No, not at all. There are people on here that know more than I do but although I might find one lot shoots a hair better than a different lot, they are still great shooters. And again its usually just a hair better or worse. I've never experienced a brand that shoots great out of a rifle to shoot poorly with a different lot of the same ammo.
People that get really into lot numbers are precision shooters trying to wring every bit of accuracy out that they can. In the world of benchrest that 100th of an inch may put you in the money whereas without it it may not.
Good ammo such as Lapua, Eley, RWS and I am sure a number of others wouldn't have good ammunition and reps if it varied very much from lot to lot. It will vary for example one lot might shoot 1073 feet per second whereas another lot might shoot 1077 FPS. There are other factors as well but the point is, good manufactures will keep variation to a minimum. You will see variation within a single box of ammo. That is why you see a lot of folks testing velocity.
So no, in my opinion. If your rifle shoots Center-X well it will shoot the next lot well. It may shoot it just a smidge better or worse than the other lot but generally speaking you are not likely to see your groups go from in the .3's to .5's just by changing the lot number. I am sure it could happen but percentage wise, I am pretty confident, again as a general rule, that would be rare.
Now if I get a box of something and it really impresses me with how it grouped I will go back out there and buy a bunch of that same lot because I know it shoots really, really well. However, if I bought another lot of the same ammo, who knows it might have shot even a tad better than what I went back and grabbed.
Only way to know is to send your rifle in and go to that trouble for lot testing. And then again, if you sent it to Lapua you find out what Lapua ammo shoots best and that doesn't mean it will shoot the best lot better than it does several lots/types of Eley.
As a general rule, most all guns shoots the Lapua really well. Most all of mine do. In many of my guns the Lapua shoots better than the Eley. Just in my Tikka that isn't the case. Your Tikka may be different though. Again, this is why I always test many different types/brands of 22LR ammo each time I get a new rifle. I just never know.
There are some givens. If you choice is between a Lapua ammo or Winchester bulk, it's generally safe to go with the Lapua, lol. Lapua just have tighter tolerances in their ammo and that tightness cost more money.
So other guys will come along that know better than I do. I am just giving you what I have experienced over the years.
So the pic below shows a specific type of Eley with its lot numbers and velocity. As you will see there is variation between the lots. Maybe this will help you see what I am talking about better.
Lastly, from my experience with my tikka and from what I heard from several others ... that Tikka will shoot a lot of different ammo well.
can't afford that...
