50 yrd Mostly KIDD 10/22 Group Test #2

Orion8472 said:

kind of inconclusive?

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I agree.
When you say benched are we talking front and rear bag, front bag only or some kind of sled?

I put a BX trigger group in mine. It made a positive difference.

I tend to shoot rifle alot better from a bipod/rear bag combo than any block or front bag setup.

Has it shot better in the past? First clean it and make sure you don't have a carbon ring. Make sure nothing is loose or not fitting correctly. If it's not the gun check your set-up, scope settings and form. CCI is decent practice ammo but I would find or order online some real match ammo. It could be that your chamber is too tight for non-match ammo. That or dirt can cause your bolt to not seat correctly.
I don't know what slow trigger pull means but that could be your problem too. Unless your rest is rock solid, a slow pull can cause your rifle to move before your follow thru. I am assuming that you have a good scope. If not, that could be a problem as well.

It’s probably not your rifle but the ammo instead.

Here’s some groups with my Christenson Ranger:

My best 10/22 target at 50 yards was with cci stinger. Shilen bull barrel, Houge stock, Volquartsen trigger, and a 4x Weaver scope.

As @Peakbagger46 stated, probably your ammo. Though I consider CCI great ammo and 85% of my rimfire ammo is CCI you want a better group you need to buy premium ammo, or better yet do some lot testing. Anschutz North American will sell you a brick of RWS ammo with 10 different lots for you to try on your rifle, once you see what it likes you can buy that specific lot of ammo for it by the case or however much you want. Here is the link:

I would start by trying different ammo. Try some SK Standard Plus, Lapua Midas, or Eley Match

I believe CCI-SV has gone downhill in the last few years. I have a build from years ago that all that remains Ruger is the receiver and bolt. The bolt has been faced trued, head spaced, a custom glass bedded stock, and Green Mountain 20" .920" barrel. I used to break a half inch occasionally with it but haven't been able to do so with the newer SV. I have added a Kidd trigger, and rear tang hold down. The worked over bolt and rear tang made no difference in all with group size. The Kidd trigger was added since I ran out of my older ammo. I wish had added it much earlier than I did.

Orion8472 said:

I guess, for what it is, being the CCI SV, I should be okay. Maybe eventually I can get some actual match ammo,....it's just that you never know which brand your barrel will like, and it would be expensive trying to find that out. I may get into that at some point.

I do appreciate all the replies on this thread!

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.22 LR guns are like English cars; each one has a personality of its own, and even sequentially assembled ones will not like the same thing as the one made right before or the one made right after.

You just gotta search for what ammo it likes best by trying a variety, and stick with it once you find it. (Olympic/high scoring shooters have been known to buy preferred rimfire ammo by the case and all from the same lot for consistency.)

Stay safe.

Have any of you guys messed with a .22LR tuner?

I have an EC Tuner on my B14R and I've used it to "tune" TAC22 and Lapua LR. It works, the groups get smaller and the POI shifts as per theory. The fliers are still there, but the impact is lessoned somewhat. It apparently can solve some of the lot to lot inconsistency.

I have not tried a tuner but I have tuned a barrel using other devices, including muzzle brakes and suppressors. The results are not as pronounced with quality 22LR ammo, but I saw a big difference with bulk ammo. Groups shrank by 20%.

Chuck R. said:

Have any of you guys messed with a .22LR tuner?

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I looked at them close after our exchange in the other thread and may still get one to play with.

I have been averaging about 1/8" to 1/4" better five shot groups at 50yds out of my Rem 581 with Norma TAC over CCI SV's.

I have never used a "store bought" tuner but did make a couple to fit rifles with different diameter barrels. They were made from aluminum tube bored to be a close fit on the barrels with grooves inside for O rings to make a snug but non blemish fit and were secure by two sets of nylon screws. The weight was a slide over the tube held in place by nylon screws and measured with a machinest's 6" rule from a mark on the tube. Southern engineering all the way.

Each worked to some extent. Groups tightened or opened a tiny bit depending on the position of the weight. They had more effect on making bigger groups than smaller ones. Changing ammo meant redoing the adjustment and even a different lot number of the same ammo did the same. I had the fun of making the devises and experimenting with them but decided the results were not enough to bother with. I did get several questions while at the range by looky-loos that wanted to know what they were for.

If competing in benchrest with a high dollar rifle and ammo I would be tempted to use one of the micrometer type commercial tuners available for that last little bit of accuracy.

I would say that you likely have a rifle that is more accurate than the ammo being used. I've tested a decent amount of 22LR ammos for accuracy and velocity stats. CCI SV is not bad for what it is (something better than bulk 22LR), but it's just not that good for consistently shooting small groups. I would encourage you to test it yourself - the long term average will be about 80fps extreme spread. If you inspect the ammo - the lead bullet itself will have some imperfections - wrinkles/scars, deformed drive bands, maybe a little "skirting", inconsistent crimps, etc. Sure, somebody can shoot a brick of CCI SV in five shot groups and get the stars to align on one group that gets posted all over the internet, but that isn't representative.

As a first step, I would try "midrange" ammo - SK standard plus, Norma Tac 22, or Eley Target. One box of 50 rounds would be all that in necessary. Then, I would measure and average those 10, five shot groups and compare with the CCI - SV.
If one of those does well, you might try SK Rifle match, RWS Rifle match, or Eley Team.
And because this has piqued your interest, you'll want to try Lapua Center X, RWS Special match, or Eley Match
Since you're an addict by now with the miniscule groups you're getting, there is no going back - so you will need to buy some Lapue Midas+, RWS R50, or Eley Tenex.
Then comes lot testing and buying cases of ammo that works best in your rifle.
I'm not there yet, but this is the progression of chasing 22LR accuracy, with a rifle build/rebarrel thrown in.

All the best