Re: Finding the right ammo
I think it's good to at least dry swab out the residue and any lube left behind from the previous ammo.
I like to weigh my ammo into lots, so my test procedure actually starts off by weighing them, then putting 50 to the side, 1 from each individual weight lot (or staggering the different weights in the mag) to give me an idea of of the most random weights / spreads I'll get straight from the box. (I can then narrow down the best weight lots of the best ammos later).
If time and conditions permit, I'll run all the ammo through a chrony and get an average FPS along with how much deviation there is between the highest and lowest FPS.
I'll is dry patch the barrel till I see no more gunk on the patch. I'll then shoot 5 rounds, 30 seconds of wait time between shots, to give me an idea of what the ammo does in a clean bore and take a measurement.
Then I'll shoot the other ten 30 seconds between shots to give me an idea of what the ammo will do in a dirty barrel.
If I know that I've pulled a shot, I will shoot one more round. If I know I haven't pulled a shot and the chrony tells me there's an off charged round, I count that as a flyer and it stays as part of the group. I'll also count the number of confirmed flyers, and give the ammo a rating on that (1 out of 15, 2 out of 15, etc.)
I'll do that at 50 and 100 yards, for a total of at least 30 rounds per ammo. As I'll use the ammo fo both 50 & 100, I'll add up the two groups and divide by 2 to give me a "multi distance average" to compare consistancy between the two distances. Some ammos that appear to stink at 50 yards will actually outperform those that did well at the same distance when they are both brought out to 100.
I'll then dry swab the barrel as before and start the process over again with another ammo.
At the end of the trials, I'll add the Clean barrel group, Dirty barrel group, 50 yard and 100 yard group, the number of fliers of each. I'll take that sum and divide by 5 (the number of catagories) giving me a "number" or rating and rank whatever I've tested from the lowest to highest (lowest number being the best overall).
I'll even add in the price per round and divide by 6, giving me a "best bang for the buck" rating.
You'll find that your Standard Velocity and Match ammos will be the most consistant across the different distances, as they stay subsonic and don't cross the transonic barrier cuasing instability, keeping the bullet path true. All standard Velocity, Match, etc 1070FPS or below are technically subsonic.
A few advertise their ammos as subsonic as they are even slower than most Standard Velocity and Match Velocity ammos, but not quite as slow in the FPS dept as the specialty "quiet" ammos.
A few High Velocity ammos (CCI Blazer for example) will outperform other HV across different distances, if you are going HV, the Blazers will work well in your Savage.
As rimfires differ one from another, even in the same model, it is a good idea to get several different ammos to test.
See this:
Thoughts on Rimfire ammo - Q & A part 1
For your Savage, Wolf, CCI Standard Velocity, SK jagd Standard or Rifle Match, Aguila Rifle Match, Federal Gold Medal will all work well at 50 and 100 yards. Remington subsonics work well too out to about 75 yards theough the Savage, past that they are not too impressive from my experience.
In High Velocity, CCI Blazer and Federal Champion seem to work well.
In the end you'll have to do the trigger time to see what works the best for you, or what will be the best to suit your budget if you shoot alot. Even .22's get expensive when you shoot alot and use the "good stuff" all the time.
