I am new to 22 LR target shooting and have heard that the velocity of the target round has a great deal to do with its accuracy. I have read and learned that most all target rounds are sub-sonic so that the projectile is not disturbed by the sound waves. Is there a rule as to what velocity is desired or correct, or is that the trick to choosing a round that your individual rifle "likes". I started out using up some old Remington Gold rounds that came in the Remington mug promotion. Supposidly these are the least accurate rounds I could use, but I used them up and still had fun shooting. I then used some Remington/Eley Club Extra ammo. I did shoot better, but I am not sure of the reason. It may be that I just concentrated more. My Winchester model 75 Target has peep sights and it takes me some practice and concentration to become proficient. What does everyone think is a good front aperture for 50 yard targets? Lots of questions :confused: . Thanks, Peter.

Think velcity isn't the primary reason for accuracy differences...match ammo has a lot more going on for it that just low velcoity.

Yes...odd things dfo happen as a bullet dips under the speed fo sound...mostly there the effects fo wind pick up arround that area. Odd...but the effects of wind are less above or below that transonic speed.

So a lot of match ammo plays around in the 1050-1090fps MV area. Have been transsonic match ammo loads. Federal put out two back when they really loaded match ammo, one fast and one slow (not the current ammo).

Just a suspision....but am starting to belive the faster match loads were created partly to keep the 10/22 folks happier....many need a bit more "oomph" to cycle.

Main trick is to pick the ammo your rifle likes and not worry about why it likes it. Top of the line match ammo certainly isn't cheap, but if your scores are the same with less expensive ammo, don't buy the expensive stuff just to have a prettier box.

Keep an old tuned up Rem.540X with an even older Lyman 30X Supertarget Spot on top just to keep me humble. While I know the gun can shoot better than I currently do (benchrest is a skill...leave it alone for a time and you WILL see a disapointing differnce) the note book from when I was "on my game" lists match ammo in the subsonic range as the top contenders.

Try serching through thes rimfire forums here:
http://www.benchrest.com/

Some 22's are a fickle brood. They will shoot one type of ammo into a tiny hole and another into a two inch group. Some guns will perform well with a bunch of different brands, but most folks find that if you try enough different brands you will find one that your gun really likes. I would suggest with your older model 75 you stay away from the stinger ammo with the longer cases. Some chambers are short bored, i.e. match chambers and the new CZ 452's and this longer ammo will damage the rifle.

Try as many different brands as you can. I mostly plink and the bulk Winchester ammo I get at wally world seems to work well for what I do. The Federal bulk works worst in my gun and I have been getting a bunch of misfires from them. The Remington bulk is in-between.

Between me and my grandkids we shoot a couple of thousand rounds a month so I do the cost vs accuracy. If the gun will group 1 inch at 50 yards with the ammo it will do for the kind of shooting I do.

If your doing the target thing at a range and competing against folks then your in a different ball game. You should use the target ammo used for competition that other folks are using. How much you pay for your target ammo depends upon the level of competition your competing at. Just remember that 22's are still finiky on what ammo they like best.

Bob, what shoots good in your Winchester 52? My shooting pards recommend SK Standard Plus. Have you tried any of this?

Bob, what shoots good in your Winchester 52? My shooting pards recommend SK Standard Plus. Have you tried any of this?

i can't imagine haveing any thing more accurate than my 1022 custom.... she will shoot one hole groups all day at 50 yds...... i found that the federal bulk packed ammo at wallymart will shoot these groups an i was thrilled because they are cheap! i don't think they are subsonic tho........the worst i've tried in the rifle were wildcats... try looking at RIMFIRE CENTRAL for all kinds of good info on america's favorite caliber.... that's where i found this forum.......


LIFE IS SHORT.......

i found that the federal bulk packed ammo at wallymart will shoot these groups an i was thrilled because they are cheap! i don't think they are subsonic tho........try looking at RIMFIRE CENTRAL for all kinds of good info on america's favorite caliber.... that's where i found this forum.......Thanks for the tip! I will have to try some Federal standard velocity for accuracy. Compared to the imports, I KNOW the price is right!

My 10-22 off the (shelf stock rifle) likes either standard (high velocity) Remington or Federal loads and will also do fine with the American red box stuff but does not do well with anything else and is especially ugly with any magnum loadings. Tried a few target rounds of different mfg's but they short cycled and jammed.

The Marlin Glenfield bolt will work wonders with most all brands of standard high velocity but only accepts the Remington Vipers with the truncated cone bullet in the manum loadings. (don't even know if they still make these, bought a few bricks years ago when they first came out and don't shoot many of them) Most Target loads do very nice to 50 yds but any wind definitely plays a major roll in grouping with these.

Nothing but trouble with CCI stuff so I quit using all of it. PMC was total crap too. Overall I have no gripes on bulk Remington and Federal but I'm not shooting competition with it either.

What does everyone think is a good front aperture for 50 yard targets? I have always found that for front sights, the aperture is the easiest to use. Whether it's a metal or a plastic aperture, it just looks right. My eyes can easily pick up when the target, front aperture, and the rear aperture are centered. The military taught me to learn to shoot with a post front sight. When I center the post in the rear aperture, the target sits above the post and when there is a hood over the front sight, everything looks off kilter but it works.

The best way is to try different ammos to see what your gun will shoot the best. Sometimes, match ammo will not shoot the best. One thing for certain, each time you fire a group, you will be surprised how much the pattern changes from brand X ammo to brand Y ammo.

I am new to 22 LR target shooting and have heard that the velocity of the target round has a great deal to do with its accuracy. I have read and learned that most all target rounds are sub-sonic so that the projectile is not disturbed by the sound waves. Is there a rule as to what velocity is desired or correct, or is that the trick to choosing a round that your individual rifle "likes". I started out using up some old Remington Gold rounds that came in the Remington mug promotion. Supposidly these are the least accurate rounds I could use, but I used them up and still had fun shooting. I then used some Remington/Eley Club Extra ammo. I did shoot better, but I am not sure of the reason. It may be that I just concentrated more. My Winchester model 75 Target has peep sights and it takes me some practice and concentration to become proficient. What does everyone think is a good front aperture for 50 yard targets? Lots of questions :confused: . Thanks, Peter.

The big difference is rim thickness...that makes the biggest difference in accuracy for a rimfire because he round headspaces on that rim. If you have a wide variance in rim thickness then you will have flyers...I like Remington subsonic for two reasons....one is that the rim thickness is typically about 41 or 42 ...no outliers.....and the round is subsonic so when I shoot at longer targets the impact points are consistant...some of the guys I shoot with have done amazing things with 10/22 rifles....mine will shoot minute of prairie dog at 125 yards all day long if I use the right ammo...when I can't get the Remington subsonic..I use CCI minimag...solid head....accurate almost every time....there are several secrets to making the 10/22 work..and none of them cost a lot of money...of course..there is a huge aftermarket parts industry that sells stuff....but in most cases.....changing parts doesn't solve the problems inherent to the design....the weapon is so appealing because it rewards the ingenious mind....

Hint....all of them have a single action screw...and that is a fulcrum.....fix that first..

I collected a lot of information from the various manufacturers of 22LR ammunition. It's freely available in a big table at http://www.flat5.net/shooting.htm and includes the prices I found (which may not be what you find, but at least you'll have some idea). There's also an "XLS" (Excel spreadsheet) you can download with the same data at that same location.

For a given gun you just have to try a lot of different brands of ammunition to find out what works 1) reliably and 2) accurately. In my Smith and Wesson model 41, for example, only standard velocity ammunition functions in a completely reliable manner. The high velocity ammo tends to stove-pipe whereas low velocity tends to fail in clearing the previous round or in chambering the next. I went through a lot of ammo before I figured out that reliability was closely tied to velocity.

Someday, I'll go through all the ammo that is reliable and figure out what is also accurate. At the moment, however, even the "bad" ammo is a lot more accurate than I am.