"I suspect the one that does well at 25 will also be good for 100."
Sorry wrong there.
Ammo with huge variations in powder charges can still shoot well at 25 yards but be all over the paper at 100.
No, sir, you are incorrect, I'm afraid, and the person you quote is exactly right. Whatever error there is 25, is simply magnified four times at 100 (plus a little MORE error due to wind and possibly shooter error). Whatever shoots best at 25 WILL ALWAYS shoot best at 100, and whatever shoots worst at 25 will always shoot worst at 100. There's no way to make a bullet change directions, and suddenly all converge back toward the center after passing the 25 yard mark.
Basic physics. Inconsistent charge makes bullet START left/right/up/down, it will continue to just go in that same left/right/up/down vector continually until it hits the target or the ground - it doesn't change up its vector from the shot after 25 yards and come back to the bullseye.
Ammo with huge variations in powder charges can still shoot well at 25 yards
No, that ammo won't shoot "WELL" at 25 yards - inconsistent ammo such as you describe does NOT do that; consistent ammo DOES do that. The only way your statement is true is if you define "well" in a nonsensical non-accepted manner, such as "in my book, 2 inch groups = 'well' ", when that's really NOT well at all, in the grand scheme of things at that distance. "Well" is basically one hole at 25 yards.
And, even if your statement was true, based on a very lax definition of "well", and you're defining "well" as 2" groups at 25, then yes, you'll indeed be "all over the paper" at 100 - but guess what - the ammo that does NOT "shoot well" under your definition of well will still be yet even far WORSE than just merely "all over the paper" at 100, and be bested by that ammo that shoots "all over the paper".
You CAN get an accurate judge of a rifle/shooter/ammo's accuracy at 25 yards - the only time you need to go past that is if everyone has the exact same group size, which just ain't gonna happen, even at serious competition - group sizes and absolute scores WILL vary, and some will win and some will lose. That might happen at 5 or 10 yards, where everyone ties for 1st place - but it won't at 25.
Now having said that, you do need calipers to determine this at 25 if you're talking serious competition, whereas you can probably figure out with your eyeballs rather than calipers who has the best group at 50 yards.
Now Mythbuster, for my final quote from you:
I don't care what anyone says you can not shoot good groups and scores at 50 yards with ANY .22 rimfire rifle with ammo that has such a HUGE variation in power charges.
You hit the nail on the head there; you are 100% right about that!
By the way, everyone is right about it depends on you gun and what it likes. And I have little doubt that some flavor of Eley is the best on average across the board in many rifles - best on an absolute scale. But in terms of *value*, best for the money across the board, I have to give the prize to "Wolf Match Target" - great stuff, Maynard, in several of my rifles - cannot believe no one has mentioned it yet.
And for whoever said that they think they'd have to be rich to shoot Eley match stuff, are you kidding me? It's STILL cheaper than the cheapest centerfire, even if reloading! I guess whoever says that never shoots any centerfires for accuracy, let alone shoots centerfires for fun/plinking.
