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Aguila Silver Eagle ... !

8K views 23 replies 17 participants last post by  hispeedlead 
#1 ·
The Aguila Silver Eagle 40grain JSP round is one that's virtually never talked about on this sub-forum. I first came across it last summer, (2017), and tried it, amongst just about everything else, in my Ruger Single Six with the "long barrel" - (I no longer have any .22WMR rifles on hand to test it in that format). It was about a $1 a box more expensive than anything else at the time.

I found that, shooting at 25 yards, hand-held, it consistently produced groups of about 50-60% the size of those I could manage with any other ammo. Mind you, at 90 years old, and never claiming to be a pistol shooter, my groups are NOT those of your average competition shooter ... but were typically in the 2-3" size compared to 4-5" for all other ammo.

What sort of results have other users obtained ?

Fuzzy
 
#9 ·
I purchased a box of Aguila Silver Eagle (nickle cases) several months ago and finally got to the range today with my 22 WMR rifles:

1. CZ 455 Varmint
2. CZ 455 FS
3. CZ 512 American
4. Magnum Research MLR-22WMBW

I was doing ammo testing in each rifle with the following brands:

Aguila - Silver Eagle - 40 grain - SP - 1,875 fps
CCI - V-MAX - 30 grain - BT - 2,200 fps
CCI - Maxi-Mag - 40 grain - JHP - 1,875 fps
CCI - A22 - 35 grain BT - 2,100 fps
Hornady - V-MAX - 30 grain - BT - 2,200 fps
Winchester - X22HM - 40 grain - JHP - 1,910 fps

It was nasty day at the range - very windy & cold, :eek: thus I would say this is not the "best" any of the rifles could produce, however the Aguila (surprisingly) produced the best groups in all four rifles - mostly in the .5-.75" range @ 50 yards). I limited full testing of all brands @ 50 yards, then selected the top 2/3 brands and attempted some 100 yard groups, but that proved nothing of value under the conditions. At 50 yards, the Aguila was clearly first, followed by the CCI A22, 2nd & CCI MaxiMag (40 gr.) usually a close 3rd. I had no misfires and only one FTL however that was the first round in a mag on the 455 Varmint and I feel the round was not fully seated in the magazine.

I found it interesting the Aguila held serve across all 4 rifles and the CCI A22 usually came in at the .75-1.0" range. I believe we can improve all brands with better range conditions, however feel that of my current inventory; Aguila, CCI A22 & MaxiMag will be my selected ammo going forward, however additional testing does need to take place. :bthumb:

Needless to say I will be keeping my eye out for Aguila 22 WMR deals. :D :) :t
 
#12 ·
Big 5 has some for $17 a box

Saw some locally today but too rich for my blood. Would try it for $10 a box.

Fuzzy, I salute you for still making it to the range at 90. Thanks for sharing your experience with us. I hope you are getting to know some of the youngsters at your club and will continue to be well for many years to come. Some of my fondest college memories were actually days I'd spend at the nearby club with the old veterans in their 80s and 90s when I had some free time from classes. They had some stories to tell! rc
 
#14 ·
Academy has dropped the price on their Aguila .22 WMR ammo to $10.99/box, but they're out of stock at the moment. I know, because I tried to order some just now.

If, like me, you didn't want to pay a premium for the stuff, keep an eye on their website for awhile, maybe it'll come back soon.

I "had" to order some MaxiMag HPs and some Gamepoints to assuage my sadness.
 
#16 ·
Shazzzzzzammmm!! that was quick.:bthumb: I ordered the ammo on Tuesday after work, and it was waiting for me on the front step when I got home this afternoon. It came from Cookeville, TN, dunno if they have a warehouse there, or if it came from another vendor. In any event, it got here QUICK. FedEx Ground
Midsouth is just as good, last week I ordered a case of ammo from them and it came in two days later, too.:bthumb: UPS Ground.

I guess I live in a great location for quick shipping.
 
#17 ·
Academy had three shopworn boxes of Silver Eagle ammo on the shelf this morning, so I brought two home, and to the range afterwards.

My stainless RAR shoots a lot better once the barrel gets warmed up, and after getting the pipe warm, I tried the Aguila. It shot pretty well, I thought, cloverleafing three rounds and the other two were about a quarter-inch out in either direction (50 yards). POI was 1.5" right from the zero with CCI MaxiMag 40gr. bullets. All in all, a little messing with the scope and it will work fine.
MaxiMags shoot a bit better, but now I know I can use them if I need/want to. My rifle does NOT like Winchester, and unless I'm shooting prairie dogs, I can't think of a good use for any of the 30gr. loads. This load, and the Fiocchi 40s give me options if I can't find CCIs anywhere. Options/alternatives are good to have.
 
#19 ·
Silver Eagle nickel case

I thought I had made a post a couple weeks ago about an experience I had with the Silver Eagle 40 gr. nickel case, but I can't find it. I have never figured out how to search this forum.

Anyway, I generally use the Aguila .22WMR brass case and it shot great in my M22 Zastava. Academy was out of the brass case so I picked up 3 boxes of the nickel case. It was on sale & only a little more than the brass case. I got out to the farm where I shoot when I want to stretch out the distance as well was try a little nasty bird control.

I was about 10 rounds into the box when I had my first experience of a case failure in 50+ years of shooting. There was this boom, the bolt open vigorously and smoke & hot powder burned my cheek. Thank you shooting glasses! I never found the case. I checked the rifle pretty carefully and found nothing wrong with the action, bolt, etc.

So, I started shooting again. About 3 or 4 more rounds later I had a second case rim failure. Smoke and gases but the bolt did not open. Inspection of the case showed a rupture around the rim where the firing pin struck the case. Shot a couple more rounds, had another! Same location, rupture was smaller in length. Shot 2-3 more rounds and had a third! Same place on the rim, rupture was very small, but it was plenty obvious, as were the others when they occurred.

At this point I decided I had better quit while I still had a head. I contacted Aguila about the incident and received an email back from the customer rep asking for details, etc. almost immediately. I explained the incidents similar to the above and sent some photos along with the lot number, where purchased, etc.

The customer rep was apologetic for my incident. A few days later I received another email from her. She was sending me a box for me to send the ruptured cases, the part box and the 2 full boxes back to TXAT for QC testing. In a follow-up email, she said she was sending me an Aguila hat and some other items for my use in the return box. She also said Aguila TXAT would replace my ammo. I kind of tongue in cheek asked her if I could get the brass case instead of nickel.;) I guess I will find out.

All in all, Aguila-TXAT could not have been better in the timeliness of responses to my incident or more concerned on rectifying the situation.

BTW, the Aguila 22WMR 40 gr. brass case (which is a couple $s cheaper) gave me 1/2 groups consistently through several boxes, slightly better than the CCI .22 WMR 40 gr. I have pretty well switched over to Aguila 22SESV, 22SEHV and the 22 WMR for all my shooting. The price is right and all my .22s seem very pleased with the change. With the below exception.....
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VH :eek:man:
 
#22 ·
Update...

I thought I had made a post a couple weeks ago about an experience I had with the Silver Eagle 40 gr. nickel case, but I can't find it. I have never figured out how to search this forum.

The customer rep was apologetic for my incident. A few days later I received another email from her. She was sending me a box for me to send the ruptured cases, the part box and the 2 full boxes back to TXAT for QC testing. In a follow-up email, she said she was sending me an Aguila hat and some other items for my use in the return box. She also said Aguila TXAT would replace my ammo. I kind of tongue in cheek asked her if I could get the brass case instead of nickel.;) I guess I will find out.

All in all, Aguila-TXAT could not have been better in the timeliness of responses to my incident or more concerned on rectifying the situation.

VH :eek:man:
I did receive 3 boxes of the nickel case .22WMR 40 gr. I went out this past weekend with the intention of trying it out again, but the wind and rain were blowing 40 mph. I shot a few rounds for effect and had several FTFs. The nickel case is harder than the brass and my Zastava does not like it. I would get ignition on the second try. Not a problem as I can use the nickel case in my Ruger SS.

The FTF is a glitch with Zastava. I will check my firing pin protrusion length and increase the length if I have room without impinging on the chamber face.

With the brass .22WMR I was getting excellent groups at 58 yd.s. Right around a 1/2 in. or slightly better. I use Aguila SE HV in all my .22s now with the exception of my HS 103, I use the SESV.

VH :eek:man:
 
#23 · (Edited)
Thanks for the heads up on the sale. I think I had posted somewhere that my Savag/Anschutz loves the Silver Eagle nickel case stuff. Shot a number of 22mag flavors in it and was pretty disappointed until I dropped in the Aguila. My groups went to about half consistently. I ordered more from one of the vendors I have used before and they sent the brass case instead, picture had shown nickel. It shot fairly similar but it wasn't what I ordered so they did refund my money and let me keep the ammo as the marketing info was wrong. I will say I wouldnt hesitate to shoot the brass case in its place.

Here is a picture of my rifle with 3 groups shot at 25,50 and 100 all in a row and not cherry picked. I started doing this so that I can remember in between outings the POI for my rifles. If I remember correctly the 100 yard group was just under 1" ctc. You can see I had 2 individual impact points which I attribute to hold problems. I have a Leupold 3-9efr on it and that really isn't enough for me with my eyes to shoot tight groups at 100yds but it's still good enough to hit a squirrel. I shoot 4 shot groups with this rifle because that is all the mag holds.
 

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