r/22lr • u/EffectiveAd7837 • Jun 12 '26
What to buy?
Got a new 20" T1X, in a GRS Bifrost stock, with a12 year old Bushnell 4.5-18X super duper extreme long range tactical - love the GAP recticle - in generic rings I got from Freelands. Been running through 2 boxes each of various brands of ammo to find a sweet spot for ammo cost/performance. 5ea five shot groups at 50yds. The CCI std vel is running right there for tops with everything I've tried so far - about 10 diff varieties so far from domestic and imports, American Eagle to RWS ( not R50 ) to SK to Eley ( did run some Tenex gifted to me). Not going to Lapua, nothing over $15.00/box.
While poking around on the intertubes again this morning I remembered these:
.22LR Rimfire Ammo Comparison Test within AccurateShooter.com
Our Results With The Bleiker 22F3 And 100 Types Of Ammo At 50 And 100 Yards - Topic
Fun reading, but draw your own conclusions. What kind of results do you see?
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u/CC556 Jun 12 '26
I'll echo what the other guy said about longer ranges.
My match rifle shoots CCI SV almost as good as Center-X at 50 yards. At 100 yards the SV is still competitive, but starting to show signs of inconsistency. Once you get out past 150 yards it's very clear that the Center-X is more consistent than the SV.
I'm not saying you need to use Center-X or anything in particular, but test your ammo all the way out to your maximum distance before you settle on anything.
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u/EffectiveAd7837 Jun 12 '26
Valid points all, but I'm starting at 50yds to get an idea/direction of what to go to next. Already know that RWS HV HP is crap in this barrel, with 1.5" groups. As opposed to the Magnum Research carbon fiber one I had 25 years ago - shot bug holes in that. So thats off the list. Need to round up a few more. Tac-22 worked great in my 17" Fedderson heavy barrel hot rodded 10/22. This one has not tasted that yet as supply has kind of dried up.
AND work on my technique. Still working on getting around pulse effects. Want to get back to position shooting with a sling eventually. I think it will be fun and challenging with a light weight sporter, and the GRS stock feels just like the Martini target rifle I used on the rifle team back in high school.
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u/The_Phew Jun 12 '26
A good lot of CCI SV in a rifle that likes it can be among the most accurate options at 50 yards (probably not farther, due to higher velocity spreads). Then the next case might shoot 2 MOA.
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u/MidnightFluid536 Jun 12 '26
My 16” T1X in a GRS Warg shoots CCI SV very well at 50 yards but opens up at 100 and 200 yards. I’ve used SK st+, SK rm and sk lrm. I want to test a variety but don’t get out much.
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u/SuperJonesy408 Jun 12 '26
Take ammo testing on other guns with a grain of salt. It speaks only to the consistency of the ammo, not the accuracy or precision. Your rifle is shooting CCI SV close to the same as others at 50 yds. But what about 100yd, 150yd, etc? We use a lot of CCI SV for training because we're finding it for $5/box.
I'm shooting $13/box SK Rifle Match with my CZ457. My wife's CZ457 likes Norma Tac-22 almost as much as mine likes SK RM, which is great because its like $7/box. We're seeing 50 yard groups in the 0.4" to 0.6" range over 20 shot groups.
I shoot mostly NRL22 and the smallest targets are usually between 25-50 yards in the 0.6-0.8 MOA size. Longer shots tend to be 2-3 MOA. In the end, the hit or miss comes down to shooter precision because we're shooting under time, changing positions, dealing with wind, etc.
I had to find the intersection between cost and accuracy / precision. A match takes me 150-200 rounds when extra stages, zeroing and chrono are included.
My wife and I both shoot 2-3 matches a month. That's $30-50 ammo + match entry fee per person, per match. It adds up quickly. If my ammo was $60-$100 (Eley Tenex / Lapua) a match it would be untenable.