Thread: .22 Magnum Accuracy

Mate of mine has a "Henry Goldenboy" in .22 mag
Shoots like shit and just wont group. If ya eyesight isn't that flash then open sights or an aperture sight are blurry - fit a scope and your head sits in space with no cheekpiece.
Nice looking rifle but as I said, as a shooter its not much better than a length of steam pipe

So when I left school I brought this refurb old savage single shot 22 off the guy in Te Aroha who used to fix water and milk pumps. Just below the clock tower. Used to sell a few guns and ammo and duck licence’s on the side. Think he passed when cancer got him.
Anyway got kind of sick of possums that would not fall when spot lighting. So took it to a guy in Hamilton who re chambered it to 22mag.
Now that single shot was a shooter! Really loved that gun.

Originally Posted by No.3

My experience with the .22Mag is the same as pretty much everyone who has posted here, the odd one that groups combined with most that are short range only. If you shell out the big bucks on an Annie or equivalent Euro-made rifle you are likely to get one that is good to go in terms of accuracy but for everything else 3" or worse is the norm. At least they are repeatable. I have the idea in my head that it's related to the case design and chamber specs rather than anything mechanically wrong with the rifles. The Euro rifles seem to be a lot tighter in that area, one I saw would not chamber every round from certain brands.

Well the Rossi hardly fits that description but shoots well. Maybe they copied European chamber dimensions?

I had a Marlin 25 MN identical to this one some years back. Regret selling it. Could bowl over bunnies off hand at over 100m (checked with a rangefinder) all day.

selling my 22 mag to fund another venture
rossi 22mag semi c/w sytong NV scope, suppressor and ammo . make me a (bloody good offer)

Originally Posted by 300CALMAN

Well the Rossi hardly fits that description but shoots well. Maybe they copied European chamber dimensions?

I dunno, if the Rossi's do go well that'd be great. Possibly the old saying that 'even a blind squirrel can stumble over the odd nut' might fit?

Originally Posted by Ranger 888

My Anschutz .22 magnum shoots 1" at 100m......BUT, the secret is : 1. select the right ammo brand for YOUR rifle.. 2. clean the barrel thoroughly after 20-30 rounds. The copper jacketed ammo at the MV of .22 magnum does foul the tube quickly.

This is my experience exactly treat it like a centrefire and clean it whether you have fired seven shots or seventy also find the ammo it likes and buy plenty as you can be sure the next batch will not shoot as well. My rifle likes CCI and although I rarely use it I made sure I had enough.Now ammunition prices have gone through the roof I am glad I did. Ammunition will never be cheaper again than it is today.

From experience - have bench tested three 22 magnums and all three were very accurate. Both Marlins very good - one exceptional - and third one was a Weihrauch HW 60 J. This rifle also printed tiny groups at 50m - 0.28 - 0.41" three shot groups with two types of ammo. Great little rifle.. There are very accurate magnums.

And I agree, Ranger 888's advice is spot on for the caliber. Select a make that's a reputed shooter, do a 100% barrel/copper clean, try the new ballistic tip copper plate ammo, and then clean regularly - every 20-30 rounds.

This new Hornady V-Max is a much more precise load than old 50gr lead winnies etc, and can perform very well. Running this the magnum just needs to be treated as Ted says more like a centrefire than the old 22 which you barrel clean every ten years.. Eley and CCI ballistic tip all to be treated similarly - some suggest they're all from same factory.

shikes,my mates lever action winchester was a good rifle to use...how accurate do you need for a hunting .22 rimfire??? rabbits ,hares,possums,wallabies,feral cats, goats and even a red stag fell over when we pointed it in right direction..the stag was a right balls up,projectiles gouging chucks out of forehead skin,and wouldnt dig in,in desperation I slotted last two of mag in behind forleg as it staggered away with a hell of a headache and it tipped over 200 yards away.
I never felt it was in accurate in any way.stirling made really good ammunition for terminal effect,it was softer than std winchester stuff.... this new fancypants stuff sure looks lot better...it is a lot lighter and faster....

The carbon barreled volquartsen of mine loves the CCI 40 gr and is quite possibly the most accurate rifle I own...., but it's definitely ammo fussy.
I think that's the secret to an accurate 22wmr as well. As mentioned try all ammo types available until you find 'the one' then buy as much as you can afford. It took me three types tested before i found the CCI, and mine did not like the v max one little bit and seems to much prefer heavier projectiles. It is said my model shoots federal 50 gr the best , but not available here at the moment , but it shoots one hole groups at 50 now .....

I had a little Ruger 96/22M which I too regret selling now that the Son's 223 semi's have gone. It was getting expensive to run as it loved the Rem 33 gr plastic tipped boat tail but it became impossible to find. Now I see it's available again at around $40
It would easily put a mag (9 shots) into 1.5" at 100 mtr with a 2-8x scope
Z

I've got a lithgow la101 22wmr and winchester jhp groups about 1.5 inches at 100m and cci vmax an inch all were 5 shot groups. Had a cz 512 as well and that was much the same. Will be selling the lithgow shortly if our interested

I’ve got both a Stirling 1500 and Ruger precision in .22 Magnum. Both shoot very accurately using CCI have tried Winchester in subsonic although very quite just doesn’t have the knockdown power as the CCI.

I've had 2 magnums, a 9422wmr and a Remington 597 semi. Although I still wish I had the Winnie I don't remember either of them shooting overly accurately. The 597 was best with hornady vmax 30g.
Got a 223 to replace the 597 and with reloading it's about the same price to shoot but a lot more accurate.

One thing I'd like to know at one time 22 mag and 17hmr ammo was comparable in price, now 17hmr double the price, supply and demand?