SK Standard Plus vs SK Rifle Match

skwerl

skwerl

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SK Std. + is my base line ammunition
for my .22's , they all (Cooper , Anschutz , CZ)
shoot this consistently well.

Those of you who use SK Rifle Match , is
there a noticeable improvement ?

Other than lot testing would it be
advantageous to leap to higher quality (price)
Center X or RWS 50 ?

What is with that Lapua X-ACT $379.99/brick
any reviews ?

...skwerl
 
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Hi,
My experience is that SK Std + shoots well in most rifles I have tried it. As for Lapua: I find that sometimes Midas + shoots slightly more consistently than center X but it depends of the lot number. As for X-ACT, I have tried and found it to be no better than Midas+. Not worth the astronomical price tag in my book. My experience with RWS R-50 has been the same than with Eley ( even Tenex ). They do not shoot as good as the Lapua stuff in all the rifles ( Anschutz, Vudoos, Walther, CZ etc ) that I have tried.
Gilbert
 
skwerl said:
Other than lot testing would it be
advantageous to leap to higher quality (price)
Center X or RWS 50 ?
Click to expand...

It would be a great advantage if you were fortunate enough that a random pick of CX or R50 shot especially well in your rifle. Do you feel lucky? ;)

There's never a guarantee of how a random lot will shoot in a particular rifle.
 
Even higher end rimfire ammo like CX has fliers... I just ran out of my last brick and switched lot#'s of CX and found some really tight start of groups but more fliers in this lot... I would have 4x cloverleaf then 1x 1/2" out of the group, or 3x cloverleaf at aim point then 2x cloverleaf 1/2" away.

I might have to start weighing and rim thickness sorting this lot...
 
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SK rifle match is supposed to be better vs Std+... however, as you will read time and time again, lot variation can put a higher grade below a lesser grade in some rifles.

It is a function of percentage of 'outs' per given number of rds... and it seems, that grading has a far bit of overlap.

My experimenting with rim thickness showed it to be a flaw sorting process. you can't weight sort lubed ammo.... and yes, you want the lube on your bullets.

for all the metrics I have been able to sort by, NONE have shown any repeatability on target. The stuff we can't see is far more important then the stuff we can identify.

The higher grade the type, the higher the probability the density of the grouping will be tighter, the fewer the flyers, and the lower the dispersion from group center when you get one.

Lot to lot will vary within the range the manf deems appropriate for any type.

If you reload centerfire at a high level, rimfire is a bit of a trainwreck... but it is tons of fun, accept the limitations and scale the targets and game so it doesn't drive you bonkers.

If you are bench score or group shooting, I would now start at the highest grade of the major brands, test lots, invest $$$$ and dont get too angry when you get one go sideways.... cause it looks like sooner or later, you will

Jerry

PS, I just got 2 bricks that had been sitting around for a few years.. .paid alot of money. Results... I know why they have been sitting around all this time. The group density was some of the tightest I have shot at 100yds in multiple rifles but fliers were there ... some little, some WAY out. For me, if this is what XACT continue to be, definitely not worth my money. If it is just a bad lot... you gotta wonder on the level of scrutiny the factory gives to their best of the best. Test a box before investing in a brick... or more
 
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SKRM shoots more consistently for me. Just tried SKSTD in the T1x, best I've seen that stuff shoot. SKSTD seems to have a bit of an edge over CCI SV, but sometimes not enough to justify the buttery fingers. :)
 
Jerry's post above re-states what's important when it comes to rimfire.

His remarks about sorting are correct and are confirmed by serious .22LR shooters.

In addition to those that mentioned, including sorting by weight, sorting by base-to-ogive length can be added. Shooters grasping for improvement may try it, but few, if any, serious BR shooters use it because it doesn't make a difference. If it doesn't improve performance out to 50 or 100 yards, there's no magic that suddenly makes it work further beyond.

There's only one type of sorting that's been reliably and repeatedly shown to work.
 
In the last couple weeks I Chrony-tested 9 diff flavours of .22 ammo, using a Sav B22 FV. The SK+ had an ES of 47 thru 40 rounds, while the Flat-nose was 35 thru 10 rounds. The SK-RM tested at 34 thru 10 rounds and CCI-SV & CCI-MM-HP tested at ES = 30 fps thru 10 rounds each.
Granted these are small numbers (some for 20 rnds) but 10 rounds shows a trend. I shot over 110 rounds with temps around 30*+ @ 80%+ humidity ('dex = 34 ).
Also, Fed Champion 40g-SV = 52 ; Fed AE Supp 45g = 57 ; Rem Golden = 59 ; and Herters 36g HV-HP = 77 !!.
BTW - the SK-RM does not seem to be notably more accurate than SK+, but does have better ES overall so is a bit more consistent.
Of course this was thru a low-cost rifle, tho almost as accurate as my CZ455. Make what you will of these figures . . . YMMV.
 
With SK ammos, chrony data such as ES can vary from box-to-box within the same lot. I've chronied different boxes (50 rounds) of the same lot of SK RM that vary in ES from 40 fps to as high as 86 and everything in between.

As Buck1950 notes, chronograph samples of ten rounds are small and can't be considered reliable. Of course, they may indicate a trend that's useful to know. For example, when a ten round string shows a very high ES, that particular ammo can be expected to be very unpromising.
 
gillis2 said:
hi,
my experience is that sk std + shoots well in most rifles i have tried it. As for lapua: I find that sometimes midas + shoots slightly more consistently than center x but it depends of the lot number. As for x-act, i have tried and found it to be no better than midas+. Not worth the astronomical price tag in my book. My experience with rws r-50 has been the same than with eley ( even tenex ). They do not shoot as good as the lapua stuff in all the rifles ( anschutz, vudoos, walther, cz etc ) that i have tried.
Gilbert
Click to expand...

well said gilles
 
At 50 yards I can't see a significant difference between Std+ and RM, however at 100, and 185+ there is a significant difference in group size. But as stated in this thread already, rimfire is exhausting if you want consistency. Best way is to buy ammo by the case, test and hope you have a good lot# and can enjoy. Otherwise test by the brick and hope you can find more of the good stuff!
 
Well, I bought two more bricks of Standard plus, and two bricks of Rifle Match, so i will see whether for this batch it was worth it in my rifle.
 
I've never been to a PRS match, but having watched some videos, there is so much skill involved that I doubt my score would be affected much by the difference between two grades of ammo that only differ by 0.25 moa. It's no bench rest shoot.
 
Grizzlypeg said:
I've never been to a PRS match, but having watched some videos, there is so much skill involved that I doubt my score would be affected much by the difference between two grades of ammo that only differ by 0.25 moa. It's no bench rest shoot.
Click to expand...

What matters is that your 'cone of accuracy' is predictable and reliable. At extended distance (we shoot out to 400+), a flyer is going to be miles off target... or worst, just off target causing you to adjust into a condition that doesn't exist and you loose 2 shots and confusion begins.

when you watch the vids, you will see a shooter engage with a cadence and then stop dead after a miss... odds are it didn't make any sense and now, "what the heck do I do?". Experienced shooters will keep on motoring and hope the next shot goes where they expect... otherwise, you can hear the whistle getting closer.....

So I would gladly shoot a 'looser' group where 100% of the shots stayed in that cone vs a smoking good type with the occasional zinger... why alot of competitive LR PRS shooters gravitate to Lapua CenterX and Eley equivalent (I think that would be MATCH)

Super accuracy is amazing and we will gladly take it... but consistency is what helps you score the most points

Jerry

20220824_082431.jpg

Very little to no wind... circled the fliers as the next shot with the same hold, went back into the group. On the bottom left target, those 2 shots high right were not consecutive shots. The zinger off to the right on the bottom right... tightest core for 9rds and one heck of a zinger

so even the highest grades can have bad lots.

20220824_083413.jpg

CenterX, same rifle, same conditions as it was shot right after. Again, not the best lot of CX I have shot but compare the group sizes of the core (circled the groups size)... was XACT worth twice as much? These two types of ammo were likely made in a similar time frame given the lots numbers.

I hope the new batches of ammo coming in shortly will be more consistent
 

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Plus vs RM

My 2 go to rifles are Annie 1710 HB & Cooper m. Varminter
they both shoot SK Std. + equally well.

The groups on my last target were fairly close
I wouldn't say there were any bad flyers only
shooter error.

The case of SK Std + I've been shooting is
well above my ability I wouldn't go shopping for
a "better" ammo.
 

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