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Testing .22 ammo

LoneWolfUSMC

LoneWolfUSMC

Lt. Colonel
Full Member
Minuteman
Jan 9, 2008
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Southern Indiana
www.8541tactical.com
When you guys are experimenting to see what your .22 likes, do you clean the barrel when switching ammo, fire foulers or what?

In the past I have just shot a couple groups of each ammo, but they I started thinking about the differences in lead and lube on each make and how they may affect each other.

I tried searching some of the .22 benchrest forums with no avail. I figure the benchrest guys would probably know all there is to know about selecting the best ammo for a particular rifle.
 
Re: Testing .22 ammo

thats a damn good question and I am curious as well. I have only tested 5 so far but would like to do many more so I will wait to see what the more experienced have to say.
 
Re: Testing .22 ammo

I will test either way but the pro's (Benchrest shooters)will use the clean between lots or brands. When I clean I use a chamber brush to clean right ahead of the chamber and then I run 2 wet patches and then 2 dry patches. I never use a bore brush down the length of the barrel especially a match barrel.
I shoot mostly ARA matches at 50 yds and I clean between each 25 round target because thats what my gun likes.
Hope I've helped
larryj
 
Re: Testing .22 ammo

I use a wet patch every few hundred rounds followed by a few dry ones I use wolf MT or SKS. I get a few flyers here and there with or without cleaning.

As for changing ammo and cleaning I did but dont now I guess it's like should I clean or not clean..

The best ammo's I have found so far ar
Wolf MT
SKS same as above
CCI green tag

I tried 15 brands and these work best for me
 
Re: Testing .22 ammo

You also know to by only a few boxes of each lot when testing and then buy all you can afford of the brand that shoots the best. Some of the pros buy up 4 or 5 cases or more then test and then sell the ammo that he doesn't shoot for him.
Another top ARA shooter told me that he goes through 10 to 15 barrels each year because its cheaper for him to find a barrel that shoots his ammo than the other way around. He said that he shoots 10 to 15 cases each year.
larryj
 
Re: Testing .22 ammo

Champions Choice will send you boxes from different lots for you to test and then you can order quantity from the same lot.
Much more efficient than buying cases and cases to sell what your gun don't like.

My annies and my CZ all shoot Wolf MT and SK Standard plus as good as I need them to. If I were shooting BR it'd be a different story and might justify the $15+ a box the real good ammo fetches.
 
Re: Testing .22 ammo

When changing brands for testing I use my custom borecleaner (heavy weed whacker line with a know tied in one end) to pull a few patches to get the majority of the prior brand's lube out, then I fire at least 20 shots with the new brand before grouping.

Without changing brands (going from wolf to SK isn't changing brands-same powder, same priming, same lube) its a lllloooooooootttt of rounds before I clean the tube. Bolt/breechface, yeah, but the tube-maybe every case (5K).
 
Re: Testing .22 ammo

If you are only ordering a couple of bricks you can take a chance on them still having some of that lot left. I have test and called back an they are out of what I want. I shoot a lot of SK myself.
I don't like those pull through cleaning systems
larry
 
Re: Testing .22 ammo

I´d say about 20-25 rnds before you have "relubed" or reseasoned the barrel,

between changes patch the bore through and it might be swifter,

I tend to shoot a full box of each type of ammo, 30 rnds to foul barrel and the rest for testing.

One upside is that there are no "left owers" as one comes home from a shoot then.

Best regards Chris
 
Re: Testing .22 ammo

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: larryj</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Do you use on of the die sets to change the shape of you bullets tips?
larryj </div></div>\

Yes, I do. I got a die set that's used on a bullet press from Neal B. Waltz. There's another one out there called the Paco or Poco, but he makes yo use a hammer to resize. NO WAY!


Anyway, if anything it's taken any differeneces in how the bullet are seated and made them the same, so increased consistency.

 
Re: Testing .22 ammo

On my Ruger 77/22 I don't bother cleaning between ammo as I've tried it and it doesn't seem to make a difference. My Remington 541T HB makes a huge difference. I run a Boresnake with the brush removed soaked in a Kroil/Hoppes 50-50 mixture. Seem to work well on the lead build up.
 
Re: Testing .22 ammo

i put a post up called " .22 ammo thru a mk ii" part 1,2,3, that showed a slightly different
group of the same ammo with shooting a clean or dirty barrel. although slightly different,
i would have to think that if you were truly testing anything, you would want to take the variable
out of play so you can have a truly objective result. gettin rid of ANY fouling would put all the ammo
on an even playing field, as you really can't control the amount of fouling or buildup to do a proper
analysis (the whole apples and oranges deal) i figured that i would test them with a clean barrel for
those that clean 'em and dirty for those that don't.
 
Re: Testing .22 ammo

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: ERdept</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: larryj</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Do you use on of the die sets to change the shape of you bullets tips?
larryj </div></div>\

Yes, I do. I got a die set that's used on a bullet press from Neal B. Waltz. There's another one out there called the Paco or Poco, but he makes yo use a hammer to resize. NO WAY!


Anyway, if anything it's taken any differeneces in how the bullet are seated and made them the same, so increased consistency.

</div></div>

Where can one obtain a Waltz die and how much do the cost?
 
Re: Testing .22 ammo

If I'm testing different ammo for groups, I run a boresnake once and then shoot at least 10 foulers before I shoot the first group. Then I'll shoot four groups.

If I'm changing ammo, I'll run the boresnake once and shoot 10 foulers and repeat the four groups thing.

In my rifle, it takes at least 10rds of whatever ammo I'm shooting for it to begin to settle in. Takes about that long for the lube to be laid down.
 
Re: Testing .22 ammo

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Patrick Scott</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: ERdept</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: larryj</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Do you use on of the die sets to change the shape of you bullets tips?
larryj </div></div>\

Yes, I do. I got a die set that's used on a bullet press from Neal B. Waltz. There's another one out there called the Paco or Poco, but he makes yo use a hammer to resize. NO WAY!




Anyway, if anything it's taken any differeneces in how the bullet are seated and made them the same, so increased consistency.

</div></div>

Where can one obtain a Waltz die and how much do the cost? </div></div>



Here is a write up on the die,

http://rimfireshooting.com/index.php?showtopic=1877&st=0
 
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