Ammo Selection?

[Jevaughn0823]

So i'm adding a Lilja to my CZ455 and need to pick up some ammo. I don't mind trying some higher end ammo, my biggest question is do you start with multiple ammo brands and narrow that down or start with a good ammo say a Eley black box match or Tennex and try multiple lots? Not Eley specific just and example.

 

[Spblademaker]

Have had good luck with the Wolf Extra Match made by Eley.

 

[siscoe308]

For my first Anschutz (my first attempt at REAL accuracy from the rimfire) I bought 150-200 rounds of nearly all the mid-high grade .22

I found that price of the ammo closely mirrored the resulting accuracy. But at 50-100 yrs target shooting/ pdog shooting from 5-175 yrs/ or 22lr steel match shooting (25-250 yrs) the difference in $12-14 & the $18-20 grades wasn’t enough for me to justify.

I’m sure that lot testing/ a lot of data gathering would result in better groups. But I’m not winning money from bullseye shooting so I’m happy to shoot Lapua Center-x for targets/ Federal Premier HP’s for the critters.

My .22lr rifles are fun guns. I don’t bother splitting hairs anymore.

 

[justin amateur]

A custom barrel will not produce worthwhile results with poor quality ammunition.
You may get a run or two of similar mv's and end up with a few random acts of accuracy
but for consistent results the more expensive offerings will usually provide the most consistent trajectories.
My latest purchases have shown the better SK products did well for half the cost of the high end 22lr.

 

[Stevelightning]

 

[billmeek]

You need to determine what is acceptable accuracy for a given price of ammo. I'd buy a few boxes of Wolf Match Extra (now made by Eley), SK Rifle Match, and Lapua Center-X and see which of them works better in your rifle. They're all a good grade of ammo. You can always move up to the more expensive ammo if you find the accuracy not meeting your standards in those 3.

 

[Mech_eng]

I see a lot of folks shooting SK standard, for the price it is really good! Mine prefers Lapua Midas + but I rarely buy it. Here is a 20 shot group at 50yds

 

[Kisssofdeath]

To the OP, if you are really serious about this you should buy your ammo from someone who can provide more if it works for you. I have a few rifles so I don't mind buying in bricks and sometimes cases because I know I will find a rifle the ammo likes instead of the other way around.

But, if you are only working with one rifle and don't want to buy by the brick, I would buy two boxes of ever how many types you want and make sure if those shoot well you can buy more of the same lot number.

 

[Jevaughn0823]

Thanks for the replies, I understand the whole better ammo better quality stuff. My main question I guess I was getting at was whether you try different brands or just pick a top brand like Lapua center x and try multiple lots. I've tried the multiple brand thing first before, but i'm curious if I should just stick with with a top brand or ammo and try multiple lots instead. Just a thought.

 

[justin amateur]

If you plan to shoot competitively, lot testing at the factory centers for Eley and Lapua is the best option.
If the results are only to satisfy your personal requirements, buy the best you can afford and understand
that you are gambling on the quality of the rimfire ammo you'll purchase. With rimfire there are no guarantees.
Some batches will come off the assembly line capable of amazing results. Others, bearing the same label,
will disappoint you with strays and fliers. Sometimes you'll get competition grade ammo, other times
you'll end up using it for pistol fodder.

 

[DownhillFromHere]

After shooting everything from CCI SV to Lapua Midas+ out of two rifles (chassis'ed CZ455 and Vudoo), my experience is the $10-$13-per-50-rounds labels are pretty doggone close in accuracy. The ~$7.50 labels can do well but there are more fliers. CCI SV and SK Standard+ can be amazing for the price, but I wouldn't compete with it.

I haven't gotten to the point of serious lot-testing for a specific ammo label - for the competitions I do, it's my perception that the return on investment isn't there. I emphasize "perception" because that's just my view. I reserve the right to change my mind in the future!

Also, I personally pay a lot more attention to images of multiple groups of at least five rounds each on a single target as opposed to a single bug-hole group. Yes, I've fired plenty of 0.1-0.2" 50-yard and 0.5" 100-yard groups out of my Vudoo, but to present any one of them as the norm would be a lie.

 

[45cal4life]

Too many variables for me to worry about lot # and everything else that comes with rimfire ammo. Bought a case of Center X from a well known company and never looked back. Am I giving up some potential accuracy, yes I'm sure I am. But the amount of time and $$$ I saved is worth it to me

 

[Quarter Horse]

Thanks for the replies, I understand the whole better ammo better quality stuff. My main question I guess I was getting at was whether you try different brands or just pick a top brand like Lapua center x and try multiple lots. I've tried the multiple brand thing first before, but i'm curious if I should just stick with with a top brand or ammo and try multiple lots instead. Just a thought.

Too many variables for me to worry about lot # and everything else that comes with rimfire ammo. Bought a case of Center X from a well known company and never looked back. Am I giving up some potential accuracy, yes I'm sure I am. But the amount of time and $$$ I saved is worth it to me

I started shooting 6X5s in 2013. I bought a Browning Mdl. 52C Sporter. I had a number of other quality .22s but nothing that could shoot with the 52. To start with I bought the two levels of rifle ammo from both SK and Wolf (the old Wolf) with two or three different lot numbers. This yielded virtually no information because I couldn't outshoot the ammo to begin with. I was learning as I went along and the 6X5s were shrinking but I still had ammo questions. The consensus of a lot of shooters on the old thread was that Center-X was the best bang for the buck. I ordered a brick of Center-X and it removed any questions about ammo. The change allowed me concentrate on my shooting and not the ammo.

As to the OP's question, if Center-X works well in your rifle, I would concentrate on it. After many random bricks of Center-X I've concluded that it's the only ammo I shoot in the accurate .22s. If you want to test lot #s then have at it. I'm sure there are lots that outperform others but the only time my shooting falls apart are when I don't shoot the .22s for four or five months and that's not the fault of Center-X. In the words of someone around here "shooting is a perishable skill".

 

[cab0154]

i try to keep 6 to 10 different lots of eley and sk/lapua on hand. i got tired of buying center x, midas, eley match, tenex, ect and not being able to count on it due to differences in atmospheric conditions. i swear RWS R50 was the worst for me. shot horrible in my CZs and anschutz, then i gave a box to a guy with an anschutz 54 bench rifle and it all went though the same hole. just my luck. anyway, so now i take a few boxes of everything with me, and doing that one of them will usually shoot. even lot tested stuff will have its off days. the lapua pistol stuff is on sale quite a bit, so i usually run some of that since it can be found under $10 box. then assorted sk magazine, rifle match, and pistol match. eley club has been pretty consistent for me over the years, better than match or tenex so i usually run some of that if i want some eley.

i recently used the eley lot analyzer and ordered a batch that shot really well in all four test barrels. i have had a few good groups out of it, but it hasnt been as well as i have hoped it would be. i thought i would give it a try. i have had some very good lots of team/match in the past, but it has been luck of the draw and depending on conditions it would either shoot awesome, or be all over the place. it was never much in between compared to my lots of eley club and sk/lapua stuff. just my $.02. YMMV

 

[scotchtape]

Every rifle is different; get a box of several types and see how they shoot.

 

[BigJimFish]

OP, I would go with types of ammo before lots of a type. It has been my experience that the rifle cares more what brand and product line it is shooting than which particular lot in that product line. On the rifles I have had that have the strongest preferences, my Annie, for instance, they will show those preferences to a greater extent on brand / line, than on lot of a brand. The Annie will take any Eley Match / Tenex, over any Lapua Center X despite some of those Center X lots out shooting anything the Annie has ever done when fired from my Kimber 82G.

I have encountered quite a few rifles over the years that just hated certain ammo's. I have my suspicions about some of this being due to substantial differences from brand to brand when it comes to bullet diameter (eg. small federal 711B and larger SK,) some of it being due to lube preference (eg. paraffin CCI, beeswaxie Eley, or eel snot Lapua,) and some of it being about how the rifle throat interacts with different bullet shapes.

Incidentally, I have also encountered rifles that were not particularly loving or hateful to particular brands and which would shoot some lots of brand A better than brand B and some of brand B better than A. These rifles were less dramatic in their likes and dislikes though so I would start with the brands first and see if the rifle is just going to outright hate some. You wouldn't want to accidentailly pick a brand the rifle hates and start going lot shopping out the get go.