Polar Biathalon, Pistol King, or Pistol OSP in my Vudoo

[IamJoHo]

Okay so I am set to get to the Lapua test center on the 22nd of this month but have two matches between now and then and am basically out of ammo. I have come across Polar Biathalon, Pistol King, and Pistol OSP where I can get enough to hold me over. Has anyone done any testing with any of these in their rifles? I know the polar biathlon is supposed to be good especially in the cold but not sure if it will run as well in 90 degree weather. I remember seeing a while back that one of the pistol lines actually performed pretty well but dont remember with one it was and cant find the article now.

 

[littlepod]

The only thing I can think of is with the pistol lines if it'll be faster than the speed of sound coming out of a 16" barrel. They test the pistol lines out of like 6" barrels.

When I ran SK Pistol Match Special, it was shooting out of my Vudoo at 1135fps.

Polar Biathlon seems solid.

If you're out of ammo, just buy whatever. It's better than nothing

 

[drglock]

I’ve shot Pistol King out of my RimX out to 100yds. It shoots pretty good out to that distance, not quite as good as my Center X but still good enough for matches if need be. I haven’t chrono’d it but close to the same mils out of my gun at 100.

 

[drglock]

Just stepped out side and shot some over my chrono.
Lapua Pistol King
Avg. 1070 FPS
Es 29 FPS
21.5” barrel

 

[IamJoHo]

Just stepped out side and shot some over my chrono.
Lapua Pistol King
Avg. 1070 FPS
Es 29 FPS
21.5” barrel

Dude thats awesome thank you.

 

[JBoomhauer]

Biathalon works good, but my gun likes the 1100fps stuff.

 

[drglock]

Dude thats awesome thank you.

This was only 5 shots but at least give you an idea. Depending or your barrel it could be a bit slower or faster. My barrel tends to be on the faster side.

 

[drglock]

The only thing I can think of is with the pistol lines if it'll be faster than the speed of sound coming out of a 16" barrel. They test the pistol lines out of like 6" barrels.

When I ran SK Pistol Match Special, it was shooting out of my Vudoo at 1135fps.

Polar Biathlon seems solid.

If you're out of ammo, just buy whatever. It's better than nothing

I’ve shot Pistol Match Special before out of mine and that’s about the FPS I saw as well.

 

[SirDrinksAlot]

Lapua OSP groups very well in my 22" vudoo and honestly the lot of OSP I have groups better than the lot of Lapua Center X I have.

 

[IamJoHo]

Lapua OSP groups very well in my 22" vudoo and honestly the lot of OSP I have groups better than the lot of Lapua Center X I have.

Ended up ordering a few boxes of the Pistol King. Not sure what the difference is between the osp and king.

 

[SirDrinksAlot]

To be honest when it comes to NRL22 matches, I can't say I've lost cause I was using Lapua OSP vs Center X, ect.

Any quality ammo is more than capable enough unless you're doing f-class type shooting.

 

[JBoomhauer]

To be honest when it comes to NRL22 matches, I can't say I've lost cause I was using Lapua OSP vs Center X, ect.

Any quality ammo is more than capable enough unless you're doing f-class type shooting.

Agreed, just pay attention to velocity and it won’t be an issue at all.

 

[grauhanen]

OSP is a little slower in velocity than Pistol King. Lapua pistol ammos, like SK pistol ammos, will have muzzle velocities in rifles similar to the standard velocity ammos produced by SK/Lapua. In short barreled pistols the MV will be less than in rifles.

SK makes only two "kinds" or "loads" of .22LR round nose 40 grain lead ammos -- one nominally at about 1073 fps, the other at 1106 fps -- and all varieties are graded from these two, including the Pistol Match and the slightly faster Pistol Match Special. It would be no surprise if Lapua .22LR ammo is similarly produced and graded.

According to Capstone's Geoff Esterline, the SK pistol ammo is a lesser grade of the two basic lines of ammo. Perhaps the same is true of the Lapua pistol ammo.



For the SK information shown above, see https://www.gunsandammo.com/editorial/cz-usa-model-457-22-lr/365081

 

[Just Chuck]

It would nice to be able sift through all the marketing bs. I’ve settled on Lapua as my go-to comp round. But, Center-X, Midas, Pistol OSP, or? If it’s all about ES, sd, and some FPS, then any/all ought to work equally well, yes,no?

Trying not to over complicate things.

If you read the MARKETING descriptions for these different flavors, I end up thinking, just grab a good quality ammo and shoot it. Adjust as needed and spend time on the range.

Convince me I’m wrong.

 

[IamJoHo]

I know at least with xact, Midas and cx they are all original supposed to be xact but after testing become Midas or cx based on consistency. At least that’s what Luke from Lapua was telling me. Just not sure about the pistol lines and I believe the polar variants use different lube and powder.

 

[Just Chuck]

@IamJoHo yes, but are not each of those types consistent for ES, sd, and velocity (as much as 22lr can be) within their respective lot/category? IMO, they could/should provide consistent results in a quality rifle, with quality shooter.

In some sense, I believe it’s more the Indian not the arrow that makes it work. Maybe I’m wrong.

 

[JG26_Irish]

I used Polar Biathlon in a 35 spd with good effect last winter in my CZ457 Factory BR rifle. It recorded a couple of perfect ARA cards in competition before it ran out. It worked in my Sako Quad Tactical very well also. I used it in temps ranging from below freezing to 65 deg F. It is faster than CX/Midas/Xact but at 50y that was only one or two clicks down on the scope. I liked to joke that the ammo was "Bi-Polar" it shoots high sometimes and then it shoots low sometimes, lol. But, truly it shot very well all the time. About the same time, I got some Biathlon Extreme. My CZ did not like it but my Sako shot it into amazing tiny little one hole groups. The catch is that the match chamber in the 20' Lilja bbl would refuse to eject about every 3rd round. I talked to Luke about it and he said that the Bi-Xtreme has no lube on it since in super cold the lube gets hard and gums things up. In the cold it shrinks the round and in theory it fits and functions but in practice, it is an issue with rifles who sport a tighter chamber in some cases. He suggested spraying some dry slide or case resizing lube on it but some sanctioning bodies prohibit such treatments. Lapua is discontinuing that product. It only shot OK in the CZ. I have one brick of Lapua Pistol King. Its speed code is 17 which is 317 M/s or 1040 f/s. This is much slower than all of my other ammo. In my rifles it did not shoot all that well. Seemed to have more variance in the vertical. Also, seemed less stable than the faster ammo. Have never had any Pistol OSP.

My experience with Lapua is that most of their ammo is very good but certain speeds will shoot better than others in different guns or different conditions. I had a lot of X-Act that shot so bad last winter in the cold that I had written it off, but later in the spring after then temps reached 60+ deg, it became amazingly accurate and was used in several matches with great scores every time.

Irish

 

[RETE8]

Lapua OSP groups very well in my 22" vudoo and honestly the lot of OSP I have groups better than the lot of Lapua Center X I have.

+1

 

[Just Chuck]

Lapua OSP groups very well in my 22" vudoo and honestly the lot of OSP I have groups better than the lot of Lapua Center X I have.

Good to know- I just got an email, I’ve got 1,000 on the way. I haven’t used OSP before but figured it was quality ammo.

 

[Jefe's Dope]

Polar Biathalon. It's un lubed, or dry lubed, Midas+/Center X.

 

[justin amateur]

Tried them all.
Results entirely dependent on batch quality, not the label.
Chronograph numbers showed some boxes had smaller ES than others.
Results on target correlated to mv spread.
It's rimfire. If y'er lucky and get a good brick,
y'er gonna be posting pics we'll be envious of.
Get a brick that's not quite as good, well,
welcome to the rimfire lottery.
We pays our money and we takes our chances.

Don't worry about the design velocities on the labels.
Doesn't matter if they exceed 1127 fps (speed of sound).
It's 22lr, basically unaffected by transition effects.
Tight mv's and well made cartridges determine the uniformity of the trajectories,
not transition caused instability.