Major edit after much more data acquired 10/14/18.
TL;DR: In a STOCK 10/22 18" barrel, CCI Standard Velocity is great. Perfect for Appleseed. There's only an edge with some expensive ammunition if you're competing at 100 yards. Lapua Polar Biathlon was the best by far, but many times the cost of CCI SV.
I spent WAY too much money on boxes of high end ammunition to answer some questions. I don't have a $5,000.00 Olympic Blieker or a 54-actioned Anschutz. I have 10/22's and buddy who's a gunsmith.
The Firearms
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Bottom: 1993 Stainless Steel Ruger 10/22, black laminate stock. I guess it was offered at Wal*Mart. Prior owner had some trigger polishing done.
I added purpleheart and tiger maple. Current nicknamed "Tiger Heart" because I'm 5?
The rest are brand new 2018 Ruger 10/22s, the AppleSchutzen Family: "Spatter", "Ruby", and "Carbon" named for the cheek risers.
Walnut spacers, tiger maple grip cap and forend. Red dyed wood, red dyed shellac. They all still need sanding and TruOil, I had to get them ready for an Appleseed event.
I can't get a GIF to show up, so here's a link to [COLOR="Orange"]HYPNO MAPLE. Obey the Hypno Maple.[/COLOR]. (http://"https://imgur.com/9xV9qNl")
Straight from the gun store to the range, TigerHeart shot a 2.5MOA group. Not bad, as 10/22's are typically up to 4 MOA. The AppleSchutzen gang all shot 4 MOA out of the box.
(https://i.imgur.com/b2xV22T.jpg?1)
I am quasi-apprenticing with a retired gunsmith. There's another LONG post coming on working up this firearm and 3 others, but the list of what we did to accurize it is:
Glass bed, free float barrel, shorten chamber, polish chamber, rear lug and second takedown screw, 11 degree match crown.
Ease of use modifications: trigger group springs, mag release, slingshot bolt release, extended +20MOA rail, hardened extractor.
The Range
(https://i.imgur.com/c1LPF64.jpg?2)
Old limestone gravel pit. Until I put up wind indicators, I had no idea what a chaotic vortex this range is! The longest part of the testing was waiting for the wind indicators to calm down.
Bench rest: two-point. Rear sand bag and a forked tripod up front.
Ammunition Tested (group size):
Lapua Polar Biathlon (0.65")
Lapua/SK Subsonic (gold box, green lettering) (0.85")
Eley Match (0.95")
CCI Standard Velocity (0.9 to 1" all day long)
Lapua Midas+ (1.01")
Eley Target (1.1")
Eley Club (1.1")
Eley Edge (1.9")
Untested: Lapua Center-X, Eley Subsonic Hollow Point.
At $17 for a box of just 50 rounds, it was HARD to place some of these orders, I've never spent this much on 22lr, lol. However, I'm gearing up to sell some of these 10/22's and thought it worth the time and money to scratch my itch on how accurate we got them.
My inspiration was based on these articles:
Accurate Reloading results out of an Anschutz (http://"http://forums.accuratereloading.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/8711043/m/2091073902")
More from Accurate Reloading out of a Bleiker (http://"http://forums.accuratereloading.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/8711043/m/9871088921/p/1")
I looked at the "best" of these testing results and focused on the winners I could still find online. MANY brands from these tests have changed names, brands, or aren't available online.
Yes, I cleaned the barrel between each set of ammunition. Hoppes, brush, patches until dry, etc. Arduous, but for SCIENCE. 5 rounds was not enough to get past the break-in from cleaning. Weird that a barrel needs some lube and fouling to settle in.
Discussion
CCI Standard Velocity, less than a nickel a round, is AMAZING, and out-shot HALF of these expensive rounds.
At 25 yards, CCI SV has dime-sized groups, everything you'd need for an Appleseed or even shooting aspirin tablets and flies.
I hope to contact Eley and Lapua to quiz them, but the Ruger 10/22 barrel LOVES CCI SV, capable of 1" groups in all these STOCK Ruger guns with some 'smithing. There are variables I'm sure about (lead hardness, burn rate, lubrication, barrel length).
Q: Why not a hypersonic round like StingBlazapperThunder(tm)?
A: Drops below sound barrier by 100 yards, knocks the bullet around. The 0.050" chamber reduction means I should never shoot longer hypersonic ammo again.
Q: Did the LimbSaver vibration dampener help?
A: Before massive smithing, yes it halved the group size at 100 y. Hundreds of rounds testing torque settings and limbsaver, I found a sweet spot 2" back from barrel end. After all the smithing, I don't think it hurts, but I've tried it every quarter inch from stock to front sights again, and there was no difference between on vs. off or position. Gives me something to grab on to, lol.
Q: What about tuners !
A: $$$. Maybe I'll try a tuner, but I'm out of cash due to Eley and Lapua.
Q: Dude, you need to spend $300 on a VolquTandTact(tm) with a 2 gram, Tier-Plaid trigger job !!!
Q: Dude, you really need to spend $300 on a BlueMoleHill(tm) Barrel with HoneyTwistCombFluting(R) !!1!1!1!
A: I got under 1 MOA at actual 100 yards out of a modern Ruger plastic-housing STOCK trigger group, Ruger STOCK barrel with minor smithing, in open air on a breezy day with 2 point benching.
I earned a "Distinguished" patch at my second-ever Appleseed (245/250) with the same STOCK trigger and STOCK barrel with some gunsmithing.
I've lurked lots of forums for months. Armchair Operators usually respond to people asking for upgrade advice with trigger and barrel advise ($500 that could be spent elsewhere).
Please, share these results when you see someone else's money about to get blown on after-market triggers, stocks, and non-floated barrels that won't increase their accuracy. Spend the money on a glass bed job, a torque screwdriver (15-20 in-lbs), and free-floating the barrel, and still have $200 left to spend on adjustable objective glass.
A great trigger makes it easier to shoot, but if Flinchy McHamfist sucks at trigger-pulling, it just minimizes how long Flinchy sucks at trigger-pulling.
A great, longer barrel would very likely reduce the group. Fluting helps with stiffness and vibration nodes, too. However, if the barrel and receiver aren't glass-bedded, if the takedown screw is over or under-tightened, it's still gonna be bigger groups than could be achieved. $120 Aftermarket stocks are not as good as glass-bedding yourself with a $35 Acraglas Gel kit from Brownell's, with enough left over to do 9 other guns you own.
TL;DR: CCI Standard Velocity is all you need out of a stock 10/22 for practice and non-competition settings. Some rounds were half the size (Lapua Polar Biathlon), but 8 times the cost per round.
Peace.
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New out of box 4moa
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After gunsmithing 1moa:
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Great post. Well written, entertaining, high signal to noise ratio.
I too (without all the scientific rigor) have found CCI SV to be the way to go.
Nice rifles. Good shooting.
Thanks!
I'll second hammbones comments onthis. Ccistd, or blazerhave both been excellent
"perfection is the enemy of good enough" Fred.
Unless you are an Olympic caliber shooter, shooting an Olympic caliber rifle you have no use for $18 a box ammo.
Blazer is $199 A CASE. CCI SV is slightly more (not sure if it is worth it). Until you become Olympic caliber Blazer will let you shoot 10 times more. Nothing improves marksmanship like (correct) practice.
2 cl
Blazer drops below sound barrier before 50 yards. http://www.blazer-ammo.com/rimfire.aspx (http://www.blazer-ammo.com/rimfire.aspx)
Probably fine at 25y, less time in barrel is good, even in a machine rest with robots pulling the trigger.
I wonder about 100 yards when sound barrier knocks the bullet around.
I can't shoot hypersonic loads in this shortened chamber.
Excellent write-up! Definitely answered questions for me!
Gracias!
Mike aka BandAid
The sound barrier issue is a real factor in the highest levels of competitive shooting.
Pretty minor issue in appleseed. I have seen scores of 47 and 48 fired at rimfire KD scored in the hits count method with CCI mini mags.
Still, it's good to have real data on good ammo, at reasonable prices.
Thanks for your research and post CatDoc.
thank you for the write up .
you confirmed some of the things I was looking to know.
before our last AS I had already concluded my guns liked the CCI-SV better than the other things I had tried. I am glad you tried the expensive stuff and confirmed it wasn't better enough to bother some wasn't even as good.
I had done some of that years ago but the most expensive box I had bought was a federal gold metal match.
your research confirms that I should spend the time on the epoxy bedding before I spend money on any further updates. the only updates I had made were a sling shot bolt release and a spring kit to improve the trigger on the old metal type trigger housing.
for others , yes I know you can shoot a >210 with blazer I have done it but when the difference is a group you can cover with a quarter with the blazer at 25M vs a group you can cover with a Dime at 25M the dime group is a lot easier to squeeze in the 5 ring on stage 4 to get your full points.
not to hard of a decision when it is only a penny a round and costs you maybe 5 dollars an Appleseed event difference to subtract some of the frustration.
there was a definite frustration factor to working the 6 steps , and calling that shot good just to find it was a flier and just outside the scoring ring for a 5.
thanks , again
2 Clicks Low
In regards it is no use for someone other than an Olympic level shooter to buy $18/box ammunition I've got a different take on things.
I am a very firm believer in using the best possible ammunition and equipment you can afford. Coming from the national and international competition side of things, training and competing with ammunition that the shooter can match or outperform greatly slows performance growth and often creates a false ceiling on performance. If a shooter can hold a 1/8 minute in prone they really are hurting themselves shooting 1MOA ammo. Perfect practice makes perfect and if live firing is your practice, shooting sub par ammunition that clouds your feed back loop (firing the shot, calling the shot and seeing the actual shot placement) is doing yourself a disservice. As with most everything quality not quantity is better. There are places to be frugal for sure. Dry practice, the most affordable and least utilized training as an example. Like everyone else just my 2 cents.
Pete,
If you are going to bed your action you'll want to free float the barrel and eliminate the front barrel band as well. If you need a hand I know a guy. ;)
Bob
CatDoc,
Very nice work on the rifles and the testing and the write up.
Chuck
Worth pointing out the progression of accuracy after full cleaning.
Took 3 shots before Lapua started getting close to zero.
Good study out there as well to RARELY do a full-clean of your barrel.
CCI Standard in prone w/ loop sling: https://imgur.com/gallery/ydc0CR9 (https://imgur.com/gallery/ydc0CR9)
Ima change my screen name to Flinchy McHamfist III. Or is that one already taken? ;)
Flinchy McHamfist. If there is no objection, I gotta lift that one to use some time.
I have to say, I appreciate what else it seems your study reveals: that, given a decent set of base equipment, getting better involves learning to shoot well and then practicing it. Your Distinguished qualification and clear familiarity with your rifles shine even more than the ammunition; ammo just makes it easier to shoot that well at distance consistently. (Funny story, over the weekend a buddy of mine insisted my [mostly stock] 10/22 wasn't zeroed properly, because he was hitting low and left; I reminded him it was zeroed for me and that I had been hitting targets at 200 yards with it, with ammunition it wasn't zeroed for--I just knew my rifle and had it set for me, not him, and I had practice with it. Goes a long way.)
Thanks for the study, summary, and granting of perspective.
No objection. There's a Flinchy in all of us.
I would sort of question whether or not a barrel that has been recrowned, faced and then polished up is still "stock". Maybe it is, I honestly don't know.
I think spending money on an aftermarket barrel is, in essence, standing in for the cleanup job you did (plus other considerations, like profile, etc). Since not everybody has immediate access to all the necessary tools to quickly recrown and face a barrel, just buying another barrel becomes a pretty reasonable idea. Especially when you have the option of selling the factory barrel to offset a little cost, whereas DIY would likely mean purchasing tools for the average person.
Just some thoughts.
Valid points.
Gunsmiths are a disappearing breed, but they are out there. By gunsmith, I mean a person who can take bar stock and make a firearm, not an "armorer" who swaps parts out. Used to be gun stores all had access to a 'smith, and the cost of this barrel work was half the price of a BlueMoleHill barrel.
A BlueMoleHill barrel can't drop in to a Ruger beech stock, it needs a deeper channel to free float. Which leaves people with aftermarket stocks, none of which I've seen or handles, but in my ignorance, I bet they're hollow synthetic, and not glass-bed-able. Adding a rear lug is also not do-able, I'd bet.
I plan on making more of these guns, I will try one that doesn't involve a mill or lathe, just DIY, and compare it to the subMOA gun.