Eley Priming

[Bill A]

Hello,

Now that .22 short RF pistols are passe, I own one (OSP) and shoot it constantly. I mostly use CCI Target (0037) but managed to get ahold of some Aquila. As you probably know, it is Eley primed, with that familiar superglue odor. The stuff seems somewhat dirtier and grittier than the CCI, leaving not only more powder residue, but also a sort of golden colored grit, and I'm wondering if this grittiness is typical of Eley primed ammo. Seems like it might be somewhat abrasive.

I've mostly used Eley primed stuff in rifles, where it hasn't been much of an issue.

Bill

[Fred]

IIRC, all the Eley LR ammo I have shot is cleaner (and no grit) than the CCI LR, so I doubt if the "Eley priming" is responsible for what you are seeing. I wonder, though, if you could describe how the Aguila short feels and shoots compared to the CCI 0037? I find the CCI 0037 adequate, but definitely hotter than the Euro .22 short ammo, and was thinking of trying the Aguila. Is it as hot as the CCI? How about accuracy?

Thanks,
FredB

[Bill A]

Fred,

The Aquila is a little softer than the CCI 0037. It cycles my gun every bit as reliably. As far as accuracy is concerned, it's absolutely sufficient for my level of mediocrity. The stuff seems OK, and it's cheap.

10's,
Bill

[Slinger]

After reading the thread going on about Aguila being Eley primed I felt I had to share with everyone my discovery. I too have shot CCI standard for a while, but with the recent ammo price increases I have tried Aguila. I have had many rounds that take 2 hits to go bang, as well as many of my fellow shooters have had the same. We got into a discussion about the ammo being Eley primed, etc, and my point was Eley ALWAYS goes bang on the first hit, so why not Aguila. I wrote to Eley via email and the response I got back was in fact this,,,,,, Aguila primes their own ammo. They bought the same machinery as Eley to do the Eley prime process, but according to Eley they are on the own,,,,,,,,using their own ingredients and technology. As I read that,,,,,the little Eley primed lable on Aguila's box means next to nothing.

[Fred]

Fred,

The Aquila is a little softer than the CCI 0037. It cycles my gun every bit as reliably. As far as accuracy is concerned, it's absolutely sufficient for my level of mediocrity. The stuff seems OK, and it's cheap.

10's,
Bill

Bill,

Thanks for the information. I'm a pretty mediocre RF shooter also, but even at my level I found some ammo whose accuracy was worse than mine: CCI CB Short. It's much softer than 0037, but still cycles my OSP nearly all the time, so it's very pleasant to shoot. However maybe 10%-15% of the rounds sound and feel underpowered, and they hit way off the main group. Just in case you were thinking about trying it.

Regards,
Fred

[Bill A]

Fred,

I've had poor luck with the CB stuff. It seems to vary greatly from lot to lot, or even box to box. I had some that wouldn't function my OSP; then some that would; then some that was horribly inconsistent, with some rounds that seemed to be as snappy as 0037, and some that I was surprised made it out the barrel. In my still pretty limited experience with Aquila (and by the way, it says "Eley prime" on the box, it's not just my nose telling me it's Eley), I've had few or no malfunctions. I think I still prefer the 0037, but if I had to get by with Aquila, I could.

Best,
Bill

[Misny]

I can't report on Aguila .22 Short ammo, because I have no experience with it. I can only tell you that I have shot virtually tens of thousands of rounds of Aguila .22 LR ammo and I haven't had an issue with ignition. My fellow club members have shot several thousands of rounds of Aguila and love it. I've never had any problem with duds in CCI Standard Velocity .22LR ammo that comes in plastic boxes, including pistol match. The only ammo that I've found troublesome over the years is Remington and Winchester T22.

The story of "Eley Primed" and Aguila .22 is that Eley sold their analog priming system to Aguila in Mexico when they switched to a digital priming system.

[GOVTMODEL]

After reading the thread going on about Aguila being Eley primed I felt I had to share with everyone my discovery. I too have shot CCI standard for a while, but with the recent ammo price increases I have tried Aguila. I have had many rounds that take 2 hits to go bang, as well as many of my fellow shooters have had the same. We got into a discussion about the ammo being Eley primed, etc, and my point was Eley ALWAYS goes bang on the first hit, so why not Aguila. I wrote to Eley via email and the response I got back was in fact this,,,,,, Aguila primes their own ammo. They bought the same machinery as Eley to do the Eley prime process, but according to Eley they are on the own,,,,,,,,using their own ingredients and technology. As I read that,,,,,the little Eley primed lable on Aguila's box means next to nothing.

The Eley Priming system is used by Aguila under a licensing agreement with Eley.

My experience is that when cartridges are too big too fit completely in my chamber, I get a misfire because the hammer's energy is expended pushing the cartridge all the way into the chamber and getting the slide completely closed. Not enough is left to ignite the primer.

[tleddy]

I have also shot a few thousand rounds of Agila SV 40 gr with no failure to fire. Certainly good practice ammo.