TargetTalk

Since one of the purposes of the Shooters Lounge is to discuss "ammo needs", I figured this was the best place to post. Given the current market in the U.S., I've been mostly dry-firing and practicing with an air pistol at home. However, the urge to shoot something that goes "bang" at least once a week cannot be denied. While looking for ammo, I came across this:



The seller (Widener's) lists it as military surplus which seems odd to me but ultimately unimportant. I have a couple of .22 revolvers to use with it but I'm hesitant because I've never heard of it. (Yes, I've heard the name Vostok but I've never seen any ammo with that name.) To be frank, I'm also hesitant because paying USD$0.10 per round for .22 shorts strikes me as deeply wrong...but I suppose that times change and I must adapt.

Does anybody have any experience with it? I'm hoping to hear from some rapid fire pistol shooters who remember using this stuff before that sport went to .22 LR.

If not, I ordered a bit and I'll be happy to report back with results if anyone expresses an interest.

A relatively small amount of Vostok 22ammo floated about western Canada in the late 1980s. Most of what I used was 22LR and was pretty reasonable, much better than the steel cased "Junior" that came along a bit later. Don't recall seeing any of the shorts, but the box pictured is the same for LR. As long as it is cheap, I would not worry about using it.

Dr Jim

The picture you posted is 22 shorts, not 22 long rifle.
This ammo is for the 22 rapid fire pistols, like the Walther OSP.

The junior 22 ammo was the perfect fodder when my boys were learning to shoot. At $8.00 a brick I bought a ton of it. Still have some actually. Now I am paying more per box than my brick price. Problem is my eldest son can discriminate between the good stuff and the fodder. Oh for the good old days. lol
Chris

Dr. Jim wrote:...Most of what I used... I would not worry about using it.

Thanks for the assurances from someone who has experience with the brand. I really appreciate it.

Trooperjake wrote:The picture you posted is 22 shorts, not 22 long rifle.
This ammo is for the 22 rapid fire pistols, like the Walther OSP.

Noted and understood. That's why I said I had revolvers to digest the stuff.

Interestingly, though, your post prompted me to look over gunbroker for .22 short firearms. An interesting mix. I'm surprised that so many of the interesting pistols built for rapid fire are still so expensive considering that they were built to meet a set of rules that are no longer in force. I would have thought that would depress the prices for used pistols but I guess I was wrong. Either that or there's some unwritten rule that all Hammerli pistols must be expensive, even when they're completely obsolete.

If I wanted to shoot the stuff in a dedicated autopistol, something of good quality on the used market appears to cost $1000 and up. That's too much just for a toy that would be terribly redundant in my collection; I'll just stick with the revolvers I already have when shooting this ammo.

Levergun59 wrote:The junior 22 ammo was the perfect fodder ... At $8.00 a brick I bought a ton... Now I am paying more per box than my brick price...

Yeah, it's now ~USD$5.00 per box, USD$60.00 for a brick of 600. The days of buying a box of shorts for plinking and getting change back from a dollar are gone forever, apparently. Memories like that are just one more reason that growing old sucks.

Thank you very much for additional input from someone who has had experience with the brand.

I have used these cartridges a long time ago. They functioned in my FAS 602 and in my Hammerlï 230. In the batch I had there were quite a few ignition failures, but for training it didn't matter. The reaction of the Vostok was quite similar to the RWS Match 22's, but I couldn't afford shooting 250 shots with high grade ammo for training. So the Vostok was a welcome solution. I've also used their .22LR cartridges, which were more reliable then the shorts. At the time they were about half the price of Eley Pistols, I guess that's why we speak about the good old days...
In short: shoot them, no problem but I would rely on them for rapid fire matches.
Have fun,
Guy