Just did my best grouping. Still learning though

T

Tinybear

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Been having a bit of fun with my two savage rifles (A22f in a Boyd’s AtOne stock, and Mark II FV).

This week I managed my best groupings yet with the A22. Only shooting 25 yards but for 5 separate 5 shot groups all within ruffly 1/2inch. Not perfect but I still learning and it was -10* out(did I get my excuses right?). Shot 150rnds that day with 5 FTF AND 2 FTE. Shooting Winchester super x round nose. Both my rifles seem to prefer the cci minimags so trying to just burn threw the Winchester stuff (haven’t tried it in the Browning SA22 yet should leave a box for it to try I guess)

That being said although I shoot better with the A22. I much prefer shooting the Mark II. Have contemplated selling the a22 in favour of getting a nice CZ but it shoots so well I can’t bring myself to do it.

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You did nice! With cheap ammo, that's probably the best you can possibly have (around 1" at 50y)
If you want to improve your grouping to shoot 50-100y, you will have to use better ammo. I like SK. Something in the 10$+ a box.
 
legi0n said:
question about the A22, how easy is it to strip-clean without taking the scope off?
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Honestly it’s really not much harder than A bolt action. Running a bushnell banner 3-9x40 on a weaver base with Burris medium signature series rings. At this height I can still remove the dust cover and bolt and still run a cleaning rod threw the back of the rifle without issue. If eye piece was any larger I’d need to run higher rings. Its a bit more work than the Mark II but really not by much.
 
Tinybear said:
Honestly it’s really not much harder than A bolt action. Running a bushnell banner 3-9x40 on a weaver base with Burris medium signature series rings. At this height I can still remove the dust cover and bolt and still run a cleaning rod threw the back of the rifle without issue. If eye piece was any larger I’d need to run higher rings. Its a bit more work than the Mark II but really not by much.
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thanks
 
wesson357 said:
You did nice! With cheap ammo, that's probably the best you can possibly have (around 1" at 50y)
If you want to improve your grouping to shoot 50-100y, you will have to use better ammo. I like SK. Something in the 10$+ a box.
Click to expand...

My range only has the 25 yard and the 100 yard range. Haven’t braved the 100yard yet. Hoping to give that a go this week but will likely bring the .223 rifle this round as yet to shoot it. Really wish we had a 50yard option as I not sure if I will see my hits at 100yards with the 2-7 or 3-9 scopes on my mark II or A22 respectively. Find it very hard to see my hits at 25 yards without the scopes.

Don’t know how many clicks I need to dial with my 22s zeroed at 25yards?

Better 22 ammo will be purchased but figured not worth doing that till warmer weather arrives?
 
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Nice groups, I have an Anschutz CIL 310, found grouping to be very subject to the ammo. Standard velocity seems the best at 25 and 50 yards.
 
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Tinybear said:
Don’t know how many clicks I need to dial with my 22s zeroed at 25yards?
Click to expand...

I ran a rough calculation on CCI minimag assuming a 1235fps muzzle velocity and 1.75" scope axis above bore axis
@100yds you're looking at -5.3" which at 1/4MOA per click is 21 clicks

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Tinybear, Good shooting with some nice rifles. I'd go with selling the A22 and it should finance most of a CZ with that Boyds stock. I got an A22 for a great price but I hate the trigger and the fact it's Not-user-friendly. The OEM pull of ca 5# is terrible and I've spent hours f'n to get it down to about 2#, including putting a 'Varmint' trigger spring from USA. Mine's 'going away' and I just bought a CZ off EE today :):):):)
I'd like to suggest you try to find some SV ammo to get better accuracy when you go for a longer distance. And your A22 will cycle SV just as well as HV, then you can save the Win for tin cans or sell it to get better ammo. CCI-SV shoots well, as does Federal Champion 40g-RNL-SV (not the 36g stuff). SK+ is a good 'mid-price' round if you can find some at a good price. :rolleyes:
 
Tinybear, I just 'shopped' 22-ammo and found that the Fed Champion is 1240fps, not SV. But it does shoot well.
ALSO good prices on other ammo, if you need some. Always consider shipping costs, too. Only a few sponsors will ship ammo for Free. http s://ammobin.ca/en/rimfire/.22%20LR
 
For now I think my best idea is to just invest time at the range with what I got. For ammo I’m good for a little while as I still have a bunch of the Winchester stuff and a lot of mini mags. Also have some Aguila (standard velocity) to try. I bought all higer velocity stuff as my first two rim fires where semi. The mark II is the most recent addition. Will likely pick up some CCI SV once i burn threw the rest of the Winchester stuff and run that in the mark II and the mini mags in the A22

As nice as a CZ would be I think at this stage I will be the limiting factor far more than any of the equipment.

My A22 shoots well for me and though I enjoy the bolt action more I do shoot better with the A22. The trigger on mine is great pretty much identical to that of the Mark II.

If anything I going to invest in some prescription shooting glasses (don’t NEED them yet but going that way) which I think will help me when shooting my other 22 (Belgian made Browning SA22 with open sights). Also will likely get another scope for the Mark II that has parallax adjustment as the vortex on it has the crosshairs moving all over at the 25 yard range. Down side there is I really liked the small form factor and how low I got it on the gun with the 2-7x32 setup.

And lastly. Thanks for the ballistic calculations. Will try getting out there with one of the 22s on the weekend after I do my couple rounds at the trap field.
 
When shooting Silhouette, some accuracy tests were performed but I really did not have a plan.
Five shot groups looked good but stretching it to 100 yards/metres proved the inadequacies in various brands and lots.
When BR50 was practiced, my mentor explained his routine. He would acquire as many boxes of a brand that could be supplied at a later date in cases.
Each box would be tested by shooting five ten-shot groups at 50 yards. The only change I have made is testing at 100 yards.
Buying a box of each brand you can afford is a good starting point but shoot the whole box with consistent conditions. Wind flags are an asset.
When High velocity ammo gives consistent velocity, it too will produce good groups.
Generally, standard velocity will produce better groups at distance as it is not going through the sound barrier before it gets to 100 yards.
Thinking your rifle really likes high velocity at closer ranges will make either the rifle, the ammunition or you look like a liar at 100.
Cleaning your rifle between different brands has some merit but my testing will be of one brand where the lubricant is the same, ie. Eley Match grades.
Switching between lead bullets and copper coated or whatever "golden" is requires a few rounds to coat the bore whether you clean or not.
Keep trying . . . ammo that shows poor grouping can still be used to practice techniques like breathing control, trigger and sight picture.
When shooting, following that round all the way to the target is a method to maintain your sight picture and being able to call your shot.
BTW: Counting your shots where a string of 4 or 5 form a line, a quick addition of .22 + .22 + .22, etc. suddenly shows a groups that is over 0.60 and sometimes 3/4 inch.
Checking the groups in the 1/2" challenge will show you that 0.50 and better groups are the routine at 50 yards and over.
 
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Forgot to say, with the A22 (pencil barrel in synth stock) I'm getting sub-1" groups of 5 at 50-yds. using Fed Auto-Match and Herters .22 HV. And with SK FlatNose Basic SV also under 1". My B22 is grouping 0.50 to 1", but I mostly shoot 'singles' at a page of dots, trying to keep within 0.5 of the dot. Both rifles have 6-24x50 scopes so I also need to keep focused on steady aim 'form'.
 
Updated the rifles a bit. And started shooting CCI SV and SK Flat nose Match. Replaced the 2-7 scope on the Mark II with a 4-12 and added a bipod to it. Used the Vortex for the takedown Ruger I picked up instead.

Went out Sunday and managed far better groupings with the mark II (especially with the SK ammo though it had some failures to eject while the cci ran flawless)

Haven’t had the A22 since this original post. So going try getting it back out and see how it compares now with the mark II especially with the better ammo.

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Keep the MkII... sell the A22 and upgrade your optics.

A simple bedding of the mkII... load up some SK rifle match and enjoy. do test different lots of SK rifle match and you will know when you have found the right batch.

Double the spring on the bolt and/or change the extractors... call Savage Canada for parts which they ship for free as this has been an ongoing problem.

From there enjoy.... if yours shoots like mind did (was also a FV HB), you will have no issues keeping with most any factory rifle out to 250yds... 350yds when the conditions are right.

Jerry
 
Tinybear said:
For now I think my best idea is to just invest time at the range with what I got. For ammo I’m good for a little while as I still have a bunch of the Winchester stuff and a lot of mini mags. Also have some Aguila (standard velocity) to try. I bought all higer velocity stuff as my first two rim fires where semi. The mark II is the most recent addition. Will likely pick up some CCI SV once i burn threw the rest of the Winchester stuff and run that in the mark II and the mini mags in the A22

As nice as a CZ would be I think at this stage I will be the limiting factor far more than any of the equipment.

My A22 shoots well for me and though I enjoy the bolt action more I do shoot better with the A22. The trigger on mine is great pretty much identical to that of the Mark II.

If anything I going to invest in some prescription shooting glasses (don’t NEED them yet but going that way) which I think will help me when shooting my other 22 (Belgian made Browning SA22 with open sights). Also will likely get another scope for the Mark II that has parallax adjustment as the vortex on it has the crosshairs moving all over at the 25 yard range. Down side there is I really liked the small form factor and how low I got it on the gun with the 2-7x32 setup.

And lastly. Thanks for the ballistic calculations. Will try getting out there with one of the 22s on the weekend after I do my couple rounds at the trap field.
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I can't really comment on accuracy results @ 25 yards or 100 yards using 22LR, as I don't shoot at those distances. Looks like pretty good shooting though, and I applaud the OP's enthusiasm chasing accuracy! It's as complicated, and as expensive a pursuit as you want it to be. I think we all fall somewhere on that upward curve. For me, the fun starts to grind to a halt when it comes to discussions about barrel tuners, measuring rim thickness, buying ammo based on lots, etc. Not a criticism, as every year I read articles about all of those and consider whether or not they'll bring value to my enjoyment of the sport.

Re: this post^, obviously none of us want ammo to go to waste (especially the way prices are going) but often the path to consistent/accurate results means you have to be honest with what's shooting well and what isn't. Meaning, even if you have a stockpile of an ammo type...and it's not shooting accurately...maybe it gets dry-docked in favor of better-shooting ammo? It might work perfectly in a gun, or application down the road=keep it cool and dry. I guess it depends what the expectations are, and how much time you have. For me, free time often feels like it's in short supply..so when it's time for a day of shooting, I'm pretty focused on one gun, with a decent scope, and ammo it shoots well. IF it's a new gun, figuring out what ammo it shoots well is the first priority, and I'll take as much time as required to answer the question.

CZ vs Savage-there are countless discussions about this on CGN, and other forums. I personally haven't found Savage 22s (Even bolt guns) to shoot as well as CZs, but I'm talking factory guns with no modifications other than trigger work. Sometimes I re-work them, sometimes aftermarket spring kits like Yo Dave, MCARBO, or even aftermarket triggers themselves. (ie, Rifle Basix)

As much 22 as I shoot, and as many as I've owned, Jerry @ Mystic Precision has probably forgotten more about the topic than I've ever known. :)
 
Looks like some good shooting! I am not a "good shot", like some of the fellows I know. Years ago, a friend of mine used to come to my place and outshoot me with my guns all the time. My rimfires are all tuned to "minute of gopher", using whatever hollow point stuff is available. I am shooting .22lr ammo that might be 30 years old, might be latest purchase.
 
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