Range Report Comparison: Prime .22LR Subsonic HP, Wolf Match Extra

[DownhillFromHere]

I bought a case of Prime .22LR 40-grain Subsonic HP on their moving sale (still appears on their web site). This is a report on how it compares with Wolf Match Extra, the round I have found to perform best in my particular rifle. Test was run from a bench, not prone.

SUMMARY:

• In my rifle, the Prime performed nearly as well (0.6-0.75" @50 yards) as my favored Wolf Match Extra (WME) (0.4-0.6" @50 yards).
• Prime averaged 40fps slower than WME.
• WME was more consistent in terms of velocity.
• For me personally, it's a bargain at sale price $0.06 per round but I would be VERY disappointed at full-price $0.18 per round.

Detail:

• Rifle: CZ-455 "Tacticool" (16" barrel) in MDT LSS-22 chassis, Magpul PRS buttstock
  (started with clean bore, 20 rounds fired before measuring anything)
• Optic: Vortex Viper PST Gen-2 3-15x44 SFP, Vortex PMR rings
• Support: Harris Bipod
  NOTE: for Wolf, a Gamechanger bag supported rear of stock; for Prime, a folded towel was used. I do not feel the towel was as stable as the bag.
• Weather: 90 degrees both days (several weeks apart), typical NC heat & humidity

Here is a velocity comparison, The Prime ammo is SLOW. Note that the velocity printed on the Prime box is 1034 fps. Also, the WME is more consistent. If I deleted a single "hot" round from the 30-round test, the WME SD drops to 9.

Accuracy of the Prime in my rifle is comparable to Wolf Match Extra (WME) but not quite as good. Average 5-shot groups were 0.6-0.75" at 50 yards. WME seems to do 0.1-0.25" better. I forgot my Gamechanger bag when I shot the Prime. I used a folded towel as a rear support on the bench for this test; towel was ok but subjectively not as stable as the bag.

Here is a representative sample of Prime 50-yard groups. I do not have an image of Wolf groups to compare; suffice to say the Wolf groups are a bit better. Orange dots are 0.75." Again, these may tighten up with a good rear support bag. (Ignore the top left dot with a single round on it.)

Hope this helps folks decide whether to take advantage of the Prime sale. For me, I am very very pleased to get this level of performance at 6 cents a rounds.

UPDATE 08/18/2018: Back to the range today with Gamechanger bag for stable rear support. Similar results in terms of group size, although wind was a bit more noticeable today. As shown in the image above, I could place 3-5 rounds in a single ragged hole and then have two or three rounds hit half or three-quarters of an inch away. Happened with both the CZ and Ruger RPRim I've been working on. Are flyers a fault of ammo? Or rifles? Or both? Ahhh, the world of .22. Life was easier with 600 tiny lead pellets going after a single clay target 21 yards away.

 

[Nik H]

Very nice write up and matches my experience.

I used to use PRIME Bolt Action pretty much regularly. I then stumbled onto a couple of people here who told me about the WOLF MT Extra. They specifically told me not to mess with the MT Match. I bought a brick and did similar testing.

Out of my Annie 64MPR, the WOLF consistently was more accurate. The delta I measured was ~0.2" at 50 yards but at 100 yards, the difference was closer to 0.6-0.7". The more important difference that I noticed is the number of flyers. For whatever reason, the WOLF produces very few flyers as compared to the PRIME, especially at 100 yards. I fire larger numbers per target (usually 20 round groups) and it is noticeable. I used to blame myself but now can repeatedly produce similar results every time.

When you factor in the price difference, the WOLF MT Extra is a bargain.

 

[usafa77]

Thanks for the report. I have a case of the Prime inbound. Another user posted an sd of 16-17 on it as well. I'm shooting SK Rifle match at 14 cents a round out of my Vudoo. The SD is 8.5. At 6 cents the Prime will be great for practice. Like the OP said, at 18 cents, not so much.

 

[DownhillFromHere]

Thanks for the report. I have a case of the Prime inbound. Another user posted an sd of 16-17 on it as well. I'm shooting SK Rifle match at 14 cents a round out of my Vudoo. The SD is 8.5. At 6 cents the Prime will be great for practice. Like the OP said, at 18 cents, not so much.

I am very curious how the Prime does out of higher-end rifles like your Vudoo and Nik H's Anschutz. I've gotten the impression that the top-rung rifles, or top-rung barrels properly fit to lesser rifles like the CZ, will shoot cheap ammo (CCI SV or similar) more consistently in terms of SD into groups comparable to stock CZs with Eley Match or similar.

 

[usafa77]

I'll post it up on Friday. Your not as curious as I am , believe me.

 

[usafa77]

Shot the Prime subs today. 20" barrel,. 20 shot group Min. 990fps- max 1044. SD 14.2 . At that price I'm pretty happy. No report on accuracy it was at 50'.

 

[Nik H]

Shot the Prime subs today. 20" barrel,. 20 shot group Min. 990fps- max 1044. SD 14.2 . At that price I'm pretty happy. No report on accuracy it was at 50'.

I don't follow why you didn't measure the accuracy at 50 yards. Unless everything went through the same hole

 

[usafa77]

it was 50 feet. Inside my parallax.

 

[JayB]

I recall reading somewhere that Wolf MT and SK standard + and a particular lapua load are all the same load branded differently. Is there any truth to that?

 

[Nik H]

I recall reading somewhere that Wolf MT and SK standard + and a particular lapua load are all the same load branded differently. Is there any truth to that?

I would be surprised since WOLF is loaded by Elen and SK is loaded by Lapua or so I hear

 

[JayB]

I would be surprised since WOLF is loaded by Elen and SK is loaded by Lapua or so I hear

I should have done a search before posting the question. Another thread discussing this. My wolf MT is "old", time to try some new ones.

http://www.snipershide.com/shooting/threads/wolf-now-made-by-eley-in-the-uk.6892538/