.22 Ammo Accuracy Test

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  • Rayne

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    Ammo Accuracy Test

    I have been setting up a Marlin 25N to be my match rifle. Allen at Diamond Collision and DeeneVanmetter custom designed a rail to put Anschutz match sights on her. I got her back last week and verified my zero and got accustom to the new sights.


    Mother’s Day I went out and tried eight different types of ammo, to see if she had a preference. I shot five shot groups of each ammo from a sled, to take the shooter error out of the equation. I used CCI Standard Velocity which has been what I use in most my .22 shooting. Next was Federal Premium HV Match, then Wolf Match, Eley Target, Norma USA Match, Aguila Super Extra, Aquila Target Competition, and Aquila Rifle Match Competition. All were 40gr solid round nose bullets, with different velocities.

    The results were a little surprising to me. All of my rifles have shot well using the CCI Standard Velocity before, so I expected it to be one of the better of the eight. My center fire rifles really like the Federal Gold Match grade ammo, so I expected it to be one of the better ones also. I didn’t expect them to be the bottom two.

    Below are pictures of the targets. They are marked with the group size, and are in order of performance from best to worse.

    100_7592_zpse9qoaxze.jpg


    100_7593_zpsnjhkpqyd.jpg


    100_7594_zpsxnwdb1bh.jpg


    100_7595_zpshosiligw.jpg


    100_7596_zpsftsfse6d.jpg


    100_7597_zps0nblbh53.jpg


    100_7598_zpsr0bgedrd.jpg


    100_7599_zps40jt7g1r.jpg



    Since I am primarily a sling shooter, I am going to go back and see how these eight different ammunitions perform in the conditions in which they will be used. It will be interesting to see if the results are the same.

    Also, I’m not endorsing one ammunition over another. I’m just sharing my findings of what my little Marlin likes. A friend of mine, Unbridled Liberty did a similar test with his Marlin 2000, with most of the same ammunition and his Marlin liked the Wolf the best. Here's a picture of the rifle used.

    IMG_3907_zpsas5mn1o9.jpg
     
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    Sep 20, 2015
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    Lexington
    What were the wind conditions? From the looks of that top group I may be in trouble for the Bluegrass State Games! My Marlin 2000 likes the Federal Gold Medal Match best. I have not had a chance to compare it head to head with the Wolf Match. But the Wolf will probably be a close contender based on my first test with it.
     

    JettaKnight

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    Thanks for sharing!

    I shot five shot groups of each ammo from a sled, to take the shooter error out of the equation.
    The best you can do is minimize the shooter. It's still your finger...

    What range?

    FWIW, I've also found Federal to be the worst of any "match" ammo.
     

    Broom_jm

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    Thanks for an excellent example of how 22 ammo should be tested. I'm also curious about what distance you were shooting. If those were at 50 yards, with a peep sight, I am truly impressed! :)

    Below is five groups of 10 shots, each, with the Norma TAC-22 ammo. This is fired at 50 yards, off a bench, from a Marlin 80G with a 4X Bushnell scope.

    9+1-cropped.jpg

    I can't explain why each of the first 3 groups had such an extreme flyer...I swear I'm a better shooter than that! The 4th and 5th groups were more of what I was expecting. More test groups are needed before I decide if this readily-available ammo (about $.08/ea) is squirrel-worthy. :)
     

    patience0830

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    Not far from the tree
    I expect you seasoned the barrel with each variety before you shot the test groups, yes?
    Consistent results are tough to get when you are shooting out the last brands lube with the next brands.
     

    oldpink

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    Great writeup and photos.
    It just goes to show that each rifle is an individual, and that there is no one perfect ammo.
    My 39A loves CCI SV, but it wouldn't surprise me a bit if my brother's 39A did poorly with it and shot nice and tiny groups with Remington Golden Bullet.
     

    natdscott

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    Nice shootin' Tex.

    If you would, unless you already shot multiples, retest that CCI 0035. That's a lot of vertical for only 50 yards, and with such a narrow group.

    Another ammunition of reasonable price to include would be some SK Standard Plus. Both SP and Rifle Match can shoot some hellacious groups at 50, and acutally hold it together for ~1 MOA at 100, which is pretty tough for a .22LR.

    Nice work,
    -Nate
     

    Rayne

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    Last weekend I was able to sling up and try these ammunitions out again. The results were even more surprising than the first time. I shot this session in order from most accurate to least accurate from the previous session, where ammunition was chosen randomly. My #1 ammo from the sled became the least accurate and my #7 ammo became the most accurate. What is up with that? There was some flip flopping around within the middle accuracy ammunitions but most held the similar size groups as before.

    I have been asked if I’m sure I marked the targets with the correct name. I am positive that the name on the target is the ammunition that I shoot at that particular target. You’ll also notice that on a couple of the targets there appears to be less than five rounds. Again I’m positive I shot five rounds at each target and I even asked a friend to examine the targets. Her thought after watching me shoot this series and examining the targets was that I would have had to throw a shot really bad to completely miss the paper and the targets were placed too close together to not have hit the target beside it. Her opinion is there has to be doubles within those holes.

    In summary this is the ammunition group size in both the sled and slung up.

    Aguila Target Competition; from sled .357, from a sling 1.10

    Eley Target; from sled .468, from a sling .500

    Norma USA Match; from a sled .519, from a sling .705

    Aguila Super Extra; from a sled .532, from a sling .598

    Wolf Match; from a sled .555, from a sling .656

    Aquila Rifle Match Competition; from a sled .558, from a sling .755

    CCI Standard Velocity; from a sled .635, from a sling .354

    Federal Premium HV Match; from a sled 1.17, from a sling 1.27

    As I get used to this rifle’s new sights, I will continue to use the ammunitions that are available to me and which were the most consistent. Two of those being Eley Target, Aguila Super Extra, I am also going to shoot more groups with the CCI Standard Velocity and the Aguila Target Compeition to see if I can figure out the drastic changes in their groups from one session to the other.

    Here are the targets if anyone is interested in seeing the groups this time.

    The flier marked out to the left on this target, was called and not considered part of the group. It was my last shot of the day.
    100_7604_zps2na5toew.jpg


    100_7605_zpsmnu1khem.jpg


    Believe it or not, there are five shots in this target.
    100_7606_zpsajricf3i.jpg


    100_7607_zpsj7qdm6ah.jpg


    100_7608_zpsdufq8afy.jpg


    100_7609_zpscbeosehm.jpg


    Yes, there are five shots there.
    100_7610_zpsxil3wv9l.jpg


    And in this target also.
    100_7611_zpsbm0mjswd.jpg
     
    Last edited:

    BE Mike

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    I know that the giants in the .22 competition rifle games will test various brands and lots within a brand. When they find a brand and lot that shoots well they try to buy as much of that lot as possible. I knew a guy who went to the Eley factory in England and had his pistol tested. Now you can have it done in the U.S. https://www.killoughshootingsports.com/index.php/webforms/index/index/id/2/
     

    noylj

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    When you find the brand you like, buy ALL of that lot number you can find.
    .22 ammo is very lot dependent and VERY gun dependent.
     

    Rayne

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    I know that the giants in the .22 competition rifle games will test various brands and lots within a brand. When they find a brand and lot that shoots well they try to buy as much of that lot as possible. I knew a guy who went to the Eley factory in England and had his pistol tested. Now you can have it done in the U.S. https://www.killoughshootingsports.com/index.php/webforms/index/index/id/2/

    Thanks for the link. I'm not near that die hard about my shooting to go to that much trouble. This little experiment has been fun and educational. I didn't realize that ammo would make that much of a difference.
     

    natdscott

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    Indeed. Always good to see somebody willing to post this sort of info--good groups and bad--in the open.

    I was testing ammo in a rifle last night at 100 (it was so calm here that I couldn't resist). All of the ammo was what you'd consider mid-grade match from your RWS', Eleys, SKs, etc. No joke, there's a 3x multiplier between ammo the rifle likes and what it doesn't.

    SK Match and Eley Club posted groups in the 7/8" range, yet Eley Target...which is virtually the same ammo as Club...posted a group of over 1.5", and CCI 0035 was about 2". The CCI I can understand, because it is NOT a 100 yard+ ammo, and it's not that the Eley Target IS one so much as it should be patently identical to Club, but not the same QA/QC checks. I guess I didn't expect such a difference.

    These "I didn't know that!" moments are why it is SO important to test things, and take many series of purposeful and deliberate shots with any firearm/ammunition combination you have that you expect to show any accuracy and precision. Retesting again at a later date is a good idea as well, in that most people cannot achieve a true double-blind testing regimen (most of us don't have an assistant).

    Being a serious rifle guy, I like to joke a little about casual shotgunners, but it's not joke that shotguns are NOT an exemption from this testing rule.

    -Nate
     
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    I think we can safely rule out the shooter as the source of inconsistency. That leaves the rifle, ammo and environmentals. With the ammo being from the same lot, and with the ammo being mid-price/mid quality, and since you can't spend a fortune to test high end stuff, we can probably leave the ammo question alone. Was this outdoors? Was wind a factor? That leaves the rifle. I'm sure you checked the obvious things; action screws, mount screws, etc. Are they Lock-Tited and marked? What about ignition inconsistency? Firing pin strikes look consistent within the same brand of ammo? Did you clean the bore between brands and fire a fouling shot before each group? This may or may not apply: https://www.ssusa.org/articles/2017...wsletter&utm_medium=insider&utm_campaign=0517
     
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