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Malice4you

What should I expect?

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I have a Savage Mark II with a heavy target barrel, Nikon Prostaff rimfire 4-12x40 scope, Apachee trigger upgrade (guessing around 20oz trigger pull), and bipod.

I have been shooting this rifle at 100 yards, and while I am happier with groups I have been getting lately, I am wondering if I am expecting too much from .22s, I still haven't found this rifle's preferred food yet, or if I just have a long way to go with my technique.

I have tried around 400 CCI green tag, 1000 Eley Target, and 100 Norma USA Match-22 so far.

The green tags were typically sub 2.5" groups, with occasional flyers.

The Eley target typically gives me sub 2" groups, with occasional flyers, but occasional 2-3 holes-touching groups as well.

The Match-22 was a mixed bag - more bullseyes but also more flyers than the eley, overall averaging about the same as the eley, so also sub 2" groups overall.

The Apachee trigger was only just installed, and I've only shot the Match-22 with it.

The stuff I have shot so far is cheaper target/match ammo, and I am trying to avoid spending 40+ cents a shot on .22, at least until I get a rifle more worthy of that...but I did just order 6 different match grade ammos from RWS, Federal, Lapua, and SK to play with.

So what kind of accuracy should I really expect at 100 yds with mid level match .22s and a halfway decent rifle?

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As best as I can tell, the BRJ model does not use a match barrel.  This doesn't mean the rifle does not have the potential to be very accurate, it just means the chamber and bore specs are a little different.  Match grade ammo is designed specifically for match barrels and all other 22lr ammo, (premium, standard, bulk) is made for a standard 22lr chamber.  There's actually a lot more to this but I don't want to get lost in the weeds.  Ammo for semi-auto is a whole other ball of wax and not relevant here except that you probably wont get good results with bullets shaped to feed better in a semi-auto. 

 

Most accuracy issues are a result of bullet deformity that occurs at the factory or in the rifle itself.  You can check for deformation by cycling live ammo through your rifle.  SAFETY FIRST, safety on and keep muzzle pointed in a safe direction.  Cycle 5 rounds of each brand/type of ammo and inspect the bullets.  Sometimes the bullets get scraped or dinged as it moves through the action.  Cycling ammo will tell you if that is happening.  If bullets are getting deformed as they are stripped from the magazine and travel over the action, you can get around this by single feeding.  If they are getting damaged as they are chambered, then that ammo is no good for that gun.  It's a bad match of bullet diameter and chamber.

 

Some 22s will give good results to 50 yards and then around 60 to 70 yards the groups may fall apart.  you could be getting 1' groups at 50 yards and 4' groups at 100.  This is because of the typical 1:16 twist which is kind of slow.  Even the most minor scrape or lopsidedness of a bullet will become more of a problem as the bullet slows down and yaws.

 

First, try the cycling test to see if the bullets are being tortured.  Next, try single feeding.  You can also try fouling the barrel.  Many barrels will shoot lousy with a squeaky clean bore.  Conversely, they will also shoot lousy with a heavily fouled bore.  You want just the right amount of fouling (sometimes referred to as leading) to smooth out and fill in the gaps and  imperfections in the rifling.  Also, check the crown.  If it is even slightly dinged or scratched, it can have a very bad effect.

 

This should be a good start on helping close those groups.

 

Most of the info above is derived from an extremely well written paper by a retired gunsmith that goes by the handle Iowegan.  Unfortunately I was not able to get permission to post his paper here.  If you want to read the full paper just google the guy's handle and you will find what ye seek.

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My rifle routinely shoots just under 1" groups at 100 yards, of course that requires no wind, no coffee and only with Eley Match ammo (black box). It did take quite a while to find the ammo that worked best in the rifle, and I must have tried at least 20 different loadings. I would be lying if I said that Tenex didn't shoot better than all the others, but the price tag was just too much for .25" better groups.

Check out the link here for an ammo test done a few years ago, it might give you a better perspective on expectations:

http://forums.accuratereloading.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/8711043/m/9871088921

FWIW - CCI Green Tag did not work very well for me at all.

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Savage rifles are accurate rifles, even the bare bones, non-target guns are surprisingly accurate.  But, 100 yds is a long range for a .22.  Bullet drop and wind drift become very significant at that distance.  Getting consistent groups at 100 yds is going to be difficult.  I'm not sure you'll ever achieve it.

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I just realized I never thanked everyone for their input. I appreciate the replies, info, and advice.

I went to the range today and shot some SK rifle match and some Lapua Center-X. The SK did well, with my best group roughly 1", but flyers that kept messing with me and my pride. (I'm doing well! ......oh...nevermind) The Lapua is some great stuff, it shrunk my groups considerably. While I didn't get better than .7" (E to E) groups, I got a lot of them.

I hate to spend centerfire ammo prices for .22, but damn am I enjoying this good stuff a lot more.  I'm going to have to try some of the $20+ a box stuff some day.

I also brought out my Marlin XT22 for some 50yd shooting. I only tried Eley target ammo, but damn does that trigger suck now compared to the Savage. May have to get another Apachee kit for the xt22. Groups at 50yd were comperable to my Lapua groups at 100, so I will have to see what food the xt22 prefers, too.

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