RWS R50~wish I'd never tried it.

[.22LRGUY]

Bought a box of 50 of this stuff maybe a year ago, but never tried it. I did test lots of other good ammo in my Anschutz 64 (SK Rifle Match, Lap. Center-X, etc.) but not this one for some reason, but just as I was contemplating on wrapping-up my shooting session on the weekend (due to the mosquito situation) I loaded a mag with the RWS R50 and and the first 3 shots appeared to go through the same hole @ 55 yards. Round 4/4 (never loaded 5) landed about 1/4" away, but I'll blame that on biting insects. I was blowing one away from my right hand so I wouldn't lose my hold. lol

Anyhow, the three didn't go through the same hole...but very close!

Today, I started looking around for R50 and well...I think I forgot what that ammo sells for! lol I will get more, and I will see just what I can do with it in that gun when I'm not being ripped apart by mosquitos.

Do any of you use RWS ammo? What about the R100~any appreciable difference? Only a few bucks more. I've bought bricks of 22 that cost less than a box of 50 of this R50.

 

[Gillis2]

I have tried RWS R50 in several of my rifles. Like with Eley tenex, it does very well in some of my shooters but not that good in others. In all my ammo testing though it seems that Lapua stuff ( center X and Midas plus ) does quite well with almost every rifle.

Gilbert

 

[Evanguy]

Yeah, crazy expencive at 220 plus tax and shipping for 500 rounds. Your looking at 50-60 cents around. Thats near centerfire prices and those you can reload.

Although i do plan on trying a box now.

 

[grauhanen]

R50 is RWS premium ammo. You're going to pay for it. For that reason I've never tried it -- that and it's not available as often as other fare.

I wouldn't get too excited thinking that a small sample reflects how you'd do with that ammo all the time. I've shot plenty of one hole groups measuring in the .1's only to follow them with groups that didn't look very good. Sometimes it can be hard to tell whether it was a fortuitous set of circumstances that produced the exceptional accuracy or the shooter really had it all together and was in a real groove. The proof in the pudding is, as always, being able to produce a consistent number of groups that are good. And too often that is easier said than done.

 

[coleman1495]

R50 is RWS premium ammo. You're going to pay for it. For that reason I've never tried it -- that and it's not available as often as other fare.

I wouldn't get too excited thinking that a small sample reflects how you'd do with that ammo all the time. I've shot plenty of one hole groups measuring in the .1's only to follow them with groups that didn't look very good. Sometimes it can be hard to tell whether it was a fortuitous set of circumstances that produced the exceptional accuracy or the shooter really had it all together and was in a real groove. The proof in the pudding is, as always, being able to produce a consistent number of groups that are good. And too often that is easier said than done.

What do you recommend then, Eley?

 

[RabidM4U5]

Do any of you use RWS ammo? What about the R100~any appreciable difference? Only a few bucks more. I've bought bricks of 22 that cost less than a box of 50 of this R50.

I've shot a few different lots of R-50 and R-100 over the last couple years, just a brick of whatever random lot the supplier had at the time (none available there when I made my last ammo purchase). It's been generally good, not every rifle shoots it well, some lot-to-lot variability. R-100 is a supersonic round, my results with it have been typically a notch behind the R-50. I've also shot some of the Special Match that was quite good, better than some lots of R-50 (kinda like how some Center-X is better than Midas+), so have a look at that too, it's a little easier on the wallet. For more everyday shooting, if your rifle seems to be liking RWS, try out some Rifle Match and Target Rifle. It should shoot most groups well under 1/2" at 50 yards.

This target shows 10 five-shot groups of two lots of R-50, one lot of Special Match, and one lot of Rifle Match. Whole boxes of ammo on one target, no cherry pickin'. You might not need to buy R-50 to get results you're happy with.

 

[grauhanen]

What do you recommend then, Eley?

I would recommend buying the ammo you can best afford to shoot more rather than less. For example SK and Lapua ammo usually does well in Anschutz rifles, some of it of course better than others. I'd like to shoot Midas + all the time but at $200 per brick (a little less if buying a case) I don't shoot it very often. The same goes for Center X ammo. I just can't afford to shoot it all the time at $135ish per brick. The thing is I like to shoot a lot, so I shoot more affordable ammo as well as the "better stuff". If I didn't, I'd run out of ammo before long.

To sum up, get ammo that you can afford to shoot as often as possible while still giving yourself a reasonable chance to see that your practice is paying off. I'm not referring to any bulk ammo, rather standard velocity entry level match ammo made by SK, Eley, or RWS. (Lapua doesn't have any "inexpensive" ammo line, leaving it to SK, which is part of the enterprise that owns Lapua.) Even practicing with affordable CCI SV is better than shooting a couple of boxes of top tier ammo like Eley Tenex, Lapua Midas +, or RWS R50. The ammo doesn't make the shooter shine nearly as much as does practice and more practice. Hold off spending $20 - $25 per box of ammo until you and your rifle are shooting as consistently as possible as your ammo of choice allows.

If you're an experienced veteran of precision shooting and have a good rifle capable of excellent accuracy, you can get very good results with ammo that isn't as expensive as the top varieties of Eley, Lapua, or RWS. By that point you may note that some lots can produce results that are a little better or worse than others. Of course if you're at that stage you don't need any advice from these pages, certainly not mine.

 

[.22LRGUY]

I would recommend buying the ammo you can best afford to shoot more rather than less. For example SK and Lapua ammo usually does well in Anschutz rifles, some of it of course better than others. I'd like to shoot Midas + all the time but at $200 per brick (a little less if buying a case) I don't shoot it very often. The same goes for Center X ammo. I just can't afford to shoot it all the time at $135ish per brick. The thing is I like to shoot a lot, so I shoot more affordable ammo as well as the "better stuff". If I didn't, I'd run out of ammo before long.

To sum up, get ammo that you can afford to shoot as often as possible while still giving yourself a reasonable chance to see that your practice is paying off. I'm not referring to any bulk ammo, rather standard velocity entry level match ammo made by SK, Eley, or RWS. (Lapua doesn't have any "inexpensive" ammo line, leaving it to SK, which is part of the enterprise that owns Lapua.) Even practicing with affordable CCI SV is better than shooting a couple of boxes of top tier ammo like Eley Tenex, Lapua Midas +, or RWS R50. The ammo doesn't make the shooter shine nearly as much as does practice and more practice. Hold off spending $20 - $25 per box of ammo until you and your rifle are shooting as consistently as possible as your ammo of choice allows.

If you're an experienced veteran of precision shooting and have a good rifle capable of excellent accuracy, you can get very good results with ammo that isn't as expensive as the top varieties of Eley, Lapua, or RWS. By that point you may note that some lots can produce results that are a little better or worse than others. Of course if you're at that stage you don't need any advice from these pages, certainly not mine.

Solid advice. I also agree with not hanging my hat on R50 as being excellent all the time. I learned that about my new CZ452 16" er as well. I got 2 really good groups with Eley "Action" during the initial testing and having bought a couple more boxes...I could only replicate the results 1 more time out of 100 rounds. lol I mean, it shot decently...but no better than CCI SV which I have allot more of, and it's easier to get.

My 64 shoots SK Rifle Match very well, an it's literally half the price of the R50 @ about $100 a brick. But, day in/day out...like grauhanen probably...I shoot what performs best at around $5-$6 a box so I can blast away to my heart's content without worrying about ammo cost. lol

...and I do handload so I'm keenly aware of per-shot price with the R50. Still, fun to play with caviar-grade ammo sometimes.