22LR Ammunition testing procedure?
- Thread starter MilRad
- Start date
There will be plenty of opinions about how to do this task. I enjoy testing ammunition and have had (what I think is) great success with the following from the folks at Rim Fire Central:
I was taught the following testing routine. It has served me well:
For each brand and type of ammunition start with a completely clean rifle.
Fire one fouling round for each inch of barrel length in order to completely lube the barrel.
Fire ten 5-shot groups with the ammunition being tested.
Measure each of the 5-shot groups and calculate the average group size.
To be completely fair, you need to have weather conditions and time of day to be as identical as possible.
Having a set of wind flags and knowing how to use them will greatly improve the reliability of your results.
Now completely clean the rifle again and start all over again with the next brand and type of ammunition you want to test.
https://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=503961&highlight=Ammunition+testing+procedure
There are plenty of options as to what ammunition to start with, and supply places that sell sampler packs. I decided how much money I thought a box of 50 .22LR should cost and let that flavour my decision. Generally, more expensive ammunition works better, but let your rifle tell you what it likes.
My Anschutz rifles both like SK ammunition at 7 to 10 dollars a box, but do better with more expensive fodder.
Enjoy the testing!
I was taught the following testing routine. It has served me well:
For each brand and type of ammunition start with a completely clean rifle.
Fire one fouling round for each inch of barrel length in order to completely lube the barrel.
Fire ten 5-shot groups with the ammunition being tested.
Measure each of the 5-shot groups and calculate the average group size.
To be completely fair, you need to have weather conditions and time of day to be as identical as possible.
Having a set of wind flags and knowing how to use them will greatly improve the reliability of your results.
Now completely clean the rifle again and start all over again with the next brand and type of ammunition you want to test.
https://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=503961&highlight=Ammunition+testing+procedure
There are plenty of options as to what ammunition to start with, and supply places that sell sampler packs. I decided how much money I thought a box of 50 .22LR should cost and let that flavour my decision. Generally, more expensive ammunition works better, but let your rifle tell you what it likes.
My Anschutz rifles both like SK ammunition at 7 to 10 dollars a box, but do better with more expensive fodder.
Enjoy the testing!
Drafted this some time ago and have made changes from time to time. Don't do a complete scrub of your barrel. Read and take from it what you want.
My testing for ammo purchases is done without the tuner and over wind flags. Make certain your supplier can supply a case or whatever. There is currently about 7000 rounds of the same lot in my stash.
Testing ammo has a number of theories and if you are shooting where ten shots per target is the competition then ten shot groups suggests that 10 shot testing has a purpose. If you are not shooting over flags it may be pointless.
A target with 5 targets will allow keeping of records when every group is shot in a sequence and is the same throughout the test. Always start with a clean barrel and the first target is always #1. Keep track of the first shot . . . is it always a flyer and does it always go to the same location? Discounting a first shot flyer is acceptable but the entire 10 shots should be studied to reveal differences when re-coating the barrel after cleaning.
Now on to target 2 and through #5. When ammo fails to deliver acceptable groups, the test may conclude. This now becomes practice or fouling ammo. Clean and start over with a different lot number. A quick and simple clean with one dry patch maintains consistency and works satisfactorily if staying with the same brand . . . Eley, RWS or Lapua use the same lube with their match lines which is what I am comparing. If changing brands use a similar or consistent clean when starting with a new brand. When doing a complete clean with solvents etc. some rifles require a number of rounds to re-coat with the new lube stabilize results. This is a problem if the groups fail to stabilize within 50 rounds.
When establishing the best accuracy all five targets need to be factored in. The exception may be with flyers in the first group so learn what you can from #1.
Shooting competitions at 100 will warrant testing at 100 but when shooting at both 100/50 then testing the same ammo at the different distances may expose a preference.
For those with a tuner, testing without the tuner is recommended. Once the best ammo is established then further testing with the tuner is in order. A tuner should not be used anticipating it will make bad ammo better.
Testing ammo is done to establish a larger purchase like a case. A test where your supplier cannot supply a case of the same lot is a waste of time and ammo. A test done with the intention of buying a case should be discussed with your supplier beforehand. Don't expect that case to be available if you take more than a month to complete your tests.
A couple of points to ponder . . . The lot numbers on CCI mean absolutely nothing. Lot numbers with higher grades of ammo has greater meaning. Eley lot numbers on their EPS match grade will give the YOM and the product machine line, the number of the lot off that machine in the YOM. Velocity as averaged from their four test rifles. Velocity is no longer published on the box so you need to go on line if required. If all four rifles likes that lot number it is packaged as TENEX, MATCH suggests 3 rifles had a preference and after that it is TEAM. A run is 30 to 35 thousand rounds an ends when the billet of lead runs out.
A good five shot group means nothing; better is a ten-shot group; best is five 10-shot groups . . . use a whole box.
My testing for ammo purchases is done without the tuner and over wind flags. Make certain your supplier can supply a case or whatever. There is currently about 7000 rounds of the same lot in my stash.
Testing ammo has a number of theories and if you are shooting where ten shots per target is the competition then ten shot groups suggests that 10 shot testing has a purpose. If you are not shooting over flags it may be pointless.
A target with 5 targets will allow keeping of records when every group is shot in a sequence and is the same throughout the test. Always start with a clean barrel and the first target is always #1. Keep track of the first shot . . . is it always a flyer and does it always go to the same location? Discounting a first shot flyer is acceptable but the entire 10 shots should be studied to reveal differences when re-coating the barrel after cleaning.
Now on to target 2 and through #5. When ammo fails to deliver acceptable groups, the test may conclude. This now becomes practice or fouling ammo. Clean and start over with a different lot number. A quick and simple clean with one dry patch maintains consistency and works satisfactorily if staying with the same brand . . . Eley, RWS or Lapua use the same lube with their match lines which is what I am comparing. If changing brands use a similar or consistent clean when starting with a new brand. When doing a complete clean with solvents etc. some rifles require a number of rounds to re-coat with the new lube stabilize results. This is a problem if the groups fail to stabilize within 50 rounds.
When establishing the best accuracy all five targets need to be factored in. The exception may be with flyers in the first group so learn what you can from #1.
Shooting competitions at 100 will warrant testing at 100 but when shooting at both 100/50 then testing the same ammo at the different distances may expose a preference.
For those with a tuner, testing without the tuner is recommended. Once the best ammo is established then further testing with the tuner is in order. A tuner should not be used anticipating it will make bad ammo better.
Testing ammo is done to establish a larger purchase like a case. A test where your supplier cannot supply a case of the same lot is a waste of time and ammo. A test done with the intention of buying a case should be discussed with your supplier beforehand. Don't expect that case to be available if you take more than a month to complete your tests.
A couple of points to ponder . . . The lot numbers on CCI mean absolutely nothing. Lot numbers with higher grades of ammo has greater meaning. Eley lot numbers on their EPS match grade will give the YOM and the product machine line, the number of the lot off that machine in the YOM. Velocity as averaged from their four test rifles. Velocity is no longer published on the box so you need to go on line if required. If all four rifles likes that lot number it is packaged as TENEX, MATCH suggests 3 rifles had a preference and after that it is TEAM. A run is 30 to 35 thousand rounds an ends when the billet of lead runs out.
A good five shot group means nothing; better is a ten-shot group; best is five 10-shot groups . . . use a whole box.
Horseman2, great info, lots to ponder ESPECIALLY the part about "your supplier cannot supply a case of the same lot is a waste of time & ammo". My own fault, waited too long but when I LUCKED upon a great lot of S&K PLUS.........it was gone. That lot of S&K was not as good/consistent as Centre-X but at 1/2 the price it was great practice ammo.
What kind of rifle are you testing?
When testing ammo for a rifle for which accuracy expectations are reasonably high, one of the most important things to keep in mind when testing .22LR match ammo is that you are not looking for the brand or variety your rifle likes. That is to say, you are not looking for whether your rifle "likes" SK Standard Plus more or less than SK Rifle Match or Lapua Center X or whether it likes Eley Target more or less than it likes Eley Club or Eley Team. And you are not looking for whether your rifle prefers Eley or Lapua or SK or RWS.
Looking for these is generally meaningless. Why? Every match ammo variety is made in batches called lots. Any batch or lot of one variety of ammo, SK Rifle Match for example, may shoot differently from other lots. In other words, not all lots of SK Rifle Match, to continue with that as an example, will necessarily shoot the same.
This is true for less expensive, entry level match ammo and the top tier, most expensive match ammo. I've had a few lots of Midas + shoot very, very well indeed and other lots of the same ammo shoot so poorly that it can't be relied upon to shoot five consecutive sub-.500" groups at 50 yards. The same is true for every variety of match ammo.
What you are looking for are what lots of a particular ammo will shoot well in your rifle. If your rifle has more modest accuracy expectations, it would be reasonable to begin with entry level match ammo as a starting point. These would include the SK line of ammo, Eley Sport and Club, the RWS Sport line of ammo (in the orange and black boxes) such as RWS Club and Target Rifle.
If you are shooting ammo from the same family of ammos -- that is ammo made by the same manufacturer -- it is less important to clean between different varieties of that ammo as they will be using the same lube/wax. For example, if you're testing Eley, it's not terribly important to clean between using Sport and Club or if you're testing SK, it's not necessary to clean between SK Standard Plus and SK Rifle Match. Note that when you shoot from a bore that is clean, the first few shots may not be going where they should. For a clean bore, it's necessary to shoot some fouling shots to lubricate the barrel with the ammo's lube.
Shooting at 50 yards will provide enough information to identify what ammo is shooting well and what isn't. Shoot as many five or ten-shot groups as you can. Some groups may well vary significantly in size. It's important to gather as much information as you can. A few groups will never tell a sufficiently complete story about the ammo in question.
It's important to compare results obtained under similar conditions. Shooting in windier conditions one day and calm the next can skew the results because the wind can move a .22LR bullet sufficiently to cause inconsistent results. Make sure that you are using a solid rest on as solid a table/bench as possible. Make sure that you don't alter your hold or grip on the rifle while testing as this may contribute to unreliable results.
When testing ammo for a rifle for which accuracy expectations are reasonably high, one of the most important things to keep in mind when testing .22LR match ammo is that you are not looking for the brand or variety your rifle likes. That is to say, you are not looking for whether your rifle "likes" SK Standard Plus more or less than SK Rifle Match or Lapua Center X or whether it likes Eley Target more or less than it likes Eley Club or Eley Team. And you are not looking for whether your rifle prefers Eley or Lapua or SK or RWS.
Looking for these is generally meaningless. Why? Every match ammo variety is made in batches called lots. Any batch or lot of one variety of ammo, SK Rifle Match for example, may shoot differently from other lots. In other words, not all lots of SK Rifle Match, to continue with that as an example, will necessarily shoot the same.
This is true for less expensive, entry level match ammo and the top tier, most expensive match ammo. I've had a few lots of Midas + shoot very, very well indeed and other lots of the same ammo shoot so poorly that it can't be relied upon to shoot five consecutive sub-.500" groups at 50 yards. The same is true for every variety of match ammo.
What you are looking for are what lots of a particular ammo will shoot well in your rifle. If your rifle has more modest accuracy expectations, it would be reasonable to begin with entry level match ammo as a starting point. These would include the SK line of ammo, Eley Sport and Club, the RWS Sport line of ammo (in the orange and black boxes) such as RWS Club and Target Rifle.
If you are shooting ammo from the same family of ammos -- that is ammo made by the same manufacturer -- it is less important to clean between different varieties of that ammo as they will be using the same lube/wax. For example, if you're testing Eley, it's not terribly important to clean between using Sport and Club or if you're testing SK, it's not necessary to clean between SK Standard Plus and SK Rifle Match. Note that when you shoot from a bore that is clean, the first few shots may not be going where they should. For a clean bore, it's necessary to shoot some fouling shots to lubricate the barrel with the ammo's lube.
Shooting at 50 yards will provide enough information to identify what ammo is shooting well and what isn't. Shoot as many five or ten-shot groups as you can. Some groups may well vary significantly in size. It's important to gather as much information as you can. A few groups will never tell a sufficiently complete story about the ammo in question.
It's important to compare results obtained under similar conditions. Shooting in windier conditions one day and calm the next can skew the results because the wind can move a .22LR bullet sufficiently to cause inconsistent results. Make sure that you are using a solid rest on as solid a table/bench as possible. Make sure that you don't alter your hold or grip on the rifle while testing as this may contribute to unreliable results.
I like to do calm day, 100m, on a target grid line paper. I do 10 shot groups. Shot from prone with bipod and rear bag, magnification in the 22-27x range.
I'll shoot at least three 10 round groups for a given ammo (or other gun system combination) I am interested in. I generally take my second best 10 shot group as my "result" that I note down, as I'm not interested in cherry picked results, but it is also reasonable to not consider a group poorly shot or a barrel still "seasoning" to a new ammo.
When switching ammo, I do the same procedure, but I usually do 2x 10 shot groups to "season" and I won't put stock into those groups. Then I shoot the groups I will put stock into. However what I have found is that the 'seasoning' effect is very small and short lived. After the first 10 rounds of a new ammo, all subsequent groups will be about the same.
I'll shoot at least three 10 round groups for a given ammo (or other gun system combination) I am interested in. I generally take my second best 10 shot group as my "result" that I note down, as I'm not interested in cherry picked results, but it is also reasonable to not consider a group poorly shot or a barrel still "seasoning" to a new ammo.
When switching ammo, I do the same procedure, but I usually do 2x 10 shot groups to "season" and I won't put stock into those groups. Then I shoot the groups I will put stock into. However what I have found is that the 'seasoning' effect is very small and short lived. After the first 10 rounds of a new ammo, all subsequent groups will be about the same.
I understand what you're talking about when it comes to testing ammo for "LOT #"s" and not BRAND or BRAND TYPE. It's also understood that different LOT#"S may perform better/worse so you have to test. BUTTTTTT....... certainly SOME ammo NAMES do have a reputation for performing better with most ACCURATE rifles. I wouldn't expect S&K STD to perform as well as Centre-X. Yes, it has given excellent +++ results on 1-2-3-4 targets BUT it will still produce more "flyers" than Centre-X, and most groups are about 1/8" larger @50 yards, at least in my experience. When the good bench shooters decide to test for accuracy what ammo TYPES/ BRANDS do they usually start with???
Thank you grauhanen,
My last test was with Remington Eley Match and the only cleaning between different lots was one pass with a Tipton Felt cleaning pellet.
With only that single pass, the first shot was always high and left. It only goes to my personal standard to keep the testing similar and finding inconsistencies.
The value attached to that one shot would be to include it if part of the group or to discard if not part and parcel of the group.
It happened with the lot selected but right now I do not have the record of how bad it was but it could have easily been the difference between better and best.
To each their own but some ammo will throw that first round farther than the next lot.
My last test was with Remington Eley Match and the only cleaning between different lots was one pass with a Tipton Felt cleaning pellet.
With only that single pass, the first shot was always high and left. It only goes to my personal standard to keep the testing similar and finding inconsistencies.
The value attached to that one shot would be to include it if part of the group or to discard if not part and parcel of the group.
It happened with the lot selected but right now I do not have the record of how bad it was but it could have easily been the difference between better and best.
To each their own but some ammo will throw that first round farther than the next lot.
I don't know how good bench shooters explain this but I'll give it a try. Please forgive the length, but it does have pictures to help.
It's true that some ammo names/varieties have a reputation for performing better than others with most accurate rifles. Remember that this is on average. You would expect that, on average, more expensive ammo varieties, should perform better than less expensive ammo variety. For example, Lapua X-Act should perform better than Lapua Midas + and Lapua Center X -- on average.
Why? These Lapua varieties, like the Eley flat-nosed varieties Tenex, Match, and Team, for example, are made on the same machinery. (For simplicity, I will refer only to the standard rifle match ammos, and leave biathlon-specific and pistol ammo to another discussion.) What distinguishes one variety of Lapua or Eley from another are the quality control standards which they meet. The best is X-Act for Lapua, followed by Midas +, and finally Center X. The same happens with Eley with Tenex meeting the highest standards, followed by Match and Team, respectively. In this process, the best ammo variety has fewer lots produced in a given production run than the other varieties. In other words, Lapua produces more Center X than Midas + or X-Act.
The thing is that despite being produced to higher standards of quality control, there's no way for the manufacturer to guarantee how a particular lot will perform in any rifle until it is tested. The big three match ammo makers -- Lapua, Eley, and RWS -- all test their products. Eley used to have an on-line "Lot Analyser" that showed their test resultsin four different barrels for all lots produced.
Below are some examples of seven random lots of Eley Tenex, the top-tier Eley ammo. The images show four columns, one for each test barrel. Each column shows the results of five ten-shot groups. These results are obtained with the barreled actions in an immovable vise/fixture and the shooting in a tunnel with the results scored electronically.
These results are with Eley Tenex, the "best" that Eley produces, tested in a tunnel with the barred action clamped down. Each ten-shot group shows some of the results that are possible out of 50 rounds (one box). It costs close to $250 per brick at current Canadian prices. One lot seems best, but if there are seven lots at the dealer from which to choose, can you get the best one by having the dealer pick randomly for you? It's not often that a Canadian dealer would have as many as seven different lots of Eley Tenex on hand for shooters to test.
Obviously some lots are better than others across all barrels, and obviously some lots perform better in some barrels rather than others. But it's still Eley's cream of the crop ammo. Eley no longer has the Lot Analyser available on-line. Why? It probably didn't help clarify things for many shooters. They probably were looking for particular lots that shot well in all test barrels. No doubt when such a lot was identified, there was a rush to find it. If it wasn't readily available -- and the number of cases produced of any top-of-the line ammo would be relatively small, probably less than ten, the result would be frustration. In any case, the Eley Lot Analyser has been discontinued.
If a shooter wishes to find a good lot of ammo, he might do well to regard the search as one that is similar to looking for a good car. Everyone knows that on average some cars are better than others. Without pretending to know current auto ratings, let's say for the sake of argument we are looking for a second car for the family, a used one, something like a Honda Civic or a Toyota Corolla, two models that on average generally have a very good reputation for reliability.
The best time to go to the used car dealer, who gets used cars periodically on auctions from across the country. The best way to get a good car is to shop when the dealer has many candidate cars from which to choose. Some may be eliminated on the spot, but test driving them will help make the decision. Furthermore, if you can take some possible candidates to your trusted mechanic, the choice would be easier. You therefore have a good chance of getting a good used Civic or Corolla if you take the appropriate steps of shopping early, test driving, and taking the candidate cars to a trusted mechanic for a closer look.
If, on the other hand, you shop late, when the dealer has few choices of Civics or Corollas left on his used car lot, you are taking a greater risk of getting a car that is not as good as some of the other units the dealer previously had available. In fact, when there are few individual ones available, the ones not chosen by those used car shoppers that were able to pick over the other cars available earlier, the odds increase that those few may not be the best ones that the dealer has had.
All the cars are either Civics or Corollas, models with good reputations for reliability, but each individual car may not be exactly the same as the others. Ammo is like that too. Center X may has a good reputation, but not all individual lots of Center X are the same as the others. Like looking for a good used car, you have to test drive the ammo to make sure it's good for you and your rifle.
An Eley lot number will have 30,000 to 35,000 rounds.
A billet of lead wire produces those rounds and when that billet ends, the new billet becomes another lot.
Eley previously had 6 lines but a recent lot number suggests they are now running 8.
Having no idea how long the tooling lasts, when is the best ammo produced?
Assuming there are minor differences in the lead billets, lube and priming mix . . . what happens when the last box car of powder runs out?
Their efforts to minimize differences is where your testing starts again.
I rather enjoy my testing protocol and hopefully the rest will be as successful as the last one.
While the last test was at 100 yards, can it be applied at 50, and do you have to adjust your tuner for 50 and 100. I don't but it is food for thought.
A billet of lead wire produces those rounds and when that billet ends, the new billet becomes another lot.
Eley previously had 6 lines but a recent lot number suggests they are now running 8.
Having no idea how long the tooling lasts, when is the best ammo produced?
Assuming there are minor differences in the lead billets, lube and priming mix . . . what happens when the last box car of powder runs out?
Their efforts to minimize differences is where your testing starts again.
I rather enjoy my testing protocol and hopefully the rest will be as successful as the last one.
While the last test was at 100 yards, can it be applied at 50, and do you have to adjust your tuner for 50 and 100. I don't but it is food for thought.
