What model do you have? What characteristics does it have that makes it "specially designed to shoot in below zero temperatures"?
All my 22s suck in cold weather. Calling the biathlon crowd
- Thread starter tommy88
- Start date
What model do you have? What characteristics does it have that makes it "specially designed to shoot in below zero temperatures"?
At a grand a brick it aughttta shoot at absolute zero!
Whatever "over concentration" may mean, when looking to shoot for the best results, shooters should never over-do or under-do anything. For best results there should be no compromise in always giving a best, 100% effort.
You see ammo that's $1000 (a grand) per brick? It looks closer to $100 per brick, not at all an unusual price.
Mystic Precision
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Summerland, BC
I am sure he has tested what works best for his team shooters... and the rifles they use.
Lube is important if you experience functioning and leading problems. If you dont and it might cause other issues, then wipe it off.
For my rifles in the warmer temps, I leave the lube on even though it gets messy on the fingers.
Jerry
As mentioned try different ammo. My T1x loves aguilla at -3 to 5C while my anschutz hates it. My 69a loves blazer at this temp while the marlin shoots like crap. The marlin likes hornady HP’s when cold out. The voodoo loves biathlon and hates center x when below freezing. Then the others. Go figure… rimfire.
Good luck
Good luck
It seems odd. The bullet lube is there for the purpose of promoting accuracy and reducing leading in the barrel. Lapua makes match grade biathlon ammo and it's lubed. So too is Eley biathlon ammo.
It's worth noting that while Lapua biathlon ammo uses a different bullet design to facilitate loading, Eley Tenex Biathlon ammo has, as the Eley website puts it, a "reduction in the diameter of the cartridge to aid cycling in bolt-action or straight-pull biathlon rifles".
Of course, not all .22LR bullet lube perform equally well in cold weather.
I have had very good results in my CZ 452 and Anschutz 1907 using SK Biathlon Sport. (I shot the 50m 1/2 inch group challenge with SK Biathlon Sport).
SK's website lists it at 1106 fps, which is 33 fps faster than their Rifle Match ammo, but it is still sub-sonic. (Remember that all published rimfire muzzle velocities are averages, and each lot and within the same lot will vary quite alot).
At 50m I sometimes don't notice the elevation difference over the standard velocity ammo (SK, Lapua, Eley). However at 100m to 200m, that extra 33 fps of the SK Biathlon makes a big difference in dialing elevation.
I find it interesting that the SK Biathlon Sport muzzle velocity is rated slightly faster than their SK Long Range Match ammo.
As far as lube goes, the SK Biathlon lube feels to me to be more dry waxy, less wet slimy than the other SK match ammo.
I thought that one of the functions of lube is to aid in chambering of the bullet without shaving or gouging as it passes the sharp chamber edge?
I do not have experience with the Eley Biathlon ammo to compare. On their website they list their Eley Biathlon Club as 1060 to 1085 fps, which contrasts significantly with SK's Biathlon at 1106 fps. I like that Eley acknowledges that there is a spread of velocity in their product. Whereas SK/Lapua states one number, which we know is an average with unspecified spread.
(No one I know in our club uses CCI ammo for target shooting matches).
SK's website lists it at 1106 fps, which is 33 fps faster than their Rifle Match ammo, but it is still sub-sonic. (Remember that all published rimfire muzzle velocities are averages, and each lot and within the same lot will vary quite alot).
At 50m I sometimes don't notice the elevation difference over the standard velocity ammo (SK, Lapua, Eley). However at 100m to 200m, that extra 33 fps of the SK Biathlon makes a big difference in dialing elevation.
I find it interesting that the SK Biathlon Sport muzzle velocity is rated slightly faster than their SK Long Range Match ammo.
As far as lube goes, the SK Biathlon lube feels to me to be more dry waxy, less wet slimy than the other SK match ammo.
I thought that one of the functions of lube is to aid in chambering of the bullet without shaving or gouging as it passes the sharp chamber edge?
I do not have experience with the Eley Biathlon ammo to compare. On their website they list their Eley Biathlon Club as 1060 to 1085 fps, which contrasts significantly with SK's Biathlon at 1106 fps. I like that Eley acknowledges that there is a spread of velocity in their product. Whereas SK/Lapua states one number, which we know is an average with unspecified spread.
(No one I know in our club uses CCI ammo for target shooting matches).
Brutus
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
All the good and best match ammo comes from Europe.
Winchester has foresaken us long ago and Federal is just a great pretender. Federal hasn't been up to the game since 1988. The year of LA Olympics.
Winchester has foresaken us long ago and Federal is just a great pretender. Federal hasn't been up to the game since 1988. The year of LA Olympics.
Ad shows $97.49 per 50.
Over concentration as akin to too much effort, when I shoot my best groups, I'm almost in a trance, not thinking about my trigger finger and my hand position and my chest swelling, heart beating, the wind and the distance and the rifle and the ammunition and the steaks in the freezer at home.. all's I'm saying is that trying too hard will split your groups as much as not trying hard enough. Placing a good shot is as intuitive as it is calculated. 100% effort for me involves emptying my mind of all the variables. It certainly helps to have considered them prior to getting behind the trigger though... When it is freezing, it's more challenging to do anything outside other than slide around.
Last edited:
No, it doesn't show what you appear to think it does. Perhaps you're unfamiliar with how match ammo is usually sold by dealers such as this one. This ammo, and all other .22LR match ammos sold by this dealer, isn't sold by boxes of 50. They're sold in bricks of ten boxes of 50 for 500 rounds in all. Note that below the price of $97.49 there's this "Buy 10 for $92.59 each and save 6%" That savings is the result of buying a case of ammo.
Clearly a price like $97.49 per box of .22LR ammo doesn't make sense. Besides, nowhere on the ad does it say that the price per box.
Indeed. This explains exactly why shooting in the cold never contributes to good results, no matter how much or how little concentration is behind the shot. Results never get better because it's cold.
Best results in better conditions are usually achieved when concentration gives way to confidence in all the important parts contributing to results, especially in technique, which shouldn't be a checklist of things to do but rather the cumulative consequence of practice. No less important is confidence in the rifle, the ammo, and the wind conditions. When any of these come up short, all else is of little or no avail.
Flush the receiver and bolt and firing pin out with WD - get a rag ready to wipe the gun and switch to a dirty pair of safety glasses as you fire a few rounds - then put a little WD on your fingers and handle the ammo - and load up with slightly slippery hands. This works very well on rimfire. Don't reply to this until you try it.
On centre-fire, wash the action with WD and clean the chamber out perfectly before firing and put a little lube on the locking lugs. Now shoot moose.
On shotgun, same thing - wash it out and wipe it down and shoot - then go back to clean glasses.
Put electricians tape over the muzzle to keep condensation and snow and stuff out if you are going hunting - shoot through it - it does not affect accuracy at all.
On centre-fire, wash the action with WD and clean the chamber out perfectly before firing and put a little lube on the locking lugs. Now shoot moose.
On shotgun, same thing - wash it out and wipe it down and shoot - then go back to clean glasses.
Put electricians tape over the muzzle to keep condensation and snow and stuff out if you are going hunting - shoot through it - it does not affect accuracy at all.
While it's not possible to determine SK lot average MV's from what's on the box, Lapua "averages" can be determined by the lot number. This is done by putting a "3" in front of the first two digits to get the lot's average MV in Lapua test barrels -- e.g. a lot number of 28554/605042 will have a Lapua-rated average of 328 m/s or 1076 fps.
Unfortunately, it doesn't mean much because shooters can't know the MV of any variety of ammo, or even its average MV, until it's chronographed with a particular rifle. The actual average obtained with a chrony may be faster or slower than any information available on a box.
Regarding a big difference in dialing elevation, a round that had an extra 33 fps MV (1106 fps vs 1073 fps) would strike 0.74" and 3.2" higher at 100 and 200 yards respectively, a wee bit more at 100 and 200 meters.
SK Biathlon Sport is "rated" by the manufacturer as having the exact same MV as SK Long Range Match ammo. Any difference between the two observed on published SK charts, such as the one below, is a result of the factory using test barrels of a shorter length with the biathlon ammo (biathlon rifles typically have barrels shorter than position rifles).
Regarding the purpose of lube, while it may offer some help in chambering rounds, its primary function is not to steer rounds into chambers but rather to lubricate the bore to a consistent level to help contribute to consistent ammo performance. This is why "seasoned" or fouled bores will shoot to POA and unfouled bores often will not. In other words, it's necessary to have a consistent coating of lube in the bore to have more consistent ammo behaviour downrange.
When it comes to chambering rounds, if bullets are otherwise being shaved or gouged on their way into the chamber, there are other issues involved that is not the responsibility of the bullet's lubricant to avoid. Lapua biathlon ammo has a different bullet shape to help with chambering; Eley Tenex Biathlon offers a reduced cartridge diameter.
With regard to MV averages offered by different match ammo makers, it's a good thing if Eley provides a range of MVs associated with their products such as Biathlon Club (1060 to 1085 fps). It helps remind shooters that Eley can't tell them what the average MV of their product will actually be in any given rifle. It's worth keeping in mind, however, that this range doesn't really help narrow down what an actual MV might really be. Actual MV will always be the product not so much of barrel length, but rather of bore characteristics.
No, it doesn't show what you appear to think it does. Perhaps you're unfamiliar with how match ammo is usually sold by dealers such as this one. This ammo, and all other .22LR match ammos sold by this dealer, isn't sold by boxes of 50. They're sold in bricks of ten boxes of 50 for 500 rounds in all. Note that below the price of $97.49 there's this "Buy 10 for $92.59 each and save 6%" That savings is the result of buying a case of ammo.
Clearly a price like $97.49 per box of .22LR ammo doesn't make sense. Besides, nowhere on the ad does it say that the price per box.
Shows the price and pictures a box of 50. Pretty plain to me.
Its per brick. Even top end Lapua or Elley isnt 97 dollars a box. Alot of sellers for target 22 ammo only list per brick and some don't usually sell individual boxes.
More plainly, this gets to the point of being wilfully dense. Either that or some folks get something out of digging themselves a deeper hole out of which to climb.
The ammo in question -- and all other match ammos sold at this dealer and others -- is sold by the brick, which is ten 50 round boxes.
Here's another product sold at the same dealer. Although it also shows only a box of 50, most ammo buyers have the resources to understand the price is for a brick, the smallest quantity of the ammo offered.
Below is a similar online page for the same product, SK Biathlon Sport, but this one is from a different dealer. Again, it only shows a box of 50, yet the product is sold by the brick, something that is generally understood by reasonable parties.
If there is still difficulty with this, perhaps you defy remediation.
