Can bad ammo cause serious accuracy issues?

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BK85

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Hi all,

Looking for some insight from more experienced shooters. I've been shooting quite a bit with my Ruger SR22 rifle the last couple of days. I shot 500 rounds of CCI Blazer 40gr, boxed in 50 round boxes. I was getting about 1.5" 10-round grouping at 50 yards.

I went to purchase some more of this ammo and all they had was CCI Blazer 38gr sold in a milk carton (425 rounds). My shots are everywhere now. No kidding, my best 10-round grouping are around 6-8 inches at 50 yards.

After about 100 rounds of the 38gr, I though my barrel might be dirty, so I went home, cleaned the whole rifle, and went back to the range day or two later. Same results.

I'm also having a LOT of FTE. I also noticed that most of the time when I get a FTE, the round doesn't make the same sound as usual when fired.

Could all of this be caused by crappy ammo?

Thanks!
 
Are you using an optic or open sights? Check your rifle and sights/mounts to make sure nothing is loose. If the rifle and/or optic is working fine then it could very well be the ammo. Some rifles just shoot better with different brands and/or bullet weights. Good luck.
 
BK85 said:
Hi all,

Looking for some insight from more experienced shooters. I've been shooting quite a bit with my Ruger SR22 rifle the last couple of days. I shot 500 rounds of CCI Blazer 40gr, boxed in 50 round boxes. I was getting about 1.5" 10-round grouping at 50 yards.

I went to purchase some more of this ammo and all they had was CCI Blazer 38gr sold in a milk carton (425 rounds). My shots are everywhere now. No kidding, my best 10-round grouping are around 6-8 inches at 50 yards.

After about 100 rounds of the 38gr, I though my barrel might be dirty, so I went home, cleaned the whole rifle, and went back to the range day or two later. Same results.

I'm also having a LOT of FTE. I also noticed that most of the time when I get a FTE, the round doesn't make the same sound as usual when fired.

Could all of this be caused by crappy ammo?

Thanks!
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I shot alot of CCI Blazer, in my opinion the bulk ammo is not near the quality of the ammo in the 50 round boxes.
I have experienced the same issues.
 
astuart44 said:
Are you using an optic or open sights? Check your rifle and sights/mounts to make sure nothing is loose. If the rifle and/or optic is working fine then it could very well be the ammo. Some rifles just shoot better with different brands and/or bullet weights. Good luck.
Click to expand...
I'm using a 3-12 scope, everything is tight and correctly mounted.
 
Generally the ammo in bulk containers is lower quality, just made for 'killing pop cans'. Even tho your rifle isn't 'the most accurate' I'd spend a bit more, like CCI-SV OR Mini-Mags. I've found them waayy more consistent and thus more accurate.
 
Some ammo is very poor when it comes to accuracy performance. There are a number of reasons why ammo can be inconsistent. Visual inspection won't reveal most of these problems. No barrel can "fix" poorly shooting, inconsistent ammo to make it shoot well.

If the OP is concerned about a change in his rifle causing poor performance, the simplest way to test for this is to shoot his "better" ammo and the other ammo the same day under similar conditions. Then compare the results.
 
Thanks for the replies all, I went and bought a new batch of the 40gr Blazer I originally used and will try that out at the range tomorrow after work.
 
My Sav 64 can do better than 1.5" @ 50 yds. And a MKII Sav should too - I don't have one, I went for the B22FV instead and get under .5" often, tho now always.
 
OkayShooter said:
I honestly think, in a stock 10/22 esp a SR22, the accuracy will only slightly improve. I cannot do on a good day any less than 2" at 100 with mine. They have their limitations.
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Like the title asks: "Can bad ammo cause serious accuracy issues?"

Bad ammo can certainly cause serious accuracy issues; good ammo will not necessisairily fix accuracy issues.
 
6-8 inches at 50 yards is rather extreme, I tend to avoid purchasing any ammo that could possibly perform so poorly so I can't relate from experience. If it's not SK, Lapua, RWS or Eley, I don't shoot it. That said, some SK ammo I have will shoot 2-3 inch groups at 50 yards and I consider that a serious accuracy issue. It's all relative to expectations. Heck, I'd even consider the 1.5" groups an accuracy issue. Yes, there is ammo out there that should qualify as defective and entitle the purchaser to refund or replacement. When you have plenty of experience with a certain rifle, you can tell within a couple groups if the new ammo is garbage.
 
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