New Project: Quest for the quality Target/Match grade ammo

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xopher

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I recently started doing some "english match" shooting using an olympic style rifle.

The guy at the local store recommended i try using subsonic or standard speed ammunication because it does not experience the unnecessary shock of high velocity ammo.

I left the store with a box of:

Federal Gold Match Target
Remington Target 22
Remington Subsonic
Winchester Subsonic

The next day, i headed to the range along with some bulk 22lr (CCI Blazer, Federal Bulk, Winchester 555)

It was clear after shooting 20 or so rounds that the Federal Gold Match Target out performed everything else i had on hand.

At 25 meters (ya.. i know i should be shooting at 50.. but i dont have the correct aperature insert at the moment) most of the ammo, with the exception of the Win 555, resulted in a single hole 5 shot group.

Once i get the right aperature insert (hopefully next week *fingers crossed*) ill start testing the ammo at 50m.

Are there other brands of ammo i should look into buying for testing?

I have been looking for eley and CCI standard velocity but no one seem to carry it...
 
You did not say what sort of rifle you are using.
But in a rifle with real accuracy potential, you should be trying ELEY EPS Match, RWS R50 or 100, or Lapua Master, Midas or Center-X.
Eagleye.
 
Izhmash cm2. It's basically a russian anschutz clone with 12mm 10 shot group capabilities at 50m. It's essentially my training rifle.

I know I should be getting premium stuff but I need decent budget ammo just for training. I've only been on 2 trips with this rifle haha.
 
As people will never tire of telling you, .22 rifles are very finicky about ammunition and it varies from gun to gun (not just the model/brand.)

I do a lot of 100 yd bench rest shooting with my Savage BTVSS. With SK+ my six bull (10 shot groups) average group size is usually about 1.2". I tried Eley Tenex and RWS R50 to see if I could top that. But neither one performed as well in that particular rifle. The RWS was particularly poor.

Expensive match ammunition is made with more care and to closer tolerances, so in theory it should be better. But you can never really know how it will work in your gun until you try it.

But you should try SK+. It's relatively inexpensive for target ammunition so you have little to lose by trying it.
 
For training, the same advice applies. Find some ammunition that gives you consistency. You may not want to afford the best performing ammo for practice but that is the best thing to do. If a lesser grade ammo(poorer performing) is used you have to judge whether any error is the ammo or your performance or a combination of .
You may be fortunate to find consistency in a lower priced and lesser grade ammo. If so try to acquire as much of that type and lot # as you can find.
Saves having to test ammo on a more frequent basis and allows you to focus on practice.

60 shots for score plus sighters in the prone is a demanding discipline - are you shooting in competition ? You may want to check with the other competitors to see what they are using for ammunition.
Keep them in the center.
 
The rifle belongs to my dad and he has been it collecting dust for years. I took it out last weekend and found out it shot like a lazy beam. After my 2 brief range trips, im convinced i want to practice and start competing in the near future (English match style :cool).

My plan is to use this rifle for troubleshooting until the summer. If im still committed to the sport, i may consider looking for a more expensive rifle or a shooting coach from the local range. Luckily in Calgary, we have a club dedicated to this type of shooting.

And yes.. im somewhat happy my rifle likes this cheaper stuff, however, i haven't testing it at 50 meters because i don't have the right inserts at the moment.

I was just exchanging messages with someone on here and they mentioned the Lot of federal gold medal my rifle likes is actually discontinued... i guess ill be going to WSS for some stockpiling soon hahah
 
xopher said:
Izhmash cm2. It's basically a russian anschutz clone with 12mm 10 shot group capabilities at 50m. It's essentially my training rifle.

I know I should be getting premium stuff but I need decent budget ammo just for training. I've only been on 2 trips with this rifle haha.
Click to expand...

I have one of those. I have a First Generation CM2. I tried it out in the indoor range with Lapual Super club. The trigger is excellent and it shot very well. Although it took me a couple tries to figure out the dialing in of the aperture sights. My Russian is non existent.

Here's a picture of the one I have (from the store online sight when it was for sale). Its a neat rifle.

VostockCM-2.jpg


Something to be aware of with Federal Gold. there are two different loads. One is the same as the Federal Eagle 40 grain ammo (The 911 load) and the other is a slower (the 711B load). The slower load is what I use in my Kimber, and is used by Kimber during their factory testing. The difference in accuracy for that rifle between the two different loads is night and day. You'll see a
 
I have a Suhl 150 that is BR prepped, and a 40X Remington.
Both these are very accurate rifles.
I played with a fair amount of different match grade ammos to find what they liked the best.
For the Suhl, It is a certain lot of ELEY EPS [Black Box].
I promptly bought up a couple of cases of that ammo, so I will not have to search again too soon.
Ditto the 40X.
Problem being, top grade match ammo is not cheap.
Starts at around $100.00/brick, and goes right up to $185.00/brick
For practice, or in a 22 that is not a true match rifle, a lesser offering from several sources will probably fit your budget.
For example, in the 40X, one lot of RWS Rifle match [less than ½ the price of R50] comes close enough that it works well for practice, and does not break the bank.
The one problem with run-of-the-mill ammo, is the occasional "blooper" that is certain to show up.
This can open a perfectly acceptable group up to double size or more, or ruin a potential score completely.
This tends to be very frustrating.
This is also the reason why we never take such ammo to a competition.
But if you are happy to tolerate the odd "flyer" with common ammo, then I say, enjoy.
Regards, Eagleye.
Suhl50Mtarget1007.jpg

50M40XgroupEleyblack.jpg
 
xopher said:
I did notice that. I am currently using the 711B load
Click to expand...

One further note on 711B. I was told by a Federal customer rep that 711B is identical to load 714. He said that 711B is repackaged especially for ####'s Sporting Goods and for export sales and sold as 714. The 714 comes in a blue box that looks the same as the (much less accurate) high velocity 510, so you have to look carefully for the load number.

Load 714 has been very popular around here. Not surprising, since it sells for a fraction of the price of the red Gold Medal lines. Lately the supply at local retailers has dried up and I hope that situation changes soon.

Anyway, if you can find any 714 it's an outstanding practice ammo.
 
Take my money!! Haha

Are you referring tO the federal champion stuff? Before I got into this precision stuff I didn't even know about these difference in ammo.

Thanks for the heads up.
 
that green box eley mmattox recommended has been shooting very well for a lot of shooters and its not all that expensive. Can Tire in red deer carries red box eley, although I have not found the lot to be great shooting. you may have to mail order a couple of diffferent bricks from online sponsors. I am going through the same thing, looking for perfect ammo for rifles at the moment, its frustrating for sure.
 
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