Henry Rifle Forums

I have found that three of my .22 WMR rifles like CCI MaxiMag 40 gr. HP ammo. Those three are all Ruger rifles, a 77/22 International and two Ruger American Rimfire rifles. The CCI MaxiMag is usually readily available at Walmart in the 125 count "milk carton" containers at a competitive price. I have a good supply laid in because I think that if another ammo shortage or supply chain disruption occurs, .22 WMR may become more scarce sooner than .22 LR ammo. It seems to me that has been the case in the past but my memory may be betraying me.

The other two .22 WMR rifles I own prefer Federal Small Game 50 gr. HP ammo. Those two rifles are a Henry Classic and a Savage Model 93G. I have to do more looking to find the Federal Small Game ammo but recently, I bought a couple of 250 round count jars of Federal 50 gr.HP ammo and when the ammo was delivered, I discovered it was not labeled as Federal Small Game but rather, Federal Champion. Same 50 gr. bullet weight for both cartridges. The Small Game ammo has a listed muzzle velocity of 1530 FPS on the container but the Champion ammo makes no mention of muzzle velocity, at least not that I can find on the bottle label. A examination of the cartridges with a MK I eyeball reveals a similar, in not the same, bullet.

I went to the range recently with the Henry Classic and the Savage and found the Federal Champion .22 WMR ammo shot a bit higher than the Federal Small Game ammo and maybe not quite as accurate but the degree of accuracy may depend more on on my marksmanship abilities (or lack thereof) on a particular day.

Does anyone know if the Federal Small Game .22 WMR ammo and the Federal Champion .22 WMR ammo are the same cartridge? If so, why would Federal label the 250 count bottle as Champion rather than Small Game? I suspect they might be different since there was a subtle difference in point of impact at 50 yards but I can't see why Federal would bother with different loads for such similar cartridges.

They are supposedly the same 50gr cartridge. It's a packaging difference. The Small Game is sold in boxes of 50, the same is sold in 250 bulk as Champion.

I think you are right about the WMR going scare first. Buy it when you can.

Mags -

I wonder why they differentiate them because one is a 50 round box and the other is a 250 round jug. To me, it seems like extra work.

Sir Henry -

I hope I am wrong about future ammo shortages and supply chain disruptions, but I put some ammo aside when I have the opportunity.

HenryFan wrote: ↑

Sat Aug 22, 2026 5:01 pm

Mags -

I wonder why they differentiate them because one is a 50 round box and the other is a 250 round jug. To me, it seems like extra work.

Sir Henry -

I hope I am wrong about future ammo shortages and supply chain disruptions, but I put some ammo aside when I have the opportunity.

I think a lot of companies market the same product under a different name within their brand. It expands their shelf space while eliminating space for competion.

That seems to be a plausible explanation.

My Henry prefers the Federal 50 gr jug ammo. The Ruger American rimfire prefers Fiocchi 40gr jsp, which I have plenty of. I'll need to pick up more of the Federal. But both rifles shoot ok with the 2 bullets,just slightly better with the preferred.

I bought the two jugs of Federal Champion 50 gr. ammo at Midway USA not terribly long ago. If I recall correctly, there was a slight discount on it at the time I purchased the ammo but as of this moment, I don't know if that is still the case.

HenryFan wrote: ↑

Sat Aug 22, 2026 5:35 pm

That seems to be a plausible explanation.

Federal's Model Numbers for the two different packages they are sold in.
Small Game Model Number: ... 757
Champion Model Number: ......757BTL (bottle)

I've been buying a box or two at a time. I save the brass and use it for bullet jackets. That being said, my Ruger American prefers the 40-grain bullets. The lighter stuff did okay, but it's much easier to stretch the 40-grain bullets out to 250yds. I don't remember trying the 50-grain loads.