Over the last 30 years or so, CCI Blazer 22lr Fin Feather ammunition has developed something of a stellar reputation when it comes to reliability and performance. Used predominantly as a training round, it offers much to the user, but we didn’t want to just take the company’s word for it, so we tried some for ourselves.
In this article, we examine the performance of this round, something we tested out by firing 1,000 rounds down at the range. What we found was a ton of benefits and a couple of drawbacks, so if you’ve got time, read on and see what happened.
So, The Pros…
Really Awesome Reliability
For the purposes of this blog, we used a Ruger SR22 handgun and we fired off 1,000 CCI Blazer 22lr Fin Feather rounds continuously – only stopping to reload the magazines. We couldn’t fault its overall performance, as we didn’t get a single stoppage.
We encountered nothing in terms of:
- Duds
- Squibs
- Hangfires
- Failure to eject
- Failure to feed
There are a number of reasons why a round might fail to fire and we encountered none of them across the 1,000 rounds that we fired.
Respectable Accuracy
Despite being used in a relatively short-nosed handgun like the Ruger SR22, the overall accuracy we achieved with Cci Blazer 22lr Fin Feather rounds was very respectable. There were a number of outlying shots taken, but what we got was a decent 3.5 inch grouping.
Very Affordable
At around 17 bucks for a box, Cci Blazer 22LR Fin Feather ammunition is one of the cheapest you’ll find, as it equates to just 3.3 cents per bullet. For anyone looking to get out there and practice their shooting, this represents awesome value.
And the Cons…
Well, there was actually only one drawback that we came across when firing off those thousand rounds and that was the issue of the inside of the Ruger SR22 gumming up with a dark waxy residue. The lead-nosed rounds are covered in a wax-like coating and when things heat up inside, it binds with all the soot and powder to create a sticky, viscous substance.
This black, almost crayon-like gum doesn’t contain any large particulates that might cause damage to your gun, but it is enough for you to need to give it thorough cleaning after a burst of shooting at the range.
It’s a problem that’s more to do with aesthetics than anything, as this goo-like substance had no actual impact on the accuracy or reliability, so while it’s annoying to have to clean it off, it’s not going to give you any problems with firing.
A Good, Reliable, Cost-Effective Option For Shooters
Cci Blazer 22lr Fin Feather ammunition is certainly at the lower end of the price spectrum, so you might have been expecting there to be more issues when it comes to performance, but we found nothing of the kind. Even after firing off 1,000 rounds without any kind of meaningful breaks it fired and fired and fired without malfunction and it was easily accurate enough for most purposes.
The dirt and grime build up is a minor issue and it’s only going to be a problem if you’re firing as many rounds as we did, so we wouldn’t be too put off by that factor – particularly if you’re the sort of person who enjoys cleaning their weapon.
All in all, a good, reliable, cost-effective option that we can’t help but endorse.
