After getting back into .22 LR shooting,now that you can buy any.lol
I bought a new setup and was wondering if any of you take the time to weigh and or measure rim thicknesses to help tighten up groups?
Ive been reading about people taking the time to do this over at rimfire central and some say it helps shrink groups by like 25% some say not really. Any one here serious enough about rimfire to try this?
My new setup was shooting good enough to shoot the staples off the target at 50 yards but i would get an occasional flyer. Just useing what ever ammo i can find,i dont really want to pay 12 or 20 bucks for match grade .22
We have rimfire matches at our local gun club once a month, which requires engaging metal targets of varying sizes from 50 meters to 200 meters. The real serious shooters measure rim thickness of each and every round they fire. Some of them also use Paco Kelly’s .22 accurizer tool. I have seen these guys shoot impressive groups on paper at 100 meters.
I just shoot Wolf Match Target 40g ammunition and call it good. You will see a rare flyer, but not as often as with standard .22 LR ammunition.
The best thing you can do is go buy as wide a selection of .22LR as possible (preferably in 50 rd boxes) and shoot five 10 shot groups, one each at the most common distances you intend to shoot (if all you shoot is 25 or 50 yards, just double up on the groups). Take your time and take breaks between each ammo type. Call each and every shot on a logbook. Remember on your results, garbage in, garbage out.
Once you narrow your ammo choice to what your individual setup prefers, then you can measure rounds (I’d recommend both rim thickness and bullet runout), you might see some smaller gains. Eley primed ammo is generally going to have higher QC on a critical component of the ammo, so I’d make sure to include some in your tests, even if it’s the less expensive stuff from Wolf, Aguila, etc.
Remember that lot to lot consistency can have an effect as well, so buying by the case on your preferred fodder isn’t a bad idea.
I spent 4 years shooting small-bore indoor competition, and another couple years coaching (4 position / iron sighted high end Anschutz rifles, jacket/sling etc) with that said the difference between CCI Standard velocity (~$7/100 rds) and some of the super expensive ‘target’ loads Eley/RWS ($7-$15/50 rds) was non existent. Granted the 50’ distance is shorter than your 50 yd example, but we are talking about 10+ round groups that will ‘pinwheel’ or effectively only create one hole at that distance. With the higher round counts the difference between .07/rd and .24/rd does add up, however if there was any risk in a true competitive advantage being lost it would have been a non issue (rifles were all of 2k each if not more).
For the longer distance matches some of the higher velocity stuff would probably help with less drop less wind effect but the ~15,000 rounds of the plain jane CCI Std I went through I can remember one dud and maybe one or two flyers that weren’t genuinely my fault. And in the collective team’s rounds (well over 100k) during my time I maybe remember 4 or 5 other dud rounds. Compare that to your experience with the bulk bricks of .22LR and I think that shows some serious consistency.
Also:
Having shot more than my share of .22 - for anyone who doesn’t own a .22 suppressor(and doesn’t live in a nanny state) I highly recommend looking into one, completely changed my view on the caliber and got me “back into” shooting .22’s regularly.
chasetopher brings up a good point. When match ammunition is not readily available, I shoot CCI 40g RN standard velocity ammunition through my bolt guns.
If you are going to stretch your distance and need a cartridge that will take down steel better than Wolf MT, Federal Auto-Match carries more energy downrange and is almost as accurate in a lot of rifles.
Agreed. I always keep 5-10 100 rd packs of the CCI fodder on hand (along with 5-10 packs of the Federal Auto-Match).
I also agree on the suppressed .22. Fiocchi subsonic through this gun is a single ragged hole at 50 yards for as many rounds as you care to put through it (I’ve done 30 round groups) with no flyers.
Pappabear has gone off the deep end with rimfire shooting lately. I agree on buying Eley or Wolf Match ammo and calling it good. Automatch shoot good in my bolt gun. It’s worth grabbing for sure.
Hey, thanks guys ive been trying to stockpile some cci standered and shoot up my junk thats getting old.
Ive been trying to find some wolf match but i havent even found 1 box yet.
Most of my bench shooting will be 50 yards sometimes 100. I bought a ruger american in .22 to retire my 60 year old Winchester before something happens to it. Its capable of hitting the staples holding the target up at 50 yards,ive enjoyed it so far. I can see how it would be easy to get into it pretty hardcore.
I just hope .22 stays around i have a feeling its gona get rough around the elections. I checked out the paco kelly and also the waltz die.
