I got a note from my friend Smokiexd45 that said, "I have some ammo that I have had good luck with regarding accuracy. I would like to give you some to test in your new .22 rifle."
I told him that sounded interesting and we arranged a meeting. I brought a box of Wolf .22 Match to trade him for his ammo, but when I got there, he has 5 different kinds of ammo to give me.
I offered to pay for the other ammo, but he wouldn't take any money. "I just am interested in seeing how well it will shoot out of your rifle."
Just as an aside, where else but in the shooting community will you find folks that are so generous?
Today, I finally got to the range to shoot some groups.
I shot my new Savage .22 rifle. It is a tack driver with the right ammo.
I will be shooting at 50 yards. The Savage .22 Bolt Action Rifle
Well, we might as well get to the groups.
I shot two 5-shot groups with each ammo.
The first group is on the left, and the second group is on the right.
I noticed that the second group was often tighter, perhaps as the bore was fouled with that brand of ammo.
First, the Lapua Midas L.
Those are some mighty fine groups.
This ammo is very accurate.
Some folks believe that Wolf .22 Match Ammo is made by Lapua.
Here is some Lapua on the left and some Wolf on the right.
It has the same head stamp.
The Wolf has a very oily or greasy coating, almost like lanolin.
Other than that, they look to be the same.
Next was the Federal Ultra Match.
It was "good", but not "great".
Next was some Winchester 22 Long CB-Match. Notice that it is not the normal ".22 Long Rifle", but is actually ".22 Long". You don't see much .22 Long ammo any more.
It didn't shoot as well as the other brands, and notice that with the lower velocity, it hit several inches lower on the target. That is not big problem, as I could adjust the scope to have it hit where ever I wanted, but it was moving so slow I could see it going down range.
I also noted that when I shot it went, "Bang", and the "Splat" as it hit the target. A very noticeable delay between the sounds.
Next I tried some Aguila Super SE Extra.
The box said, "Eley Prime".
It also said it was sub sonic, but it was noticeably faster than the Federal CB-Long ammo.
Not too bad at all.
Then I tried some Remington CBee22, Long Rifle Hollow Point, Low Noise.
I had tried some of this before, and it is lower velocity, but not really "quiet".
The rifle just didn't like this stuff at all. And notice how low it hit on the paper.
The aiming point was the cross at the top of the target.
This stuff dropped about 4 inches in 50 yards.
Then, just as a comparison, I shot a couple of groups with Wolf.
Here they are.
That's what this rifle will do with ammo it likes.
On another note, I also brought my DPMS Heavy Barreled AR-15 today.
I found a box of ammo in my closet that my old buddy Tman had loaded up for me a long time ago.
Here it is, with his hen scratch on the box, 24.0 grains of H335 behind some Sierra 52 grain BTHP bullets.
I will admit that I kind of got a lump in my throat as I loaded these up.
I sure miss my old buddy.
Here's an 8 shot group.
Turner could sure load accurate ammo.
Conclusions:
As we have noted before, different rifles "like" different .22 ammo. Smokiexd45 said he has had pretty good luck hunting squirrels with the Remington CBee ammo. But my rifle didn't like it at all. On the other hand, I would sure like to find some more of that Lapua Midas L. It seems to shoot as well as Wolf in my rifle. Maybe because it might be the same stuff.
When the present ammo shortage gets better, try different brands of ammo to find what your rifle "likes".
Many thanks to Smokiexd45 for his generous offer of the ammo.
Shooting stuff is fun.
I told him that sounded interesting and we arranged a meeting. I brought a box of Wolf .22 Match to trade him for his ammo, but when I got there, he has 5 different kinds of ammo to give me.
I offered to pay for the other ammo, but he wouldn't take any money. "I just am interested in seeing how well it will shoot out of your rifle."
Just as an aside, where else but in the shooting community will you find folks that are so generous?
Today, I finally got to the range to shoot some groups.
I shot my new Savage .22 rifle. It is a tack driver with the right ammo.
I will be shooting at 50 yards. The Savage .22 Bolt Action Rifle
Well, we might as well get to the groups.
I shot two 5-shot groups with each ammo.
The first group is on the left, and the second group is on the right.
I noticed that the second group was often tighter, perhaps as the bore was fouled with that brand of ammo.
First, the Lapua Midas L.
Those are some mighty fine groups.
This ammo is very accurate.
Some folks believe that Wolf .22 Match Ammo is made by Lapua.
Here is some Lapua on the left and some Wolf on the right.
It has the same head stamp.
The Wolf has a very oily or greasy coating, almost like lanolin.
Other than that, they look to be the same.
Next was the Federal Ultra Match.
It was "good", but not "great".
Next was some Winchester 22 Long CB-Match. Notice that it is not the normal ".22 Long Rifle", but is actually ".22 Long". You don't see much .22 Long ammo any more.
It didn't shoot as well as the other brands, and notice that with the lower velocity, it hit several inches lower on the target. That is not big problem, as I could adjust the scope to have it hit where ever I wanted, but it was moving so slow I could see it going down range.
I also noted that when I shot it went, "Bang", and the "Splat" as it hit the target. A very noticeable delay between the sounds.
Next I tried some Aguila Super SE Extra.
The box said, "Eley Prime".
It also said it was sub sonic, but it was noticeably faster than the Federal CB-Long ammo.
Not too bad at all.
Then I tried some Remington CBee22, Long Rifle Hollow Point, Low Noise.
I had tried some of this before, and it is lower velocity, but not really "quiet".
The rifle just didn't like this stuff at all. And notice how low it hit on the paper.
The aiming point was the cross at the top of the target.
This stuff dropped about 4 inches in 50 yards.
Then, just as a comparison, I shot a couple of groups with Wolf.
Here they are.
That's what this rifle will do with ammo it likes.
On another note, I also brought my DPMS Heavy Barreled AR-15 today.
I found a box of ammo in my closet that my old buddy Tman had loaded up for me a long time ago.
Here it is, with his hen scratch on the box, 24.0 grains of H335 behind some Sierra 52 grain BTHP bullets.
I will admit that I kind of got a lump in my throat as I loaded these up.
I sure miss my old buddy.
Here's an 8 shot group.
Turner could sure load accurate ammo.
Conclusions:
As we have noted before, different rifles "like" different .22 ammo. Smokiexd45 said he has had pretty good luck hunting squirrels with the Remington CBee ammo. But my rifle didn't like it at all. On the other hand, I would sure like to find some more of that Lapua Midas L. It seems to shoot as well as Wolf in my rifle. Maybe because it might be the same stuff.
When the present ammo shortage gets better, try different brands of ammo to find what your rifle "likes".
Many thanks to Smokiexd45 for his generous offer of the ammo.
Shooting stuff is fun.
