Lapua midas+ feed issues in Ruger MkIII

Gentle men & women shooters,

I've purchased a variety of 22lr cartridges to determine the best for my Clark custom Ruger MkIII:
CCI SV
Eley Club
SK Flatnose match
Lapua Midas+

I have 6 magazines in rotation (all new as of a few months ago):
2x blued Ruger (came with the gun)
3x blued Mecgar (standard not extended capacity)
1x bare Ruger (from Volquartsen, Very tight feed lips that the follower gets lightly stuck in)

The SK, Eley and CCI all feed flawlessly. The Lapua Midas+ though fails chamber as frighteningly frequent as one of every 10 cartridges. What happens is the cartridge is stripped from the mag and the tip of the projectile wedges against the top of the chamber. I have to drop the magazine and the cartridge falls free, with a significant divot in the projectile approx half from center where it hit the edge of the chamber. This is a radiused surface. I have my magazines numbered and shoot through them serially and the issue isn't isolated to a single magazine or make of magazine. The 2x blued Ruger mags that came with the Clark exhibit the issue, not just Mecgar.

I havent had a single fail to feed with the SK flat nose over 300 rounds. The Midas has failed approx 15 times in 150 rounds. If a profile was problematic for feeding, I'd expect the flatnose before the Midas.

Is the Midas+ projectile a softer metal perhaps? I only bought a 500 pack ... bad batch or have others had this issue? Should they be treated in some way? This is the most expensive 22 ammo I have here. I wipe a thin layer of oil on the underside of the bolt (saw LenV recommend this).

I don't have another 22 caliber firearm to shoot it through to just use the stuff up. I also don't want to tweak my magazines to feed this ammo when the other brands are reliable. I don't think it's productive to practice with this ammo since it affects my confidence in the gun.

Any quick fixes, is this just me/this batch, or are the Midas+ cartridges no good for Rugers, at least with Clark barrels?

The Midas+ is a bit more of a rifle round, and is a euro-spec dimension. I'd say it's just not a good match for a US-spec pistol. The SK flatnose is a similar (rifle) round, but gets away with it because of the shape.

If you really want Lapua, try the Pistol King, great round for short-range bullseye. Many will use Center-X at the long line, but again, depends on the pistol.

Thank you -TT- for the insight that Midas+ is meant for rifle.  Next time Laupa has a sale perhaps I'll try the Pistol King.

The real question is why are you using $20 a box ammo in your pistol? If that pistol won't shoot 1.5" or less with CCI then you've got issues and if you shoot good enough to notice the difference in CCI and Tenex then I'm jealous. Save your money for something more meaningful than high dollar 22 ammo.

zanemoseley wrote:The real question is why are you using $20 a box ammo

No. The question is what's the best ammo for my pistol.  I looked at print sheets online, picked a few that looked promising, and purchased them regardless of cost.  It's a journey.  Time is more limited than dollars. Don't have time to buy every possible cartridge on the market.

A justifiable "real question" is why I don't just stick with one and focus on fundamentals instead of gear. I'll accept that.

So are you going to buy $2000 a case ammo to use for practice and match use? To possibly gain an extra 1/4" - 1/2" in 50 yard accuracy? We're not rimfire benchrest shooters, if you can get your pistols shooting 1.5" or under the rest is on your shoulders, if your Clark barrel won't do 1.5" with CCI SV then it should be returned.

zanemoseley wrote:So are you going to buy $2000 a case ammo to use for practice and match use? To possibly gain an extra 1/4" - 1/2" in 50 yard accuracy? We're not rimfire benchrest shooters, if you can get your pistols shooting 1.5" or under the rest is on your shoulders, if your Clark barrel won't do 1.5" with CCI SV then it should be returned.

My shooting skills sir are so chaotic that I need constant reassurance that it indeed is just me that's the problem, and not the equipment

I am in total agreement with zanemosely!  I own 3 Rugers that all shoot sub X ring at 50 yards off of bags with CCI Standard velocity and none of them are Clark Custom's, just plain old Rugers with some Volquartsen parts.

Are you using the Marine Corps training program?

Allen I endeavor to, but reality is that I've been averaging 3 hours a night of sleep for some weeks, took a sick day today and still worked 9 hours strait. So ... more money than time and I recognize that's the bane of my bullseye career I can't buy success. My 22 scores get worse every match (started in mid 260s on my first shoot ever this season). BUT THIS THREAD IS ABOUT THE AMMO

SingleActionAndrew wrote:BUT THIS THREAD IS ABOUT THE AMMO

CCI Standard Velocity shoots well in the MKIII, but another option might be SK Standard Plus (the yellow and black box). It's good quality and feeds well in the MKIII, also the felt recoil is less than CCI. It shoots quite accurately in the gun, and can be found around $6 a box.

Whatever you do, don't focus on the ammo at this point. Find one that feeds and shoots reliably, and is affordable in the quantities you have time to chuck rounds downrange. Then go do just that.

I shoot with a guy who's Benelli and Nelson will clean indoor targets with Blaser.

get yourself some Aguila super xtra and GECO semi-auto and Rifle.

Spend your money elsewhere! Please!

If it was me, I’d shoot the ammo that functions best in my pistol.  Alibis cost dearly.  My criteria for trouble free ammo is 500 rounds no malfs.  CCI and the bulk makers seem to have occasional troubles in Some lots. One to perhaps try is GECO Semi Auto.  The 1200 fps version.

Thank you gentlemen on the tips for cartridges to consider! And reminder where I should be focusing at this point.

Is 1200fps specifically for 50yd? I recall reading or hearing that we generally want to stay subsonic

The reason for 1200 fps is that it has enough reserve energy to function. GECO Semi Auto is loaded to this level and reaches 1200 in a rifle, less in a pistol.  It is accurate to 50 yards.  In your Ruger it should be fine.

To follow up: I found the answer to my problem. Volquartsen magazines. The feed lips are very tight (followers get stuck in them) and the 4 I'm using haven't let me down yet. No more alibis. No more disappointment when I shoot that perfect shot and the gun goes click. So far*!

I am going to add, don't use Rifle Match 22lr in pistols!

I have tried that  with one batch of SK STD Plus and had malfunction after malfunction in  my M41. Had failures to fire, weak ejection indication low pressures and/or difficult to ignite primer compound. Another batch of SK STD plus works well, but I decided to shoot cheaper ammunition.

I am of the opinion that pistol match has a pressure curve specification that rifle match does not. Semi auto pistols require a specific pressure curve to extract rounds, bolt guns don't. And, it is probable that pistol match ammunition has more sensitive priming compound, given that pistol mechanisms do not have the ignition energy of a rifle. 

I think there are good reasons why match ammunition manufacturers make a rifle match, and pistol match ammunition, and it has to do with function.

In terms of accuracy, I am not going to be popular with this. Don't waste your money chasing the ultimate accuracy in rim fire ammunition. By stuff that goes bang and functions your pistol. I have had my Anschutz tested at Laupa, good rifle ammunition groups around a half inch at 50 yards consistently. Yah, yah, some lots do better, I don't want to hear it.  The ten ring of a Smallbore target is around a dime at 50 yards, F Class shooters, it is not much larger than 22 caliber.

The ten ring on the Bullseye 50 yard target is four inches in diameter, and of course, the same at 25 yards. If you are not shooting perfect scores with Walmart Federal lighting, which groups about one inch to 1.5 inches at 50 yards, you are not going to be shooting cleans with the most expensive match ammunition out there.

Now if you are consistently shooting cleans at 50 yards, then maybe better ammunition will give a higher X count. But 100's at 50 yards are about as common as no hitters in base ball games.

Slamfire wrote:I am of the opinion that pistol match has a pressure curve specification that rifle match does not. Semi auto pistols require a specific pressure curve to extract rounds, bolt guns don't. And, it is probable that pistol match ammunition has more sensitive priming compound, given that pistol mechanisms do not have the ignition energy of a rifle. 

I think there are good reasons why match ammunition manufacturers make a rifle match, and pistol match ammunition, and it has to do with function.

Absolutely! Rifles have dozens of inches of barrel to propel the bullet. Pistols have 5 or 6. And then there's the blowback thing. There's no such thing as one-size-fits-all for both.