Ammo Testing Range

[bluebie]

Hey Folks,
I recently built up a Kidd 10/22 supergrade and bought as many different types of match ammo as I could find on Midway. I was planning to zero at 50yds.

Anyway, my question is: what distance do you guys use to shoot groups for testing your 22LR ammo to determine what variants shoot the best? 50? 100? 200?

Thanks!

 

[Trigger Monkey]

I shoot at 50 yards. If it shoots well then I'll start pushing it out to 100 and 200 to see how consistent the drop and accuracy is. Ive been surprised before by ammo that shot really tight groups at 50 but dropped like a rock at 100 compared to what i was using and had no consistency at 200 and 300.

 

[MarkCZ]

50 yds, then out to 150 yds for me.

Mark

 

[bluebie]

Cool thanks, that's pretty reasonable. I'll probably just select the top 5 or something at 50 and then push them out and see what runs.

Tangentially related: I was planning to break in the barrel with like 100 rounds of cci sv. I was thinking about shooting 1, cleaning, shooting 2, cleaning, shooting 3 cleaning, and then just burning through the rest of the box before cleaning and then proceeding to ammo testing. Is this a reasonable plan?

 

[jbell]

Test the ammo at the range you intend to shoot it at. You will see ammo that is excellent at 50 may not be at 100 and vise versa...

 

[jbell]

Tangentially related: I was planning to break in the barrel with like 100 rounds of cci sv. I was thinking about shooting 1, cleaning, shooting 2, cleaning, shooting 3 cleaning, and then just burning through the rest of the box before cleaning and then proceeding to ammo testing. Is this a reasonable plan?

IMO that is a waste of time cleaning between rounds like that. Run a patch or two through it and then start shooting it. If you are going to see an improvement from "break in" it will not come for at least 400-600 rounds. But some barrels (chambers) are shooters right out of the gate.

 

[bluebie]

IMO that is a waste of time cleaning between rounds like that. Run a patch or two through it and then start shooting it. If you are going to see an improvement from "break in" it will not come for at least 400-600 rounds. But some barrels (chambers) are shooters right out of the gate.

Very good to know, thanks. This is going to be my first time shooting rimfire, so I had no idea. I appreciate it.

 

[jbell]

No worries.

In that case you should also know that with rimfire and match ammo it will require a few rounds to "season" the bore when you go from one brand to another. Basically the lube change effects how the ammo shoots. From my experience here is how it goes:

-starting out with a seasoned bore of brand X ammo (meaning you have been shooting only brand X for at least 20 rounds) and it is shooting well
-change to brand Y ammo
-first 4-7 rounds of brand Y will more than likely show VERY GOOD accuracy (don't get excited just yet)
-the next 4-7 rounds the accuracy will drop off significantly (maybe with flyers or maybe just a scatter group)
-the next 3-5 rounds you will see the accuracy settle down, after around 15-18 rounds I find the rifle will be shooting brand Y consistently at this point and you can start your testing

**Some people will tell you to clean between brand X and brand Y, and there is nothing wrong with that. Just keep in mind that more than likely you will need 10-15 rounds to season a clean bore to a particular brand of ammo after cleaning. So IMO why bother cleaning, just season the barrel with shooting and work on fundamentals or an unsupported position or something.

 

[bluebie]

No worries.

In that case you should also know that with rimfire and match ammo it will require a few rounds to "season" the bore when you go from one brand to another. Basically the lube change effects how the ammo shoots. From my experience here is how it goes:

-starting out with a seasoned bore of brand X ammo (meaning you have been shooting only brand X for at least 20 rounds) and it is shooting well
-change to brand Y ammo
-first 4-7 rounds of brand Y will more than likely show VERY GOOD accuracy (don't get excited just yet)
-the next 4-7 rounds the accuracy will drop off significantly (maybe with flyers or maybe just a scatter group)
-the next 3-5 rounds you will see the accuracy settle down, after around 15-18 rounds I find the rifle will be shooting brand Y consistently at this point and you can start your testing

**Some people will tell you to clean between brand X and brand Y, and there is nothing wrong with that. Just keep in mind that more than likely you will need 10-15 rounds to season a clean bore to a particular brand of ammo after cleaning. So IMO why bother cleaning, just season the barrel with shooting and work on fundamentals or an unsupported position or something.

Thank you so much man, that's awesome info. Guess I'll get to shoot a lot on Sunday if I"m to get through all the different types

 

[justin amateur]

Whatever distance you test at, be aware testing will become a regular occurrence.
What produces decent results this week, will not necessarily produce worthwhile results next week.
Not even from the same manufacturer and the same production line.
If you test at 200 yards like I do...at least you'll have an excuse for the less than desirable results.
The wind did it.

 

[jbell]

Whatever distance you test at, be aware testing will become a regular occurrence.
What produces decent results this week, will not necessarily produce worthwhile results next week.
Not even from the same manufacturer and the same production line.
If you test at 200 yards like I do...at least you'll have an excuse for the less than desirable results.
The wind did it.

No truer words have been typed... HAHA