US Rimfire Match Ammo

[jps2486]

Match ammo has a limited market in the U.S. so there's no money in it here. Most rimfire shooters here shoot semi autos like the Ruger 10/22 and piss away ammo at huge rates. They're not going to buy $15 a box ammo.

 

[doclu60]

I was just on the Federal website, and it looks like they are manufacturing 22lr match ammo here. The have HV and standard vel Gold medal. (made in USA on the box)

Mike

Sorry Mike, but this is not even close to being match ammo in the purest definition. You will never see this ammo at sanctioned matches.....to include, ARA, IR50/50, and 3-P/prone matches. Federal did produce true match ammo at one time, stateside, but that was many years ago.

Scott

 

[doclu60]

You can buy the Tac-22 direct from Norma for 10.6cents a pop.

tesoro,
While it doesn't state it anywhere on my boxes of both Norma USA Tac-22 or Norma USA Match-22, that ammo is produced in Germany by RWS. Geco is the same. IIRC, Tac-22 is RWS Target and Match-22 is RWS Rifle Match. It's not really match ammo either, but shoots great out of my Ruger MKIII Comp Target pistol. Although stating 'Norma USA' on the box, it's European ammo.

Scott

 

[JPTX]

AND,.. Gasoline would STILL BE,.. $2.50 ish per gallon.

And,

AND,.. Gasoline would STILL BE,.. $2.50 ish per gallon.

And, Covid would have been gone in just a few weeks along with Mexico paying for some Big 30 foot Beautiful Wall. Some people live in their fantasy world. How about keeping this shit off of this Forum?

I want to hear more opinions on new 22 ammunition.

 

[Tesoro]

tesoro,
While it doesn't state it anywhere on my boxes of both Norma USA Tac-22 or Norma USA Match-22, that ammo is produced in Germany by RWS. Geco is the same. IIRC, Tac-22 is RWS Target and Match-22 is RWS Rifle Match. It's not really match ammo either, but shoots great out of my Ruger MKIII Comp Target pistol. Although stating 'Norma USA' on the box, it's European ammo.

Scott

thx. I had read some stuff along those lines. I also heard SK is made by RWS and in the same ballpark for accuracy. If I can find a big batch to shoot an inch consistently at 10-11c a pop then i'll be happy!

What is the definition of target vs: match in 22lr?

 

[Gizmo60]

thx. I had read some stuff along those lines. I also heard SK is made by RWS and in the same ballpark for accuracy. If I can find a big batch to shoot an inch consistently at 10-11c a pop then i'll be happy!

What is the definition of target vs: match in 22lr?

SK is not made by RWS, SK and RWS are seperate indepentant manufactures.

SK company history | Rimfire | 22LR - SK-Ammunition

Today, Nammo Schönebeck GmbH is one of the most important makers of rimfire ammunition. For many years, sport shooters, biathletes and hunters have put their trust in .22lr cartridges from Schönebeck…

sk-ammunition.com

RWS: The ammunition counts | RWS Ammunition

rws-ammunition.com

Target V Match - IMHO its basically the same thing but the higher grade (Match) is best suitable for high end competitions.

With Eley ammo, Tenex is best, then Match, then Team, all are based on the Tenex family and on Eley's patented flat nose profile.

What’s more important though is the quality of the ammo, eg, RWS make Sporting Line of ammo and Premium Line, obviously Premium (R50/R100) is the better product.

Quality aside, it makes no difference if your rifle doesn’t like it; batch testing is the name of the game.

 

[HuskerP7M8]

thx. I had read some stuff along those lines. I also heard SK is made by RWS and in the same ballpark for accuracy. If I can find a big batch to shoot an inch consistently at 10-11c a pop then i'll be happy!

What is the definition of target vs: match in 22lr?

If you're shooting RFBR at 50 yds/50 Meters, there are only 5 choices for match ammo and 5 choices only:

Eley Match/Tenex
Lapua Center X/ Midas+/X-Act (X-Act is too expensive to be a choice for most of us)
RWS R-50/R-100 (R-100 has too much wind drift due to its Increased velocity for most of us)

Everything else is pretty much garbage for this specific discipline, but where you guys don't need the precision of RFBR, there are several other options.

Any manufacturer can stamp "Match" on the box, but it's a meaningless description for the most part.

Landy

 

[doclu60]

thx. I had read some stuff along those lines. I also heard SK is made by RWS and in the same ballpark for accuracy. If I can find a big batch to shoot an inch consistently at 10-11c a pop then i'll be happy!

What is the definition of target vs: match in 22lr?

As already posted you heard wrong on the SK. Lapua makes SK, not RWS. Lapua also made Wolf for years, but lost the contract to Eley a couple of years ago. RWS brands RWS, Norma USA, and Geco.

As Landy stated in post #47, any MFG can put anything on a box....Match, Target, Yada Yada, means nothing, there is no definition.

Scott

 

[justinp61]

I have two cases of CCI SV and it doesn't shoot well in any of my rifles with match chambers, however my Tikka shoots it well and my Savage shoots it pretty good, plinking ammo IMO.

I've had very good luck with SK Std. Plus, one of the four lots I have is excellent and shoots as well as any of the Center X I've had. None of my rifles have ever shot Eley well, the exception being the Tikka, but it shoots anything I've fed it well, nothing exceptional, but all well.

RWS seems to be hit and miss, Target Rifle has been fair and Special Match is good in a couple rifles. In a weak moment I bought a brick of Lapua X-Act, I haven't worked up the nerve to shoot it yet. LOL

Rimefire ammo is like the lottery, if you hit the jackpot and find something that shoots well in your rifle, buy as much as you can afford. Don't buy cheap ammo and expect to set the world on fire though.

 

[doclu60]

I've had very good luck with SK Std. Plus, one of the four lots I have is excellent and shoots as well as any of the Center X I've had. None of my rifles have ever shot Eley well, the exception being the Tikka, but it shoots anything I've fed it well, nothing exceptional, but all well.

Excellent point. The old Wolf Match Target was the same as SK-Standard + and I believe it (Wolf) still has the record for the smallest 10/22 group at 100yds set many years ago. I have a lot of SK-RM that also has beat many lots of CX over the years.

Rimefire ammo is like the lottery, if you hit the jackpot and find something that shoots well in your rifle, buy as much as you can afford. Don't buy cheap ammo and expect to set the world on fire though.

Agree with the above, but need to add something. If the jackpot is hit, buy as much as you can of that SPECIFIC LOT number. Same ammo, different lot number could very well be a turd!

Scott

 

[flatlander]

The last four posts here have nailed it when it comes to finding good match ammo for your rifle. Pick the brand & grade you have access to, and buy a couple of boxes of as many lots of it as you can find, then test it all in your rifle - and do it as soon as you can, because if you screw around wasting time before shooting it, and find one lot that's really good, you're unlikely to be able to buy any more of it. This was the situation 6 years ago in 2016 - I'd bought test samples of a dozen different lots of Lapua Center-X. I was so busy with farm work, and the weather was pretty windy to get any reliable testing done, that I didn't get the opportunity to shoot any of it for a few weeks. When I finally did get to test, and found one exceptional lot, I couldn't find any more of it anywhere - by that time, many other shooters had realized how good that lot was, and had bought it all up. He who hesitates is lost...lol

 

[Phil McGrath]

Was at the range yesterday and took the 82G and a box of the Norma Tac fired at 50yds, I think my rifle likes it. Headed too the fun store too nab another brick next Sat, they were stocked knee deep so it shouldn’t be a problem.

 

[Mike_Carter]

Circling back on this topic and learned today that https://czechoslovakgroup.com/en/companies#ammo+ owns CCI, Federal, Remington, and Fiocchi. Since this post originally surfaced it is clear, Eley, RWS, and Nammo group is in high demand in America as every bullet they ship gets sold. Some quicker that others. Maybe, just maybe a domestically produced highly accurate, 40 grain, subsonic, match winning level of rimfire ammunition could be produced in the USA. There is no doubt the technology and know how to statistically control a manufacturing process to make this type of ammunition resides in the USA. The will to put it place has always been overridden by the ROI and bottom line of the accountants at these companies, that couldn't save them from being acquired or bankrupted.
Maybe a seed planted with the new owners could result in a level of investment in an existing facility to make true match grade ammo.

 

[SteveUrban]

In my opinion, that group already owns the recipe for great 22 ammo if the company they purchased still has the notes on how to do it. I am referring to Federal’s UM-1 ammo.
But, as much as I would love to see it come back, I don’t think that Olympic quality ammo will be domestically produced again due to the bean counters!

 

[NZ_Fclass]

In my opinion, that group already owns the recipe for great 22 ammo if the company they purchased still has the notes on how to do it. I am referring to Federal’s UM-1 ammo.
But, as much as I would love to see it come back, I don’t think that Olympic quality ammo will be domestically produced again due to the bean counters!

Maybe your new President will put a tariff on ammo from overseas and wake the accountants up?

 

[Long_Shot]

If US ammo makers would produce Olympic quality rimfire ammo...we couldn't afford to buy it! Besides, with the lack of ambition currently encountered in our work force, the quality and the workers wouldn't be there.

 

[wheelgun7360]

AND,.. Gasoline would STILL BE,.. $2.50 ish per gallon. Gas was $2.42 here where I live today!! Filled up the Nissan!!

 

[PNW Skipper]

Cutting Edge is making rimfire match bullet and primed case.

Which is not legal for use in the vast majority of smallbore competitions that require the use of factory loaded ammo.

 

[ISS]

And gas here in SW Idaho is hovering around $3.25-$3.75 a gallon. Had a brother in the ST Louis area, and his gas was always 50-cents a gallon cheaper than here. It's not always "Peaches & Cream" here in Idaho, but our state government is solidly behind the US Constitution as written and legally amended. I can live with any downside.
God, Bless America: or should it be the other way around?

ISS

 

[NZ_Fclass]

If US ammo makers would produce Olympic quality rimfire ammo...we couldn't afford to buy it! Besides, with the lack of ambition currently encountered in our work force, the quality and the workers wouldn't be there.

You make a good point - and it's not limited to the US. We have/are going through an era where skills are not appreciated by management. A belief that all tasks can be broken down to menial jobs performed by unskilled or semi-skilled workers. A time when degree and professionally certified engineers are paid less, and valued less, than degree and professionally qualified accountants and managers. It's not working out for many major manufacturers, but they still persist in the model, resisting change - the management class protect their own. The rise of small hi-tech business is changing the model, slowly -probably too slowly, as we still witness large companies struggle with manufacturing quality, notably in the car and aircraft industries. Even in higher education, where I spent some time, the only department that grew, every year, was Administration.

And don't get me started on DEI...