Disappointing results with .22 wmr

[Hollow Point]

got out shooting today with my new Athlon Rangecraft and Henry .22 wmr. using federal 50 gr JHP. With a 24 inch barrel i was expecting faster velocities.
first 5 shot group ran,
1.1161.7 fps (1st shot through the rifle and almost subsonic)
2. 3171.2 fps
3.1365.2 fps
4.1361.5 fps
5.1373 fps
average 1326.5. this Load is advertised as 1550fps. Anyone experience similar results with this ammo?

 

[m1008]

22lr ammo is a crap shoot 22wmr is even worse.
Your rifle isn’t a target rifle small game and tin cans will still die.
Who shoots a lever gun rimfire over a chrono.

Borescope the rifle

 

[True Shadows]

got out shooting today with my new Athlon Rangecraft and Henry .22 wmr. using federal 50 gr JHP. With a 24 inch barrel i was expecting faster velocities.
first 5 shot group ran,
1.1161.7 fps (1st shot through the rifle and almost subsonic)
2. 3171.2 fps
3.1365.2 fps
4.1361.5 fps
5.1373 fps
average 1326.5. this Load is advertised as 1550fps. Anyone experience similar results with this ammo?

How was the accuracy though?

Rimfire is picky. Rarely is the velocity on the box accurate.

My guess is your barrel is too long for this particular ammo.

I get consistent sub MOA groups with the same ammo at 100 yards out of an 18 inch barrel... with only 6X magnification.

 

[struff55]

22lr ammo is a crap shoot 22wmr is even worse.
Your rifle isn’t a target rifle small game and tin cans will still die.
Who shoots a lever gun rimfire over a chrono.

Borescope the rifle

ya a bore scope that will tell you nothing

 

[m1008]

ya a bore scope that will tell you nothing

It’s a joke just like the OP’s concerns

 

[prairie lover]

The only ammo I use in my ruger american is cci maxi mags. The hp version. It chronys faster than the box says averaging 1910. I believe the box says 1875 or something. Shoots good too. Many reviews also find that it's faster than advertised.

 

[Johnyy]

got out shooting today with my new Athlon Rangecraft and Henry .22 wmr. using federal 50 gr JHP. With a 24 inch barrel i was expecting faster velocities.
first 5 shot group ran,
1.1161.7 fps (1st shot through the rifle and almost subsonic)
2. 3171.2 fps
3.1365.2 fps
4.1361.5 fps
5.1373 fps
average 1326.5. this Load is advertised as 1550fps. Anyone experience similar results with this ammo?

This ain't mathin'

 

[gaff]

Get some other brands of ammo. See how they do.

 

[Goo98]

barrel length is too long

 

[45CAT]

Swap brands . They all shoot differently

 

[Rod B]

.22 WRM was never designed to be a "match round".

 

[Grain]

got out shooting today with my new Athlon Rangecraft and Henry .22 wmr. using federal 50 gr JHP. With a 24 inch barrel i was expecting faster velocities.
first 5 shot group ran,
1.1161.7 fps (1st shot through the rifle and almost subsonic)
2. 3171.2 fps
3.1365.2 fps
4.1361.5 fps
5.1373 fps
average 1326.5. this Load is advertised as 1550fps. Anyone experience similar results with this ammo?

That's 'slow' ammo. Shot 6" low at 50 yards compared to Hornady 30gr in one of my CZ's. Try some lighter bullets.

 

[Hunter7]

Try some different ammo. I have good results with any of the 30 grn ammo, especially with the CCI 30 grn VNT. I tried the 50 grn Federals in my gun and accuracy was ok but at 50 yards it wouldn’t even expand on a water jug, just punched a hole through indicating that the velocity wasn’t very high. At 100 yards the 30 grainers would shred a water bottle.

 

[True Shadows]

Try some different ammo. I have good results with any of the 30 grn ammo, especially with the CCI 30 grn VNT. I tried the 50 grn Federals in my gun and accuracy was ok but at 50 yards it wouldn’t even expand on a water jug, just punched a hole through indicating that the velocity wasn’t very high. At 100 yards the 30 grainers would shred a water bottle.

Yeah the 50 grainers are definitely not a good hunting round but they are extremely accurate for shooting groups or plinking.

30 grainers are the least accurate but they are screaming at 2200 fps.

A good compromise is the 40 grain Maxi-mag. They hit hard and are pretty accurate too.

 

[leadchucker62]

Good day: I had 2 22wmr, I was so disappointed with the accuracy, I sold them both and bought a cz527 in 17 Hornady hornet. Very happy now.

Leadchucker

 

[grauhanen]

got out shooting today with my new Athlon Rangecraft and Henry .22 wmr. using federal 50 gr JHP. With a 24 inch barrel i was expecting faster velocities.
first 5 shot group ran,
1.1161.7 fps (1st shot through the rifle and almost subsonic)
2. 3171.2 fps
3.1365.2 fps
4.1361.5 fps
5.1373 fps
average 1326.5. this Load is advertised as 1550fps. Anyone experience similar results with this ammo?

I'm not familiar with the Athlon Rangecraft. Except for the excessive MV of the second, the others seem a few hundred fps slow. Is is possible that the Athlon isn't at the correct settings?

 

[ivobb]

22 WMR is a hunting round very good for what it was designed for

 

[SHELL SHUCKER]

I've owned 2 rifles in 22 WMR over the yrs, a Marlin 982 w/22" barrel& a Stevens 305F w/13" tube. Both had decent accuracy to 80 yds with MaxiMag 40 gr for squirrels and bunnies. I never crony'd 'em though. Tried some 50 gr ammo in them and found it less accurate than the
40 gr stuff which I reckon is due to the 1 in 16" twist of my barrels. The 50 gr bullets are better served by a 1 in 14" twist in my book.

 

[.22LRGUY]

I'm about to start my last dance with 22WMR I figure, so I'll have to report back in the coming weeks...BUT, very few people consider 22WMR to be an accurate caliber compared to most other rimfire. And "accurate" is subjective. But, compared to even 17HMR (in my hands-on experience) it's a far better hunting round and I've seen that too many times to think otherwise.

Anyhow, lever guns can be difficult to shoot with scopes and to really know what a gun likes you have to run a few varieties through and have the gun show YOU it's preference.

For sure, those velocity variances would be having a negative impact on the downrange accuracy.