You’ve likely come across the Federal Champion .22LR round if you’ve ever shopped for affordable .22LR ammo. Finding reliable .22LR ammo on a budget can be difficult, so we wanted to test the quality of the Champion .22LR line.

In our Federal Champion .22LR review, we’re looking at the different Champion .22LR rounds offered to see how they perform at the range. Keep reading to see how the Federal Champion .22LR line of ammo stacks up!

Federal Champion .22LR Review: Quick Facts

• Federal Champion .22LR comes in five variants: 40gr. Lead Round Nose (1200 fps muzzle velocity), 40gr. Lead Round Nose (1240 fps muzzle velocity), 36gr. Copper Plated Hollow Point, 36gr. Lead Hollow Point, and AutoMatch 40gr. Lead Round Nose
• The Champion line is Federal’s most affordable line of ammo
• Tends to be some of the cheaper .22LR ammo on the market
• Best used for plinking at the range
• The 36gr. Copper Plated Hollow Point round was the most reliable for us
• Available in convenient, bulk packs for high-round count range days
• Made in the USA

Federal Champion 22 LR Ammunition - 800 Rounds of 40 Grain LRN

$63.00

Federal Champion .22LR Review: Round Specifications

The Federal Champion .22LR comes in several different loadings:

• Federal Champion Training .22LR 40gr. Lead Round Nose (LRN) (1200 fps muzzle velocity)
• Federal Champion Training .22LR 40gr. Solid Lead Round Nose (LRN) (1240 fps muzzle velocity)
• Federal AutoMatch .22LR 40gr. Lead Round Nose (LRN)
• Federal Champion Training .22LR 36gr. Copper Plated Hollow Point (CPHP)
• Federal Champion Training .22LR 36gr. Lead Hollow Point (LHP)

The Champion Training line is the most affordable line of ammo that Federal carries, using the most cost-effective components. While Federal promises quality and reliability from the Champion line, you will find that other lines from Federal, like American Eagle and Gold Medal are better quality. The manufacturer offers the Champion line in a wide range of both centerfire and rimfire calibers, loaded right here in the USA.

Federal has three .22LR Champion rounds that use 40gr. lead round nose bullets. The first two have similar packaging, but advertise different muzzle velocities: 1200 fps and 1240 fps. The round with a velocity of 1240 fps advertises the bullet style as “solid” on the box. The third is the Federal AutoMatch round, which uses a different propellant than the other two. According to Federal, the AutoMatch has tighter specs and offers a little more accuracy. We have previously published a Federal AutoMatch .22LR review, so won’t be covering it in depth here.

Also within the Champion training line are two rounds using 36gr. bullets. One uses a copper plated hollow point bullet while the other uses a lead hollow point bullet. The three Champion rounds using exposed lead bullets will leave your hands – and guns – dirtier after handling and shooting.

You can pick up the Champion .22LR 40gr. LRN in a box of 50 or a Range Pack of 800 rounds. The 36gr. CPHP is available in a Value Pack of 525 round and BYOB bottles/buckets of 450, 825, and 1,375 rounds. The 36gr. Lead Hollow Point comes in 325- and 525-round Value Packs.

Federal Champion .22LR Review: Range Performance

I hit the range with all of the different Federal Champion .22LR rounds to see how they perform. Keep reading to see how they stacked up.

Reliability & Accuracy

At the range, I shot the four different Champion rounds out of various guns. The guns I used included two modified Ruger Mark IV 22/45 Lites, a TaurusTX 22, a suppressed Volquartsen Mamba-X, a Smith & Wesson M&P15-22, and a suppressed Ruger 10/22.

I had a handful of malfunctions when using the three rounds with exposed lead bullets. One gun in particular, a modified Ruger Mark IV 22/45 Lite, had trouble ejecting casings and cycling reliably after each shot of the 36gr. LHP variant. This could be a gun issue, but it is worth noting that it did not have these issues with the Champion 36gr. CPHP round. The TaurusTX 22 also experienced two stove-pipes with the 40gr. LRN (1200fps).

Overall, the 36gr. CPHP performed the most reliably in all of the guns, and was also the cleanest to handle because it does not have an exposed lead bullet.

As for as accuracy goes, there were no blatant accuracy issues present among any of the rounds. If precision is what you’re looking for though, I would opt for a higher-quality round like the Eley Match 40gr. LFN or CCI Standard Velocity 40gr. LRN.

Velocity

I decided to get some independent velocity data by chronographing the four Federal Champion rounds out of my own guns:

• TaurusTX 22 pistol with a 4.6” barrel
• Smith & Wesson M&P15-22 rifle with a 16.5” barrel

In the chart above, you can see the advertised muzzle velocity as well as the average muzzle velocity that we recorded at the range. Not shockingly, Federal’s advertised velocities are higher than what we found. Manufacturers typically use long barrels for their velocity data. The rifle I used has a 16.5″ barrel, which certainly isn’t very long for a .22LR rifle.

If you’re looking for high velocity .22LR ammo, our results showed that the Champion 40gr. Solid LRN (1240 fps) and Champion 36gr. LHP both produced average velocities over 1200fps out of the rifle.

Final Thoughts

CCI Blazer 22 LR Ammunition - 50 Rounds of 40 Grain LRN

$10.00

Federal AutoMatch Target 22 LR Ammunition - 325 Rounds of 40 Grain LRN

$28.00

If you’re looking for an affordable plinking round, the Federal Champion line of ammo is certainly worth considering. The round tends to be one of the more affordable .22LR ammo options on the market. If you’re looking for the most accurate and most reliable ammo, you likely won’t be happy with the Champion line. However, for a budget-friendly .22LR round, it is certainly worth picking up to see how it runs in your own guns.