What is your minimum acceptable accuracy for a .22

BC604

BC604

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Hi,

As the title already says, what would you consider minimum acceptable accuracy for a
non modified out of the box .22 rifle?
Do you expect a bit less accuracy from a semi-auto than a bolt?

Lets say 25m and 50m
What grouping would you consider good , OK, and ugly (sell it on EE :p ).

I'm just curious, as I couldn't find any similar discussion.
 
From a practical point of view....accurate is a grouses head at 25 yards, not a group just 5 shots 5 grouse. Guys shooting competitively, completely different, winning and losing is by a fraction of a inch. Not hard to be shooting ammo as expensive as some centerfires and rifles worth many thousands.

IMO one can not expect the same level of accuracy out of a semi. Part of that is its really hard to avoid shooting watermelons or fridges in a mag dump......eventually no matter how self controlled. Heating the barrel in this way degrades accuracy. Sold the only 10/22 i owned because of this, always a really bad horizontal flyer in a group.

Acceptable practical accuracy is a 5 shot group in a quarter at 25, in a loonie at 50.

I sold the 10/22 because one round would be 1-2" right or left out of every group....fired single shot...from a rest....2 minutes between. It was the gun. Obviously if one was talking Anschutz target rifle unacceptable would be a lot smaller group. On the other extreme i might accept that from a $80 Cooey truck beater....all depends.
 
It depends on the purpose of the gun... I have different expectations for a plinker or a hunter or a bench gun... but I do have a "ceiling" for each. If I can't shoot consistent 1/4" @ 50 with my bench guns (once tuned and proper ammo found), then they hit the road... my hunters do 1/2"-3/4" @ 50 (always five shot groups) and that is sufficient to take out grouse and hares... I have only two plinkers at the moment, and they will both do 1" @ 50 (2 MOA)... I don't think I would tolerate a gun that was less accurate than that.

Accuracy is not just a function of the gun though... the ammunition can make a significant difference and of course, so can the shooter... I generally find a new gun that is less accurate to be a challenge... and "tinker and test" until I get it shooting well.
 
My ''accuracy test'' is :

-Redbull cans at 50m
-Beer bottle/cans/clay pigeons at 100m
YES I do pick up after myself so no worries about broken glass and deceased beers/redbull cans people !!!

If it hits consistently ,with half decent bulk ammo available : golden bullets,American Eagle, federal red box or anything that'll feed in my semi autos, its good enough for me and it gets to stay with me :p

It means it will drop gophers and other critters with no probs
 
While testing different ammo to show the importance of finding the right combination at 100 yards, my Marlin Mountie produced 1.5" groups with CCI Select.
It will produce 1" groups with CCI MiniMags.
The target used was the 100 yard Unlimited, and it was scoped with a 3-9 Sightron.
Now try to find CCI Select is the problem.
With my Bench guns, striving for under 0.25 at 50 yards and under one inch at 100 but the cost of quality ammo is a bit much for some.
However, the person that pays $40.00 for a box of 45 ACP and blasts it away in 10 minutes, should not criticize me for paying $20.00 for a box of RWS R50 or Eley Tenex.
Plus the pattern produced with that 45 proves nothing. Many of my five shot groups at 50 are smaller than a "one shot group" with a 45 . . .
These were produced while working the tuner.


Rim thickness is my current venture, and Eley Tenex and RWS R50 vary about 0.001. Eley Match about 0.002 and Team is under 0.003.
Next is to test some CCI (Select, SV, and MiniMags).

The trick is to find what your rifle likes. Trying to convince someone to try 5 - 10 different brands and designs is sometimes difficult.
What is acceptable to one is not to another. A grouse's head is an excellent standard for a hunting scenario . . . plinking at a pop can is another.

While I really like the CZ line of rifles, I sold two to buy the 40XB. The BSA has more than doubled in value with the addition of scope and base as well as some gunsmithing and the tuner.
It is just money and I have heard you can't take it with you!!!

2014-06-14: Did not rim thickness measurements.
Eley Target: 0.36 (10%), 0.37 (40%) and 0.38 (50%).
CCI MiniMag: 0.40 (20%) and 0.41 (80%)
CCI SV: 0.40 (50%) and 41 ((50%)
CCI Select: 0.40 (25%) and 0.41 (75%)

I may check the Eley through the BSA but the CCI was only for interest sake.
With the CCI, a few rounds would be less that 0.40 and a few would be over 0.41 but for all intensive purposes not far enough to make any statistic difference 3.14 693 percentage points 19 times out of 20 (in other words . . .not a tinker's dam)
 
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Clays at 100 and my 10/22 has real problems doing that consistently but my Cooey 39 will do it all day long, both scoped.

My son has a CZ452 and it makes the 10/22 look like a shotgun.
 
I am happy with 1/2" at 50 for most of my rifles. Mostly due to the fact I don't shoot as much as I use to and realistically have to accept the fact that will cause my groups to be a bit more open. I still pull the odd ragged hole group but not as often as I use to. When I was shooting a lot I would have expected ragged holes or clover leaf groups or they went down the road. I also agree with minute of squirrel head for hunting rifles being an acceptable measurement.
Scott...
 
I only own bolts now and @ 25 & 50 yrds EOR is not impossible unless I'm shaking like a dog pooping peach pits....(EOR = Eye Of Rabbit)
 
Semi Auto: If I can consistently hit a gopher spinner target at 25yards off-hand with open sights/red-dot, good to go.

Bolt: Same gopher spinner at 100 yards, prone, with a scope.

SandBag (Bench) Shooting: 1/2" groups at 50 yards with a Bolt/Scope combo. 1" groups at 50 yards with a semi-auto and open-sight/red-dot combo.

Shooting groups is fine and all, but practical accuracy is something else entirely. It can be affected by the balance and ergonomics of the rifle, basically how nice it "feels" to shoot, as much or more than the inherent accuracy of the barrel/action.

You can have a rifle that's a freakin' laser at the range when you're shooting from a bench with all the gear, but it's so uncomfortable when shooting practically in the field that you can't hit the broadside of a barn. I avoid Savages for that reason - they're fantastic, accurate rifles, but that blade safety crap drives me around the bend. It just feels wrong, and it becomes an unbearable distraction quickly. So I know I won't shoot for sh!t with it in the real world.

That isn't a knock against the savage. It's about me being a cranky old fart who doesn't want to deal with funky trigger mechanisms.
 
It is gun/purpose specific. I try for 1/2 at 50 with all rifles.( many of my guns will do this -- me not so much) my open sight 9422 will not shoot this well but is still a great gopher gun. So, a plinker or fun gun, anything under 1 inch at 25 is ok. Will still do in gophers. A paper puncher is 1/2 at 50. An auto, with out a lot of work, will not shoot as well as a bolt. The other big question is what are you willing to spend on ammo. If you only buy bulk then don't expect bench rest target results. Many options but end results are as long as you are having fun! Good luck AJ.
 
Thank you guys, very informative.

The only really annoying problem right now is finding different kind of
.22 ammo to try.
Its like the joke where the guy goes into the gun store
and asks if they have any .22 ammo. :)

Keep it coming ladies and gents.
 
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2014-06-14: Did not rim thickness measurements.
Eley Target: 0.36 (10%), 0.37 (40%) and 0.38 (50%).
CCI MiniMag: 0.40 (20%) and 0.41 (80%)
CCI SV: 0.40 (50%) and 41 ((50%)
CCI Select: 0.40 (25%) and 0.41 (75%)

I may check the Eley through the BSA but the CCI was only for interest sake.
With the CCI, a few rounds would be less that 0.40 and a few would be over 0.41 but for all intensive purposes not far enough to make any statistic difference 3.14 693 percentage points 19 times out of 20 (in other words . . .not a tinker's dam)
 
5 rounds inside a dime at 50 yds on a good day. 10 rounds inside a loonie at 50 yds every day of the week, rain or shine.
 
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