Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Rimfires Cooper RF accracy

Who shoots a Cooper rimfire, and how is the accuracy?

I am looking at a Jackson Hunter.

Had a LVT.My Anschutz 54 Sporter outshot it... so it went.I'm talking a 1/4" at 50.

22 Mag....first time out with CCI V-Max boolits at 50 and light wind. It has potential.

Tried other types of ammo with less than stellar results.

Have a LVT in 17 HMR and 17HM2. They both shoot great and will pick one up in 22LR at some point when the right deal comes along. The HMR shoots very good. Barely outshoots my CZ but is my most accurate 17HMR in the end. Under an inch at hundred yards no problem. Closer to 1/2". At 50 yards it's a 1/4" gun. Only shoot Hornady ammo in HMR. The Mach 2 is a laser. It outshoots the HMR on a dead calm day. It's the most accurate rifle I own period. Have shot 1/4" 5 shot groups at 100 yards with no wind. Just one ragged hole at 50 yards. I don't shoot it as much as I would like to because I am getting low on ammo now. Only a few thousand rounds left.
I keep hoping Cooper will chamber the new 17 WSM and I will buy one the day they release it. I like my Cooper rimfires but have had great accuracy from CZ and Annie's as well, for a lot less money. I just like the quality look and feel of the Cooper and that's part of the reason I own them

I have a .22 LR Jackson Squirrel Rifle. Unlike other RF rifles I have owned the Cooper shoots almost anything around 1/2 to 3/4" five shot groups at 50 yds. With ammo it likes, mine likes the Lapua Midas + @ $22.00 per box of 50, it will shoot 1/4" at 50 yrs. Note the Lapua Midas + is what Cooper shoots in the factory when testing .22LR's.

What you get with the Cooper is a rifle that is not a "picky" as a .22LR typically is, so you have lots of options for ammo.

As and example, my son has a Ruger 10/22 that will shoot 1/2" five shot groups with only one brand of ammo and is lucky to shoot 1 1/2" five shot groups at 50 yds with most any other brands, this limits his options considerably.

Are you sure your not talking about my JSR? Pretty much mirrors my expirience. + what "shootai" said about the quality look and feel.


With some cheaper ammo I've had a bunch of 1/4" and smaller three and four shot groups but usually there is at least one in 5 that will open it up. With the high dollar stuff I've been very close to equaling the factory target for five shots but haven't done it yet.


Dave.

These were shot with my m57 jackson hunter, Norma tac22 $4.50 a box............

I keep seeing and hearing about everybody having such good results with "TAC" but of the three rifles I've shot it from on the bench, none of them have cared much for it.


Dave.

I don't want to get off topic but have you tried sitting down and shooting a box of TAC on a clean barrel? I find that switching ammo negates the first 20-30 rounds due to different manufacturers using different lubricants on their bullets. I'm a big fan of TAC for the price. The two best groups I've ever shot were not with tenex, but with TAC. Go figure. Two 5 shot groups.

Same experience here with TAC.

Performs very well in the Annie 54 and Win 52.

I didn't clean them to bare metal. A couple of saturated patches to make sure there was no leading, a couple dry patches, 5 rounds to start seasoning then 9 5 round groups. No joy in mudville. Not bad, 2 of the 3 shoot them around 3/4 to 1" but the other is even larger groups. All three do better with CCI S.V.

Sorry to side track the o.p.'s original thread.


Dave.

I've always been an Anschutz man, but a friend has a couple Cooper 22LR's and they both shoot fantastic.

As mentioned Cooper's have a 1/4" accuracy guarantee and they will stand behind the guarantee. However the issue is not the rifle as often as it is the shooter. If one expects them to shoot to that level it requires good bench technique, wind flags, and some experience at shooting small groups, often it will require a search of different lots of match grade ammo to attain this level of accuracy.

Occasionally some of them will reach the 1/4" accuracy level with lesser grade ammo - mine for instance dotes on CCI Std Vel and Wolf Match, both inexpensive. If you are willing to settle for 1/2" groups practically any relatively good lesser ammo will work for that, I can shoot that size groups using Federal Eagle for instance.

In the end it is usually more about the shooter and conditions than it is about the capability of the rifle. Keep in mind that they are built to be a hunting rifle not a benchrest rifle, and with hunting rifle style stocks it can be extremely difficult to shoot good groups from a benchrest. There are more rifles capable of shooting 1/4" groups than there are shooters capable of shooting !/4" groups.

drover

My CZ 453 will shoot 1/4' at 50 yards for 5 shot groups. I've shot a bunch of groups that small and some slightly smaller. Thing is though that it's usually only one or two groups out of 15-20. I'm not sure yet if the larger groups are because ammo,the gun, or me.

My point is that there are some sporters that will shoot that good without spending $2000 +. My 453 was about $650 after tax. The Cooper looks a lot better and exudes quality fit and finish. I would love to own one if I had 2K to spend but I might buy the 54 Annie instead if I found one with exceptional wood.

I have 2 Cooper 57M's and both are very accurate. Much like posted above with the TAC22 and similar with the Winchester XLR22SUBA and RWS. Everything else is not quite as good but still I have found them less picky about ammo than any of my other .22's.

I did have to send one back for extractor work and I have found on the same rifle that first round feeding can get iffy and requires me to do some tuning before every silhouette season. That's more the magazine.

I am looking at going ahead and spending the $ for an Anshutz 1712 before this season. It won't be any more accurate I suspect but the stock is designed for the silhouette shooting position where the Cooper is a much more classic. Prettier but not quite as functional.

Here's one of them that Cooper stocked with a piece of walnut my Grandfather cut off our farm 40 years ago.

Pugs,

Not to discourage you from buying a new rifle but another option would be to buy a Jackson Hunter stock for your 57M. The cheekpiece on it is a virtual copy of the Anschutz and the grip is very similar and for me fits my hand a bit better than the Anschutz. I went from a 1710 to a Jackson Hunter a few years ago and have never had a regret.

FYI - I do have some experience in silhouette shooting, I started in 1980 and have been at it ever since. And yes, Coopers shoot well enough for me to carry a Master classification.

But I went just the opposite of what I am suggesting - a couple of years ago I had an upgraded Custom Classic stock built for my 57M for when I wanted it to be a "show pony".

drover

Drover - thanks much. I'll certainly be happy to consider that and will drop Cooper a note to ask costs.

I am not by any means a Master class shooter but it's a good group and I enjoy shooting with them and see it as a sport I can do for a long time.

Pugs - here you go.
http://cooperfirearms.com/our-rifles/custom-options

If you should decide to go with a Cooper Jackson Hunter stock let me know. I have a friend who had one for sale a year or so ago. I have no idea of asking price but I would be glad to put you in touch with him.

Most matches I wish I wasn't a Master class shooter, I am getting old enough that it is tough for me to be competitive. I worked so hard to get there that I will not declassify to a lower class and I shoot just enough Master scores to keep there.

drover

Now I'm torn. Unless your buddies shows up I talked to Cooper. $700 for a JSR stock. I have to mail the rifle to them for bedding and it takes about 8 weeks cutting it very close to the match season.

Decisions.....

Well, I pulled the trigger on a Cooper Jackson Hunter.
Had only a short time frame to shoot and it was cold and breezy.
Shot at 25 yards with Lapua Midas +. It shot one hole groups that are very slightly larger than the 22 bullet diameter. I don't have the instrumentation to measure the group, but they are tiny and smaller than any group that I have ever shot.