Bsa international accuracy

Well several years back I got a BSA international 22 target rifle through @gundoc and gave it a sporting make over.
Shortened the barrel and forestock and gundoc fitted a scope base.
I did a thumbhole in the stock as well.
Anyhoo my testing was very informally done in the field and while it was never the appropriate set up, I had an inkling it wasn't shooting as well as I'd like.
Never really had more of a play.
Over at my mates place this weekend and we had a proper go off his portable shooting rest etc
Brand new packet of CCI standard velocity,
Part packet (from several years back), eley subsonic and a brand new packet of the same plust a handful of CCI suppressor 45gr. The last stuff didn't really don't shoot well out of the 10/22.
Target as follows and proves what I was thinking.
But geez doesn't it like the CCI suppressor ammo.
It's basically a slightly vertical ragged hole.
Top left target. The SV and Eley were not very good at all and prove what I was thinking.
Might need to grab a couple of packets for it. Shouldve tried the old powerpoints for a go but was doing other stuff


Attachment 275488

I've had a couple of people recommend standard velocity and subsonic ammo if someone turns up with a .22 that won't group with high velocity or hunting ammo - not sure whats in that but some rifles just seem to prefer the slower loads???

thanks for that yes it is fussy for ammo I will have mine up ( BSA Martini lightened ) and running shortly so will try that CCI stuff

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Originally Posted by Barry the hunter

thanks for that yes it is fussy for ammo I will have mine up ( BSA Martini lightened ) and running shortly so will try that CCI stuff

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Just remember your results may vary.
CCI Sv is pretty cheap so a good start but only a roundhouse.
Try a couple definitely as my results have shown

I have about 4 types of .22 ammo including some dedicated lapua target and it will be fun

I use Winchester subs in my own International (shortened, suppressed, scoped and thumb-holed), getting one-hole groups at 50 metres.

So Im guessing that a target rifle (non-suppressed) would still benefit from a trial with subsonic ammo?

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Originally Posted by Bos

So Im guessing that a target rifle (non-suppressed) would still benefit from a trial with subsonic ammo?

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If you're shooting any rifle with factory ammunition then you should try a range of brands and loads to find what suits the rifle.

Even different batches of the same factory ammunition may give different results.

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Originally Posted by Bos

So Im guessing that a target rifle (non-suppressed) would still benefit from a trial with subsonic ammo?

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Definitely. Some rifles are bloody fussy with their food. Different batches of same brand can upset them. Go along to an indoor 22 club night and listen to ammo conversations, same with outdoor club but they’ve finished their season I think.

yeah bit different to my full bore days it was 1958 army 303 or nothing

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Originally Posted by gundoc

I use Winchester subs in my own International (shortened, suppressed, scoped and thumb-holed), getting one-hole groups at 50 metres.

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The 12/15 my mate has shoots half inch at a hundy with winchester subs as you tested. Bloody tack driver.
I was spewing as mine wasn't as good.
Just didn't have the right ammo
Pity it's one of the more expensive subsonic rounds lol
@Bos yes definitely try subsonic
Standard velocity 22 ammo is basically subsonic so it all depends on what you need it for and what works.
When I get some more ammo I want to sight it in a little further out buy also try it at a hundy
Also need to try some HV as well. Just for the range
I have a sneaky feeling I have a handful of aguila sniper 60gr. Thats dear as poison too but didnt go any good in my other 22s

I heard the Aguila heavy stuff might be on the limit of the standard .22LR 1-16" twist as far as stability - I've never tried it in any of mine so I don't have any experience of it directly (never felt the need or had that fat a wallet). The stuff I picked up last week was CCI Standard, the good people behind the glass cabinet reckoned it seems to go OK for everyone they sell it too. $110 a brick with Toll freight tax on it, Eley and Norma were up around the $150 a brick which was a little spendy for my blood. The solid nose CCI is cheaper than their hunting stuff, and pretty much the cheapest off the shelf out of what we can get now. I have one of SixtyTen's hollow pointing dies here so am going to have a play with uniforming the noses and adding a hollow point and seeing what that does to the results in terms of grouping.

I dont thinks hares and bunnys will tell thats it solid nose

I get good results in my 1022 with cci sv,
Ammo direct in rolleston have it for $900 per 5000,or slightly dearer for 500

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Originally Posted by Barry the hunter

I dont thinks hares and bunnys will tell thats it solid nose

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Yeah, exactly - for me it's something to try with the ammo and also it uniforms the nose profile and the diameter of the round. Someone I used to shoot with quite a bit made up something similar although not quite as flash as SixtyTen's setup and swore by it. Reckoned it made a cloverleaf grouping ammo into a ragged one-hole setup. I'm interested to try it.

Well, you havent really tested it till youve tried Eley Match. Thats what it was designed to shoot.

Nb I have tried a couple of different boxes of Eley Subsonic ( hollowpoint) and it gave by far the biggest groups of anything. Its not the same stuff as Eley target ammo.

I would suggest the group with the CCI suppressor is perfectly suitable for hunting and eley match may be better but it's probably even more expensive.
I do have 10 rounds of eley tenex from 1989 back when I did a season of smallbore.
As for the eley subsonic, I had a handful of those from a couple of years back and that is indicated on the target.
Both next to useless in that rifle.

Yes that Suppressor group is great isnt it. Gimp would say to shoot a few sets of 10. Looking at that, the rifle / mount / scope has extremely good potential and I wouldnt bother with Match or your Tenex. Ive still got a couple of rows in storage for such occasions too.

I'd say, if you want to make accurate statements about the precision of the rifle/ammo system, you need more data.

If you want to go hunting with it, define what level of precision you need for that, determine whether it meets that, go hard

All of the holes in that bit of paper would be dead rabbits at the same range. I would use the ammo with the best killing ability, velocity and expansion; rather than the subsonics. in the .22 I use Powerpoints or Minimags. Accuracy is greatly overrated for hunting.

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Originally Posted by John Duxbury

Accuracy and precision is greatly overrated for hunting.

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Agreed. It's pretty hard to miss an animal due to poor precision. It really makes very little difference. Most hunting rifle precision is worse than most people think, but it doesn't matter for hunting. Shooter error is by far the larger effect size in the field

There is no consistent standard definition used for precision and most of those used have no direct relationship to hit probability

Indeed.

Well it's not used for target shooting anymore. If it had shot the group in the center of the target I would've been reasonably content for a less than 100m bunny gun (especially subs), but still a little disappointed an old target rifle couldn't do better.
If any of my 22s would do a 5 shot group as per the 45gr stuff I'd say done and done.
Next step is identifying some HV ammo that is at least as good as the center group and hopefully close to the really good group.
Funnily enough I want to try some CCI minimal and segmented although I do have maybe 2 packets of old aussie powerpoint I could try for shitz and gigs.
I did have some to try at the time but had an unwanted distraction amongst other things