The Rimfire Report: Weird Ammo – CCI 22LR OEM 40gr LRN

January 25, 2026
8:00 am

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Picture this: you're prowling the ammo aisle at Bi-Mart, that unassuming Pacific Northwest staple where hunters grab bulk 22LR next to fishing lures and bulk TP, and your eyes lock onto a quirky interloper. Nestled between the familiar CCI Standard Velocity and the ubiquitous Mini-Mags sits a 100-round sleeve boldly labeled CCI .22LR OEM packing a 40-grain LRN bullet. Not your standard bulk pack, not a premium varmint blaster—this is factory-fresh OEM ammo, the kind typically reserved for bundling inside complete rifles or reserved for big-box OEM deals. What gives? In a market still jittery from post-pandemic shortages, spotting this oddball suggests CCI's cranking out specialized runs to keep plinking affordable and ubiquitous, slipping under the radar of boutique reloaders and scalpers alike. Dig deeper, and the intrigue thickens. At 40 grains lead round nose, this isn't optimized for hyper-velocity squirrel-zapping like the 36-grain Mini-Mag or the subsonic hush of Standard Velocity's 40-grain sibling—it's a Goldilocks load, likely tuned for reliability in entry-level trainers and youth rifles straight from the factory floor. Think Ruger 10/22 bundles or Savage Mark II kits; OEM ammo like this ensures new gun owners don't fumble with mismatched velocities that could gum up semi-autos or disappoint at the range. For the 2A community, it's a subtle win: amid whispers of ATF overreach on pistol braces and frame-or-receiver rules, this signals rimfire production humming at scale. No exotic copper-plated JHP here—just honest, brass-cased plinkers that keep the training wheels spinning for the next generation of shooters. If Bi-Mart's stocking it retail, expect ripples—Walmart shelves? Online discounters? It's a reminder that when Big Ammo innovates quietly, it bolsters the grassroots backbone of the right to bear arms, one 100-round sleeve at a time. Implications? Stock up if you spot it; at typical Bi-Mart pricing (under $10 a sleeve, if patterns hold), it's a steal for volume fire—suppression testing, youth intro days, or just feeding that insatiable CZ 457. But watch the supply chain: OEM overflows like this often precede broader retail floods, potentially stabilizing 22LR prices below 6 cents per round. For pro-2A patriots, it's ammo diplomacy—CCI's way of saying keep shooting, keep training without fanfare. Next time you're in the PNW (or wherever this migrates), hunt one down; it's not just weird ammo, it's a snapshot of resilience in a world that'd rather we go dry.

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Picture this: you’re prowling the ammo aisle at Bi-Mart, that unassuming Pacific Northwest staple where hunters grab bulk 22LR next to fishing lures and bulk TP, and your eyes lock onto a quirky interloper. Nestled between the familiar CCI Standard Velocity and the ubiquitous Mini-Mags sits a 100-round sleeve boldly labeled CCI .22LR OEM packing a 40-grain LRN bullet. Not your standard bulk pack, not a premium varmint blaster—this is factory-fresh OEM ammo, the kind typically reserved for bundling inside complete rifles or reserved for big-box OEM deals. What gives? In a market still jittery from post-pandemic shortages, spotting this oddball suggests CCI’s cranking out specialized runs to keep plinking affordable and ubiquitous, slipping under the radar of boutique reloaders and scalpers alike.

Dig deeper, and the intrigue thickens. At 40 grains lead round nose, this isn’t optimized for hyper-velocity squirrel-zapping like the 36-grain Mini-Mag or the subsonic hush of Standard Velocity’s 40-grain sibling—it’s a Goldilocks load, likely tuned for reliability in entry-level trainers and youth rifles straight from the factory floor. Think Ruger 10/22 bundles or Savage Mark II kits; OEM ammo like this ensures new gun owners don’t fumble with mismatched velocities that could gum up semi-autos or disappoint at the range. For the 2A community, it’s a subtle win: amid whispers of ATF overreach on pistol braces and frame-or-receiver rules, this signals rimfire production humming at scale. No exotic copper-plated JHP here—just honest, brass-cased plinkers that keep the training wheels spinning for the next generation of shooters. If Bi-Mart’s stocking it retail, expect ripples—Walmart shelves? Online discounters? It’s a reminder that when Big Ammo innovates quietly, it bolsters the grassroots backbone of the right to bear arms, one 100-round sleeve at a time.

Implications? Stock up if you spot it; at typical Bi-Mart pricing (under $10 a sleeve, if patterns hold), it’s a steal for volume fire—suppression testing, youth intro days, or just feeding that insatiable CZ 457. But watch the supply chain: OEM overflows like this often precede broader retail floods, potentially stabilizing 22LR prices below 6 cents per round. For pro-2A patriots, it’s ammo diplomacy—CCI’s way of saying keep shooting, keep training without fanfare. Next time you’re in the PNW (or wherever this migrates), hunt one down; it’s not just weird ammo, it’s a snapshot of resilience in a world that’d rather we go dry.

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