Thread: Sorting 22lr

Wil be going to the nzda chch range this sat so will pick up a few boxes of different brands to try

What sort of variation are we talking about in rim thickness? I measured the first row out of a new pack of CCI subs with a set of digital calipers and they were within 0.02mm which is pretty much the limit of accuracy of the calipers anyway

Originally Posted by Driverman

Try testing CCI std . I think you will be very surprised

In your experience does it test well against the target ammunition?

I shot it some years ago when I first got my current 22LR and it didn't shoot as accurately in that rifle when put up against the target ammunition.

CCI is wonderful ammo for its price. I churn though bricks and bricks of it. However, it still has that annoying aspect though of popping shots out of the group. Have been doing a lot of 100yd grouping lately and that sorts out the seriously good ammo (and gear). Have been using an old BSA target rifle with diopter sights and a Walther Silo rifle. The BSA groups around 1.5-3 MOA with CCI std, again with the odd miscreant shot ruining the game. Using Fiocchi V320 (match ammo no longer available here I believe) I am getting groups down around .65 MOA. Not every group obviously but reasonably consistant. Not bad given my shite eyesight and metallic sights. Much depends upon the wind conditions on the day though. With the Walther my best results are with SK and strangely Fiocchi M320 which is a cheaper match ammo than their V320. @Gillie haven't tried as large a range of ammo as you but have run various RWS, SK, Fiocchi (already mentioned, the Italian stuff not the Mex), Geco, Lapua Club (tinned stuff) Winchester (mmm why did I try that). One of the worst was Federal Gold Medal which was quite expensive. When I got it home I noticed over 1/2 of the contents of the box were badly tarnished and the lube was a strange colour. Did the Yanks unload a pile of their down graded ammo on us?

Originally Posted by Gillie

In your experience does it test well against the target ammunition?

CCI SV works well for me but has the occasional flyer which is frustrating when shooting silhouettes. For comp it's Lapua, but I'm almost out, then RWS which I'm def out (and Shooting Stuff aren't getting any more in until June) then CCI SV, which is cheap :-) and I blame the flyers when I miss lol.

hmm so rung a few places in chch and no one seems to stock any kind of target 22lr best anyone has is cci which i already have anyone got any ideas?

When I heard alot of silhouette shooters use it as practice ammo , I started buying it , and yes my experience is its very good for the dollar , at around 3.99 to 4.59 per box of 50rds , its at a price rimfire ammo should be at , it does however have the flyers already mentioned .
Shooters in the US , batch it my weight & rim thickness , and get about 200 good out of 500 approx .
In my Annie 54 , it shoots the same as SK std plus ( which is more than double the price ) , here's a pic of a average group shoot at 100yds , using CCI SV , Annie54 , 16x scope , bipod .

After reading this thread, I decided I would see if sorting my cci subs would make a blind bit of difference.

A few minutes on the lathe had a sizing block made, and the dial indicator was put to good use (0.01mm graduations).

I started by sorting 50 rounds. There were some real outsiders which were left aside for fouling shots. The rest were broken into groups sorted by 0.01mm increments in rim thickness.

I was pleasantly surprised by the results. Best 5 shot group closed right up to 3.25mm @ 25m. The other sorted groups fared well, but it appears my rifle has a liking for one rim thickness a lot more than the others.

As a side note, I found out why I was having trouble ejecting certain unfired rounds. These were the rounds with the thickest rims, and pushing the projectile into the lands far enough to make it stick. I jotted down the thickness this starts, and will not use those rounds for anything other than fouling shots, or lobbing into a 10/22 which is not as fussy.


Yep - 5 rounds in that hole.

Good to hear it worked out for you Quentin

My main objective is to eliminate or at least reduce the number of occasional "fliers" I get. and now I have a little match 22LR chamber gauge I will see how much effect sorting by rim thickness is.

It did work out - shame it's such a labour intensive process. Something to save for those days when there is no chance to get out for a shoot.

Anyhow - here's my setup, just in case someone wants to try this themselves.

I used to be quite impressed by Winchester T22 in my Brno model 2

have completely changed direction with this rifle and now gone 17hmr, getting similar groups at 100m as i was at 50

I've been using CCI Target in my Annie 1415 M54 (4-12 x 44 set at 10x, bipod), as well as Eley Club.
I'd occasionally have a fail to extract (1-4 per 10/1 card) with the CCI - frustrating, as it ruins your rhythm - and your score.
With the Eley Club - maybe 1 per fortnight.
Shooting 2-3 cards a week.
I've had my best score (99.6) and my worst (89.0) with CCI.
Eley Club has been very consistent - the variation in scores is 98.3 - 94.2. Error is me - the shooter methinks.
Following this thread, I decided to take a random 20 live rounds from each type and cycle these through the the action.
As the Annie chamber is factory cut pretty tight, I was very gentle closing/opening the bolt.
I then compared rifling engagement on the leading edge of the projectile bearing surfaces between the two types.
Comparing two types side by side, I noticed that the CCI showed more rifling engagement on the round bearing surface, than the Eley.
The thing that really stood out for me was the CCI bearing surface was approx. 1mm longer than the Eley.
That is - the rifling marks were engaging more of the CCI projectile bearing surface length than on the Eley projectile.
The cases measured pretty much the same length.
I wonder if anyone else has noticed this before.
Also - thanks to some previous posters, I'll be taking more notice of how 'hard/easy' it is to close the bolt, when shooting a card.
I guess this will help with estimating whether a rim is thicker than some of its brethren, which I'm thinking is making extraction more difficult.
One of my thoughts here is that a thicker rim is not allowing the extractor claw to get over the rim positively and get a secure grip on the rim, making extraction a hit or miss event.
Any more experienced ideas would be appreciated.
My apologies for 'rambling' on so long.
Cheers.

CCI is well known to stick in tight chambers (i.e. anything that isn't a loose as a goose 10\22). They started making it with oversized projectiles so that it shoots better in 10/22's and that make it stick in things like brnos. Good ammo though.

Originally Posted by MassiveAttack

CCI is well known to stick in tight chambers (i.e. anything that isn't a loose as a goose 10\22). They started making it with oversized projectiles so that it shoots better in 10/22's and that make it stick in things like brnos. Good ammo though.

Mmmm.....the thought crosses my mind about 'oversize' CCI bullets.
Pressure (such as it is in 22 ammo), is peaking a bit higher due to the larger bullet diameter, swelling the case more than usual, causing the 'failure to extract' phenomenon.
It may take a couple-three openings of the bolt, before the fired case comes out - usually just clearing the rifle.
Normal extraction fires the empty case over to the next shooter - sometimes giving him/her a surprise when the case 'taps' them on the shoulder.
Noticed in the last couple of 50 Eley Club, that I've had an occasional CLICK, instead of BANG.
Lift the bolt, close and BANG.
Keeps my sight picture and any reaction to no BANG honest
Anyone had this problem?
Normally get BANG every time the trigger is operated correctly.
Cheers