Ammo Discussion All Rimfire Brands

For me I have found the ammo to be gun-specific . . .

And the reverse might also be true . . . and guns that are ammo-specific.

My Remington 40X has a Lilja barrel that was reamed with an Eley Match reamer.
I have tried some other ammunition but am currently stuck on Remington Eley Match with a velocity of 1062. The results at the Championships was a sore of 1194 - 73X so the only thing left to do is cry when it runs out.
 
YMMV but Ammo is only as good as the conditions, shooting in cold temps and moisture can affect these things differently. Your go-to standard for a particular gun may not work in specific contexts. You make need to look into the overall context to figure out the problem

Personally i find rimfire firearms to be the most picky as a whole but once you give each individual firearm the time it needs to break in,determine and shoot compatible ammo, and in acceptable conditions you can work majority of the kinks out. Obviously this is relative to the firearm and there are a significant number out there that run without such attentions being required, but some need tinkering or the right fit

Always consider a few spare boxes of other ammo to keep in your bags or cases. You could store a tackle box with one box of 10-15 variations and be safe for all situations. Different shaped or weight projectiles and/or speeds can make the action function as intended
 
grauhanen said:
This was surprising and caught my attention. Why do you say that ammo with a higher velocity "comes in handy for dealing with wind holds"?
Click to expand...

Nothing scientific. Its more a hypothesis, and the context was benchrest at 50m, where any extra slight advantage I can get to buck winds just might win me the match....or help me lose less badly.

My local BR 50m range is like a tunnel with the very high berms and narrow width (10 shooting lanes plus a service road on one side). The wind comes over the berms and swirls in chaotic patterns, and also barrels down the service road gap on one side. Flags are going every which way across the lanes. In this chaos, the wind hold is a guess based on what few flags I can see.

Based on the standard wind movement rules: The left to right from 9 o'clock does not always cause the round to drop (to 4 o'clock direction) as it goes right, because the swirl may be bouncing off the ground and moving upwards to the right, having done a swirl and down over the berm before coming across and upwards. Or the swirl can be strongly going down, taking the round to an aggressive 5 o'clock into the 9 or 8 ring on the right. The wind from 3 o'clock going left may not drive the round up to 10 o'clock like its supposed to, and it can go low or high depending on the swirl. My holds are a guess based on what the sighters are telling me, plus what happened on a previous shot that went not as expected according to the wind reading books.

I think most folks have seen "dust devils", little sort of micro tornado funnels of dust and debris at ground level. This winter we had a match (we have a heated shooting house so we can shoot rimfire BR all winter no matter what the weather), when there was dry snow coming down and on the ground, and the wind was whipping up "snow devils" or "snownados" across the range. Not just one, but dozens throughout the match. The concept of linear wind direction where you can read the flags and determine a distance hold was just not what was happening. The strategy was of course to wait for the snownados to pass through, then take as many shots for score until the next wave came through. Our scores were below average in that match!

Anyways, my hypothesis being that any extra velocity in the SK Biathlon Sport is going to help the round do a little better getting to the 10 ring based on where I am guessing to hold. Less time in the air to be worked on by the wind, and a slightly faster spin RPM for added gyroscopic stability.
 
I tried a bunch of different stuff in my T1x. CCI standard velocity and CCI minimag performed the best. Stingers were the worst and thunderbolt in the middle as far as group sizes go. I measured some velocities in 10 shot groups too. Minimag was by far the most consistent. SD of 7, ES of 20.
 
Biologist said:
Nothing scientific. Its more a hypothesis, and the context was benchrest at 50m, where any extra slight advantage I can get to buck winds just might win me the match....or help me lose less badly.


Anyways, my hypothesis being that any extra velocity in the SK Biathlon Sport is going to help the round do a little better getting to the 10 ring based on where I am guessing to hold. Less time in the air to be worked on by the wind, and a slightly faster spin RPM for added gyroscopic stability.
Click to expand...

While it may seem counterintuitive, whatever the winds may be doing, they will affect a faster .22LR bullet more than a slower one. The faster .22LR bullet drifts more with wind than does the slower bullet.
 
Mystic Precision said:
For rifle wrt to LR PRS... I practise with SK Rifle Match... I compete with Lapua CenterX, Midas+ and XACT. Most of the time, it is CX. SK and Lapua use similar powders/lubes so going between types is easy.

For semi HG, I have a Ruger and usually run CCI Blazer or Fed HV.

Jerry
Click to expand...

Another good cheap bulk to try in your SAHG is FED AUTOMATCH. Suprisingly great ammo for the price as a rule. Of course lot numbers will vary
 
Longstud said:
Another good cheap bulk to try in your SAHG is FED AUTOMATCH. Suprisingly great ammo for the price as a rule. Of course lot numbers will vary
Click to expand...

Agreed. I only own one .22lr firearm, the ‘notoriously picky’ Glock 44. I’ve run about 600 rounds of Federal AutoMatch through it and have had one single stovepipe (technically, my range guest had one single stovepipe, and it <almost> cleared before getting caught.

It’s comparatively really clean and is tough to beat at ~$0.10-$0.11 per round. It also hasn’t left any appreciable lead residue in the barrel.
 
It has shot very accurate in three of my pistols. Doesn’t seem t be dirty and has proven completely reliable for me. The price has gone up recently but so has all the other ammo!!
 
For semi autos, there has been no mention yet of how straight blowback actions (unlocked breech) are particularly vulnerable to fouling. I'm no expert, but I'll say it is significant.

The timing of the bolt movement after firing is critical to keeping fouling in the barrel, and this can vary quite a bit depending on the ammunition and how the gun has the timing set (by design). On top of that, people often modify their semiautos in ways that can affect timing.

Anything that makes extraction happen earlier will mean more fouling.
 
I've run A-M for about 10 years, mostly in Sav-64 and Marlin 60. Always cycled these semis and 'fairly accurate' considering the Rifle/Duplex scope combos - ca 1.5 - 2" @ 50. Used to cost ca $20/box, now ca $45+ . . . and I just opened my 'next to last' box. Luckily I've got plenty of 'better'.
 
good to hear about the Auto match in pistols , but will be trying in a PRS rifle soon , local $40

also @ $8/100, want to try the Sellier Bellot 'Canadian Match' that has shown up locally, cannot find info , wondering what makes it 'canadian' special and if it works

Max, tough to get all .22 talk under one thread, too many specific wants and needs
 
alpining said:
For semi autos, there has been no mention yet of how straight blowback actions (unlocked breech) are particularly vulnerable to fouling. I'm no expert, but I'll say it is significant.

The timing of the bolt movement after firing is critical to keeping fouling in the barrel, and this can vary quite a bit depending on the ammunition and how the gun has the timing set (by design). On top of that, people often modify their semiautos in ways that can affect timing.

Anything that makes extraction happen earlier will mean more fouling.
Click to expand...

Fouling really is an ammo thing. I find that US brands are surprisingly clean but the fouling left is hard. Usually have no issue burning through a carton of better HV ammo without any functioning or loss of accuracy. We have rifles that have digested a few thousand rds without cleaning. I run ammo like CCI Blazer and better quality Fed HV. For the race gun type shooting, not had to stop and clean during a blasting session.

Flip side, SK and Lapua foul up very quickly. Due in part to the lube on the ammo, a mud is created quickly. But, it is also super easy to clean. Just use a Qtip and swab it out. The lube suspends the fouling so despite being a gooey mess, a quick wipe and clean. I rarely, if ever see, any hard fouling whether it is in the chamber, throat or action.

I just did a couple of practise sessions without any cleaning using SK RM in my 10/22. 300+rds fired in the 2 times out and the rifle ran 100%. I should give it a clean but I see no issue making it through a PRS day without much fuss.

If the concern is excessive fouling, go back to a factory recoil spring and with match ammo, that will delay the cycling enough to matter.

Jerry
 
boxhitch said:
good to hear about the Auto match in pistols , but will be trying in a PRS rifle soon , local $40

also @ $8/100, want to try the Sellier Bellot 'Canadian Match' that has shown up locally, cannot find info , wondering what makes it 'canadian' special and if it works

Max, tough to get all .22 talk under one thread, too many specific wants and needs
Click to expand...

shooting out to 100yds is pretty forgiving on what can be made to work.. if you want to extend to 300, it will be very obvious an upgrade in ammo types will be necessary. Where abouts are you? I am in Summerland

Jerry
 
Thanx guys. I am open to ALL things rimfire ammo. Various traits of brands/models. And I think here would be a good place to learn from peoples experience.
SFRC had a sale on Federal Automatch where I ordered 3250 rounds. So that along with my 10,000 of Remington Thunderbolts will work for my Glock 44 and lever guns. Maybe the Auto match for a 10/22 Target model. Plus all the “better” ammo types for a CZ 457 LRP model. I do have hopes of getting an Ultimatum Deuce with IBI barrel or a Voo Doo for next shooting season. So all discussion is welcome on the cheap, up to high end ammo.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom