Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Advice on accuracy testing?

Long story but I'll try to keep it short. Picked up a minty Smith K-22 yesterday, this morning after inspection and cleaning I tried to see what it would do on paper. Ammo was Winchester T-22 of known accuracy in other guns. Disaster..barely kept 6 in the black on NRA 25 yd slow fire pistol target. OK, that happens, the nut behind the hammer is faulty. So I tried 2 other pistols, same time, same ammo...bingo, 1 1/4" with Ruger MKII, 1 5/8" group with an old pre Woodsman Colt. For lack of knowing any better, and because of a tremor caused by shoulder surgery some years back, I rest my elbow on a benchtop and brace my forearm against a sandbag well below the wrist joint. Is there a better way to do this?

I wouldn't worry about your technique at this point. You're averaging 1.5" with two other guns. It doesn't sound like the barrel is moving when you yank the trigger--and that is the unicorn that we all pursue.

Try different ammo. Maybe it will improve. Otherwise...maybe there was a reason that gun was being tripped by its previous owner.

Good luck!

Every 22 pistol I've ever owned--and that's been a LOT--has been picky about ammo. What works in one might not work in another. K-22s are normally pretty accurate, but you have to find the right load. The fact that you're shooting the other guns well is a very good sign.

Fortunately, I've found that a lot of the older guns do their best with cheap bulk ammo.

Keep us posted.


Okie John

Look over the forcing cone carefully, I've been seeing some posts on RFC where brand-new Smiths needed their forcing cones re-cut.

My Smith 617 is quite a bit pickier than any of my autos. Are you getting any shaving? Every one has what it likes and dislike. Mine really likes the Federal Automatch

I had a brand new one about 84 that would barely stay on a sheet of paper at 25 paces. The rifling was chattered just inside the muzzle like the cutter had skipped or broken. The dealer was a good guy, refunded it and I walked out with a S&W 629.

For pure accuracy testing I'm one of those that likes the Ransom Rest. After determining a good load I put it away and try to duplicate my findings by way of my own waky-shaky self.

Update, Enlisted, no, drafted.... the aid of an accomplished revolver shot with the trophies to prove it, and discovered the K-22 is not doing the job. 5 different brands and velocities of ammo tested under ideal conditions by a Master. He then fired, with his own K-22, 10 shots into the ten ring using plain old Winchester Power Points. I got heartache, but he said, don't tinker with this gun until you have put at least 500 rounds downrange, it could heal itself. Hmm.

Gnoahhh...You thought the Ransom Rest was named after a guy? No, they are referring to the price.

A few weeks ago, I picked up a new-to-me S&W Model 63. My first 25-yard groups with 40-grain Federal Auto Match on an outdoor range were unimpressive, but the same load made consistent 2" groups at 25 yards in a Ruger Single Six Bisley on the same day.

Yesterday I shot these targets at 17 yards on an indoor range.



I made the lower right hand group as a control, using the Bisley with 40-grain Federal Auto Match. That group is 1.48” with four shots in a 0.52” cluster, or about the same as my earlier groups with the Bisley when adjusted for the shorter distance. I made all other groups with the M-63, each with a different load. They run from 1.31” for the smallest to 2.32” for the largest.

The least accurate load in the M-63 used to shoot dime-sized groups in an 8 3/8” Model 17 that I once owned. The second-least accurate is 40-grain Federal Auto Match that the Bisley favors. You can also see a pretty big spread in points of impact for these seven loads in the M-63.


Okie John

Holee Molee, that's some shooting. I wish Seattle wasn't 9 hours north, because I have a K-22 that needs a guiding hand. Thanks for posting, if the Great Rimfire II shortage dies down I'll expand the ammo testing.

Thanks for the kind words.

Test ammo, focus on sight alignment and trigger control once you find a good load, and keep at it. The groups will get smaller.


Okie John

One thing you might try is testing one chamber at a time. Number the chambers in the cylinder, then test them individually and see if there are one or two that aren't keeping up with the rest. One thing to remember about a revolver is that it is a gun with six individual chambers, all of which are aligned with the barrel to varying degrees of precision. You may well have a chamber, or two, that is a bit further out-of-alignment than the rest. It's worth a try, and would eliminate a variable.

I prefer to shoot far, at least 100 yards, 200 is better. 300 yards with a 22 handgun with a dry dirt background to see hits is about perfect.

It wont take long to figure out what ammo it likes, what chambers are not up to par and whether the ammo is.

Rollover prone or the back reclining position helps keep the gun steady without artificial contact messing things up.