Accurate and Cheap .22 LR 22LR ?

[Mountain]

What are some accurate but relatively cheap 22LR options? Accurate as in ~0.5 MOA or better with a target rifle, 1 MOA better standard rifle. Cheap as in below the usual high end match ammo prices of $10-$16 for a box of 50 Eley, RWS, etc.

I'll get it started:

CCI Standard Velocity?
Norma Tac-22
Wolf Match Target

Any to add? Thanks!

edit- added Wolf

 

[IPSC_DRL]

I shoot CCI standard exclusively in my High Standard Supermatic Citation for pin/plate shoots. It is accurate, reliable, and not overly expensive.

 

[Chet0729]

I like the Norma or the CCI as well. Also liked the Eley Club. I have attended a few pistol matches and it seems that they all shoot CCI Standard velocity.

 

[northny]

You will need to try some brands in weapon you want to use it in. I seem to get best results from standard velocity. My 22 ar likes Remington golden but bolt target rifle cci standard.

 

[mac1911]

for the sub 10$ range ? Wolf is on the better side but I have not seen much of it under 75$/500 in ages

 

[Kevin_NH]

Fiocchi is pretty good for cheap but accurate ammo.

When you can find it, CCI "pistol match" is a bit more consistent than SV, goes for just under $10/box. Have you tried CCI Green Tag?

 

[MSant]

I have had good reaults with automatch

 

[mac1911]

I have only shot SV ammo other than some 22shorts.

My remington 513 will shoot to 1moa with the Aquila 22 extra extra I bought from CMP back in 2010. The centerion match from the cmp will do sub 1 moa.
Problem being all this was bought pre 2012.
Other than a few dedicated 22 shooters web sites and vendors I'm not seeing much that I would say will deliver consistent results for under 10 cents per round.

 

[Mountain]

I think I have a connection for some Wolf.

Over lunch I picked up a pretty good selection of sub $10 per 50 ammo, including CCI standard velocity. I'll start a comparison and post results.

 

[PatMcD]

I did a test with "cheaper" .22 ammo last year with my S&W 41 in a Ransom Rest at 50 yards.
View attachment 165022

The clear winners were CCI SV and Wold Match Target. Wolf was a little better, but a t $7.50 per box, I opt for the CCI when I can find it (Usually under $5 per 50).

 

[Mountain]

That's some impressive 50 yard pistol shooting!

I'll be shooting the 10/22:

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I think the 513 would be inherently more accurate but its trigger is not great and I only have the iron sights for it. I built the 10/22 in the early 90's with a Volquartsen barrel and internals. Recently put a Kidd trigger on it. I've shot sub .5 MOA with the 10/22 at 50 yards with some pricey RWS match ammo. Last time I shot it I had over-torqued the action bolt and it was not shooting as well.

 

[slap shot]

You really need to see what each .22 rifle likes. When I got my CZ 455 I brought about a dozen types of
ammo to the range and shot at 25 50 and 100 yds. Besides it being a damn fun way to spend the afternoon it was a real eye opener. The federal automatch? Not awful. The eley club target stuff. Worth it. CCI std velocity. Good too. Point is. There are tons of reviews out there and mostly valid.

 

[mac1911]

Back in my Jr days the "rich" kids sent their rifles to lapua or eley or somewhere where they would test several lots of ammo in your match gun. Once the found a lot number that did well they would sell you 20-50k rounds.
Anyone know if they still do this?

I also wonder how much the "made in Germany" match ammo differs wolf,lapua,rws.... was poking around and found some match ammo .....1800$/5000rd should shoot sub moa!

 

[Dnotarianni]

diferent guns like diferent ammo My 22 savage bolt loves Winchester M-22 followed by Mini Mags

 

[dcmdon]

I did a test with a bunch of non-match .22 a couple of years ago in preparation for an appleseed.

CCI SV was the clear winner.

I recently picked up a couple of cases of Gemtech .22, which is made for them by CCI. It is supposed to be very accurate for reasonably priced ($6/box) ammo.

Don

- - - Updated - - -

Last time I shot it I had over-torqued the action bolt and it was not shooting as well.

Out of curiosity, what do you torque the bolt to?

Is the bbl free floated or do you have a barrel pad in place?

Thanks,

Don

 

[Mountain]

So far I have these to test, all under $10 per 50.

RWS Target Rifle (may have been sub $10 because on sale)
Eley Club
Eley Target 50
Federal Auto Match
CCI SV

The RWS has been good- I won our last 22 benchrest with that. My Wolf connection didn't pan out. Hoping the CCI SV will be in the same ballpark as the others.

IIRC, the stock was made by Turner Customs. I built this rifle in the 90's. At the time, it was pretty unique. Of course now Ruger has jumped in with their own custom-like laminate stocks. I think it is a 'pad' design, with the front of the stock applying a little pressure under the barrel. I wasn't thinking & cranked it down pretty tight after putting in the Kidd trigger. I have since reset to 18 inch lbs.

 

[mac1911]

So far I have these to test, all under $10 per 50.

RWS Target Rifle (may have been sub $10 because on sale)
Eley Club
Eley Target 50
Federal Auto Match
CCI SV

The RWS has been good- I won our last 22 benchrest with that. My Wolf connection didn't pan out. Hoping the CCI SV will be in the same ballpark as the others.

IIRC, the stock was made by Turner Customs. I built this rifle in the 90's. At the time, it was pretty unique. Of course now Ruger has jumped in with their own custom-like laminate stocks. I think it is a 'pad' design, with the front of the stock applying a little pressure under the barrel. I wasn't thinking & cranked it down pretty tight after putting in the Kidd trigger. I have since reset to 18 inch lbs.

I look at the design of the ruger and the barrel to receiver is not exactly a good fit for free floating? At least mine are not. I can see some room for wiggle in the design.

As for 22 ammo I have always liked eley. although it was not readily available.
I thought I had a 500 brick of wolf match but I cant find it.
I did how ever find the receipts for some 22lr I bought from the cmp in 2012
Centerion Match blue box with gold trim vs the Target stuff that has a silver trim. 310$/5000 shipped
also jumped on that US contract surplus Remington they sold in two waves first round was 95$/5000 and 130$/5000 a few months later. Its pretty darn good and I put some of it over the crony IIRC it was on the lines of SD of 15fps?
I have not shot much in the ways of match ammo since 2008. Getting back into shooting my 22s more I am looking to see how where that cut off is between skills/ammo/price lies.

I will be trying my 513 again at 200 yards tomorrow if time allows. I filed doen my front mount and gaind about 6moa which should get me into the top of the 10 ring.?
I have a few different boxes to try.

 

[jtnf]

I look at the design of the ruger and the barrel to receiver is not exactly a good fit for free floating? At least mine are not. I can see some room for wiggle in the design.

As for 22 ammo I have always liked eley. although it was not readily available.
I thought I had a 500 brick of wolf match but I cant find it.
I did how ever find the receipts for some 22lr I bought from the cmp in 2012
Centerion Match blue box with gold trim vs the Target stuff that has a silver trim. 310$/5000 shipped
also jumped on that US contract surplus Remington they sold in two waves first round was 95$/5000 and 130$/5000 a few months later. Its pretty darn good and I put some of it over the crony IIRC it was on the lines of SD of 15fps?
I have not shot much in the ways of match ammo since 2008. Getting back into shooting my 22s more I am looking to see how where that cut off is between skills/ammo/price lies.

1.9c/round? I hope you bought a metric shitload at that price!

 

[mac1911]

1.9c/round? I hope you bought a metric shitload at that price!

If it was not remington I would have bought more....IF I had known 1994 remington stepped up quality for US that much I would have bough a case or few more.
I basically bought what I could afford at the time.

 

[Mountain]

Finally made a dedicated range trip this AM to test the reasonably priced 'target' 22LR:

RWS Target Rifle (sub $10 because on sale)
Eley Club
Eley Target 50
Federal Auto Match
CCI SV

First, here are the 50 yard targets with the custom 10/22 and scope:



And next, 25 yard targets with the Remington 513T, iron sights:



Not my best shooting, but good enough for the comparison. Via single loading, I've shot below .5 MOA over 10 shots with the 10/22 before; so this isn't majorly worse. I should have shot more than one group for each, and probably should have cleaned the barrel before each group w/ a fouling shot before 'score'. Just being lazy and loading via the magazine on a nice 4th of July. I only tried the best two in the 513T.

The winner for both rifles is Eley Target 50. I 'called' a flyer and made 5 other shots for a .302" group with the Ruger at 50 yards. A .389" group via the 513T at 25 yards.

RWS 50 is an easy 2nd place. If I had not shot a slight flyer it may have been best in the 513T.

CCI SV and Eley Club tied for 3rd. For the money, it's CCI SV all the way. I agree with others that this is accurate stuff and a bit of a sleeper.

A distant last is the Federal Auto Match. This was a little hotter than the others and not close in accuracy. Probably will run great in a semi-auto pistol.

That's it! Just closing the loop on my earlier post...

Edit-

My next project is definitely the 513T trigger. Nice clean break, but the pull weight is awful.

 

[mac1911]

Finally made a dedicated range trip this AM to test the reasonably priced 'target' 22LR:

RWS Target Rifle (sub $10 because on sale)
Eley Club
Eley Target 50
Federal Auto Match
CCI SV

First, here are the 50 yard targets with the custom 10/22 and scope:

View attachment 171257

And next, 25 yard targets with the Remington 513T, iron sights:

View attachment 171258

Not my best shooting, but good enough for the comparison. Via single loading, I've shot below .5 MOA over 10 shots with the 10/22 before; so this isn't majorly worse. I should have shot more than one group for each, and probably should have cleaned the barrel before each group w/ a fouling shot before 'score'. Just being lazy and loading via the magazine on a nice 4th of July. I only tried the best two in the 513T.

The winner for both rifles is Eley Target 50. I 'called' a flyer and made 5 other shots for a .302" group with the Ruger at 50 yards. A .389" group via the 513T at 25 yards.

RWS 50 is an easy 2nd place. If I had not shot a slight flyer it may have been best in the 513T.

CCI SV and Eley Club tied for 3rd. For the money, it's CCI SV all the way. I agree with others that this is accurate stuff and a bit of a sleeper.

A distant last is the Federal Auto Match. This was a little hotter than the others and not close in accuracy. Probably will run great in a semi-auto pistol.

That's it! Just closing the loop on my earlier post...

Edit-

My next project is definitely the 513T trigger. Nice clean break, but the pull weight is awful.

Cool keep in mind the trigger weight on the 513 is from days when the matches dictated a pull of no less than I think 3 1/2#.
Once you get in there you will see how it's set up....the lowest I could get was about 2 pounds but lost the clean break and the sear would trip if you closed the bolt to quickly. Actually as you look at the trigger set up you will wonder how the trigger is even as good as it is.

I shot my test group round robin style out of the 513...figured this might even out the results. I had a clear winner also which was SK. I will pick up some other sub 10$ box to try like CCI, RWS or what ever I can find locally...not much round here

Just a note the front screw is for pull weight and the rear is travel. Really deep cleaning Helps also. I had tons of old grease,powder,hair and so on in my 1943 513.
What's the barrel code on your 513.

 

[Chet0729]

I have a 513t and it is a blast to shoot. Mine was found in a closet what someone was moving out of their house that had been in a family for a lot of years. Still has the peep target sights on it.

 

[Mountain]

That's quite a closet!

Mine was missing the rear peep iris. Per mac1911's recommendation, I bought an adjustable iris. Last time I shot it, I had it cranked down as small as possible and still had a clear view of the bullseye. I had to open it up a bit today- tired eyes.

mac, I'll PM what might be the code. I think it's the serial number, however...

 

[mac1911]

Some more crappy im bored videos
/

 

[Mountain]

LOL, miss having the kids running around at that age. On the good side, I could work on my 513T while one of my boys mows the back 40. Also plenty of time to shoot- no chasing sports, Scouts, etc.

Definitely an improvement after cleaning and adjusting the pull and take-up. Seem to be getting the best result via letting out the pull as much as possible while keeping slight pressure to retain the screw, then gradually cranking down the take up. Still not a 'nice' trigger but way better than it was.

Time for grilling and beer!

 

[mac1911]

LOL, miss having the kids running around at that age. On the good side, I could work on my 513T while one of my boys mows the back 40. Also plenty of time to shoot- no chasing sports, Scouts, etc.

Definitely an improvement after cleaning and adjusting the pull and take-up. Seem to be getting the best result via letting out the pull as much as possible while keeping slight pressure to retain the screw, then gradually cranking down the take up. Still not a 'nice' trigger but way better than it was.

Time for grilling and beer!

I remember way back when shooting Jr . Rifle , often complaint about many of the club rifles "trigger pull"
The coaches would often say your trigger control is the problem.
Most of these old dogs ( long gone now) could out shoot us with a red Ryder. They would often prove to us over and over that trigger break is far more important than pull weight.

So anyhow after messing with my 513 I reinstalled it and sure as shit once installed in the stock the sear will release on closing .....should have left it alone.
I'm so like you know passed at myself.....
So this means now I will tear down the entire trigger assembly
Snip a coil off the trigger spring , polish the sear and any other contact part...

The sear gets beat up if the action is run hard. Well it will have to wait I,need to decide what to shoot in vintage match Enfield,K31,K98 check zero and load up some M1 feed

 

[Mountain]

My 513T trigger pull is better since adjusting, but still a bit stout. Normally there's a little take-up click before the break, but every once in a while it just breaks. The sears can be polished? I myself would go very slowly and carefully, or just leave it alone so I don't cob it up.

That said, my 513T is not terrible at 100 yards. Conditions at the range were good today- well lit and minimal wind. See below 5-shot SR-1 targets:



1st target (from left, score 49 3X) was the CCI Standard Velocity. I really like this ammo. A couple more clicks left and it's in the money.

2nd (score 47) and 3rd (score 50, 1X maybe 2X) targets are the Eley Target 50. This is a bit hotter than the CCI SV, I think maybe 10 clicks to bring the Eley back down to center after shooting the CCI SV. On a good day my groups are 1.5 to 2 times smaller than these with either my highpower AR or my '03 NM.

I like the old Lyman sights now that I've installed the adjustable Gehmann iris and the aftermarket globe sight post. Can't wait to heal up and use the 513T with a sling for match practice.

 

[mac1911]

My 513T trigger pull is better since adjusting, but still a bit stout. Normally there's a little take-up click before the break, but every once in a while it just breaks. The sears can be polished? I myself would go very slowly and carefully, or just leave it alone so I don't cob it up.

That said, my 513T is not terrible at 100 yards. Conditions at the range were good today- well lit and minimal wind. See below 5-shot SR-1 targets:

View attachment 171330

1st target (from left, score 49 3X) was the CCI Standard Velocity. I really like this ammo. A couple more clicks left and it's in the money.

2nd (score 47) and 3rd (score 50, 1X maybe 2X) targets are the Eley Target 50. This is a bit hotter than the CCI SV, I think maybe 10 clicks to bring the Eley back down to center after shooting the CCI SV. On a good day my groups are 1.5 to 2 times smaller than these with either my highpower AR or my '03 NM.

I like the old Lyman sights now that I've installed the adjustable Gehmann iris and the aftermarket globe sight post. Can't wait to heal up and use the 513T with a sling for match practice.

Yes the sear can be polished... I say don't be afraid to "polish" the sear. BUT don't get crazy. If your going to try and stone anything be sure to have spare parts...
The lyman/redfield match sights are great and the Williams is ok also. Front globes are also very good for standard target shooting. The aperture style sights can really help especially with your eyes aging. The adjustable aperture is a must it can really help when light conditions suck...it doesn't take much you run it down then open it up ever so slowly to the target pops into clarity.

Eley target should be darn close to CCI SV ....maybe you just notice a much more consistent report possible it seals a bit better also providing a better deal and a loader pop?

Any how I have not shot CCI in years. Been shooting the CMP centerion/aquila match and target stuff and wolf.
Out of wolf completely. That SK stuff I tried shot almost 2 moa better than anything I have
Eley is funny stuff. Guy down the club has been shooting some great groups with eley club. Sub MOA often out of his CZ bull barrel target model and a 8x32 vortex scope....seen him Saturday and he's all flustered. Ran out of the Club bought another 2 bricks and this lot is 1.5 moa at best so far.... been there myself when you find a lot that works buy as much as you can...
One guy at our club really likes eley match and Lapua Midas.... I have seen him shoot several .5" groups at 100 yards with it. I have no idea what gun he has. It's a single shot with a pretty rough bench rest style stock.

My next time out I will have more to test. ..need to bring the rifle rest to see if I can get better than 2 moa with the SK

 

[Rob Boudrie]

Accurate, Cheap, In Stock - Pick any 2 out of 3

 

[Mountain]

Accurate, Cheap, In Stock - Pick any 2 out of 3

So true!

mac, the Eley Club didn't pattern that great for me. Must be similar to that guy's new lot.

After shooting the first target with the CCI SV, I took a shot with the Eley 50 on a Shoot-n-See target to determine the POI for it. It was about 3 inches high, maybe 2-1/2". The Shoot-n-See target bull is bigger, so I had to guess a little for the SR-1 6:00 hold. Still too high on the second target (middle one).

Whatever the reason, I'm certain the Eley was faster than the CCI. Hitting much higher at the same sight setting. Both types seemed to have a close fit the chamber.

That guy at your club shoot .5" groups with irons or a scope?