so, how to skin this cat? picking the right ammo

wayupnorth

wayupnorth

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so ive got a couple real nice builds under my belt.
now im looking to put a bunch of different ammo down the pipe to see which ammo each gun likes better.

question is what is the proper procedure for doing this?

i could just go out, slam 20 rounds of each flavor down range and go measure groups.
but ive read a couple people saying they will shoot 20 rounds, clean the bore, foul it with a shot then onto the next ammo.

my thinking for that is why?
i can maybe see that with some bigger rounds but for a 22 with the ammo these days being pretty clean is it really important to clean the bore between brands to get a accurate feel for them?

and crono?
i dont need to crono the rounds do i?
or would it be worth it?

i just dont wanna go through all the trouble of doing this and then find out that i did it wrong.
 
ive already picked up about 12-15 different brands of ammo.
ive fleshed out some high end stuff and will order a couple boxes of those as well.
so ill be going into this with probably between 15-20 brands of ammo, so this will be a pretty good test.
 
but ive read a couple people saying they will shoot 20 rounds, clean the bore, foul it with a shot then onto the next ammo.

my thinking for that is why?
i can maybe see that with some bigger rounds but for a 22 with the ammo these days being pretty clean is it really important to clean the bore between brands to get a accurate feel for them?
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The "trick" is to foul the bore with the same ammunition you're going to be testing.


i.e. Before you start testing a brand of ammunition, "foul the bore" with a few shots of that brand of ammo, first.
 
Yes fouling matters. I been reading it takes in the area of 20 shots to get that particular lube and bully to coat the barrel.

When I did my ammo testing I had my steel target set up as well so with every new ammo I put 20 on steel then 9 5 shot groups on paper with each ammo.

First at 25 yards then repeated with the best Amos at 50.
Mainly because... If the ammo is not doing well at 25 what makes you think it will do any good at 50.

I had great results in my testing with my fvsr and my marlin doing it this way.


Edit: I did not clean between Ammos, but as said I did put 29 rounds out to coat the barrel before grouping.
 
so if a fella wanted to do this right, your saying we could get away without cleaning the bore, but to coat the barrel with the fouling goodness with 20 rounds.

so 20 rounds on metal, then go into your test groupings.
then onto the next ammo.
20 then 5x9.
rinse, repeat.

anyone else have some input?

gah, i just thinking how expensive this is gonna be for some of the high end ammo, haha
 
Just like that!

I'm not saying there has to be 9 groups though. That's just the targets I like to use, printed off the web. Also in my opinion more groups will give you a better idea of how the rifle likes the ammo.
 
wayupnorth said:
but why?

does it really matter for 22 ammo to foul the barrel if its already fouled?
is cleaning between brands that crucial?
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Yes, and I'll tell you why - you don't want the leftovers of one batch of "high-end ammo's lube" to affect the performance of the next batch of ammo's performance, for example.


So to make sure, clean in-between brands, and then "preliminary foul" with the next brand you intend to test.


It's even more expensive to try and figure out why why you can't replicate "tainted results".
 
ok.

i just went up and was looking at some of the ammo, wax and lube, i can see that.

so i guess the question then becomes how many rounds does it take to foul a barrel good?
ive read that a benchshooter will put at least 100 rounds down the pipe before he considered the gun to be ready.

is 5 enough?
10?
20?
are we just picking arbitrary numbers here or is there some set standard that has been tried and tested over time?
 
just did a count.
20 brands so far in my 'test collection box'
ive been researching some of the high end stuff and where to get them and i think ill probably bring in 5 or 6 of the high end stuff..... well.... low end of the high end stuff, haha
 
Like any accuracy testing, the rifle is talking the whole time. From a clean bore your first group is usually terrible no matter how well the shooter shoots. It will take some more rounds to foul the bore to where its shooting that ammo at its best. How many? Your rifle will tell you. You can pretty much watch groups shrink as you go until accuracy kind of flatlines at whatever the rifle and ammo decide on for groups. That's when its fouled. Some ammo will do better than others as we all know. Some may get to that point sooner than others. The rifle will tell you when groups no longer get any better. Clean between brands so that fouling from other ammo doesn't skew your results. The last thing you want is to find a winner, buy a case and find out your rifle shoots it like poop.
 
wayupnorth said:
ok.

i just went up and was looking at some of the ammo, wax and lube, i can see that.

so i guess the question then becomes how many rounds does it take to foul a barrel good?
ive read that a benchshooter will put at least 100 rounds down the pipe before he considered the gun to be ready.

is 5 enough?
10?
20?
are we just picking arbitrary numbers here or is there some set standard that has been tried and tested over time?
Click to expand...


Usually 5-20 rounds....
 
geez im tempted to pick up a box or Lapua X-ACT or some Lapua Midas or ever some Federal Gold Medal Ultra match just to see what a $20-$27 dollars per 50 rounds of 22 will get a fella.

its interesting, eh?

ya shoot some $2.59 Blazers and they can get ya under 1/2" at 50 yards.
then ya see some Lapua (SK) or Eley mid to low range stuff for $7-$10 a box and think.... how much better can it really be?
then ya see the $27 a box Lapua Midas and ya gotta be thinking its gold and not brass!
 
Holy hell its a 22!
Personally I stick with ammo that doesn't create the jam o matic syndrome! But I'm not the .22 sniper type either! Minute of pop can is good enough for me!
 
i wasnt about the tighter group until i hit 40

now its a hobby that gets me out from the evil clutches of the wife!
its just interesting to see how small of group at what distance you can get.
from building the gun to getting the glass to finding the right ammo.
to getting a good day with little wind to bother your shots.

i look historically back on my shooting.
i can remember shooting gophers with my dad and he had the old Cooey 82 single shot and i had the new ramped up ruger 10/22 with big mags.
id be chasing a gopher with 5-10 shots back to his hole and the old man would pop it with one shot.
now i guess im at the one shot age!
 
I shoot 4x5 shot groups with each brand of ammo at 25yd, no cleaning, it usually is obvious which perform better from that I get a top 5, then shoot the other 30 rnds in 5 shot groups to determine the best performance.you will usually find if you stretch out the distance to 100 yds this is where you will find the quality ammo really makes a difference at a price! If you have an accurate rifle cz or similar, at 25 yds it will 1 hole most decent ammo so adding distance is the key.
If you're going to compete in rimfire events I'm sure cleaning between between brands and using fouler s will be beneficial but when I'm on a range day tend to shoot pretty high volumes so use ok ammo then use the expensive brands sparingly. If you're paying $0.50 or more for .22 ammo you are getting close to decent hand loads in .223
 
I have been doing 20 rounds from a clean barrel for seasoning (fouling), grouping rounds (5 X 10), clean and repeat with another type of ammuniion. I do not scrub the chamber between types of ammunition, only when it gets difficult to extract and chamber a round. Cleaning the barrel in-between different types of ammo is patches of Froglube, then a brass brush, then Froglube again and dry patches until clean. Depending on the type of action I will use Otis pull through or bore guide and dewey rods. I use a .20 size rod rather than a .22 size, my Anschutz and CZ have tighter than normal sections of the barrel, call them chokes for want of a better way to describe this.
 
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