22lr Match Ammo

I think my 22lr match pistol really likes Lapua Center X but I have really no basis as far as ransom rest testing. 

I shot a 95 SF with it on a 50Ft target which is a personal best in slow fire and really way better than my prior personal best 93 with a 25 yard target (22lr) and 50 yard target (45acp Zero HPSWC). 


So as I am running low and do not want to invest in a case I was wondering if there anything close in performance and a little cheaper than $110 a brick. 

I have plenty of CCI and Aquila. I have some wolf left but the new stuff is not as good as the old stuff.

sk standard will do you good. If you do buy fancy match ammo... only use it @ 50 yards at matches that count. 30 rounds at a time a brick will last

.22 ammo varies more lot-to-lot than it does brand-to-brand or even tier-to-tier within the same brand. You really need to test a specific lot in a specific gun, and then lay in a big supply of that lot for that gun.

Don't expect Tenex to outshoot CCI SV without testing the specific lots that you have in your gun.

Also: results of what you shot with Ammo A (particularly at 50 feet) for one SF target are meaningless.

Edit: I don't think it matters much until you're shooting MA or HM scores. I looked back at some of my testing and most stuff was 1.6" or better at 50 yards.

Edit: I don't think it matters much until you're shooting MA or HM scores. I looked back at some of my testing and most stuff was 1.6" or better at 50 yards.

Back in the early 90's I routinely shot high 880's and occasionally in the 90's. I never rested my pistol and assumed since it was a Hammerli 208 that it shot well. When I got assigned to AMU they took my pistol and shot every lot of ammunition they had in stock. The very best group was from Eley Tenex. It barely held 1.5"! I was literally in shock. That's the worst grouping pistol I've ever owned and I had shot an 895 with it. John's right........worry about it when your shooting master scores.
Jon

Bill Demarest shot a World Record in Free Pistol (577 + 99.something) in 2000 with a lot of .22 ammo (Fiocchi, IIRC) that turned out to be one of the worst of any that he tested in his gun.

If you happen upon a lot of .22 that shoots 1" or less in your gun at 50 yards from a Random Rest, and you can routinely call shots within 1/2" at 50 yards with that gun/ammo combination, then you're probably in the group of people that would benefit from trying to match a lot of .22 to a gun.

Otherwise, test what ya got, and then shoot the best ya got for 50 yards.

I used to lot test Tenex for my Prone gun.  But never for BE.  Time spent assessing your performance is more recommended.

Thanks, it must be mental. It's not like I have been cleaning targets in matches yet

Greetings,

I recently tested various ammo in 22lr pistol barrels mounted in a machine fixture, not a Random Rest.

I went through twenty brands and flavors and only one did not shoot X-ring at 50 yards.

The smallest X-ring groups was one lot of TENEX, no surprise. Other lots of TENEX shot X-ring, as well.

CCI Standard Velocity also shot X-ring. I like CCI as it functions in my Haemmerli 280 quite well. Some lots have too much lube and I use those up in my Walther GSP.

In summary, go with the ammo that shoots reliably. Cleanliness is also a consideration.

All the best,

Dave

fc60 wrote:Greetings,

I recently tested various ammo in 22lr pistol barrels mounted in a machine fixture, not a Random Rest.

I went through twenty brands and flavors and only one did not shoot X-ring at 50 yards.

The smallest X-ring groups was one lot of TENEX, no surprise. Other lots of TENEX shot X-ring, as well.

CCI Standard Velocity also shot X-ring. I like CCI as it functions in my Haemmerli 280 quite well. Some lots have too much lube and I use those up in my Walther GSP.

In summary, go with the ammo that shoots reliably. Cleanliness is also a consideration.

All the best,

Dave

Was it the garbage federal white box that didn't x ring ?

Remington Green Box my bet. Miserable stuff.

I need to jump in here Chris from your posted statement.

Just a word to the wise.

If you are going to shoot a certain .22 load at the long line and then switch to a different load for the short line, you best try that combination during a few practice sessions.

.22 ammo from various manufactures use different lubes.
You may shoot 30 shots at the long line with your best ammo and then switch to your short line ammo for timed fire and get failures or bad groups until the lube settles into the bore.
Hope i explained it properly but it has happened to me more than once switching different manufactures/lubes of .22 ammo.

Just had to bring this point up when Chris jogged my memory

Clarence

C.Perkins wrote:I need to jump in here Chris from your posted statement.

Just a word to the wise.

If you are going to shoot a certain .22 load at the long line and then switch to a different load for the short line, you best try that combination during a few practice sessions.

.22 ammo from various manufactures use different lubes.
You may shoot 30 shots at the long line with your best ammo and then switch to your short line ammo for timed fire and get failures or bad groups until the lube settles into the bore.
Hope i explained it properly but it has happened to me more than once switching different manufactures/lubes of .22 ammo.

Just had to bring this point up when Chris jogged my memory

Clarence

well for me its Eley Tenex @ 50 and Eley target @ 25 =]

Well, for me it is Eley Tenex, Eley Match, Eley Target, Lapua Center X or CCI-SV all the way through the match without changing.

What if you were to go from Eley Tenex to CCI-SV ?
What if you were to go from Center X to CCI-SV ?
What if you were to go from Eley Tenex to Center X ?
What if you were to go from Center X to Eley Tenex ?

The above four load transitions caused ill effects until the barrel/bore were seasoned with the different lube.

Disclaimer;
The above were mine and only my experiences.
Your mileage may vary.
I give my input to try and help others.
This is why I do not change up long and short line loads with the .22

If it's an important match why would you not use the best for the whole shebang?
I already have too many variables to wrangle between my ears.

That was always my thoughts shooting trap. Going to the Grand American I'd shoot Federal papers. How many chances you got.

I know if i miss the 10 ring @ 25 it isn't my ammo.

C.Perkins wrote:I need to jump in here Chris from your posted statement.

Just a word to the wise.

If you are going to shoot a certain .22 load at the long line and then switch to a different load for the short line, you best try that combination during a few practice sessions.

.22 ammo from various manufactures use different lubes.
You may shoot 30 shots at the long line with your best ammo and then switch to your short line ammo for timed fire and get failures or bad groups until the lube settles into the bore.
Hope i explained it properly but it has happened to me more than once switching different manufactures/lubes of .22 ammo.

Just had to bring this point up when Chris jogged my memory

Clarence

I have also found that (through a rifle of mine) CCI SV shot better after shooting Wolf/SK ammo for about 10 shots.

Clarence,

Eley uses an "organic" compound on their lube, (think of beeswax with possibility of other fats, stabilizers and etc.).
Lapua, SK, Wolf, RWS use a petroleum based lubricant. One can see and feel the differences. 
I have no idea what may be on anything else out there.

The melt temps, solvents, gases and etc. would certainly have strong chances to behave differently. I take lots of sighters in smallbore prone to stabilize the barrel and fouling with any ammunition (brand) changes, and those changes are very visible.

-ron

One league evening years ago I shot Eley 10X at 50 yards and CCI SV at 25 yards and the result was a 300-22X. This combination is what I used for over 25 years. Dworak conversion.
Tom Ginovsky

teg2658 wrote:One league evening years ago I shot Eley 10X at 50 yards and CCI SV at 25 yards and the result was a 300-22X. This combination is what I used for over 25 years. Dworak conversion.
Tom Ginovsky

Well; good on you Tom Ginovsky.

Never stated that it was all an accuracy problem.
The failures to load, extract, stove pipe which equals = alibi; were my concerns.
Funny thing is, is that the alibi string would be fine.
It was just after shooting 30 shots long line then switching to short line timed fire within the next five rounds.
Did not always happen but if it did it enough to take note of it and quit doing it.

Clarence

Personally I think CCI SV is just fine for me until X counts start to matter. Every .22 I have works just fine with the CCI:)

Ammo vs me.

Some years ago at a Sectional, I went all out with Tenex and shot a poor felt 850.  Later in the day we shot a makeup league match after the Sectional concluded.  Same gun (208s) using Aguila SV shot 870.  Go figure.