TAC-22 Ammo Review

[Vamike9]

I tried the new red box regular TAC-22 and it shot quite a bit worse than the black box stuff. Might just be the lot is not as good as it looks the same. TAC-22 and RWS Rifle Match do not look alike and do not shoot alike in my Anschutz or CZ. The RWS Rifle Match is much less oily and has fewer flyers in my rifles. There is no point arguing about .22 ammo as it varies from lot to lot and rifle to rifle. One thing for sure, at 8 cents a round, the TAC-22 is a bargain compared to CCI SV and similar ammo. There is just no guarantee it will shoot well in any particular rimfire gun.

Across the board the Tac-22 ammo seems to do well for most shooters.
The lots do matter, I'd recommend trying several different lots, then choosing the one that shoots the best in your rifle.
I found the beeswax on the Tac-22 to be excessive to say the least. You might also want to try sorting them by rim thickness and weight sorting?
That's time consuming but with cheaper ammo I've heard that it can help group size.
Good luck

 

[DGP4]

Years ago when I was starting my quest for rimfire accuracy, I tried rim and weight sorting of cheaper ammo with no discernable improvement. I am not saying it doesn't work, but in my experience it did not. I agree that if you can find a good lot of a particular ammo that works in your gun, do not hesitate to buy a case or two right away!

 

[dutch14]

After you have sorted the bad ammo from the good ammo, what are you going to do with the bad ammo? Someone once sorted the good from the bad and found it was cheaper to buy Lupua x-act for the good ammo.

 

[Dgd6mm]

CCI SV out shoots Tac 22 in both my Tikka T1X and Ruger 10/22. For me the Tac 22 is good for pistol ammo.

 

[Appalachian]

A few months back I was trying out a new CZ 457. I was surprised at how well this particular lot of Tac 22 grouped. This target was the first after sighting in. It grouped as well as a random lot of CenterX that day. I tried another lot later that wasn’t quite as good, but was still significantly better than CCI SV. One day, one lot, one rifle. Measured outside of grease ring to outside of grease ring.

 

[Rsadams]

A few months back I was trying out a new CZ 457. I was surprised at how well this particular lot of Tac 22 grouped. This target was the first after sighting in. It grouped as well as a random lot of CenterX that day. I tried another lot later that wasn’t quite as good, but was still significantly better than CCI SV. One day, one lot, one rifle. Measured outside of grease ring to outside of grease ring.View attachment 1372218

How far was this shot at..????

 

[Appalachian]

How far was this shot at..????

50 yards

 

[Vamike9]

On my rimfire journey I've found it easier to just buy good SK, Eley or Lapua match ammo. Most of them usually group very well even with different lots.
Some absolutely better than others...
Lot testing is a lot like hand loading to your particular rifle, it tunes that load to your barrel harmonics.
Some barrels are easier than others, with some shooting everything well and some only shooting one brand/lot well.
It's all about doing your range work.

 

[Rsadams]

50 yards

Rimfires are so pick it's amazing when you find the ammo it likes... Not all of them like CCI SV.... I am fortunate that mine do so it makes life a little easier.... Either way you get to shoot while testing which is a win win...

 

[Vamike9]

Finding the right lot makes all the difference.

RimX/Lilja 18in MTU bbl
MDT XRS hybrid Chasis
Eley Match MV was 1075
not lot as pic says.
This rifle will consistently shoot .2s or under with the right ammo.
Rifle was built by Eric Mueller @ Zero Dark Precision in northern Va.

 

[xtcshooter]

Thought I would contribute to this thread by posting my evaluation of the new red box Norma TAC 22 at 100 yards.

Rifle / Range / Target

I shot the 50 @ 100 with my Walther Running Target rifle and a Balvar 6-24X40mm scope. I shot this at my home range, off a portable folding bench with a Caldwell front rest, Protektor front bag, and no name suede rear bag. Elevation to my 100 yard target is about 100' higher then my shooting point, thus the need for the attache case under the front rest. I shot at a Birchwood Casey 8" Hi-Vis target. It is composed of a 1 inch center aiming dot surrounded by 1 inch rings. The target was attached to a white cardstock backer to facilitate accurate measurements.

Shooting conditions were good. Temperature was 70 degrees with a steady 5-9 mph 4 o'clock wind.



100 Yard Range


Ammo

As stated, I tested a box of Norma TAC 22 from a case I recently purchased. The case is lot# 41LR41. The listed velocity is 1083 fps. I did not chronograph the 50 rounds I shot because my Magnetospeed V3 attaches to the barrel and I did not want to risk changing the barrel harmonics. However, I had measured 10 rounds from the same lot/brick a few weeks earlier. My measurements at that time were: Average Velocity - 1119 fps, Extreme Spread - 42 and Standard Deviation - 13.3



Results

Results were good and seem to correlate to my earlier chronograph measurements. The 1 inch aiming dot was obliterated and all 50 shots grouped within the 2" ring. The extreme vertical spread was 2.02" CTC and the horizontal spread was 1.746". Of the 50 rounds shot, 38 stayed in the main hole with an extreme spread of 1.215". The remaining 12 shots remained within the 2" ring.





Conclusion

This case/lot of Norma TAC 22 performed very well in my Walther RT rifle. At less then $4.00 box it is a decent practice / hunting ammo and I would expect similar results in my other rifles.

Thanks,

Art

 

[Tesoro]

My Annie field gun like this stuff! ( with no wind!)

 

[Knotwild]

I had some in the mid to low .3's at 50 with an Anschutz. So, I bought a case. Shot better than SK Rifle Match.

 

[Pareto]

I tried the new red box regular TAC-22 and it shot quite a bit worse than the black box stuff. Might just be the lot is not as good as it looks the same. TAC-22 and RWS Rifle Match do not look alike and do not shoot alike in my Anschutz or CZ. The RWS Rifle Match is much less oily and has fewer flyers in my rifles. There is no point arguing about .22 ammo as it varies from lot to lot and rifle to rifle. One thing for sure, at 8 cents a round, the TAC-22 is a bargain compared to CCI SV and similar ammo. There is just no guarantee it will shoot well in any particular rimfire gun.

I think it's the new Norma Match that's supposed to be similar to Rifle Match, not Tac 22 though I haven't seen any NM yet.

 

[dutch14]

I'm currently paying 8 cents per rd plus tax for cci sv.

 

[boltfluter]

Tac-22 is showing real promise in my new Tikka T1-X. Hope to have some group pics shortly. Great little rifle so far.
Paul

 

[Kracken McGraw]

https://normashooting.com/shop/caliber/22-lr-40-gr-norma-tac-22-qty-50/

 

[boltfluter]

Picked up another 1000 rounds yesterday at 3.29 per box(50). My Tikka T1X loves this stuff. Very good quality product for the price.
Paul

 

[flatlander]

I bought half a case of TAC-22 a few months ago, and thought it shot OK in a couple of my Vudoo repeaters, but it's pretty hard to close the bolt on it, a bit tougher than Eley Match. More recently, I decided to try a couple of bricks of the Norma Match-22, and found that it didn't shoot nearly as well as the lot of TAC-22. Since I paid a few dollars more per box for the Match, I was naturally disappointed, but that's no different than I've seen when comparing decent lots of SK Rifle Match to mediocre lots of Lapua Center-X, and the price difference is about the same for both Norma & SK/Lapua. My Norma purchases were all direct from their website, with no way to specify a given lot#. I'm wondering if you can call their customer service ph# and do this? I'm not certain that the impressed numbers on the box flap is actually the lot#, as the TAC-22 flap stamp is 58LR22, and the Match stamp is 54PR44.

We'll see what happens in the next week or so, as I ordered another half case of TAC-22 and another brick of Match-22 yesterday online. If either of those shoot really well in any of my rifles, I might as well call customer service and ask about whether they'll work with a customer to supply a specific lot#.

 

[Dgd6mm]

Picked up another 1000 rounds yesterday at 3.29 per box(50). My Tikka T1X loves this stuff. Very good quality product for the price.
Paul

Paul, from a vendor for $3.29? Which one if you don't mind? I have shot the Norma Match in my Tikka T1X and it's mediocre, I'd like to try this Norma Tac 22 in it.