Match Ammo

[Richard Simmons]

Anyone shoot match ammo? Was just looking at the Ammo To Go website as well as Midway USA and the variety of Match type rimfire ammo is pretty large. Was just wondering if anyone was using match ammo and if so what are you buying, what are you shooting it in and what kind of accuracy are you getting? TIA

[old Grump]

After trying a bunch of it I couldn't find anything any better than Winchester Super X for the price, I only use it in my rifles when shooting for serious scores at 50 and 100 yards if I am competing. close up I shoot anything I can get my hands on. I haven't found much difference in any ammo at 25 yards and under. The only caveat is standard velocity 40 grain solids have an edge in accuracy no matter what brand I shoot.

[Richard Simmons]

Thanks OG

[ready]

I use the Wolf Match. I get 1 MOA or better out of a Savage bolt action. Close second is Federal Target Grade. I've never tried either out of a semi-auto but FYI the Federal Target Grade is made for S/A's and it's a higher velocity round than the Wolf. I got the wolf for my suppressors because it is sub-sonic.

[MemphisJim1]

Until a few months ago my "go to" was CCI MiniMag 40 gr. solid for both rifles and pistols. I get good, steady, consistent results with it in all my .22s. Shortly after the first of the year I began experimenting with match ammo in my heavy barrel Savage bolt action for benchrest match practice. Initially I was using Wolf Target Match with very good results. Then I stumbled across a box Wolf Match Extra and the results were even better. So, I've acquired a few thousand rounds of that and will use it for competitions. In the meantime, my everyday rifles and pistols continue to consume a steady diet of CCI MiniMags and Federal AutoMatch (also 40 gr. solid) for plinking, general "fun" shooting and introducing others to shooting. Both the CCI and Federal are readily available at WalMarts locally so they're low priced (relatively).

[Schuetzenman]

Short answer is no. I've got two .22 LR rifles, an Anschutz 54 sporter I picked up in 1973 and my AR15 dedicated .22 LR M4 type rifle. The Anschutz has never fired any target ammo. Never used it that much to try any. The AR .22 likes full power rounds be they solids or HP. rounds. In any event it's not a tack driver, but is fun to shoot. Match ammo I did try some Aguila Match but it didn't cycle reliably. It needs full High Speed ammo, Match ammo at 1080 fps or less lacks enough energy to cycle the blow back operated bolt system.

All that said, the .22 LR is a healed bullet and as such is a finicky beast. Cheap ammo often shoots as well as ammo 3x it's price just because it does a good job of fitting the chamber cut in the barrel. Ultimately I always say, try a box of everything and see what works best. Don't think about the price, what are the results on paper?

[63DH8]

I Used to shoot Benchrest shooting years ago. Sometimes I would watch the BR-50 shooters and chat with them. After finding the lot of ammunition their rifle liked, they weighed and segregate their rounds, then measure the rim thickness and segregate those rounds. They found they could get tighter groups by segregating their round this way. The thing they noticed was the segregated batches did not necessarily group tighter than another segregated batch, but shot tighter as a whole than a non-segregated batch of rounds.

This is the one I ended up getting. http://picturearchive.auctionarms.com/2862121716/4503389/ACF6E6E.jpg

There are others on the market that uses a micrometer or a veneering caliper I feel does a better job.
http://accurateshooter.net/Blog/sprimfiregaugex250.jpg

[Partisan1983]

When I was shooting small bore comps, Eley was the best.


But after talking with a buddy about a month ago, who is still shooting small bore, Eley's Q.C. has gone downhill over the years.


He currently shoots Wolf Extra Match, and really likes it.