22lr Ammo/Accuracy Testing - Eley and RWS - Pic Heavy

As I mentioned in another thread, after seeing all these Vudoo's in action I decided to some testing with my 22's and see what they can do so I though I'd share the results :thumbsup:

The tested ammo was as follows. Eley Edge, Contact, Sport, Subs, Force, Match, and Club. RWS Club, Target Rifle, Rifle Match, Special Match, R50. I also got a box of Geco Rifle. The hunting rounds used for control groups were Fiocchi Subs in both rifles as they both show a slight preference over CCI Subs.

I have a few disclaimers in advance though.

First of I am am no bench rest shooter, I don't have flags or anything and the conditions I've been shooting in are less than ideal. All these groups have been shot off a bipod and rear bag. Normally there is at least 5-8kph of wind as it rarely is dead calm here. I am just shooting printed A4 targets stapled onto pine rings so hardly scientific stuff.

Secondly there was almost no Lapua or SK ammo available at the time as well as 10x being out of stock so this is all I could get my hands on at the time.

Lastly I will be posting all of my results, the good and the bad and trying not to sugar coat by only posting the best groups.

Now that is out of the way here are the 2x rifle I tested this ammo with.

First off is my trusty CZ 452 wearing a Nikko Stirling Panamax 3-9x40 and Hushpower suppressor.
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The other rifle is a new addition. A Anschutz 1416 wearing a Weaver tactical 4-20x50.
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And finally the shooting setup (100m), horse rug and all.
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More to follow shortly....

Now for the ammo results. Firstly some previous groups with the 452 with Fiocchi and CCI.
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And the only groups I have shot through the 1416 prior.
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So nothing too flash and not that consistent but plenty good enough for a hunting rifle.

Again, more to follow soon.

Hey - great work there, and bloody good shooting too. Keep em coming . . .

Now for the "Match" style ammo. All of these groups were 10x shot. This was to try and give me the best consistent and accurate results. Not sure if this is how you should do it but it's what I did.
I also notice group sizes @ 5 shots were generally quite a lot better than @ 10. Makes sense of coarse but I just thought I'd mention it.

I shot these the night the ammo turned up as patience is not a strong point of mine and the conditions got worse as I went.

First up was Eley Sport and Eley Subs.
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I was not that impressed. The wind had started to pick up by this stage so I thought I'd try the premium ammo, Eley Match and R50, next before it got worse.
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Faaaaaaarrrrrk. I was very frustrated after this and losing interest pretty quick. I expected better results from ammo that cost this much! But I continued and Eley Force and contact were up next.
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Faaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrkkkkkkkkkkkk. I only shot 3x shots of the Force out of the 452 because it shot so bad. I was not a happy camper by this stage, toy's getting thrown everywhere (which did not help my shooting) but I pressed on. Next up Eley club and Edge.
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Finally something to get a little excited about. By now the wind was quite bad so I was very happy with this. Next up was RWS Target and Geco Rifle.
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Well the 1416 was starting to produce so Ok results. I still wasn't over the moon but I only had 3x types of ammo to go at this stage so I thought well I've come this far so I should finish what I started so here are the last 3x, RWS Club, Special Match and Rifle Match.
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Some more good results for the 1416 given the conditions, not so much for the 452 though but given the price difference between the rifles it did seem fitting.

By this stage the wind was howling so I had to call it a night as it would just be a complete waste of ammo if I continued.

I've still got more...

I'll try the attachments again...
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Next up is the testing with ammo the rifles seem to like the most. I decided to go back to 5x shot groups, don't ask why as I don't know myself!
Here are the 452's targets. I was very happy with some of these but the Edge did seem to have occasional horrific fliers which destroyed some of the groups.
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So as you can see so good and a lot of not so good. Most of the "Match" ammo was not a lot better than hunting subs through this rifle:TT TT:

And here are the 1416's targets. Things got a bit better from here on out:thumbsup:
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Then Wifey came out and had a go...
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Biiiaaarchhhh!! 3x tiny groups in a row with 2x different ammo's before one feel to pieces for her.
Then I tried the Special match out @ 100m with some promising results.
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By this stage I had something to smile about, well at least for me!

Thanks for posting your groups

Similar results to my experience. Won't bother with expensive RWS again.

Eley Edge at 100yds was reasonable.
Best groups at 100 with Lithgow are with lowly CCI SV although I will do more with Edge, should this bloody wind ever drop.

Fired a lot of shots thru LabRadar (did one string of 75) and had some real horror stories with a lot of them having huge ES.
All my poor elevation shots showed up on the LabRadar as velocity related which on one hand made me happy with my technique but pissed off with some of the supposedly match rated ammo.

The other thing I found is ammo that produces nice groups at 50 doesn't necessary produce nice groups at 100.

Don't know why the attachments are playing up but I'll try again...
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Here's the last one (for the moment), I promise :P

These are the results from 100m.
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And here's the only groups I've shot @ 150m.

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Just to quickly rap up, there's not really any moral of the story here but I don't think a couple of sub MOA 5x shot groups @ 150m with a 22lr is to shoddy and I'm looking forward to when I actually get some good shooting conditions to do some further testing!!

Not sure why the pics aren't loading, I'll try them again...
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And the 100m targets...
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And finally the only 150m target
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Hope these all upload this time:oh noes:

Very interesting and as I've said - excellent shooting. Does your Annie always "throw" that first shot? My 1415/1416 certainly does and it's a mystery as to why.

Great shooting and good to see.

Quick question, did you clean the rifle between any of these?

Having reviewed your results again, they are very impressive, your 1416 would be able to do the 1/2" 5x5 shot groups at 50 pretty comfortably with the SM match I'd think, and I know too well how difficult it is, haven't succeeded yet myself or even come close really.

Its a bit academic but to shoot consistent small groups I feel one needs at least 4 factors under control 1. the ability to maintain discipline to shoot group after group with the same precision, 2. an accurate rifle, 3. Ammo that the rifle "likes" and I think the most difficult, 4. that the ammo the rifle likes is consistent.

I've shot the smallest groups with Eley Club, and can repeat them about 2 out of 5 groups, but the other three always blow out. Eley Match doesn't produce the smallest groups in my 1415-1416, but they are pretty good and they are consistent. Hopefully some RWS becomes available in due course, it would be interesting to see if my Annie likes the SM as much as yours.

@Tentman Yeah it seems to through the first shot of the session at least half of the time, no idea why as I haven't even run a bore snake through it yet since I got it. I haven't shot it enough with the ammo it likes to see how regularly it throws the first shot without changing ammo yet.
@Beaker As above, I haven't done any cleaning at all. It seemed from the research I've done that it will likely not make a noticeable difference and again, patience it not one of my stronger traits so cleaning in between groups is out of the question!! Well unless I start getting results that show a noticeable improvement in accuracy...

@Tentman Yeah I think I got pretty lucky so far with the special match, I've got to say I'm pretty happy with the results I've got. Some of the other RWS showed promise but not close to the SM. The Eley Edge seams to be pretty good in both rifles but it does have fliers which I can't explain. In saying that I did buy 2x bricks of the Special Match and 1x brick of the Edge to do further testing with, I just haven't had time yet.

I would love to run a few shots through a chrono to see exactly what the speed, ES and SD numbers are like but that's still on the wish list for the time being.

The guy I bought it off sent me a photo of a target with 5x different types of SK ammo and it appears to really like that as well but there's been really limited stock in the country. I'm looking forward to getting my hands on some Lapua as well but again there's no stock. I have recently got a brick of SK Standard Plus for plinking ammo that haven't tested yet as well as a box of Federal Gold Medal Target to try as well. I'll put the results up when I get round to testing them.

I found the batch I have of the new bright yellow SK standard plus to be very very average, ES like you wouldn't believe, you can even hear it...

The SK Rifle match varies a bit batch to batch

The SK Pistol match is pretty good, well worth a look at

SK Pistol Match Special, Biathlon & Long Range are all better in that order

Eley Black & Tenex are better again for some disciplines

I haven't done enough with Lapua Centre X or Midas Plus but it does show promise...as it should $$$

All the SK tends to have the odd flier to a greater or lesser degree, more so than the Eley Black & Tenex

Quote:

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Originally Posted by suthy

@Tentman Yeah I think I got pretty lucky so far with the special match, I've got to say I'm pretty happy with the results I've got. Some of the other RWS showed promise but not close to the SM. The Eley Edge seams to be pretty good in both rifles but it does have fliers which I can't explain. In saying that I did buy 2x bricks of the Special Match and 1x brick of the Edge to do further testing with, I just haven't had time yet.

I would love to run a few shots through a chrono to see exactly what the speed, ES and SD numbers are like but that's still on the wish list for the time being.

The guy I bought it off sent me a photo of a target with 5x different types of SK ammo and it appears to really like that as well but there's been really limited stock in the country. I'm looking forward to getting my hands on some Lapua as well but again there's no stock. I have recently got a brick of SK Standard Plus for plinking ammo that haven't tested yet as well as a box of Federal Gold Medal Target to try as well. I'll put the results up when I get round to testing them.

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I found the Edge to mostly shoot well but produce a pretty regular flier too, very frustrating. Where did your RWS come from ??

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Originally Posted by Kiwi Greg

I found the batch I have of the new bright yellow SK standard plus to be very very average, ES like you wouldn't believe, you can even hear it...

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Same here. Not as good as the older packaged SK Standard.

It's been interesting reading. Rimfire accuracy can drive you insane. My CZ452 nearly always throws the first shot, even when it hasn't been cleaned. I always miss the first rabbit! It's got to the point where I fire a couple of shots in to the dirt before starting a rabbit hunt.

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Originally Posted by 10-Ring

Same here. Not as good as the older packaged SK Standard.

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Absolutely, the old gold box I have is definitely on a par with rifle match

Good shooting Suthy. Yes first shot being awol is pretty common even with sharpshooter 22s - barrel warmer quite often required. Couple in the dirt is a good idea.

The wind will be affecting your groups causing degree of unreliability - will contribute to uneven spread but may just as easily also cause random tighter groups. You'll need to get one of those still mornings to get standardised results. Question - how quickly are you changing from one ammo to another - are you shooting consecutive groups with different ammos or are you allowing a few changeover rounds. Often rifles need at least 5 rounds on the new ammo before it settles into its own lube and group pattern - can be quite a few more, can be less. Need to watch for it.

Best I got at 100m with a standard barrel sporter 22 was four consecutive 3 shot groups from 0.5 to 0.8", with average of 0.66". Not the most accurate hunter 22 at 50m, but held beautiful groups at 100m. That was a Norinco Em332 with PMC Match black packet at open air Handloaders range Chch.

Keep it up. Over the years I found it often takes testing 12-15 or more 22LR ammos in a rifle, then picking 2-3 of the preferred performers, then drilling into those to see what rifle can do. Takes time, takes getting conditions exactly right, and then getting you just right. Days we can shoot effortlessly, in the zone, get down to 0.1 - 0.2", win championships. Other days you're better to just go home! :)

@Tentman Got all the Eley and RWS from shootingstuff. I got great service from them but unfortunately they have a flat rate of $50 freight:O_O:

@mudgripz Yeah I think I will start to fire a warmer round at the start of each session as that first flier has cost me some good groups.

I might try some 3x shot groups at 100m next time I get out, based on my previous 5x shot groups I should get some pretty good results, particularly if the weather is playing ball!

What distance are you shooting at when get .1" and.2" groups? 50m?

Have had sporter 22s average down into the 0.2s and 0.3s over 4 consecutive 5 shot groups at 50m - that's my own accuracy measure. You will occasionally shoot 0.1" groups but they're more amusing than useful because if you can't repeat them, then they ain't telling that rifle's story!!

Soooo after all this talk of shooting, I decided to test the SK+ Federal ammo this arvo...
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Same old story regarding the conditions, wind from 0-11kph on and off but I shot next to a line of pines to help out a bit and it wasn't a full value 90 degree wind either.
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First I shot some reference groups through both rifles just to gauge the other results against the conditions. The Edge and 452 combo was very disappointing today.
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First I shot the Federal Gold Medal Target. Neither rifle really liked it.
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Then I shot the SK+.
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The 10x shot group with the 1416 looked very promising but the 10x shot group and 5x shot groups all had 1 flier which ruined the groups. Very annoying but at least It was good enough to do some further testing with it as I have a whole brick!! @Kiwi Greg @10-Ring Does this look like the new batch of SK+ that you've had average success with??

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Originally Posted by suthy

...@Kiwi Greg @10-Ring Does this look like the new batch of SK+ that you've had average success with??

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Yep, pretty much. I have two Anschutz 54 sporting rifles (1422 and 1712) and they both don't like the new SK Standard. Personally, I wouldn't even attempt to shoot for accuracy with even the slightest of breezes. Waste of time and ammo.

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Originally Posted by 10-Ring

Yep, pretty much. I have two Anschutz 54 sporting rifles (1422 and 1712) and they both don't like the new SK Standard. Personally, I wouldn't even attempt to shoot for accuracy with even the slightest of breezes. Waste of time and ammo.

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I agree

The ONLY way you can shoot consistently small/tiny groups with a 22LR is inside with a properly tuned great rifle with very good ammo & even then you will get fliers

Even the best ammo isn't "perfect"

Shooting a 22 benchrest rifle outside with flags is a very humbling experience, .3-.6 fifty meter 5 shot groups are common, .2s aren't, .1s are rare

shooting indoor (from sled) I find the Edge & RWS & SK rifle match shoot to the same poi.
SK & RWS are cheaper.
that's good shootig, outdoor with ~9kph wind. That alone will "float" shots around.

https://www.accurateshooter.com/guns...mparison-test/

I know what you're saying with the wind but I don't have access to any indoor ranges so if I waited for perfect outdoor conditions to shot, not only would I be waiting for the weather to play ball but I'd be waiting on the Mrs to not be busy with the horses, not to be busy with work, nothing that needs doing around the property, the boy to not need looking after etc etc so I'd only get out shooting twice a year and there's no fun in that!!

Also the main reason I wanted a 22lr that shoots well is to practice shooting at a minimum of 100m in the wind with something that is reliable so I can get better at making windage calls. Obviously for accuracy testing wind isn't ideal but I've still got a pretty good idea what is working and what is not and eventually the stars will align and I'll get a perfect day to do some serious testing and I wont have to test ammo that I now know isn't the best.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by suthy

Soooo after all this talk of shooting, I decided to test the SK+ Federal ammo this arvo...
Attachment 127696Attachment 127697
Same old story regarding the conditions, wind from 0-11kph on and off but I shot next to a line of pines to help out a bit and it wasn't a full value 90 degree wind either.
Attachment 127698
First I shot some reference groups through both rifles just to gauge the other results against the conditions. The Edge and 452 combo was very disappointing today.
Attachment 127699
First I shot the Federal Gold Medal Target. Neither rifle really liked it.
Attachment 127701
Then I shot the SK+.
Attachment 127704
The 10x shot group with the 1416 looked very promising but the 10x shot group and 5x shot groups all had 1 flier which ruined the groups. Very annoying but at least It was good enough to do some further testing with it as I have a whole brick!! @Kiwi Greg @10-Ring Does this look like the new batch of SK+ that you've had average success with??

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What stock and rifle is the one on front with the thumb hole? Stock looks beautiful.

Never mind read the first post.

hi Suthy
I'll say again, that's great shooting.
I wobble that much from pulse, never mind wind.
I tried the link in the article I linked to and it shows them testing to 100yds indoors......
lucky buggers.
The usual comment re ammo grades is the greater es ammo is packaged in the next grade down so picking Eley Match over Edge should help remove the fliers; especially out tat 100m.
My understanding anyways.
cheers

@Awaian That big rear bag (which is actually a front bag) in the photo up the top of the page helps heaps with pulse movement, in fact it pretty much eliminates it. I have considerably more trouble with the target/reticle moving around from mirage.