.22 ammo..... need a thought or two

[300WSM]

Doing an experiment for an old friend/colleague of mine in the industry...

You might read about it at some point.

Anyways I'd like some opinion on rimfire ammunition present day.

I know there are some sku's no longer available that shot well...(Federal)

But...

I want some opinions on premium rimfire.
No Lapua at this point but all others I want to hear opinions

SK
Eley
CCI
Federal
Olin

Anything not listed...
Go for it.

Thx

 

[wvbuckbuster]

Have shot some S&K, Eley, Federal GM, CCI standard velocity and bulk box stuff. None of it was fired in a custom gun but 2 different CZs and a Ruger. What I have experienced is the same as reloading, you find the load that groups best in your particular rifle. What surprises me is that some of the cheap stuff will sometimes give tighter groups than more expensive rounds. All my testing for groups was done a t 50 yards from a bench. I have also run some through a Neal Waltz swagging die with varied results. This may sound unbelievable, but the best was Remington Thunderbolts with the target point punch in the die. As a side note they group well in an old S&W Mod 17. Just some of my plinking.

 

[truck driver]

No rifle information I can only give you pistol information.
There's a reason that SK Pistol Standard plus, SK Pistol Match Special is always sold out and hard to get, It simply outperforms the more expensive ammo and you can't beat the price compared to Eley 10x and the other higher priced Lapua. I ran Both SK and Eley Yellow Box over a Chronograph at 10' from the muzzle to see how well it behaved in a Hammerli 208 6" barrel, SK Standard plus 893.55fps for 10 shot avg, SK Pistol Match Special 985.57fps 10 shot avg, Ely standard Vel Yellow box 985.26fps 10 shot avg,
Wolf Standard Vel ( made for Wolf by Eley) 1001.86fps.
The velocity spread, SK standard plus (59.3fps) SK Pistol Match Spl (51.1fps) Eley Yellow Box (57.5fps) Wolf Standard Vel (59.6fps).
The high and the low was thrown out to achieve these numbers, but you would have had to see the actual numbers to see the greater difference between this ammo.
The manufactures list this ammo velocity at 1070 out of a rifle barrel, (length not given).
One not to overlook is Norma Tac 22 listed at 1083fps.
That was the good so how about the bad?
Eley has been blowing up pistols with their Contact 22 ammo and have had numerous head separations in pistols with good factory chambers and some target tight chambers.
I have had issues with the Eley Yellow box with miss fires and deformed bullet heads in my Hammerli 208. Eley is looking into the problem.
Any manufacture can have problems with things getting by QC and is one some suppliers offer to test lots for you so you can get the best of the lots produced.
If I could afford to shoot the best the Premium manufactures ammo I would but I'm not a High Master or a member of the Military teams were expense is not an option. The non-Premium ammo will get you to High Master if your good enough to do it just find something that shoots good in your pistol and is reliable that meaning no miss fires and feeds well.

 

[filmjunkie4ever]

CCI Standard Velocity shoots AMAZINGLY in my Model 52 Winchester. I use the CCI High Velocity 40 grain roundnose in my High Standard Sport King, it is accurate and functions well.

 

[Blkram]

Lapua might be pricey, but there are reasons why some of the top competitor are using it.
My rifle performs best with the Center-X (0.388" avg for 10, 5 shot groups @ 50 yards; while this might not be as accurate as others can produce, I found it good for me and my shooting ability as I learn to shoot this rifle, get used to its trigger, and the FFP scope (my first)), and I was able to pick up 10 bricks from a fellow for half the local retail price as he had sold his rifle. I look forward to improving my skills with this rifle in the years to come!
Another that I have had good performance in my Bergara B-14R LH Trainer Carbon Fibre is the RWS Special Match.
The Lapua and RWS both gave single digit ES and the lowest SD numbers (4). The RWS also gave the exact velocity as spec'd by the manufacturer in my rifle, despite its shorter barrel (18").
The SK LR Match also performs well in my rifle, at just 8 thou larger groups than the RWS.
The Eley Team performed the best of their available offerings in my rifle.
I also tried Norma and Federal Match ammo, and performed decently, but not as poorly in my rifle as a couple of others from my rifle.
Hope this helps.

As stated above, try as many as you can to determine which works best for you in your rifle.

 

[300WSM]

CCI Standard Velocity shoots AMAZINGLY in my Model 52 Winchester. I use the CCI High Velocity 40 grain roundnose in my High Standard Sport King, it is accurate and functions well.

Winchester 52...
that is a fine weapon!!!

 

[300WSM]

Lapua might be pricey, but there are reasons why some of the top competitor are using it.
My rifle performs best with the Center-X (0.388" avg for 10, 5 shot groups @ 50 yards; while this might not be as accurate as others can produce, I found it good for me and my shooting ability as I learn to shoot this rifle, get used to its trigger, and the FFP scope (my first)), and I was able to pick up 10 bricks from a fellow for half the local retail price as he had sold his rifle. I look forward to improving my skills with this rifle in the years to come!
Another that I have had good performance in my Bergara B-14R LH Trainer Carbon Fibre is the RWS Special Match.
The Lapua and RWS both gave single digit ES and the lowest SD numbers (4). The RWS also gave the exact velocity as spec'd by the manufacturer in my rifle, despite its shorter barrel (18").
The SK LR Match also performs well in my rifle, at just 8 thou larger groups than the RWS.
The Eley Team performed the best of their available offerings in my rifle.
I also tried Norma and Federal Match ammo, and performed decently, but not as poorly in my rifle as a couple of others from my rifle.
Hope this helps.

As stated above, try as many as you can to determine which works best for you in your rifle.

Thx for the post...

The project is really about connecting some dots to realize or 86 the action/reaction type of thing.

I will be checking velocity, variance, versus advertised,
and then the direct result of and when. When is it negligible and when does it matter to when does it REALLY matter. (distance)

If supply is good this should go well.

 

[George Foster]

I have found in my Rem 581 rifles for a ammo that is affordable Norma TAC and CCI SV will average at 50yds from the bench with my 4-12x scopes 1/2" or sometimes less 5 shot groups.

 

[TackDriver284]

I shoot SK and Lapua in my 22 Vudoo. I stick with Lapua Center X for competitions, but the SK Standard Plus are great ammo. It's cheap for the accuracy that you want. I never shot Eley yet.
SK Standard has produced good groups in the .25 to .5 MOA at 50 yards, I like it for practice. You may want to try SK Long Range as well.

 

[JD338]

One of these days I need to get a couple boxes of precision ammo to see what my Remington M541T-HB can do.
I use Remington Thunderbolt and it shoots decent at 250 yards.

JD338

 

[Slimfinn]

When I shot silhouette many years ago I landed on CCI Green Tag, did also use some Fed gold metal, it was in the 90's so might have been what was available local. Now its mostly just plinking and I stock CCI Standard & Minimag, Norma Tac22, and remingtons

 

[remingtonman_25_06]

I shoot SK standard, Rifle Match, long range, or CCI SV through a customized CZ457 w/Bartlein. They all average 1/2" at 50 and 1" at 100 for 5 shots. After 100 yards the clear winner is the long range and that's what I use for our local PRS matches. It'll make around 75% hits on a 20" gong at 500 yards if the wind isn't to bad. A ton of fun!