Rimfire ammo question.

#1gohunt

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I am trying to improve my grouping by trying out different ammo. I have used CCI standard, Norma Tac 22, Eley and Lapua. I have heard some good thinks about SK Long Range Match. I looked it up and price is about $4.00 less per box. They didn't have any reviews to read.
I know all rifles are different and you need to find one your rifle likes. Just trying to get some helpful feedback.
 
I have a CZ and it’s preference is SK. I use standard +, rifle match and Pistol match. It always shoots under MOA at 50 yards, and mostly around half MOA. Although it is made by Lapua, it is cheaper and my rifle likes it better. As you all ready understand, all rimfires have their own preferences.
 
I have a CZ and it’s preference is SK. I use standard +, rifle match and Pistol match. It always shoots under MOA at 50 yards, and mostly around half MOA. Although it is made by Lapua, it is cheaper and my rifle likes it better. As you all ready understand, all rimfires have their own preferences.
Thanks for the info. I am working on getting some to try. I hope my target rifle likes it like your CZ. I was shooting with someone who had. Voodoo rifle and he was shooting a 1/2" group at 100.
 
I am trying to improve my grouping by trying out different ammo. I have used CCI standard, Norma Tac 22, Eley and Lapua. I have heard some good thinks about SK Long Range Match. I looked it up and price is about $4.00 less per box. They didn't have any reviews to read.
I know all rifles are different and you need to find one your rifle likes. Just trying to get some helpful feedback.
im trying to learn about rimfire for my cz 457.
is there s LGS in Raleigh/wake County area with some ammo variety other than CCI?

thanks.
 
I am new to the Statesville area, just moved up from Clemson, SC. I am not familiar with your area. I have found Academy carries Norma Tac 22, and some of the Pawn Shops carry different brands. If you have a Palmetto State Armory by you, you might find some different brands. My rifle likes Lapua Center X but it is hard on my Billfold. I have been ordering it from Mile High Shooting Supply. The last time I checked they were out. I just recently ordered some CCI Green Tag from Midway and tried it. It shot a little bit better than standard CCI target. It has the same bullet and the same velocity.
Good luck finding any 22 ammo.
 
I shot 3P and prone NRA/ISSF rifle matches competitively for most of my childhood and young adult life with a variety of very accurate Anschutz match rifles. In general, I had excellent results with SK ammo. I won many matches shooting even the cheap SK Standard Plus, and occasionally SK Rifle Match (I don't believe they had the Long Range variant back then, but I thought that one was intended more for silhouette/PRC type shoots, so maybe its loaded a little hotter?). This was back when they were in the gold boxes, not the newer black ones, so I'm not sure if anything has changed. Same goes for the Wolf black box, which was identical to the SK - my team mate won the iron sight opens with at the Camp Perry one summer with an Anschutz that was practically an antique with the Wolf, much to the delight of their PR reps. I just tended to find more preferable lots with the SK products than Wolf for whatever reason.

In fact, I probably only ever had four random lots of ammo that outperformed the best of the SK in my rifles - a single lot of red box Fiocchi (the 320SM), some old round-nosed Eley Tenex that I was given to use to shoot the Whistler Boy match at Camp Perry that I'd swear was coated in fairy dust, a few lots of Eley Tenex EPS that were cherry picked/matched at the Eley test range to my barreled action, and two bricks of Federal Ultramatch (no longer made) that came from Lones Wigger's private stash as an apology on behalf of Federal when he was sponsored.

I would say buy a few bricks of what you want to try out on a day with easy conditions, see which ones it likes best, and then play with torque values on your action screws to dial it in further. Generally speaking, I think SK and Wolf Target give great bang for the buck. I would not lump CCI or Norma ammo into the "precision" category, CCI Green Tag included (though its much better than the blue standard).
 
I shot 3P and prone NRA/ISSF rifle matches competitively for most of my childhood and young adult life with a variety of very accurate Anschutz match rifles. In general, I had excellent results with SK ammo. I won many matches shooting even the cheap SK Standard Plus, and occasionally SK Rifle Match (I don't believe they had the Long Range variant back then, but I thought that one was intended more for silhouette/PRC type shoots, so maybe its loaded a little hotter?). This was back when they were in the gold boxes, not the newer black ones, so I'm not sure if anything has changed. Same goes for the Wolf black box, which was identical to the SK - my team mate won the iron sight opens with at the Camp Perry one summer with an Anschutz that was practically an antique with the Wolf, much to the delight of their PR reps. I just tended to find more preferable lots with the SK products than Wolf for whatever reason.

In fact, I probably only ever had four random lots of ammo that outperformed the best of the SK in my rifles - a single lot of red box Fiocchi (the 320SM), some old round-nosed Eley Tenex that I was given to use to shoot the Whistler Boy match at Camp Perry that I'd swear was coated in fairy dust, a few lots of Eley Tenex EPS that were cherry picked/matched at the Eley test range to my barreled action, and two bricks of Federal Ultramatch (no longer made) that came from Lones Wigger's private stash as an apology on behalf of Federal when he was sponsored.

I would say buy a few bricks of what you want to try out on a day with easy conditions, see which ones it likes best, and then play with torque values on your action screws to dial it in further. Generally speaking, I think SK and Wolf Target give great bang for the buck. I would not lump CCI or Norma ammo into the "precision" category, CCI Green Tag included (though its much better than the blue standard).
Thank you for the knowledge being passed down. I have just recently aquried some SK match but haven't had the time to test it. Here is hoping that the Eley Fairy flew over it and sprinkled some dust.
 
Thank you for the knowledge being passed down. I have just recently aquried some SK match but haven't had the time to test it. Here is hoping that the Eley Fairy flew over it and sprinkled some dust.
Any time. FWIW, I always found that even in bedded stocks, most actions that utilized two action screws for retention in the stock made a quantifiable difference at 50 yds, let alone 100 yds, in 1/2 Nm torque intervals. However, my later style actions that were machined from a large square block and utilized 4 action screws at the corners and were floated in the stock via a foam rubber block (e.g. Anschutz 2000 series) were much less torque sensitive. I first started experimenting with that after my first time flying for a match (we would loosen the action screws because the stocks were notorious for cracking during flight), and wondered where my x-count had gone. 1.5 Nm made the difference between holes in paper "touching" and one ragged hole with a given ammo lot in my rifle at the time, though everyone's experiences may vary. You can also look into further refinement via barrel tuners, etc. I like those made by Eric Uptagrafft the most. The best advice I can give is that if you find a lot of ammo the gun likes, buy as much of it as you can at a given time. Some suppliers, particularly those who cater to the .22 competition shooting crowd, may be more helpful in accommodating such requests than large online retailers.
 
One of the most efficient ways to get "the good stuff" is provided by Champion's Choice www.champchoice.com
For the last year or so, they've consistently had some available. They stock Eley, RWS, SK, Lapua and Wolf and so far their prices have been better than I have found elsewhere. Not only competitive but they discount if you buy a full brick, and discount more for a case.

They do require you to call your order, but wth.

Freeland's Sports just now has Tenex,Match, and Club on sale
 
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One of the most efficient ways to get "the good stuff" is provided by Champion's Choice www.champchoice.com
For the last year or so, they've consistently had some available. They stock Eley, RWS, SK, Lapua and Wolf and so far their prices have been better than I have found elsewhere. Not only competitive but they discount if you buy a full brick, and discount more for a case.

They do require you to call your order, but wth.
Champions Choice is an excellent choice and has been selling to the match target community for ages. I used to buy a case or two every year from them at commercial row when the National Matches were still at Camp Perry.

You can also check with Creedmoor Sports, and Freeland's Sports is another option. Freeland's Sports was a product line from the now defunct Champion Shooters Supply - Carl Jooss owned the business, and I believe his son in law took it over and ran it into the ground during a divorce. Carl had a serious head injury and is now recovered, and has restarted a smaller operation under the Freeland's Sports name with the help of his wife and son Perry. The three of them are good people and will treat you like family.
 
Didn't they start on July the 11th at Camp Perry?
My understanding is that the NRA moved the National Matches to Camp Atterbury in Indiana a few years back. I think they started with smallbore rifle after the covered points were damaged by storms, and then the rest followed suit based on a financial decision.

 
ye
My understanding is that the NRA moved the National Matches to Camp Atterbury in Indiana a few years back. I think they started with smallbore rifle after the covered points were damaged by storms, and then the rest followed suit based on a financial decision.

yup
I didn't read the search response to "nra National Matches Camp Perry 2022" thoroughly ......... lol.... thanks for explaining

(now if we could get North Carolina to sell Camp Butner to the NRA......)
 
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Just a note: Champion Choice will not look up lot numbers. The last brick of Eley match I got from them showed up with 2 lot numbers. Apparently they ship what they got.

That's interesting. Are there any online retailers (other than Freelands) that deal with lot numbers?

We could use a sticky with a list of dealers who provide both the ammo and the ammo by lot number. Got any to mention?
 
I posted some targets with the less expensive SK standard + out of a CZ. Basically to see what a base was for your question. To be honest, this turned out to be a very good lot of the cheaper stuff, and basically was almost as good as the more expensive Rifle Match. I shot a full target so you could see it wasn’t a cherry picked group. It is posted as CZ Varmint MTR with SK standard -.
 
Are you using sub sonic ammo. When I first got my bench rifle, I was told to buy a box of every different brand of sub sonic ammo I could find and shoot groups and keep records on the target. Mine wound up liking Aguila gold eagle match ammo. YMMV
 
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In a bolt rifle Eley Tenex. The old Korean PMC yellow box and Russian Match Rifle would be second and third respectively.
 
Tenex has been my best groups with my Kidd, its all about finding the lot your gun likes. Also, clean you barrel between tests, then foul it in with the ammo you are testing with 10 rounds, then shoot the groups.
 
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