What ammo shoots best in your 22 Match barrel?

[raynor]

I'm not talking target ammo, just standard stuff. What do you shoot for plinker ammo? I've found that American Eagle shoot pretty well in my barrel, ragged holes at 25 yards. Just curious!  Thanks, ~~ raynor

[SD Handgunner]

In the Blued Super 14 Match Grade .22 LR Contender Barrel I had, the list of ammo it preferred was  

 C.C.I. Green Tag
 Federal #711B Gold Medal Target
 Wolf Match Target (Old Lot 4-02)
 Lapua Suber Club
 C.C.I. Mini Mag Solids
 Wolf Match Extra
 Remington Thunderbolts
 Remington / Eley Club Extra
 P.M.C. Sidewinder Solids
 Wolf Match Target (New Lot)
 Remington / Eley Target Rifle
 Remington Hi-Velocity Solids
 Remington Hyper Velocity VIPER Solid
 Winchester Dyna Points
 Remington Target
 Federal Bulk Hollow Points
 C.C.I. Blazer
 Winchester Power Point Hollow Points
 Eley Practice 100 (White Box)
 Federal Lightning
 C.C.I. VELOCITOR Hollow Point
 Remington Bulk Hollow Points
 P.M.C. Rifle Match
 Winchester Hi-Velocity Hollow Points
 Winchester X-Pert Hollow Points
 Winchester WildCats
 Eley Standard (Brown Box)
 Federal Hyper Velocity Hollow Points
 Winchester Hi-Velocity Solids
 Winchester T-22
 Remington Yelow Jacket Hollow Points
 C.C.I. Standard Velocity

listed in order of most accurate to least accurate (top to bottom).

I have not had the opportunity to wring out the Stainless-Steel Super 14 Match Grade .22 LR Contender Barrel I just recently aquired as yet. Hopefully the weather will cooperate so I can get it done in the not to distant future.

SD Handgunner

[B_Koes]

What distance were you testing this ammo?  I'm assuming 50 yards (or meters) because it seems like EVERYONE tests at 50 yards.  Since I use the .22 LR for silhouettes I must test out to 100 yards to see what is happening at the ram line and for shoot off chickens.  It seems to me that MANY different kinds of ammo will shoot VERY well from any of my Contender barrels out to 50 yards.  However, it seems like the high velocity ammo's accuracy really falls off at further ranges (I know...not always, that's why it is important to do your own testing).

My case was made perfectly by a .22 LR match barrel that I have.  It would shoot some AMAZING groups at 50 yards with cheap ammo...American Eagle 38gr HP (<.25" @ 50), but when I tried to get it to group at 100 the best it would do is about 1.5" (or was it 2"?).  Unfortunately I tried several flavors of match ammo and none grouped well enough for me to be pleased.

I have had very good luck with CCI Green Tag, Wolf Match Extra, Eley Pistol Standard (also it's twin...brown box Standard).  I have other stuff that may work better in some barrels, but I just haven't tested enough to tell.  It is a time consuming process and sometimes it makes sense to compromise a little if the ammo will perform adequately.

Just last night I performed a little uniformity testing of standard velocity ammo in my possession.  This certainly wasn't a real scientific test, but it was enough to satisfy my curiosity.  I weighed 5 rounds of various types of match ammo.  My findings were that Eley & RWS (Dynamit Noble) tended to be the most consistent in terms of overall cartridge weight.  I was a little disappointed by Wolf Match Target and Lapua Super Club because I found an extreme spread of about .6 grains in the 5 randomly selected cartridges.  Please note that I only tested target ammo on the "lower" end of the price scale (<$4/50) with the exception of Eley Match EPS (which did indeed prove to be very consistent).  I think that I will be testing some of the more expensive stuff that I have (Lapua Midas & Lapua Master).  Well enough rambling for now...

I hope that I didn't cloud the issue too much for you!

[SD Handgunner]

No I did not test the ammo at 100 yards. Most of my Rimfire shooting is Rimfire Bench Rest at ranges of 50 Feet (Indoor Shooting Range in the winter months), 25 Yards Outdoors and 50 yards Outdoors, so those are the ranges I test at.

The exception to this is Small Varmint Hunting, mainly Flickertail Gophers. For this type of shooting I generally use the most accurate BULK Hollow Point for the individual gun (just so happens my SS Super 14 Match Grade .22 LR Contender and my SS 5 1/2" Ruger MKII both prefer Winchester X-Pert Hollow Points that I can find localy). The reason for this is simple, I spend as much time each year shooting Flickertail Gophers as possible and as such go through a heck of a lot of these Hollow Points. I also really like the bullet performance of the Winchester X-Pert Hollow Points on small varmints, it is quite devistating for a .22 LR.

Yep looks like I got off the subject too a little. Back in 1990 when our Indoor Shooting Range opened everyone kept asking me what is the most accurate .22 LR Ammo for use in their handguns for the shooting we were doing. So that summer I decided to do a test. I gathered up 23 different brands and types of .22 LR Ammo that I could obtain locally. I also obtained several different .22 LR Semi Auto Handguns to test. I shot 5 - 5 shot groups with each Handgun with each Brand & Type of .22 LR Ammo I had gathered. The bottom line: No two handguns preferred the same Brand & Type of .22 LR Ammo. Yes there was certain brands and types of ammo that were in the top 4 or 5 in each gun, but not one single brand & type of ammo that was the best in all of the guns tested.

SD Handgunner

[flatlander]

Winchester Super-X has been the best in mine. I tested out several different kinds, and the Super-X did as well as any and better than most. The bulk hollow points shot a little looser, but for hunting situations, they are more than adequate and they are as cheap as it gets for ammo.

[JoeRobbins]

Winchester dynapoints and CCI velocitors.

Joe

[Possum]

I have a 10" regular .22 octagon barrel with a cheapy scope and use Dynapoints.  They shoot 3" clays all day long at 100yds.

[Bud]

I have a 10" and a 14" match chambers.
Both shoot excellent with Winchester Power Points.

[SD Handgunner]

Well this dad-blasted weather is still not cooperating, windy and rainy again today. Why is it everytime I have time to shoot the weather is crappy? Well I couldn't take it any longer so I went to the Indoor Shooting Range today, moved a bunch of stuff around so I could shoot at 25 yards.

The good news is I think this barrel is gonna shoot. At least it shows promise.

Here was the procedure. I fired 5 - 5 shot groups with each type of ammo (except for the Winchester X-Pert Hollow Point, I fired 10 - 5 shot groups, 5 to start with and another 5 after I finished up with the rest for a control so to speak). Between each brand - type of ammo I ran a bore snake through the bore twice and then fired 5 fouling shots before shooting the first group.

The results were as follows :

T/C SS Super 14 Match Grade .22 LR Contender
3x12x Burris LER Handgun Scope @ 12x

1 CCI Standard Velocity = .016"
2 Wolf Match Target (OLD Lot) = .046"
3 Federal # 711B Gold Medal Target = .060"
4 Lapua Super Club = .083"
5 CCI Green Tag = .102"
6 Wolf Match Target (NEW Lot) = .104"
7 CCI Blazers = .127"
8 Remington / Eley Club Xtra = .162"
9 Federal Lightnings = .166"
10 Winchester X-Pert Hollow Points = .223"
11 Remington Target = .256"
12 Remington Thunderbolts = .293"
13 Winchester T-22 Target = .294"
14 Winchester Wildcats = .307"
AVERAGE Group Size = .160"

This was the ammo I currently had on hand. I will probably retest the top 4 or 5 brands - types of ammo, and maybe add some more in the future. So far I am quite pleased with this barrel. The trigger on this frame is SUPER crisp, and just under 2 pounds. I also think the bedding job on the forend didn't hurt either. I tested many more different brands - types of ammo in the Blued Super 14 Match Grade .22 LR Contender Barrel I had. The average group size for the Blued Super 14 Match Grade .22 LR Contender Barrel was .176" for 5 - 5 shot groups shot in the same manner.

Hopefully the weather will cooperate so I can provide a better accuracy test at 50 yards under ideal conditions.

SD Handgunner

[Duffy]

Looks like you got a good one!
I don't have a TC 22 bbl but have tested some different ammo in my Win M52 target rifle and found that much of the expensive stuff doesnt shoot that much better than just off the shelf ammo. It'll shoot Blazers into a .25 inch @ 50 but the flyers are really bad some times. When I set all the different types up on the bench I noticed that some of the bullets have a shoulder closer to the nose than others and these are the ones that engraved more on chambering and also shot better than most. Plain old CCI mini mags shoot about the best in this bbl, my MK1 Ruger likes Winchester HV and the Single Six prefers Blazers or Fed HP's. Each one to it's own.

Ryan

[raynor]

Thanks everyone!

SD, The run down on all the ammo you've shot is much appreciated. I realize how much time goes into testing like that, many thanks. ~~ raynor

[SD Handgunner]

raynor

You're very welcome. It is something I enjoy doing, even though it can be frustrating at times. I plan to do further testing with more brands & types of ammo, and at 50 yards also when time and the weather permits.

SD Handgunner