Swapping Ammo (e.g., X-Act for long stages; Center-X for short/mid-range stages) - Anyone do it?

[jac68984]

Recently started enjoying 22LR PRS style matches. I currently have a Rim-X and a Vudoo 360 on order for my son. The Rim-X performs more than adequately with Center-X or SK rifle match but shoots consistently lower SD groups with Lapua's higher end offerings (e.g., X-Act or Midas+). I've been practicing with SK rifle match or Center-X and using X-Act for matches. That's fine and I'm ok continuing to do so (I shoot centerfire PRS as well, which make shooting X-Act appear a bargain for important matches), but I am curious if some folks swap the various brand lines during a match. I find most matches have a fair number of stages that are 90 yards or less, where I would feel reasonably comfortable using a good-grouping lot of Center-X. But for the 100 yard plus stages, I like the confidence of the lower SDs the higher priced Lapua offerings provide.

Obviously, you would want whatever two flavors you were swapping to be as consistent between themselves as possible (i.e., close MV, same lube, same manufacturing line (meaning I probably wouldn't swap between Rifle Match and X-Act during a match). But assuming those variables were reasonably close, I can see this being a bit of cost save with little downside from a scoring perspective. But, again, I'm a noob to the match 22LR world. Advice and anecdotes from those with more experience are greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Aaron

 

[021411]

Wayyy too complicated. Most of the targets in the matches I shoot are generally large enough. Shooters I typically squad with only use their preferred round and do well with it below 300 yards.
But in the end, it’s an individual sport and your scores are what matters.

 

[DFOOSKING]

I've seen guys swap to full speed ammo for stages with spinners. Get a little wack!! on the steel to get them around.

I think its too much bullshit to keep track of versus just running one.

I'd be pissed if swapping ammo and back during a match left my bore acting funny like I've seen my gun do.

Its something you'd really have to test out to be sure how your rifle behaves as far as POI shift.

 

[littlepod]

+1 most matches are built to be generous in terms of the SD of the ammo. The wind call generally makes the difference, so at long distances you will have tall targets (to handle the ES of ammo) but the width is less to make the wind call meaningful.

Center-X is like 90% of Midas+ which then feels like 90% of X-Act. So just depends where you are in the cost vs gain. If you're constantly hitting 99% of the winner, and you think it's the ammo keeping you back because you drop 1 more shot at 300y than you would've gotten at a higher quality ammo, then you can make that decision of switching to X-Act.

For me, I'm at the usually in the 92-100% of the winner. So SK+ which is about 80% of center-X, and there is a shot dropped here and there isn't good enough. Also depends on matches..some are generous, some are challenging. 1" at 100 or 1.5" at 150, is something I am confident that CX/Midas+ will hit at 95% of the time, but SK+ probably something like 80% of the time.

 

[jac68984]

Wayyy too complicated. Most of the targets in the matches I shoot are generally large enough. Shooters I typically squad with only use their preferred round and do well with it below 300 yards.
But in the end, it’s an individual sport and your scores are what matters.

Ha! Fair point. But compared to the pains I go through to squeeze every bit of accuracy out of each centerfire reload (despite the self-awareness I'm a mid-pack shooter regardless ), this seem downright simple . . . I just haven't tried it yet and wondered if anyone else has. I've been happy with my match results using X-Act and, because I believe confidence is more important than a marginally tighter group at the bench, I will probably stick with it.

 

[MarkCZ]

Recently started enjoying 22LR PRS style matches. I currently have a Rim-X and a Vudoo 360 on order for my son. The Rim-X performs more than adequately with Center-X or SK rifle match but shoots consistently lower SD groups with Lapua's higher end offerings (e.g., X-Act or Midas+). I've been practicing with SK rifle match or Center-X and using X-Act for matches. That's fine and I'm ok continuing to do so (I shoot centerfire PRS as well, which make shooting X-Act appear a bargain for important matches), but I am curious if some folks swap the various brand lines during a match. I find most matches have a fair number of stages that are 90 yards or less, where I would feel reasonably comfortable using a good-grouping lot of Center-X. But for the 100 yard plus stages, I like the confidence of the lower SDs the higher priced Lapua offerings provide.

Obviously, you would want whatever two flavors you were swapping to be as consistent between themselves as possible (i.e., close MV, same lube, same manufacturing line (meaning I probably wouldn't swap between Rifle Match and X-Act during a match). But assuming those variables were reasonably close, I can see this being a bit of cost save with little downside from a scoring perspective. But, again, I'm a noob to the match 22LR world. Advice and anecdotes from those with more experience are greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Aaron

Does X-Act have the same drop as center-X and the others. If not, it could cause you problems if you get them mixed up.
Mark

 

[PinesAndProjectiles]

I’m more concerned about a POI change than anything.

If there is a change, factoring that in for different stages would be a nightmare.

As would velocity changes.

I want to be able to have as few variables as possible so I can focus on other things, especially in a match.

 

[littlepod]

My Midas+ has a higher BC than my Center-X... I know they say it's the same bullet, but the AB doppler Midas+ BC lines up with my Midas+ and the CX profile lines up with my CX ammo.

50 yard zeroes are pretty identical wrt to POI.

 

[Shoots 700's]

Have you shot these different ammo types on paper at 250-300 yards or more? I have seen shooters winning matches with other ammo and it doesn't seem to be holding them back. Most long range targets are pretty generous

 

[DownhillFromHere]

A couple of points.

• First, according to the gentleman at Lapua's Mesa, AZ test center, all the Lapua / SK labels use the same lube except Polar Biathlon. So SK Standard+ has the same lube as Lapua X-Act. Ostensibly, one should be able to switch from one Lapua label to another without a need to "season" the barrel.
  
  I tested this with an old lot of SK Std+ against my tested lot of Center-X. Sure enough, I could switch from one to the other and average group size didn't change. The Center-X performs much more consistently than the Std+. And yes, absolutely there is an offset of a couple of tenths from one to the other. What I'm saying is that respective average group sizes don't change.
  
  With that said - I shoot a little monthly match that has a shooting-gallery-style format, with 20 steel knock-down targets (5 each large-medium-small-smaller) at 50, 100, 150 yards. Shooting is from a solid bench with bipod / rear bag (bag not allowed at 50 yards). The smallest 50-yard targets are 1.5", which is easily within the capability of my SK Std+. Using Center-X for these is a waste. So, I do use Std+ for 50 and switch to Center-X for the 100 and 150 yard targets. On calm days, my sighter shots with Center-X group in an inch at 100 immediately after switching from Std+.
  
  
• Second, there are three of us at this monthly match who have run neck&neck at the top of the leaderboard for the last three years. I shoot a gen-1 Vudoo with lot-tested Center-X, another guy shoots a gen-1 Vudoo with lot-tested Midas+, and the 3rd shoots an Anschutz with X-Act. On any given match day, any one of us (or a few others whose rifles/ammo I don't know) will "win" the day or the season ("winners" are decided at the end of the year based on best three combined scores from all possible matches). Depends on wind.
  
  Has using "cheap" Center-X cost me targets? Probably. I practice on paper targets of the same size/shape as the steel match targets, and many times I have fired 20 rounds onto the smallest 150-yard target and one random round lands half a mil low. In the first match this year, on the 100-yard rack, there was a calm period at the beginning of the 5-minute par time so I shot the smallest targets first, then worked up. I was clean when I got to the top row of 5" IPDAs. No wind, rock solid rest, plenty of time, I'm gonna finish the rack clean. Reticle on target, check the wind flags, proper pull at the seemingly wall-size target... and nothing. I'm as certain as I've even been of anything in this sport that I had a "bad bullet."
  
  But, given the results of 20+ individual matches over the last three seasons, There.Is.No.Way I'll spend the $$ for Midas+, let alone X-Act, for the matches I shoot. Lapua tested Center-X and Midas+ in my rifle. The best lot of Center-X performed within a couple of millimeters of the best lot of Midas+ at 100 meters - not worth spending 40% more for the M+.

So, bottom line, if someone wants to switch labels of Lapua-sourced ammo during a match, the switch shouldn't introduce a POI shift based on lube or whatever, wind is a bigger factor in PRS-style matches than the difference between Center-X and higher labels, and different labels (and probably lots) will probably shoot to different POIs.

Edit: I've shot my Center-X to 415 yards in matches, 400 yards regularly in practice. I get pretty consistent hits at on 12" plates in calm conditions, but the least little bit of puffy breeze literally blows consistency away.