.22 LR ammo test

[Mike.357]

Since the weather was fairly nice today I decided to finally do something I have been wanting to do with a .22 rifle.

I gathered up several different brands and types of .22 lr ammo to do a little test.

In this test I used - Savage Cub Mini Youth Single Shot bolt rifle with peep sight.

Ammo is as follows.

1. Federal Champion High Velocity that has an uncoated 40 gr solid lead bullet. This is regular run of the mill inexpensive ammo. Not the bulk packed stuff. This was shot at the upper left part of the target.

2. Aguila Eagle .22 LR Match for Rifle. It is a lead uncoated 40 grain solid bullet. This is fairly high dollar ammunition. This was shot at the bottom left of the target.

3. CCI Stinger .22 LR. There is no info on the packaging as to bullet weight. It is a copper coated hollow point bullet. Packaging claims it is the worlds fastest .22 lr round. This was old stuff, price marked from Walmart was 2.22 for fifty rounds. This was shot at the upper right corner of the target.

4. Aguila Super Extra Standard Velocity .22 LR. This is a 40 grain solid lead bullet. It was shot at the bottom right.

I used CCI Mini Mags to re-sight in the rifle before doing the test. That ammo is old stuff too. Price from a Walmart sticker is 1.04 for a 50 round cardboard box. I used about 25 rounds to make sure point of aim was somewhere near point of impact. The five rounds I had left after the test I put into the center of the target. The barrel was hot by then so accuracy and grouping was not exceptional. But the groups from the test sighting were pretty good for me.

Point of Aim was the center of the 4 little black squares near each corner of the target. Note how only the Aguila Match ammo was near the center of where I was aiming. All the rest had distinctively different points of impact. Seems the Stinger had the best grouping but it was way off of point of aim. I am also fairly confident I had one god awful shot with each type of ammo. I think I flinch about once out of ten shots. I also swabbed out the bore with a dry patch between each brand of ammo. The Match ammo far and way was the dirtiest.

Here is the result

For me the Stingers would work best but there is no point in sighting the rifle to shoot a bullet I only have 40 rounds left of. The Aguila on the bottom right is real good too, but I am about out of that as well. Still 450 rounds of the Match ammo so I am leaving it sighted for that. Might try some bulk pack ammo tomorrow, Rem Gold, Federal Bulk and Winchester Bulk.

Edited February 22, 2009 by Mike.357

[oldogy]

Interesting. What range, hundred yards?

oldogy

[TripleDigitRide]

Thanks for the report. Was the testing done about 50 yards or so?

I got some CCI Mini-Mag HP for my daughter to use while breaking in her 10/22. I hope they work well.

[Guest Brian@GunDepot]

I find most match ammo to be the dirtiest, but after the barrel gets coated with lead from the same bullet, it tightens up the groups. You should shoot at least 20rd of an ammo before trying to pull a tight group with it. I usually don't get the best groups until around 50+ rds. At 50 yards standard velocity ammo is what most competition shooters use. Anything over 1200fps is too fast IMO. I realize you were limited in your ammunition but if your looking to get the most accuracy out of your rifle, try the standard velocity ammo strictly for 50yds.

I used these with good success, but the best value for accuracy is the Fed AutoMatch or CCI Stnd Velocity in my opinion.

More expensive / ~$8 per 50rd

-Eley Club

-Wolf Match Extra

-Fiocchi Super Match 320

-RWS Match Rifle

-CCI Green Tag

Medium priced / ~$6 per 50rd

-Wolf Match Target

-RWS Target Rifle

-CCI Standard Velocity (100rd pk)

-Fiocchi Biatholon

-Federal Gold Medal 711B

Cheaper priced / ~$3 per 50rd

-Remington Target (too many misfires though)

-Winchester Super X T22

-Eley Sport

-Fiocchi 22CRN

-Fed AutoMatch (325rd bulk)

[Mike.357]

less than fifty yards, forty maybe???

Thanks for all the tips Brian. I wish I had more of the standard velocity Aguila ammo. I would like to apply the more than fifty rounds theory to that stuff. Those rounds showed real promise.

I can stretch out the distance a little, maybe up to 75 or 80 yards.

Does it matter what twenty rounds I put through the rifle before shooting for accuracy?

IE: run twenty of some bulk packed lead ammmo then try the Aguila Eagle Match.

The next nice day we get that I am free I will try it with using more fouling rounds before shooting for accuracy.

Edited February 22, 2009 by Mike.357

[Guest Brian@GunDepot]

I doubt it matters unless your going for a gold medal, but I tend to use the same ammo when 'fouling' in the barrel just to make sure. Between ammo changes, I run a boresnake through the barrel two times and one patch to dry. The bolt gets a 'once over' where the firing pin/extractor is before reassembly.

I would shoot 50yds. Unless its a 1k rifle and the wind is calm, your accuracy at 100yd will be less than desired. If your looking for the cheapest best, get a box of Fed AutoMatch from wally world or your local gun shop (325rd bulk pack). That'll do you for an entire day at least. Second cheapest is CCI Standard Velocity. I usually shoot the RWS Target through my savage most of the time. Its a decent bang/buck ammo and my Savage really shoots it nicely. Thats another thing too... what shoots in one rifle, doesn't necessarily shoot good in another - even of the exact same make/model.

For a good 50 yd target goto, mytargets.com. The 1" bullseyes targets are very nice to practice with and with even a lower power scope you can see where your POI is from the shooting position.

Here is a target from my last week session. This is 100rd on a new rifle/scope setup. Right target is sight in work and first group attempts. Left target is round 50 - 100 for grouping. On a side note, I really enjoy trying to get nice tight groups from affordable 22 rimfire rifles; Savage is one of the best for the money.

RWS Target Rifle ammo

Savage Mark II BV w/ Bi Pod

Konus Pro 3-12x50 IR 30/30 Scope

50yds, Shot from table no rear stock rest, wind mostly calm.

Edited February 22, 2009 by Brian@GunDepot

[Mark@Sea]

Mike, I have 100 boxes of Aguila .22 at the house, but it is the 1200fps stuff. I plan on ordering another case after the deck is done. If you want a few boxes to evaluate, give Sue a call.

[Guest Rando]

I have not tried any of the match grade stuff but with trying quite a few brands myself it doesnt get any better than CCI. I really like the Stingers, but have not had a chance to get any in a while so I last bought some of the Velocitor that say on the packs it has 30% more energy. I wonder what it is compared to, if it is the Stingers it is some bad stuff.

[Mike.357]

Mark I might pick up a few boxes of that when I see you in April.

FWIW is was shooting without a bi-pod or any stable support. Used the steering wheel of the golf cart to lean against with my elbow.

That little Savage rifle is pretty accurate and I enjoy the single shot nature of it too.

I also have a Savage MkII GL that is a pretty fair shooter aside from not having peep sights. That one is scoped. Maybe I will use it next time.

I really found the variances on point of impact interesting. At the distance I was shooting I did not originally think POI would vary that much.

I will keep my eyes open for other types of match ammo and standard velocity stuff.

At the distances I normally shoot I have not found mini mags to be any better than the regular bulk stuff.