My first .22 Rimfire Match

[rlandrum]

I'm planning to participate in a .22 Rimfire IR 50/50 match coming up in King George, VA. This will be my first match, and I'll be shooting a stock Savage Mark II FV with a Bushnell 3-9x scope from a Sinclair Competition Benchrest.

Does anyone have any ammo suggestions? I've done some inexpensive ammo tests, and the Winchester Subsonic has performed best, with CCI Subsonic and Standard Velocity close behind. I've never fired Eley, but the reviews I've seen suggest that they're excellent match grade ammo.

I'm planning to hit the range for some practice today. Any tips or tricks I should work on to help me be competitive?

Thanks,

Rob

 

[wapiti25]

Don't overlook the Wolf/SK match ammo. I found Wolf Match Extra to shoot very good. Buy a box of as many kinds of match ammo you can and test, each gun has it's favorite. Good luck

 

[4570sharpshooter]

I second the Wolf match ammo . It is a decent shooter . Clean your rifle after shooting , the primer/powder residue is nasty. 45/70SS

 

[Shynloco]

Rob,
Don't know how much experience you have in Rimfire Benchrest Shooting, but there are a couple things I might suggest you consider. First off, Rimfire Rifles (no matter the brand) are very sensitive to ammunition and therefore you have to do some serious testing to find out what you particular rifle likes the best. Certainly Wolf (both makes) have been successful in some rifles. As was suggested SK is another brand but none of those is the price of Eley, Lapua or even Federal Ultra Match that is in the $15 a box range. Sometimes you get lucky and the less expensive ammo will shoot well in your rifle. The difference in ammo prices simply means there will be more consistency in the ammo as far as the loads go and thus you probably will score better. Might suggest you only buy a small amount of each ammo you want to test so you don't get ammo poor. Also, you have to consider the abilities of the shooter, rifle and the rest to work to their ultimate abilities to get the best results. Further, when it comes to the rifle, you cannot reasonably expect a $400 rifle to perform like a $1500 rifle (that's without scopes, etc). So don't get frustrated if some of the higher dollar rifles come in with better scores. Next there is the issue of getting used to shooting off a Sinclair Competition Rest (or similar). That means loads of practice with the best found ammo. It's tougher than what some think, especially when you shoot an ARA Target with a possible score of 2500. Might shock some to see how quickly the points drop and how "challenging" it can be to score 2000. Your scope is yet another issue to consider. Most Rimfire competitions are shot at 50 yds and a 3 X 9 scope may not be sufficient enough magnification for you to see that target consistently, shot after shot. Old saying, you can't hit what you can't see. Most of the more serious shooters like the higher magnification scopes such as the 20x, 30x and even the 35X Leupold Competition Scopes and it's bigger brother, the 45X Competition Scope. Yes those are in the $1K scopes, but again, some folks take this stuff very seriously. But then their rifles probably go for at least twice that amount.

But most of all, have fun and learn from what you see around you. Watch what the top scorers do and ask questions. Then develop your own style of Benchrest shooting that enables you to score those high points. Good luck in your shoot.

 

[rlandrum]

After shooting with the 3-9x, I immediately swapped it for my 18x on my .223. I'm still struggling with consistency issues. I've tried Eley team, tenex, and practice ammo, and none performed very well. I'm going to try some higher end remington ammo tomorrow after a thorough cleaning of the rifle (which may have contributed to my ammo inconsistencies).

 

[JoeF]

Have fun, and don't allow yourself to get frustrated setting to high of expectations in the beginning. Shynloco gave you sound advice. Your limited to the equipment and your experience at present. You will know if this is what you want to pursue. It's good you upped the power of the scope.

Regards,
Joe

 

[Greatwhitenorth]

Wolf and SK are in fact the same ammunition from the same plant, packaged in different boxes, they both use the Eley Priming System (EPS) under licence. In a few of my sporters I see no difference between the sK standard+ and costlier SK Rifle Match ammo to warrant the upgrade.

Learn to read the wind and mirage effects, if any, during the match and familiarize yourself with how obsticles or the ranges berm construction/buildings effect the wind paths. If your less experienced than your competitors in this regards, take advantage of shooting in a rythem, periodically using spotters to get the proper dope. Many shooters use an accelerated rythem when the wind gets stable. It can be advantageous to learn to set up and shoot both accurately and quickly when there is a small window of stable conditions to let you do so. Pacing yourself to a known match time limit can leave you hanging near the end of the match with the conditions working against you.

Clean the rifle bore and chamber exceptionally well before you go and then season in the barrel with 10 or 15 shots of the particular ammo you are using before you start shooting for score. Keep track of where the forestock sits on the rest if you don't have a front stop to set to. Some rifles shoot better or worse in a certain position and need to be adjusted every shot because of the effects of recoil. Have fun, watch the others and try and learn from them. Good Luck

 

[sdneil]

Rob--SK Standard Pluss is excellent in my Savage, CCI standard just ok but better than most others, use standard velocity for best accuracy... do the normal things to your rifle to help make it more accurate... trigger... most actions like in the savage you have, dont need to be very tight..snug or just a little tighter.. front screw a little snuger than rear..all are simmular but not always the same..try to get a high power scope 24-36 with a fine crosshair..good luck and most of all HAVE FUN!!!! if I can help you ask-- thru a pm---Neil

 

[moorepower]

Often times, the more $$ you spend of match ammo, will improve scores. I agree with the Wolf/ SK ammo being very good, both made by Laupua. The 3X9 will hold you back. The 8-32 Mueller is a decent scope for the $$$

 

[Shynloco]

After shooting with the 3-9x, I immediately swapped it for my 18x on my .223. I'm still struggling with consistency issues. I've tried Eley team, tenex, and practice ammo, and none performed very well. I'm going to try some higher end remington ammo tomorrow after a thorough cleaning of the rifle (which may have contributed to my ammo inconsistencies).

Check you PM box.

Shynloco

 

[MN XringChasinFool]

As a smallbore prone shooter I've been chasing the Holy Grail of cheaper inexpensive (accurate / consistant) smallbore ammunition for years, let me tell you I don't think it's out there....... (yet). I for one two day match last season, picked up a box of that Federal Auto-Match, thinking I'll give it a whirl, what the %#$@, you never know, mind you this was with no previous shooting of it, just take it to the match and shoot it and see what happens (not highly advised). Well I can tell you what didn't happen, not much happened that involved the 10 ring. Shot a 1514/1600 for the day. Switched up on day two to Wolf ended up with 1590, and the majority of those ten points were more likely me. I have not found anything below Wolf to be comfortable with going into a match with if I wanted to compete, and if I truly want to have a chance to win I have to go above that, into the Lapua Center-X category of $ or higher. I'd say Wolf is an excellent mid price range ammo, if one doesn't want to go to the higher end with the Lapua and Eley (what I call VLDL's , Very Low Dough Left). One thing I also advise is, are you a fundamentally sound enough shooter in fundamentals to get the price worth out of the ammo. (if that makes any sense). That probably applies much more to position and prone shooting than BR though. As I prone shooter I think it takes a little while to learn if you're outshooting your ammo yet or not, and that's when it's time to probably increase the ammo budget. IMO Basically I think if your a 9 ring shooter, why waste the money at the time buying 1/4" X ring ammo, IMO. however I do think you have to shoot good enough ammunition to give you accurate feedback, The ammunition has to be able to hold call, if I shoot it in the 8, it better be in the 8. (again if that makes any sense). I think biggest key is test, test, test, and when you think you found something,..............test some more. I think the only problem with my last sentence is, very few of us have neither the time or money to test truly the way it probably should be done.

Just a fools 0.02.

 

[rlandrum]

So I've been testing various ammo, and I've had the best luck with CCI Stingers, oddly enough. I've tried RWS Match Gold, most of the Eley (Practice, Tenex, and Team), and a bunch of subsonic (which I've had good luck with at 100 yards, because it doesn't transition from super to sub).

I've shot the CCI Stingers before at 100 yards, and they transitioned and were unstable. At 50 yards, them seem to be working well. In my tests, I hit 5 X's and 5 ten-rings (on the same target) with a scope that was out of windage (now fixed). The second best was the RWS, which produced 1 X and 4 tens.

I'm going to change my testing methods slightly and clean the barrel between ammo, rather than just doing a simple sight-in/ten shot ammo transition. It could be that the Stingers performed best because they were the first ones fired on a clean barrel. The RWS and Federal followed, with significantly less impressive results, and by the time I shot the Remington, I wasn't even hitting the targets consistently.

 

[tunered]

If there are any wind conditions test ammo at 25 yards, with wind you are wasting time and money at 50. ed

 

[tunered]

Study this while practicing, and take it with you to the match. This is based on a 10mph wind coming from the time on a clock. ed

 

[cmillard]

i have a savage mk II fv-sr that shoots wolf match extra into TINY little holes.

 

[rlandrum]

I'm really struggling to get consistent results with my Savage. I suspect it's inexperience reading wind and other factors, but can't shake the feeling that there's something not quite right with the gun.

Last week I was shooting Federal UltraMatch ($23 per 50), and got it sighted in. I shot 3 good shots right in the red 3/8 square of my sight-in target, before moving over to my match target. I fired at the sight-in target at the top of the sheet, and was surprised to see I was off nearly an inch. I fired two more shots, and was off an inch. I adjusted, fired one more sight in to confirm I was in the ball-park, and started the match practice. I wasn't anywhere near the X's. I was low, high, left, and right. Yes, there was wind, but it wasn't strong and was half-value. 1 X and 1 ten-ring. Some weren't even in the target box.

I cleaned the bore, and re-tried the CCI stingers, which performed so well the week before. I sighted them in, then moved to the match practice target, and again, I was off. The wind had picked up, but was still half-value. Still, I was all over the place. 1 X and 2 ten-rings. Again, some strayed out of the target box.

I've checked the scope mount and base and everything is tight. Is there anything else I should check?

I'm still going to the match this weekend, but don't expect any miracles. Mostly I'm going to inspect the rigs of the other shooters to see what works well. I think I'll stick with the stingers. They aren't great, but they seem the best choice.

 

[tunered]

Stop cleaning so often, some rifles will start shooting on the second shot, some on the 50th, put some tension on the barrel, take some off if any, and each brand and lot number will require a different vibration node that it likes, thats why tuners are very popular, allows you to adjust to different loads. Stay away from copper washed bullets, use only ones with the good lube on them, and dont test in the wind, at least not at 50yds. ed

 

[sdneil]

Tunered has given you some killer excellent info here... try some SK std pluss or Wolf match( same as SK ) I shoot a savage mark 11 in our monthly 50 yd benchrest matches they are hard to beat in the sporter class when dialed in correctly the guys in contention at the end of the night ( yes we shoot saturday evenings under the lights) are usually shooting Savage mark 11s,, if your not close to or at 500 you will be out of running.. 498-497 will get you about 3rd or 4th maybe!! A high power scope with a fine crosshair is a huge help!! if I can help you out send PM---Neil G

 

[rlandrum]

Stop cleaning so often, some rifles will start shooting on the second shot, some on the 50th, put some tension on the barrel, take some off if any, and each brand and lot number will require a different vibration node that it likes, thats why tuners are very popular, allows you to adjust to different loads. Stay away from copper washed bullets, use only ones with the good lube on them, and dont test in the wind, at least not at 50yds. ed

When I said I cleaned the bore, I actually just ran a wet patch followed by a dry patch down the barrel. I didn't use the brass brush. I did this between ammo changes only.

That said, when I first started these practice shoots a few weeks ago, I started with a dirty barrel (500 rounds, maybe, of CCI Subsonic and Winchester Subsonic). My results weren't any better. The best I shot with this gun was with the CCI Stingers after a good cleaning. Maybe I was just lucky, but I was hitting what I aimed for.

I'm using a 32x BSA scope. The crosshairs aren't super fine, but I can clearly see the X dot at 50 yards with it.

 

[jsuttor]

I use CCI Standard Velocity but to get better consistency from the round. I weight each round and sort them into groups by weight. It doesn't vary much but it help not end up with as many fliers.

If I do my part it shoots very good in my TacSol X.