I posted a thread about sub-MOA rimfires, and I got a lot of information from the responses. I concluded chasing accuracy from a .22 was not a good idea for me. It looked like I would have to spend four figures on a gun and then buy expensive ammunition, and I would also have to throw out a lot of ammo, because I would have to test each box.
The whole idea of cheap precision shooting went out the window with all that expense added.
I have kept reading about the subject though, and I've seen people getting pretty good results with Anschutz and Lithgow rifles, which are expensive but not insanely so, and cheap ammo.
Today I decided to see what my Savage A22 (Nikon Prostaff II) would do. I also had a friend's Marlin 60 (a model I don't like much) with a cheap Tasco scope. My friend left it with me after a visit, and I fixed the ejector spring and de-bubba'd a Home Depot wood screw that had been placed in the action. I set my new bench up at 50 yards, and I used the finest ammunition known to man: Remington Golden Bullets and CCI "Choot 'em" Mini-mags.
I was pretty surprised. Both guns produced 5-shot groups right at 1 MOA (0.500" center to center), as well as 4-shot groups the same size, plus one flyer. That's pretty good, and I think these guns can do better. The Marlin's trigger is an abomination straight from hell; at one point, I was pulling it so hard, I thought the safety was on. I can fix that. The Savage gave me problems because I had modified the recoil spring and set it too low. There were a few times it went off sooner than I expected. After shooting, I adjusted it, so it may be better now. Also, I'm not a phenomenal shot, and I haven't shot these guns much.
I also shot some heinous groups, but I'm pretty sure that was me, working with guns I'm not too familiar with. Things cleaned up at the end.
If I can generally shoot right at 1 MOA from 50 yards, seated, with an odd flyer here and there, using cheap guns and ammo, then it seems to me it's worth doing, since all practice is good, and 6-cent ammunition is wonderful. It also makes me think there is a possibility of getting sub-MOA performance at 100 yards with a somewhat better gun that doesn't cost $2500.
I have a couple of questions.
1. I've read that some people weigh their .22 rounds and sort them. Is this worth doing? I was thinking about it. People say it's a waste of time with bigger calibers, but the ratios of the weights of the components would be different for a .22, so maybe cartridge weights are more meaningful.
2. I've read that battered bullets are one cause of accuracy problems with .22 rifles. I believe the bullets get scraped by sharp edges on chamber mouths. Is it possible to decrease the damage by deburring the bottom of a gun's chamber mouth? I don't mean rounding it to the point where it doesn't support the gun's head and causes a blowout. I just mean removing the sharp edge.
Hope no one minds me asking questions about shooting cheap semiautos with low-end scopes.
The whole idea of cheap precision shooting went out the window with all that expense added.
I have kept reading about the subject though, and I've seen people getting pretty good results with Anschutz and Lithgow rifles, which are expensive but not insanely so, and cheap ammo.
Today I decided to see what my Savage A22 (Nikon Prostaff II) would do. I also had a friend's Marlin 60 (a model I don't like much) with a cheap Tasco scope. My friend left it with me after a visit, and I fixed the ejector spring and de-bubba'd a Home Depot wood screw that had been placed in the action. I set my new bench up at 50 yards, and I used the finest ammunition known to man: Remington Golden Bullets and CCI "Choot 'em" Mini-mags.
I was pretty surprised. Both guns produced 5-shot groups right at 1 MOA (0.500" center to center), as well as 4-shot groups the same size, plus one flyer. That's pretty good, and I think these guns can do better. The Marlin's trigger is an abomination straight from hell; at one point, I was pulling it so hard, I thought the safety was on. I can fix that. The Savage gave me problems because I had modified the recoil spring and set it too low. There were a few times it went off sooner than I expected. After shooting, I adjusted it, so it may be better now. Also, I'm not a phenomenal shot, and I haven't shot these guns much.
I also shot some heinous groups, but I'm pretty sure that was me, working with guns I'm not too familiar with. Things cleaned up at the end.
If I can generally shoot right at 1 MOA from 50 yards, seated, with an odd flyer here and there, using cheap guns and ammo, then it seems to me it's worth doing, since all practice is good, and 6-cent ammunition is wonderful. It also makes me think there is a possibility of getting sub-MOA performance at 100 yards with a somewhat better gun that doesn't cost $2500.
I have a couple of questions.
1. I've read that some people weigh their .22 rounds and sort them. Is this worth doing? I was thinking about it. People say it's a waste of time with bigger calibers, but the ratios of the weights of the components would be different for a .22, so maybe cartridge weights are more meaningful.
2. I've read that battered bullets are one cause of accuracy problems with .22 rifles. I believe the bullets get scraped by sharp edges on chamber mouths. Is it possible to decrease the damage by deburring the bottom of a gun's chamber mouth? I don't mean rounding it to the point where it doesn't support the gun's head and causes a blowout. I just mean removing the sharp edge.
Hope no one minds me asking questions about shooting cheap semiautos with low-end scopes.
