Gameshok - these seemed ok but I only had a few boxes to try.
Federal bulk - these have done well, despite being probably quite old.
Minimag - always a winner, I just can't seem to find them in qty or at a price I'm interested in.
Blazer - I just found some of these at a great price (.05/rd) and they have been very good. I need to find some more at that price!
Some old Winchester. Not sure exactly what kind, may have been Super X. Whatever they were seemed to run just fine.
  So, yes, I've been feeding my Kadet a diet of whatever I can get at the lowest cost. And it seems to do pretty well with most of them. Any 22 auto is going to hang up from time to time. I figure a 1-2% failure rate is pretty tolerable for low-cost, purely recreational shooting. Accuracy seems to be pretty much unaffected by these cheap brands, at least at recreational plinking distances, and there is always a certain satisfaction in knowing that scratching that itchy trigger finger costs .50-.60/ mag instead of
 5x that amount!  The hardest part is knowing when to stop unless you've run out of ammo!

[redlightrich]

I like to run CCI SV in one of my Kadets. I find it on line for a reasonable price. Runs great and clean.
I stay away from Tbolts, they lead too easily.
In warm weather, I will run Rem goldens, but as stated, dirty as heck.
I have tried Win M22s without too much trouble. I know many wont touch them, but they are cheap and they seem to run ok.

You have already tried a lot of the standards.

Good luck!!

[sberres]

  I don't really care all that much about the lead or grime. It's just a bit of extra love and care I get to show my pistol after our fun at the range. Although I rather prefer to run it on my Omega convertible as it is sooo much easier to take out the guts if I want to clean it all out. Even though it runs just fine on the pre-B. (Despite the fact that Joe views powder residue as a lube/protectant 😉) I'm just very happy to see that it'll digest just about anything with decent reliability and i don't have to be too picky when I shop or wondering if I should just try a box or two of this or that to make sure Kadet will like it before I get more.  This versatility is something the Kadet has in spades over anything else on the market.
  The more I shoot it the more I like it. 
   

[Pilot1]

I use mostly Federal Automatch, Federal Bulk, and CCI Minimags in my Kadet, and all my other .22's including my Ruger MK II's.  The Minimags are the most reliable, and also the most expensive by far, so the Automatch is my plinking ammo.  Plenty accurate, and reliable. 

[Firemanjones]

Lately I have been buying Mini-Mags for 7? delivered. I am OK with that price.

[DanMore]

Since I have my P07 Kadet, I have been trying several different brands and types of ammo and found severe differences.

My first approach is to find ammo, that will work without failures.
Untill now, only the Federal Champion Standard Velocity had a FTF every now and then. Just didn`t get cought by the slide and therefor didn`t feed into the chamber.
Federal HV, copper plated hollow points run reliable.

CCI SV and MiniMags run reliable, same as RWS Pistol Target (pricy).

Got my hands on 100 rounds of Winchester red boxed standard velocity. Run reliabe, but not very accurate.

Most accurate are the RWS and CCI Standard Velocity.

Winchester T22 work pretty reliable, but not as accurate.

[Joe L]

I use Norma Tac22 90% of the time.  Priming is very consistent with the Norma.  Norma Match in matches now that the prices are down.  Norma Match was too expensive for a few years, coming down now.  CCI SV is accurate but I get some light hits in my pistol so I don't shoot it in a match.  (Lots of folks use CCI SV in their match guns, however.)   Federal Automatch works great in the winter below 30F using my normal warm weather zero for the Norma.

Joe 

[K3JB]

My Kadet is on a PO-1 and it shoots just about anything, my choice is CCI SV, I have taken Joe's advice and tried Norma  Tac22 and like them also. I do clean mine after 500 rounds and seem to have no issues.

[GRU7_Mike]

I have never shot lead round nose from my P-07 Kadet kit.  I only have used CCI or Aqulia FMJ hollow point. Is there a problem with the lead nose buildup?  Keeping a .22 clean is very important for good operation so zI just would like to know from those that use the lead RN...thanks

[painter]

I have never shot lead round nose from my P-07 Kadet kit.  I only have used CCI or Aqulia FMJ hollow point. Is there a problem with the lead nose buildup?  Keeping a .22 clean is very important for good operation so zI just would like to know from those that use the lead RN...thanks

There is no such thing as .22lr FMJ.

There is copper washed, which is always also waxed, and plain lead which uses different types of lube, either wax, or oily.

[GRU7_Mike]

I have never shot lead round nose from my P-07 Kadet kit.  I only have used CCI or Aqulia FMJ hollow point. Is there a problem with the lead nose buildup?  Keeping a .22 clean is very important for good operation so zI just would like to know from those that use the lead RN...thanks

There is no such thing as .22lr FMJ.

There is copper washed, which is always also waxed, and plain lead which uses different types of lube, either wax, or oily.

Yep, I bit the big one there...I do mean though the copper wash...better or not?  I see match grade not copper washed so I guess that really does answer my question...correct?

[painter]

Personally, I find no advantage to copper washed. It still is lubed, and that is what stops the leading...not the wash. I've never had a leading problem in my CZ-75 style Kadet.

IMO, 22 ammo is all about consistency. Find something that consistently cycles your gun, and stick with it. If you're shooting an accuracy game then that is a consideration, although most ammo is more accurate than I am, and any CZ most definitely is.

Norma TAC-22 is great. Geco Rifle is Norma seconds, and isn't bad. CCI SV is good, but will gunk things up after 3-400 rounds. Rem T-Bolts are inconsistent, but very cheap.

What do you want?

[Boris_LA]

The standard velocity (1030-1080fps) 22LR ammo is subsonic and that velocity you don't have barrel leading. Its consistency come from lube and priming. Accurate during the entire flight of the bullet.
Copper plated (washed) bullets used where velocity is higher 1200fps and more. They may be consistent if made very well, but many are not after supersonic flight become subsonic and that sonic wave catches up and kicks bullet in the butt. Noticeable usually after 50-60m. Velocity sells and apart from some very accurate ammo like CCI mini-mags there are great many that are not as accurate. Dirt in the gun is mostly from excessive lube and un-burned powder. Breech cleaning required for gun operation, but barrel not as much. It needs good lube coating for consistent operation and doesn't lead nor have copper deposits like center-fire guns do because of low pressure and temperature of the round.
All target 22 ammo is bare lead with good lube for a reason.

[Joe L]

My esperience confirms what Boris explained.  I don't have lead problems in the Kadet barrel and I shoot SV lead bullets.  A lot.  The chamber and leede area gets dirty so I am pretty good about cleaning the carbon and residue out of the chamber/leede area, but rarely have to really clean the barrel.  A few patches, sure, just to get the stuff I loosened when cleaning the chamber, but that's it.  Confirmed with a crude borescope. 

Joe 

[9bolo9]

Cz P09 Kadet kit, just got the kit, first batch of ammo I?ve ran is 100 round box of CCI mini mag 40 grain. One FTF (like strike or bad rim, not sure), other than that ran great, it appears that the rounds were leaving the barrel subsonic ( did not need hearing protection) but without a chrono I?m not sure, seems dirtier than 9 mm , I wonder if I run CCI standard velocity, if it will run cleaner....    I?ll try that next and post my results

Also I bought the CCI mini mags @ wal- mart for $7 and some change Jan 2019