Aguila Super Extra .22 LR: 40gr Solid vs 38gr HP vs Plated

Aguila's Super Extra name covers several different bullets. Here is how to tell the 40-grain solid points from the 38-grain hollow point, and which one deserves your first magazine.

Same brand, different bullets

"Aguila Super Extra" is a product family, not a single load. The retailer listings we link to describe three distinct items: a 40-grain high-velocity solid point sold in a 500-round pack, a 40-grain copper-plated solid point, and a 38-grain high-velocity copper-plated hollow point. They look interchangeable on a shelf. They are not quite interchangeable in a gun.

Here is what the listing names tell you, and just as importantly what they leave out.

One honest limitation: the two 40-grain listings sound close enough that you could reasonably wonder whether they are the same bullet in different packaging. The names do not settle that, and we have not handled either box. Read the specification block on each listing and the print on the carton, and treat any difference in plating or velocity class as the thing you are actually buying.

Solid point or hollow point

The 40-grain solid points and the 38-grain hollow point are separated by only two grains of weight. The shape of the nose is the bigger difference.

A solid, round-nosed bullet rides up the feed ramp and into the chamber with very little to catch. A hollow point has a blunter profile and a sharper-edged tip, and some actions and some magazine lips handle that less gracefully. In practice that means hollow points are the more likely of the two to cause a nose-dive or a hang-up in a gun that is already marginal, while the solid point is the more forgiving choice.

Hollow points exist for a reason, though. On small game, a bullet designed to open up transfers energy more effectively than a solid that punches through. If squirrels and rabbits are why you own a .22, the hollow point is the logical load and the feeding risk is something you test for rather than avoid. Our small-game hunting guide covers load choice and range limits, and local regulations decide what is legal to hunt with where you live.

Which one runs in a semi-auto

Most .22 LR semi-autos are blowback designs, so the cartridge itself supplies the energy that works the action. That is why high-velocity, copper-plated ammunition is the standard recommendation for them, and why all three of these listings are plausible fits.

Within that set, a sensible order of operations for an unfamiliar gun is:

1. Start with the 40-grain solid point. It is the lowest-risk bullet shape.
2. Move to the 38-grain hollow point only if the solid point runs cleanly and you want expansion.
3. Do not judge the gun or the ammunition on a single magazine. Use at least a few, and use more than one magazine if you own more than one.

If the gun stumbles on all of them, the cause is probably not the brand. Work through the sequence in our semi-auto jam guide: ammunition, cleanliness, magazine, extractor, springs. Lightweight pistols are the pickiest hosts, so give them the most careful testing. For gun-by-gun advice on what each action wants, start with the rimfire rifle guide.

The 500-round brick as a buying unit

The large pack is the reason this family gets recommended for plinking: a single purchase covers several range sessions, and one lot number means consistent behavior across the whole stack. That consistency is also the argument for caution. If the first box does not suit your gun, you have the same problem 500 times.

A better habit is to treat the first purchase as a test, not a stockpile:

• Buy one box of each candidate bullet (or the smallest pack the listing offers).
• Shoot them all through the same magazines on the same day.
• Note stoppages, light strikes, and how dirty the action is afterward.
• Only then scale up the one that behaved.

Browning's 400-round pack is the obvious comparison; see the Browning BPR guide. For the economics of buying in volume, see our guide to what bulk .22 LR actually gets you.

Pick this if

• Pick the 40gr HV solid point (500-round pack) if you have a semi-auto that is not fussy, you shoot a lot, and you want one load for steel, cans and paper.
• Pick the 40gr copper-plated solid point if your priority is a plated round-nose and you are comfortable verifying its velocity class on the box before assuming it will cycle your pistol.
• Pick the 38gr hollow point if small game is part of your use and the gun has already proven it feeds the solid point without drama.
• Skip all three if you shoot a bolt-action target rifle at a distance where groups matter. Those guns reward standard-velocity target ammunition, a different category entirely; our bolt vs semi-auto rimfire guide explains why.

What this family is not

It is not match ammunition. Bulk plated .22 LR is built to be affordable and to run in common guns, not to deliver the consistency that benchrest and smallbore shooters seek. If you ever chase tiny groups, the answer is lot testing and different ammunition, not a better brick of the same thing; the rim thickness sorting article explains why consistency at the rim matters more than the label on the box.

For what it is, a plated Aguila pack from a lot that your gun likes is a perfectly sensible plinking staple. The only wrong move is skipping the test.

Editorial note: This is an independent editorial overview built from manufacturer specifications and publicly available information. We have not performed hands-on testing of the products discussed, and nothing here is a performance guarantee. Verify specifications, compatibility and legality for your own situation.

Affiliate disclosure: Some links on this page are affiliate links to Ammunition Depot. We may earn a commission if you buy through them, at no extra cost to you. Our editorial choices are not influenced by commissions. Check current price, stock and specifications directly with the retailer.