Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Rimfires Accuracy Qustions - What to Expect

I've been shooting/reloading most of my 62 years, and have only used .22 RF' s as plinkers or small game hunting rifles. My wife and I have a pair of Ruger 77/22's which we recently put pretty good scopes on(Nikon Prostaff 3-9).When I was zeroing the rifles at 100 yards,we were getting 3 shot groups running between 1 1/8 and 1 1/2 inches.This as with ammo onhand(Fed.copperclad hp),other brands may or may not improve the groups.So----- Should I be pleased with this performance or not? Thanks, memtb

Ammo makes a big difference. Shoot 5 shot groups at 50y. You will probably find your guns under .5" with good ammo. Possibly better. The accuracy you are describing with garden variety ammo indicates a likely accurate gun by most .22 standards.

77/22 are not famous for thier accurcy don't get me wrong I like them . to me if a gun with proper ammo is not 1/2 in. its leaving my house

Idholton,What is the the range that you expect your .5" groups? Are those groups a reasonable quest at 100yds with standard ammo? I hope not,cause I think that I may be a little disappointed! memtb

Some good advice a knowledgeable friend once gave me follows. If you are wondering how good your .22 is, invest in some good target ammo, perhaps a box of two different brands. If it is a good gun, it should shoot well with that ammo, or at least one of them. If it shoots well with that, then it is worthwhile to try other brands and types of cheaper ammo to determine what affordable ammo it likes. That advice made good sense to me.

I don't know enough of the statistics to say what you should shoot. I like to shoot five 10-shot groups at 50 yards in good conditions. You have to be aware of the wind with .22LR, even at 50 yards. You also need to be really careful to avoid parallax, either with head position, or better yet, a scope that can adjust it out. If your groups are uniform and relatively large, the rifle doesn't like that ammo. If your groups are small with a few that "expand" the group, say 2/10 shots, that may be attributed to ammo inconsistency. You likely won't have many flyers at all with the good target ammo.

Five 10-shot groups is pretty tough sledding. I'd bet a lot of claimed '1/2" rifles' won't hold that average under those criteria, even with good ammo, but I could be wrong. I expect some of the super target guns will hold up.

The guys that really understand what is going on don't use group size, but rather "Average to Center"(ATC). It is more trouble, but if you read up on it, it makes a lot of sense.

IF that same size group could be achieved with 5 shots consistently at 100 yrds i sure would be pleased. 22 lr shooting at 100 yrds is not an easy task. i have (2) M77/22's and really like them but i'm not expecting 1" groups at 100 yrds. as long as mine will keep everything under 3/4" at 50 yrds i am happy, but that's just me.

Thanks guys, I was actually pleased with the group's, but was curious what a much more experienced 22RF shooter would expect! Again, thanks for all of the feedback. memtb

I always judge a .22 LR's capability when shooting a couple of different varieties of middle or higher grade Eley and RWS ammo. You just can't maximize the accuracy potential of any firearms without consistent ammo.

I have bought more than a couple of accurate rifles that their previous owners couldn't get to shoot because they refused to try more than a couple different styles of quality ammo.

Average under .5" for 5 shots @ 50y using good ammo and you have a solid .22 Sporter. My sporters probably average about .35" @ 50y with fancy ammo. They will not do this with any bulk type ammo.

I will only reiterate what many have already said but the groups that you are getting at 100yds with that ammo (not saying that this is "bad" ammo, but others typically group better) are pretty darn good. A .22LR bullet can be moved pretty good with a minor (10mph) wind and significantly with wind speed exceeding that. If I can keep around an 1" with a good rifle/scope/ammo at 100yds I am happy. If all conditions are "perfect" I can get some really good groups at 100.

Try the different ammo (of the type you will be using in your applications) and see what yours likes at 50yds - then take the best ones to 100ys. If you just want to see what it will do then try all the different types that you can afford and do the same thing.

PennDog

If a butterfly flaps it's wings in the Amazon, it can open up .22lr groups @100y. Despite what many will tell you, it is hard to shoot good groups @100y with a lower magnification scope typical to most .22's. I have started shooting my 22's at 100y for practice. Also shoot 17hmr at 100y for same reason.

1 1/2" @ 100 yards is very good accuracy. As stated above most shoot 5 shot groups at 50 yards (more in the .22's wheelhouse) with a .22 to determine potential accuracy. My 77/22 will usually shoot just a bit over 1/2" @ 50 about Nickle sized groups. My Savage Anschutz is usually right at or a bit under 1/2" or dime size groups. Many time there will be 3 or 4 touching with one just out to open up the groups. These groups are all with high velocity hollow points. I have not found any target ammo to try. Wind is the real enemy of shooting good groups with a .22 - the bullet is not very efficient and just a light breeze will kill a good group. Here is a pic of a 5 shot group @ 50 (on a nice day) with Thunderbolts from my Savage-Anschutz. A little better than most groups but gives a good idea of what the rifle and shooter are capable of in real life conditions.

I consider .75" average @ 50 yds with a choice cheap ammo in a sporter to be excellent.

When testing a .22lr, I like to go the range with 6-10 varieties of ammo. The differences can be striking, just have to try em and see.

You should be very pleased with those groups. That is excellent accuracy from a factory sporter and that type of ammo.

See Dan's post. To do better, say around one MOA at 100 yards consistently, requires a target rifle and high grade match ammo. And/or amazing luck.

Paul

Memtb: A few years ago I bought a heavy barrel (24" stainless) Ruger 77/22 V/T (I call them a "V/T" but their actual factory designation is 77/22 VBZ?).
I mounted a Weaver V-16 (4 to 16 power variable with fine cross hairs and fine dot reticle) on it and did a little trigger work on it.
It shoots very well for me.
I did some initial ammo testing for accuracy and tried 4 brands.
The resulting measurements which I will relay here are for 5 shots at 50 yards.
I only tested on CALM days.
Results: .501", .552", .695", .394", .354", .469", .463", .649" and .201"!
That last .201" group was made with the difficult to find (but wonderfully accurate and lethal on small game and Varmints) Winchester 40 grain Super-X hollow-points.
That is what I settled on for all useages.
Be sure and try them out - IF... you can find some.
Best of luck with your 77/22's.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Your groups if repeatable are very good, perhaps not a true "match" rifle but exceptional for a sporting rifle. Normally it is the wind that causes issues at longer range. My experience with 77/22's has been hit and miss, some good others not so good at all. Try different ammo, each 22LR rifle has one that it really likes, could be HV could be SV, target or bulk. One never knows. As a side, I just bought a CZ 452, and was vey pleased to get 1/2" and less at 50 yards. A BSA Martini I owned on a calm day would shoot 1" at 100 yards for 10 shots. Did it several times, but due to wind etc could not repeat it on demand or on any given day. I would be very happy with those groups.

Google "22lr ammo test" and go to the hit on Accurate Reloader site. Cool test using a target rifle @50, 75, and 100y. Approx 50 different brands of ammo at each distance. Really shows ammo preferences and the effect on group size. Also shows,how hard it is to group at 100 in perfect conditions with an uber target rifle.

Yes indeed, but remember that is not your rifle and it will be entirely different. Ammo test are only good for the rifle and shooter doing the test.

When doing your ammo tests be sure to shoot several groups with each type of ammo. It seems to take 5-10 shots for the barrel to get 'accustomed' to each brand of ammo. I think it has to do with different lubes from different manufacturers but I have seen it enough times that I now shoot at least 3) 5 shot groups before I evaluate a new ammo.