The Precision rimfire thread

[rambo-6mmrem]

Plenty of time
Late January I believe i set the end date

[HJA8]

However if you are trying to shoot a "Canadian Gun Nutz" challenge every group must be under 0.5, its a good bit more challenging

Tentman...This one would qualify - Shot by by wife two days ago with the Vudoo - 3 different lot numbers of SK Rifle Match & Long Range at 50M. Best 183, Worst 412, 20X5 Average 304. We haven't had this rifle long and since I set it up, we haven't struck one day with ideal conditions for shooting rim fire. It took my wife two hours to shoot this in very trying conditions - She's a good shot but patience is the key here - Something I lack in spades!

[rambo-6mmrem]

Tentman...This one would qualify - Shot by by wife two days ago with the Vudoo - 3 different lot numbers of SK Rifle Match & Long Range at 50M. Best 183, Worst 412, 20X5 Average 304. We haven't had this rifle long and since I set it up, we haven't struck one day with ideal conditions for shooting rim fire. It took my wife two hours to shoot this in very trying conditions - She's a good shot but patience is the key here - Something I lack in spades!

@HJA8 interested to know why you measure your groups edge to edge and not center to center which is the official way?
when are you going to shoot the forum challenge?

[Danger Mouse]

This is why I like to lot test ammo. When I find something half decent, it will usually shoot well in most of my rifles.
150 shots of SK Rifle Match - 5 different 22's - 50 metres outdoors. And yes, the Lithgow is still the most accurate general purpose 22 I've owned to date!

The Anschutz 1710 DHB Classic is perhaps my favourite rimfire - Look good in a traditional way, nice action, function well and accurate! I've owned a number of these but the two pictured here are my "keepers".

Is that model still available?

[mudgripz]

HJ - go buy the wife a cup of coffee - that's good shooting!

What kind of shooting rests are you using - Caldwell lead sled etc? You are going to need a setup offering 100% stability to achieve such consistent group sets.

[HJA8]

@HJA8 interested to know why you measure your groups edge to edge and not center to center which is the official way?

I measure that way because we do not always use the same thickness of paper/cardboard for targets. Bullet hole dia. can vary widely depending on the target material. Many on these forums seem to use 220 but I have seen holes as small as 190 - Does make some groups look "smaller" than others if you're using the larger dia. Lots of groups we shoot with rim fires are ragged holes and measuring center to center is not easy at times. I prefer to measure the bullet hole dia., set the calipers to zero at that value, then measure group OD. We shoot only for our own pleasure so not splitting hairs like many do in competition.

Is that model still available?

There are still a few stainless/walnut 1710's getting around on the second hand market - Haven't seen a new one in years. The stainless/laminated version is a rare beast - I understand about 10 came to Aus. I don't think any North American forum members have seen one of these.

What kind of shooting rests are you using - Caldwell lead sled etc? You are going to need a setup offering 100% stability to achieve such consistent group sets.

Nothing fancy - Caldwell front topped with a Dan Greenlaw adjustable top (USA). I have several front bags depending on fore end width. Protektor rear bags.

[rambo-6mmrem]

[QUOTE=HJA8;1228766]I measure that way because we do not always use the same thickness of paper/cardboard for targets. Bullet hole dia. can vary widely depending on the target material. Many on these forums seem to use 220 but I have seen holes as small as 190 - Does make some groups look "smaller" than others if you're using the larger dia. Lots of groups we shoot with rim fires are ragged holes and measuring center to center is not easy at times. I prefer to measure the bullet hole dia., set the calipers to zero at that value, then measure group OD. We shoot only for our own pleasure so not splitting hairs like many do in competition.[QUOTE]

Fair enough

I think consistently is the name of the game
Dosn’t really matter how you do it as long as every target is measured the same

Have noticed quite a bit of Difference in hole size on the targets I have been measuring for the forum Challenge
I am measuring Digitally with on target software I leave the hole size set exactly the same for every target
And just Center over the holes as best I can
Measures center to Center
I spend alot of time processing the targets and making sure that i set up the hole markers to the best of my ability
I feel that people have spent time and money entering so the least I can do is score the targets as consistently as possible

[Tentman]

Tentman...This one would qualify - Shot by by wife two days ago with the Vudoo - 3 different lot numbers of SK Rifle Match & Long Range at 50M. Best 183, Worst 412, 20X5 Average 304. We haven't had this rifle long and since I set it up, we haven't struck one day with ideal conditions for shooting rim fire. It took my wife two hours to shoot this in very trying conditions - She's a good shot but patience is the key here - Something I lack in spades!

Well I finally nailed it, this is the target as I measured it, @rambo-6mmrem gave me a thou and he reckons its 0.293

Its taken 6 plus years to shoot a 5x5 @50 where all groups measure under 0.5". It was a lot harder than I initially thought although I did impose a few of my own personal limitations. I wanted to do it with a sporting rifle that one could go hunting with - thats still a fairly wide range of options but for me it ruled out single shot target rifles like a Vickers I own and a BSA International that came my way during the journey.

My shooting has definitely improved as I've tried shooting the challenge, I am a lot more conscious of trigger control, hold and environmental factors than I once was.

The journey has taken several rifles, a Anschutz 1415-1416, a Winchester M52 replica, a CZ 455, two EM322's, a Ruger 10/22 HB, a Ruger American rimfire Target HB and some others I forget. All of these would shoot a lot of groups at under 0.5, but in my hands I couldn't get 5 consecutive groups at that level.

Now I finally have a target that makes the grade. It was shot at 47M with a Lithgow LA101 22lr. The rifle is a standard synthetic stock model that I bought used, however I'm sure the trigger has been altered, it has a superb break at 725 grams (26oz). Scope is a Sightron S111 3.5-10x44 and the ammo I shot was a batch of Eley Match that I've hoarded for the challenge after it "proved out" in other rifles.

[rambo-6mmrem]

yeah good shooting @Tentman can only get better from here
maybe a bigger scope 3.5-10 is pretty small for shooting tiny groups although it seems to be working thats for sure

[Ultimitsu]

The journey has taken several rifles, a Anschutz 1415-1416, a Winchester M52 replica, a CZ 455, two EM322's, a Ruger 10/22 HB, a Ruger American rimfire Target HB and some others I forget. All of these would shoot a lot of groups at under 0.5, but in my hands I couldn't get 5 consecutive groups at that level.
Attachment 182476

5 shot group is not an accurate measure of accuracy. first shot doesn't count, it really is 4 shots being consistent to the first.

Many rifles can do a 5 shot 0.5 inch here and there, but will have a larger true cone of spread. That is what is good about this challenge, it basically ignores these one-off good 5 shot groups and make your gun show its true colours.

5 shot group gets used as a default accuracy measurement because a balance needs to be struck between precision of measurement and cost of measurement. 10 rounds of quality factory load 6.5 Creedmoor would cost about 40-50 dollars.

however when it comes to rimfire, I don't see why 5 group shots should still be used in accuracy discussions given the low cost of ammunition. I think at a minimum 10 shot should be fired before concluding accuracy.

[rambo-6mmrem]

5 shot group is not an accurate measure of accuracy. first shot doesn't count, it really is 4 shots being consistent to the first.

Many rifles can do a 5 shot 0.5 inch here and there, but will have a larger true cone of spread. That is what is good about this challenge, it basically ignores these one-off good 5 shot groups and make your gun show its true colours.

5 shot group gets used as a default accuracy measurement because a balance needs to be struck between precision of measurement and cost of measurement. 10 rounds of quality factory load 6.5 Creedmoor would cost about 40-50 dollars.

however when it comes to rimfire, I don't see why 5 group shots should still be used in accuracy discussions given the low cost of ammunition. I think at a minimum 10 shot should be fired before concluding accuracy.

exactly