Thanks Richard. Any excuse to shoot the milsurps, lol. I was frustrated enough with the .22 that I decided today that I had to do something about it.

quote:

Originally posted by fritz:
Understand that it might take 5-10 rounds with each change in rimfire ammo for the accuracy to stabilize.

Thanks for that, Fritz. I took all that ammo to the range today along with the Ruger and my Marlin Glenfield 25. Based on your statement, I shot 20 rounds of each type through the Ruger...the first 10 onto steel, then the second mag onto paper for groups. I shot off a bench using a front rest and no rear bag. I was trying to take as much of myself out of it as possible, and while my eyes arern't good enough to get perfect consistency every time with iron sights, I think I was able to stay consistent enough to demonstrate the differences in the loads.

Here were the groups out of the Ruger:




You weren't kidding about Federal Automatch. That stuff kinda sucks. The Blazer 40gr was the best, followed by CCI Tactical and then the 40gr min-mags. I need to get my hands on some CCI Standard to try.

CCI Quiet was pretty bad, and required a significant shit in point of aim. The old steel-case Russian stuff was scary...about 50% of the time the case wouldn't seal in the chamber and you'd get blasted with smoke and particulate around the bolt.

I then shot a few more targets with the Blazer and the Automatch just to confirm my results, and I'd say it pretty much did.




Finally, I shot this week's match target with the Blazer, just to see if I could do any better with "Good Ammo." News flash, I still kinda suck lol. Score was the same, but the group was a little better.




Then I broke out the old beater Marlin. It's nothing fancy, but I figured the 4x Nikon Prostaff on it would help overcome my eyesight limitations a bit, and take that factor out of it.




I shot groups with the varieties of ammo that I still had left after the first round with the Ruger:




Federal Automatch still sucks. CCI Quiet is SLOOOW...I could actually see the bullets as they passed in front of the white areas of the target, they wouldn't knock over the 4" steel plates, and the bullet drop even at 50 yards was significant. The Aguila was a suprise...remarkably accurate out of this old gun, although I'm not sure what kind of powder they use in this stuff...it smells funky, kinda like old oranges.

Finally, I decided to try the match target again with the scoped rifle and the funky citrus-smelling Aguilla ammo. Then I shot it a couple of more times just to make sure it wasn't a fluke. I think I've found the load for this gun.



I'm still a little frustrated that I'm getting better performace out of the ancient beat up Marlin than I am from the new Ruger. I may need to put a scope on it and see if I can find some more of that Blazer ammo just to see what it will actually do.

quote:

Originally posted by 92fstech:




I'm still a little frustrated that I'm getting better performace out of the ancient beat up Marlin than I am from the new Ruger. I may need to put a scope on it ...

Orrrrrrrrrrrr,

maybe that Marlin Microgroove® rifling wasn't just advertising hype.

quote:

Originally posted by RichardC:
Orrrrrrrrrrrr,

maybe that Marlin Microgroove® rifling wasn't just advertising hype.

Maybe so. Every Microgroove Marlin that I've owned has shot well, even with cast bullets that they're supposed to hate. It cleans easy, too. Also, although some of that ammo clearly shot worse than others, I'm certain that the nut behind the trigger was a limiting factor as well.

I haven't shot some of the ammo types shown above, so I can't personally compare the accuracy results. I think your comments on what works and what doesn't work are reasonable.

The Aguila did show better accuracy than the others.
Better results from Blazer and Mini-mag than I expected.
I knew CCI Quiet has slow MV, but I didn't expect such a rainbow trajectory at 50 yards.

CCI Standard is definitely worth a try. I've long considered it the starting point for accurate 22lr ammo.

quote:

I knew CCI Quiet has slow MV, but I didn't expect such a rainbow trajectory at 50 yards.

Yeah, me either. I was shocked when I could actually see the bullets going downrange through the scope. It seemed to exhibit more drop out of the Marlin than the Ruger, and knocked down a few of the plates out of the Ruger as well. I ought to shoot it over the chronograph out of both guns and see if there's something weird going on there.

quote:

CCI Standard is definitely worth a try. I've long considered it the starting point for accurate 22lr ammo.

Now just to find a source locally...I think Rural King may carry it.

quote:

Originally posted by 92fstech:
CCI Standard....
Now just to find a source locally...I think Rural King may carry it.

Additional options for improving accuracy, generally at reasonable prices:

Eley -- Target (yellow label) and Club (orange label)
RWS -- Target (orange label)
SK -- Standard Plus
Wolf -- Match Target
Federal -- Gold Medal 711B

Thanks, I'll see if I can find some of that.

Old Mini-14 Ranch Rifle with SWFA 2.5-10X32 SS Ultralight Riflescope, Warne rings and Picatinny rail.
Left my rifle rest and tools at home. (Dumbass. Real shooters use checklists.)

Boresighted at home, then sighted in at 25 and 50 yards with a variety of .223 Remington ammunition. HST 69 gr BTHP gave best groups at 50yds , so that's what I used at 100yds.
The stock is too long and the scope mounted too far forward, so it was very uncomfortable and hard to get consistent sight picture/eyeposition but that's what I deserved.

Dang Nice shooting, Richard, especially for a Mini!

quote:

Left my rifle rest and tools at home.

If I had a dollar for every time I've done this...I even kitted out a bag with everything that I need for the range so that I just have to grab the bag on the way out the door, and I still find ways to take stuff out and not put it back in there.

I got my hands on some SK Rifle Match and CCI Standard yesterday. That SK stuff is EXPENSIVE. It also smells exactly the same as that citrusy Aguila when you shoot it...must be using the same powder.

Both varieties of ammo seemed pretty consistent, and I think I was more of a handicap today than the ammo. I'm up against the limitations of my eyes and of my skills as a shooter. I will probably try some different targets to try and get a more precise point of aim, but I think I've found some loads that are going to require me to spend some more time working on myself to show improvement rather than worrying about the gun.

The smallbore supporting vendors used to sell you a few boxes from several rimfire match ammo lot#'s, hold a case in reserve for a short period and then sell you a case or two from the lot# that performed best in your rifle.

I wonder if they still do.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: RichardC,

They may...but even if they did, I don't think my shooting skills are at the level that you'd be able to tell the difference between lots by looking at my targets !

I want to try the rimfire stage but scheduling range time this weekend is iffy.

About that Federal AutoMatch:

Article summary: No lube, lead round nose, extra tight crimp, clean and dependable, competitive bulk ammo pricing, not match accuracy.

I have a huge stash, use it for Steel Challenge and bowling pin/plate matches.

I've found it to be clean and dependable in all my auto pistols and rifles.

https://www.thefirearmblog.com...t-federal-automatch/

Good article, thanks for posting that. AutoMatch runs really well (from a reliability standpoint) in my semi-auto pistols and rifle, and honestly has been pretty accurate out of the handguns. It just isn't up to par for precision shooting out of a bolt-action rifle. Some interesting observations in there about the lack of lube and the crimp as well...it really starts to make sense when you put it all together.

Let's look at the ballistic performance of Federal Automatch, given the MV variation in the firearm blog, for the 8" barrel. High MV of 1112 fps and low MV of 835 fps. That's 277 fps spread.

JBM Ballistics with sight height of zero gives a true bullet drop. I set Density Altitude at 4,000', which means you guys at lower elevation will see larger drops (& variation), where I will see less.

At 25 yards the 1112 MV bullet drops .9", but the 835 MV bullet drops 1.5". OK, not a big deal for some shooters, as they may not have the skills to hold a half inch at 25 yards.

At 50 yards, the 1112 MV bullet drops 3.7", for 835 MV it's 6.4". Which means a potential 2.7 inch difference in impact elevation due to MV. That doesn't consider the flight variation of the bullet itself.

At 75 yards, the 1112 MV bullet drops 8.8", vs 14.8" for a slow round. That's 6 inches in POI variation.

At 100 yards, the 1112 MV bullet drops 16.3", vs 26.9" for a slow round. A whopping 10.6 inches variation.

That's shit ammo.

quote:

That's shit ammo.

Indeed!

It's a reasonable choice for handguns if you're not shooting bullseye, but definitely not for shooting groups with a rifle.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: 92fstech,

Maybe that Federal AutoMatch was just a bad lot.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: RichardC,

Shot the rimfire Match 1:

This morning was nice for shooting, 68F, overcast, almost no wind.

Old Walther KK200, Leupold 6.5x20 on 20X in Warne QD for grooved receiver rings, simple crosshair with 1/8 minute dot, Caldwell Stinger rest, 50 yards.

Plan was to shoot at least ten sighter/warmup rounds with each brand of ammo, then the ten round match target.
Federal Gold Match 900B (very old), Lapua MultiMatch Ultra L (even older), shit reputation Federal Automatch bulk Lot# IHK102, claimed 1200fps, and CCI Standard Velocity 40gr.

After setting up, trying to adapt the rifle to the Stinger rest (had to remove the buttplate and offhand foream extension), mounting the scope (always stored in case off the rifle), I started with the Federal 900B, adjusted windage&elevation until it was in the X ring, and then left the settings the same for the rest of the day, with all ammo.

Pictures and comments to follow, if I can keep my Internet connection long enough.

Sweet, looking forward to seeing the results! Our internet has been spotty today as well...weird.

#1 The first sighters with 900B after setting up
#2 Federal 900B match target
#3 Lapua sighters with stray in on 10 ring from sighter target below. Major brain malfunction on the shooter's part.
#4 Lapua match target
#5 Shitty Federal Automatch sighters, only 9/10. One went into target #4 ten ring. Doh!
#6 Shitty Federal Automatch match target. All ten rounds.
#7 CCI Standard Velocity sighter
#8 CCI Standard Velocity match target

I am sure the ammo and rifle could have grouped better, but I was having a terrible time achieving a comfortable and consistent body and head position.
I need to move the scope way back in the rings, another day.

That Caldwell Sing rest is lightweight and convenient, but the rear monopod is way too wiggly.