What is the best Process for testing multiple brands of 22lr?

B

Bumble

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Full Member
Minuteman
Dec 1, 2013
9
2
#1
I'm just getting into 22lr competitions and recognize I'll have to test multiple brands and lots of 22 ammo. How many rounds of each type and lot do you shoot for groups? Do you clean between each type of ammo or other method (i.e. foul with x number of shots before shooting for groups)? Do you test at 50 yds or 100 yds? I'll be shooting PRS type competitions out to 200 yds. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Any idea how Lapua or Eley do this process?
 
#2
The Phoenix Lapua facility mounts the action to a block. Block mounted to Vice. Vice mounted to massive cube of alloy.

They fire it through a laser beam at 50m and 100m. You get 2 data points per firing.

They fire many lots of each type of 22lr.

Afterwards the my reshoot the best lots.

Pick up your rifle and buy as much ammo as you can afford. Minimum order is 5,000 rounds.
 
#3
I have been doing it the same, most likely wrong, for a while now. I start with five shot groups to weed out the bad ones, then 10 shot groups, usually 2 to get the winner. If the barrel has been cleaned, the I run a few fowlers. If the testing gets into a hundred or so rounds I will run a dry bore snake, a couple of fowlers then start again. BTW I clean my barrel as often as I clean my suppressor, every 400 to 500 rounds.
 
#4
Might not be the best way but I start with a clean barrel then shoot 20 Foulers. Then take my time and shoot five 5 shot groups. I run a bore snake through the barrel several times between the different brands and repeat with the foulers and the groups .


 
#6
How often do you clean your barrel?

I am also about to lot test couple lots and was wondering if I should clean the chamber before that.

And is that an aftermarket barrel?

I would say aftermarket and factory barrels have different cleaning regimens to them.
 
#8
A good approach, I think. I shoot a similar screening process, using 3 reps x 3 shots each to screen the good from the not so good. I calc the individual and overall average for the ammo lot/brand. Then, for the lot/brands that shot the smallest group sizes in the 3x3, do more testing with 5 shot groups to confirm the size I can expect at 50 yards. Of there are multiple lot/brands that pass through the 3x3, then the 5-shot groups will determine which I will purchase to shoot in the rifle.

Good luck. Ammo testing is interesting and frustrating at the same time. Sometimes, the "best" ammo shoots the worst. Be sure to test on a calm wind day to reduce the variability that brings with it.
 
#9
Lots of videos on YouTube about Eley and lapua test center. If your that serious and $ isn't an issue I'd go to Eley in Texas. Lots of things happen to 22lr when shooting out to 200
 
#11
Big Ten-4 on the bore snake. Might just be me but I could never get good results when mix matching ammo. I want a clean bore before starting a different brand test.
 
#15
I know depending on the ammo my volquartsen can take anywhere from 5-50 rounds to settle down when switching ammo, and I boresnake a few times when switching ammo then shoot 5 shot groups at 50 yards, after 10 rounds the difference isn't huge but it's noticeable, after 50 the groups seems to settle in for a few hundred rounds. The more "greasy" lube the ammo has the longer it seems to take to settle down, drier feeling bullets tend to take less to settle into max accuracy. I've read the same repeatedly over the years on rimfire central, and we used to see it pretty commonly when I was shooting a lot of competitive 4 position smallbore. I can also say that I've noticed if I don't clean the bore between ammo types, it can take even longer to settle down.

It's pretty annoying to have to dump a $15 box of ammo but I still shoot them for groups just the first target, the second target will be the one I take seriously. I used to dump the first hand loaded round in the dirt since 10/22's are notorious for sending first round flyers but I've gotten lazy in my old age and want to get two 5 groups out of a mag to I stopped doing it. This target was shot at 50 yds, in a fairly L-R breezy day, I wasn't trying too hard to time the wind, and all the flyers are me being sloppy. I was actually just shooting a "proof" target to show a manufacturer that the 1.5" groups I was getting with their product was not the shooter :)



It would be interesting to see what the Eley/Lapua test centers do when switching between ammo types for accuracy testing.
 
#16
If you keep an eye on some of the rimfire benchrest groups you will learn when a great shooting lot of Eley hits the shore. Killough shooting in TX is owned by Eley now and they will let you specify a lot number if they have it in stock.
 
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