Likely been discussed but is finding .22LR that works a magic act?

[clutch]

I shot two brands of premium .22 LR ammo today that couldn't stay inside the scoring rings of a 50 yard small bore target.

Then I shot some other stuff and the rifle shot a heck of a lot better. It was fairly cheap stuff claiming to be target, all standard velocity.

At the end of the day, I put a 200 reduced for 100 highpower target out at 100 and shot at it with some cci minimags. That showed vertical stringing that likely was me, I was basically blasting them down range in frustration today w/o resting the barrel or my eyes (shooting irons) but I suspect next week when I'm not tired the stringing will go away. May not be the magic load but something that looks like it may work if I do my part.

For those that have managed to get into the .5 moa range, what is your worst change in accuracy story that is repeatable and with what ammo?


Clutch

 

[Sig88]

At least for means long as the ammo is federal, it shoots very well. As far as accuracy goes they are not greatly accurate but good enough. I don't touch blazer, Winchester or Remington .22. I have a few boxes of mini-mags but have not shot them in any of my current 22s.

 

[jmr40]

I've had good luck shooting Eley Sport ammo. It is not the best high end Ely ammo, but is not terribly expensive either. For the money CCI Mini-Mags have always shot well for me too.

 

[CapnMac]

Every single .22lr seems to like a different brand/type of ammo. Even two identical weapons from the same manufacturer.

Case in point, my buddy found the Brazilian copy of the Nylon 66 on sale at our local (now long-gone) K-Mart. I got one the next day. Mine has always liked plain-jane Winchester solids best. His was only happy with Eley TenX. Oh, it would shoot Federals, PMC, what have you, just to about twice the CEP.

My Mossberg M44 only seems to like PMC, with the Super Colibri right behind that. Naturally, the Colt Target only likes QuikShok, probably the hardest brand to find.

And yes, child of the computer age that I am, I have a spreadsheet to keep track of what likes what best. That, and I have a MTM box for all the stray rounds from testing, which is the world's best plinking grab-bag and training aid.

 

[smokey262]

His was only happy with Eley TenX

That would be an expensive date

 

[i loves my gun]

surprised no one said CCI

 

[Rembrandt]

First place to start is to check to see what your chamber is cut for, then find the appropriate sized ammo. Second step is to grade out the ammo with a rim thickness gauge.

 

[double bogey]

Try every kind you can get your hands on. See which one that gun likes best. Due to higher velocity rounds going transonic between 50 and 100 yds, don't expect top grouping at 100. Try some subsonic like wolf mt, it's not overly expensive. Also wind will move .22s around a lot. Don't think of it as a chore, you get to shoot while testing.

 

[Shadow 7D]

wolf premium, such as target, match etc.
supposedly they are Eley overruns, and many people swear they smell the same.

 

[Pete D.]

I, normally, test at least a dozen types and brands of .22LR ammo for my pistols and rifles.
It is relatively easy to find expensive ammo that shoots well. For years, I used the high end Federal stuff for matches. Down to my last brick at this point.
Affordable practice ammo is another story. The no longer produced Federal 711B was the best stuff in my pistols and rifles. Match quality. CCI SV was next in line and is what I use nowadays since the 711B is not available.
I shoot a fair amount of .22 Prone and the CCI will hold better than the ten ring if I can. I save the Federal for the matches.
Pete

 

[JohnBT]

One problem with testing rimfire ammo during a single session; the lube that one brand leaves in the bore can/will affect the results of the next brand. You can clean between brands, but you'll still need to shoot 5 or 10 or 50 rounds to lay down a coat of the new brand's lube.


"wolf premium, such as target, match etc.
supposedly they are Eley overruns"

Unless something has changed in the past year or so, Wolf rimfire is made by NAMMO/Lapua/SK.

"Wolf rimfire ammo is made in Germany by SK Jagd- und Sportmunitions GmbH, which is owned by Nammo Lapua Oy of Finland"

 

[Shadow 7D]

Yeah, well lets just say it ain't Winchester Wildcat, thunder, golden bullet or any of the other bulk .22 of questionable quality.

 

[clutch]

I guess I didn't frame my question correctly. I bought some CCI Green Tag and some RWS Rifle Match. Both barely stayed on the target paper.

Did I get a double sample of the better stuff that is horrible? I could go back to back with any other ammo and reduce group sizes by 4x or more.

A gent that was shooting a bench or two over gave me some blazer last week because it shot so well in his gun. Blazer isn't something I'd consider target grade but I tried it and it didn't do so bad in a couple of my rifles.

I gave him some green tag to try since I felt a bit obligated to give him something to try. He fired a few rounds and gave me the rest of it back. He said after a few shots it wasn't worth continuing with so there is a pattern here.

I'm sure Green Tag or RWS Rifle Match is good stuff or it wouldn't be on the shelves at their price point. This should be good ammo but it is horrible in the rifles I've tried so far.

While I'm at it, what is the story about all the lubrication on the bullets?

I bought some Win T22 years ago that fails to extract out of everything I own due the the lube that tends to glue the cartridge into the chamber. The RWS seemed to exhibit the same issues. After a few rounds of either one, I was using my screwdriver to extract cases.

As you may have gleaned I have a bit to learn about target rimfire so bear with me.

Thanks,

Clutch

 

[DoubleTapDrew]

Best .22 lr that is still somewhat available and not priced too terribly for me is cci subsonics (about the same accuracy as green tag but less than half the price). The worst was probably remington golden bullets. They shot patterns, not groups, and jammed frequently.

wolf premium, such as target, match etc.

Those are even more accurate than cci subsonic HP in mine. Interestingly the less expensive "target" shot more accurately than the "match". They aren't common around here though and IIRC cost more than cci for the slight accuracy improvement so I don't buy a ton of them. I dunno what lube they use but it feels like motor oil!

 

[wgaynor]

My Ruger 10/22 eats everything. Even Thunderbolts. Federal Bulk Pack is what I usually buy and I managed 1" groupings at 100 yards while using my back pack as a front rest. Only cleaned it once in the past 16 years I've owned her (cleaned her about 4 years ago). Love that gun, just wish the stock was longer. Might be time for me to buy a synthetic drop in stock.

 

[wanderinwalker]

Yeah, well lets just say it ain't Winchester Wildcat, thunder, golden bullet or any of the other bulk .22 of questionable quality.

Right, because Wolf Match Target and Match Extra are rebadged SK Jagd. In a Walther KK-100 I used to get to use from time to time Wolf MT and SK Standard (I think it was Standard) gave identical groups without any sight changes. Even the cases had identical headstamps.

Clutch,

What are you shooting these out of? (I'm guessing an AR-22 upper like a CLE possibly?) If you can find some CCI Standard Velocity, Wolf Match Target or some of the Lapua practice lots, which escape me at the moment, try them. I've tried CCI Greent Tag in a couple of different rifles and have found 1 where it gave the results I was looking for. Naturally I haven't gone and bought any more.

Also, in spite of many claims to the contrary, consistent, MOA or better performance at 100 yards, from group 1 to the last group of the day, is considerably more difficult to achieve with .22LR ammo than a centerfire rifle. At 50 yards it's not as difficult, but some barrels are picky, while others aren't. Though I am surprised by your results with the RWS Target Rifle, as I and others have found it to shoot really well, especially for the price. Having said that, I spent the winter shooting 50-ft 4-P indoors with Wolf MT and a loaner Winchester 52.

 

[IndianaBoy]

If you are consistently getting poor results with a wide variety of ammo, it might be time to examine your rifle.

 

[langenc]

Just like kids and cereal...feed em whats on sale.

When I got to eat cereal as a kid it was puffed rice, puffed wheat or crackers and milk (soda crackers)

 

[Kwanger]

Agree with Jeff above....22lr and assorted guns is a weird science. More so than other calibers, it seems to be the case that certain barrels like certain brands....but one that is excellent in one barrel can be awful in a different one. For instance, Winchester SUper X performs excellently through my M&P15-22....but if I fire it though my Glock .22 conversion kit, it is awful and actually severely leads up the barrel. By contrast, the conversion kit likes the much maligned Remington Golden bullets....but my Beretta Neos hates them.

Only thing to really do with 22lr in particular is to buy a ton of different brands and try them, and then try and stick with the ones that work (for that particular gun). Chances are, you'll end up having to stock a few brands.

 

[JohnBT]

"My Savage will shoot bad just because I switch ammo. I have to shoot 30-50 rounds of the different ammo before it settles down into a good pattern. Then if I switch back I have do go through the same process again."

The only exception might be if you use switch to a brand that uses the same lube. Might be. And that's why the following statement is so sad. A few shots mean nothing when it comes to .22 rimfires. Benchrest shooters have to identity the LOT NUMBER that works in their gun in specific conditions. Not just brand and type, but lot number.

"I gave him some green tag to try since I felt a bit obligated to give him something to try. He fired a few rounds and gave me the rest of it back. He said after a few shots it wasn't worth continuing with so there is a pattern here."

 

[clutch]

One problem with testing rimfire ammo during a single session; the lube that one brand leaves in the bore can/will affect the results of the next brand. You can clean between brands, but you'll still need to shoot 5 or 10 or 50 rounds to lay down a coat of the new brand's lube.

I wonder if that has something to do with my serious changes in accuracy when switching from some ammo to premium ammo. The expensive stuff tends to be heavily externally lubricated.

Why does some of the target ammo come with so much lube on it?

I'll bring my cleaning rod with me this weekend to clean with between trials and try shooting at least half a box to see if things settle down.


Thanks,

Clutch

 

[double bogey]

The lube is key. My 10-22 (not stock) will shoot sub 1/2" groups fairly consistant with Wolf mt. When I follow that with Fed bulk, it will shoot slightly over 1/2" for the next 25-30 shots and it slowly opens up to 3/4 to 1" groups that are the norm for Fed bulk. The Fed 510B that wally world sells, will do better than the bulk, and the bullet is plain lead, with a nice lube. Found out it doesn't like my MKIII speedloader, due to the lube, gums it up (the loader, not the pistol). All of the good target loads have a lot of slick lube, and are subsonic. Like I was saying, have fun and shoot as much as you have time for. 22's are fun and cheap.