Rimfire quality and advertising images

[justin amateur]

Have you ever taken a close look at the images used to sell 22lr ammunition?
I just started doing this and the pictures have me giggling.
These pics are supposed to be the best representation of the product
in order to further sales.
Take a close look the next time y'er thinking about purchasing.
Some of the cartridges shown are absolutely beat to snot.

https://palmettostatearmory.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/4/0/40gr_minimag.jpg

https://www.sportsmansoutdoorsuperstore.com/prodimages/39326-DEFAULT-l.jpg

 

[magtech]

99.99999% of people who shoot 22lr consider that a good condition 22 bullet. Have you seen how bad these things can get?

 

[justin amateur]

Yeah, that's why I started looking closely at the images.
I've tried just about every brand and type of 22lr over the past year.
I learned that the visible cartridge defects predict the results on target.
If the bullets look like they've been dropped into a pile of gravel
then boxed and shipped, results won't be satisfactory.
When the retail images show damaged bullet noses and drive bands
there's no surprise when they stray when fired.
I suppose that is truth in advertising.

 

[billmeek]

While at the local dealer yesterday to pickup another 22LR rifle, was talking with a local who (with a group of friends) was shooting golf balls at 200 yards. His round of choice for the Ruger Precision Rimfire? Bulk pack Remington Thunderbolts!

 

[magtech]

While at the local dealer yesterday to pickup another 22LR rifle, was talking with a local who (with a group of friends) was shooting golf balls at 200 yards. His round of choice for the Ruger Precision Rimfire? Bulk pack Remington Thunderbolts!

Maybe its a price per performance deal. They arent the worst. I shoot at my corn planter offhand at 150 yards with them. 1/20 have a different sound when firing them. The best part about shooting at the corn planter is the report with no damage.. Ping, ping, ping.

Golf balls at 200.... I feel like id just be pissing bullets into the dirt.

 

[justin amateur]

Bill, golf balls on the berm at 200 yards is no problem.
If the ball moves it's considered a hit.
Even if it was 2 or 3 inches under/left/ right and the dirt splat did the moving.

 

[Jefe's Dope]

The Lapua Center X doesn't look like that.

Even CCI SV is generally in great shape when you open a box.

Golf balls at 200 is pretty good shooting. IF you hit the ball. ?

 

[justin amateur]

Jefe, you need to look closer at y'er CCI.
All of their 22lr shows dents, dings and damaged drive bands.
They just hide it under a thick coating of lube or polymer.
That's because of how CCI processes and transfers the bullets on the assembly line.
They tumble the bullets as they come out of the swager
then dump from tumbler into cart,
then dump from cart to intake for the rest of the line.
They don't hide it. It's part of the CCI plant tour video.
If the nose is beat up, so is the bullet heel.
That ain't good either.

 

[Just Chuck]

OK. JustinAmteur, thanks for posting the video...it was a good one. How does the Lapua CenterX differ in manufacturing process, for example. Not being a smart a$$ - I would like to know. How do the high end ammos produce a superior product?

 

[justin amateur]

I can tell you that there is a visible difference in the cartridge appearance.
Bullet nose isn't beat up, drive band is uniform and square to the case mouth.
Much better attention to handling and assembly along with factory testing to determine batch quality.
RWS, Eley and Lapua don't allow videos of the production line...proprietary information according to customer service.
But if Lapua boxing and shipping is an example, it's a major improvement over CCI.

 

[Just Chuck]

Thanks, Justin. I wonder if things like tighter tolerances of cases, primer application, lead forming, don't all play a part. And that costs money. Would like to see but I'm sure that is part of trade scrtets.

 

[justin amateur]

Just for comparison, which do you think will provide better accuracy?

Cartridge sample A?

Or cartridge sample B?

I've spent the evening browsing 22lr retail sites viewing the images.
Amazing how poor the majority of the products appear when you zoom in on the digital images.

The visible defects are going to affect external ballistics from what I understand.
Differences in the bullet surface create variations in the amount of Magnus Effect generated.
Between spin and aerodynamic interaction with the bullet's surface, you end up with unpredictable trajectory shifts.
Explains why all those odd strays and outliers show up when using beat to crap ammo.

 

[Just Chuck]

Final answer, cartridge B.

 

[billmeek]

Bill, golf balls on the berm at 200 yards is no problem.

A golf ball suspended by a string at 200 yards is 0.84 MOA. I have a hard time believing that Thunderbolts are consistantly hitting a sub MOA target at that range.

 

[littlepod]

A golf ball suspended by a string at 200 yards is 0.84 MOA. I have a hard time believing that Thunderbolts are consistantly hitting a sub MOA target at that range.

I don't think he said consistent... Eley Match / Lapua Center-X comes out to 22 cents a round. Remington Thunderbolt is like 3c a round. You might get more hits for the $ with Thunderbolt.

 

[hlee]

A golf ball suspended by a string at 200 yards is 0.84 MOA. I have a hard time believing that Thunderbolts are consistantly hitting a sub MOA target at that range.

Shooting AT gold balls at 200 yards. The rifle and the ammo are both up to THAT very specific task.

I was a a NRL22 style event a while back and one of the guys there clams to be a bulls-eye pistol shooter. After he told me he’d never seen th brand of ammunition I was using (Lapua center x) he commensed to tell me that Remington golden bullet was the most accurate bullet ever made. ?

 

[JoeB]

He must have been shooting bullseye against me. Thunder bolts would make him look good.

 

[lash]

I think you said it yourself, it’s just truth in advertising. That and they would have to photoshop the pictures to get them to look any better. It’s not like they can grab some out of a box and get perfect samples, since they are all running down the same assembly line.

Your point, however, is well taken and well received. If I were shooting anything more critical than fun local LR .22 matches, I’d spring for the better ammo.

 

[justin amateur]

The only time rimfire ammo quality is critical for my use, is when I'm attempting targets for score at 200 yards.
The rest of the time it's of little importance and results can be improved upon
by simply getting closer to what I'm attempting to hit.
Gramps said it a long time ago...any rifle can hit a dime, every time. if'n ya' get close enough.