Accuracy for 0.22LR

[MarkRW]

What 0.22LRs are preferred for best accuracy out to 100 yards (ammo for my Savage Mark II)?
Thanks!

 

[BE Mike]

Whatever shoots best in your rifle at 100 yards.

 

[redneckmedic]

man half the fun of shooting is actually shooting and doing load data!

 

[paperboy]

Get several different kinds and have at it. It's always fun to push those little rimfires!!!

 

[combat45acp]

Subsonic rounds tend to be the best for accuracy. When that little hyper sonic bullet breaks the sound it slows down quickly. When it comes back to sub sonic levels it has a slight "wobble". If you look at your match grade ammo it is almost always sub sonic. Same with a lot your competition rifles they have crazy long barrels to help slow the round down to insure it stays sub sonic. I think somewhere between 12-14" barrel is the max on a .22lr for velocity (to burn all the powder). Anything over that is slowing the round down by friction.

So I would try some match grade / sub sonic and or standard velocity.

 

[Claddagh]

Most all .22 RF weapons will demonstrate a marked preferrence for some particular brand or type of ammunition when it comes to delivering their very best groups. Unfortunately, finding out which one is nearly always pretty much a matter of trial-and-error.

IMO, a good place to start the quest is to get ahold of at least a box or two of as many different brands as you can, go to the range and do some systematic testing. A few 5-shot groups on paper from a solid rested or prone position should start sorting things out for you in pretty short order.

It's been my experience that many, if not most, .22 RF rifles will usually give their absolute best groups with premium "Match" or "Target" ammo. The best of these are always quite pricey, so unless you're planning on doing some serious formal competition where a 0.01" difference is often all there is between the winner and everyone else, spending wads of money to try all of these isn't strictly necessary.

A more budget-priced alternative that often yields very respectable results can usually be found among the so-called "Standard Velocity" or "Subsonic" loads available from most all of the major manufacturers. The ones I most often try first in my own rifles are CCI Standard Velocity or "Green Tag" 40 gr. solids, Aguila Standard Velocity, WW "T-22" and PMC "Moderator" 38 gr. HPs.

 

[philagothon]

I've bought, or been responsible for the purchase of, 4 Savage MkII rifles in the last year. I did extensive ammo testing on all of them. I tried everything from Federal Lightening ($1.50 a box @ Walmart) to $10 a box match ammo. All four rifles showed very similar preferences. For cheap plinking it was Federal Lightening. For hunting CCI Mini-Mags were fairly accurate. The Lightenings were actually more accurate than any of the match grade ammo (at least out of my hands). I recently did a little (only 10 rounds) 100 yard shooting and shot two 5 shot 3" groups with Mini-Mags.

Long story made short - don't overlook the cheap stuff, sometimes it works surprisingly well. BTW, Federal Lightenings were what I used to shoot Rifleman with in my Savage. I had one 1/4" 3 shot group @ 25 yards = 1 MOA.

 

[U.S. Patriot]

I have a MKIIFV and gave gotten my best groups with Wolf Match

 

[stormryder]

Like everyone says, try em all and find what works.

 

[MarkRW]

What is a good local place to pick up a variety (Indy)? I just got cheapest Federal from Walmart so far....
Thanks!

 

[philagothon]

Any gun shop or sporting goods store that sells firearms as well as any Walmart or Meijer should have a decent variety of ammo.

What exactly are you hoping to accomplish at 100 yards with a 22? If you want to win competitions make sure to check out lots of "match" ammo (best found at gun shops). If you just want to plink check out the various bulk or cheap options. You will likely have the best results from round nose versus hollowpoints. If you want to hunt, rethink your caliber choice. Most 22 hunting is done inside of 50 yards. 17HMR or 17HM2 would be much better suited for 100 yard hunting.

 

[philagothon]

I just went through your previous posts to do a little research. Sounds like you are mostly just looking at target shooting/plinking. You'll find your rifle most accurate inside of 50 yards where the bullet has not yet dropped below the speed or sound. Shooting at 100 yards is possible, but expect your groups to open up considerably. Stick with round nose instead of hollowpoint ammo. When selecting ammo to test stick with stuff that fits your budget. There's no point in finding out that your rifle will shoot one hole groups with a round that you cannot afford to shoot. Keep in mind that a single range trip can easily eat through 250-500 rounds.

BTW, rep inbound for wanting to teach your kids to shoot. Make sure to check out the Appleseed events. Kids shoot cheap (or free, can't remember) and there is always someone that can loan extra rifles as needed, just make sure to ask in advance. It's great training in marksmanship, safety, and history. It's amazing how much improvement can be made in a weekend and some kids are even able to shoot Rifleman when they have never even touched a rifle before. They have a subforum on here, check them out.

 

[deadeye]

If you are just shooting for fun then find some cheap bulk ammo that shoots decent from your gun. Use a rim thickness gauge to sort your ammo by size and youll be suprised how much better your groups will be using the same ammo.

http://www.bullseyegear.com/bullseyepistol/images/D/rfgaugel.jpg

 

[exelh]

I recently bought a 10-22 and tried just about everything to see what shot and cycled the best. My rifle likes the Stingers the best.

 

[Brownie]

As someone else mentioned if your looking for absolute maximum accuracy the high end match stuff cant be beat eley, lapua. Midrange stuff that has given good results for myself and others I know are wolf match extra and SK. As far as the cheap stuff Federal Lightning has always worked well for me.

 

[Leo]

As above posters have touched on, subsonic ammo is great up close, regular match ammo is good out to about 50 yards, but by 100 yards the little .22 runs out of speed. Wind effects can really take the slow bullet off target. In fighting wind, velocity is your friend. 40 grain CCI round Nose Mini mags do pretty good at that distance without having to pawn your first born.

An interesting side note. The wind correction adjustments of a high velocity .22 rimfire at 200 yards are very much like the Wind correction adjustments needed for a .308 at 1000 yards. It is a good way to practice wind reading skills. When you can go out on a windy day, lay down in prone position, read the wind, dope your sights and drop the first round in the scoring rings, you have actually accomplished a pretty good rifleman skill set. Good Luck, have fun.

 

[MarkRW]

I recently joined FCVCC (near Pendelton) and they have 25-50-100 yard range. I am mostly interested in target shooting there. They have a small bore league with light rifle 0.22 competition @100 yards in which I can earn NRA classification. (Once I get rolling, I would like to take the classes offered there and get my kids involved as much as they are interested.)

http://www.fcvcc.org/
click on "Small Bore" to the left


Thanks for the suggestions!

Not sure what "rep inbound" means, will search around, Thanks!

 

[Leo]

Mark, That is a great club. One nice thing there is that the 100 yard range sits in a valley and the shelter by the firing points blocks most of the wind. Bob used to run the highpower matches and always ran a good, clean, orderly match. I am sure that you will have a great opportunity to hone your rifle skills there. Good Luck