I am finding out that 22 rimfire ammo varies greatly in it's ability to shoot tight groups at 100 yards. What should I expect?

Rick, you should expect just that. The velocity extreme spread in most rimfire ammo is a limiting factor. There's a very good thread over on Rimfire Central that has piles of data. You'll have to spend top dollar on 22 rimfire ammo if you want it to behave well at 100 yards.

I just tested 6 different 22 rimfire loads including a couple of match styles and it appears that 1 moa is not that easy to get though one round did come pretty close. Seems there is a flyer in every 15 shot group (or two). However for rimfire silhouette 1 1/2 inch groups will knock the pigs over.

Take a read here: https://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1129343

I think that will explain the flyers.

I couldn't shoot 1" or under 5 shot groups consistently with my tikka or CZ until I started shooting ELEY Match or club or Tenex, or Lapua Center- X and found out what they liked and even then lot to lot variability can be huge. I don't have any CCI green tag but I heard that stuff is great. The difference in 50 yds to 100 yds is huge for a 22lr. But, with the good stuff I can shoot 2.5 " groups at 200 yds if its not windy at all. Lots of variables in accurate 22lr shooting beyond 50 yds, the biggest 2 are ammo consistency and the wind.

The barrel I am breaking in is a 23" TC Contender barrel. One thing for sure even at 100 yards the wind has an effect!

Wow I am getting excellent accuracy after reading that thread, not all of it of course but enough that I am no longer going to snivel about the groups I am getting.

Depends on a few factors other than just using premo ammo. Is the gun itself up to it? How's your shooting/bench technique? Shooting aids? Optics? And probably most of all: wind doping- 100 yards is a long way for a little old .22 bullet to fly while being buffeted by air movement.

I've competed this summer in 100 yard bench matches, falling block single shots only, and the winning 10-shot groups hovered in the sub-1/2" range. My performance was .6"-.7" and that only bought me 3rd and 4th places. And that was with a Ballard-Stevens, scoped with a Lyman 20x Supertargetspot, that consistently groups in the 1/4" neighborhood and often a bit less at 50 yards, with its favorite lot of Eley Tenex.

I have a Remington 37 set up with a 30x Lyman Super Target Spot scope that will shoot consistent MOA groups at 100 yards with multiple brands of high grade ammo if there isn't any wind. I can shoot an MOA 5-shot group with Eley Tenex and then shoot a 4-MOA group with the lowest priced plinking ammo. If I want to plink, I shoot cheap ammo. If I want to test myself in a rifle with demonstrated accuracy, I shoot mid-grade or better ammo. I've decided that for me mid-grade starts at the level of Eley Team and RWS Target Rifle.

I have a couple of inexpensive Marlin "target rifles", a Marlin 2000 and an XT-22VR that is bedded in a Boyds Pro Varmint stock and has a Weaver KT-15 installed. Both rifles shoot good groups, but neither is as consistent as the higher grade rifles or the tuned 10/22s.

What are you shooting?

The rifle is a Contender Carbine and the barrel is a new 23 inch TC 22 LR so called match chambered edition. The ammo is all pretty old as I stopped fooling with rimfire silhouette almost ten years ago and this is left over from that. Wish I had not sold the barrel I used then. This barrel is shooting pretty good considering the ammo. Federal standard velocity, Federal Gold Medal Match, Aquilla Pistol Match, Federal AutoMatch, Winchester Expert HP, Winchester HV HP and Remington "Target". The early Contender frame has an excellent trigger and it has a Revolution stock set on it to add weight and make it better for offhand shooting. The scope is my 10x42 SWFA. Reading the link Paul provided I see that none of my ammo is especially accurate though I don't think his extrapolation of what to expect for groups at 100 yards works for me as I got better than what he expected with all the rounds I had on hand. The crappiest ammo was the Aquilla pistol match with Remington Target second to worst runner up. Both offered extraordinary fliers. My testing was to fire 15 shots at a 50 small bore rifle target and change ammo. I expected a flier or two in the first few shots as the ammo "seasoned the barrel" to it's liking. During this part of my testing I made no effort to read the wind, just let it tell me how it effected POI. Wind being a 3-5 mile variable wind fro the right to almost frontal still a bit from the right. All groups not counting the worst two were spread out horizontally around 2 inches and vertically ranged from 3/4 inch to 1 3/4 inch. Best shooting ammo was the Winchester Expert HP that years ago I had greased with yellow Crisco. Testing it and doping the wind it was easy to keep this ammo inside a 1.5" circle. Second best was the Winchester HV HP. These were the newest of the bunch. I wonder if the poor showing of the Federal standard velocity and Federal Gold Medal Match was because it appeared they had no wax or any lubricant on them. Will test that theory today. Looking around for some new "match" grade ammo most is out of stock and I really don't want to pay more than $10. a box.

The wind is the problem. Or my ability to shoot in the wind. I judge my 22’s accuracy at 50 yards. Better optics are a help at any distance. Hasbeen

Rule of thumb seems to be 1" at 100 yards is very good with good ammo the rifle likes.. I have seen some competition shoots shoot groups at 100 you could cover with a nickel - with aperture sights..... so the shooter has a lot to do with it..

I have a couple rifles that are capable of this accuracy, if I have a perfect day and the conditions are right... but I probably couldn't do it group after group- possibly one out of every three or four groups. But that is on me, not the rifles..

Bob

Read somewhere doubling distance results in 3-4x avg grouping. Seems about right. In pretty calm conditions my 64 sporters avg about 1.25" - 1.5" at 100 yds for 5, about 4.5" - 5.5" at 200 yds. That's with CCI SV.

Rifle and/or ammo shrink those figures. The 1712 and 52C bull can put 10 CCI SV into 1" at 100 in calm. Better with the pricey stuff.

I've always been happy with MOA, wind can sometimes make that difficult at 100yds with a 22. One competition I used to shoot down here (called "Field Rifle") would need at least a 1.5MOA rifle to make "A" grade but slightly better than that for Master grade. The distances for the competition are 25m and 50m - same targets so the MOA requirements are based around the 50m target. Of course that's assuming that the bullets are being fired at the correct position on the target

This mirrors my experience.

Rick300: Slow, chubby, non-pointy bullets are best tested for accuracy at more modest ranges!
I test my 22 rimfire Rifles for accuracy at 50 yards and then ONLY on dead calm air days.
I learned this lesson over and over and over again in the several decades past.
I do have a friend with an open ended tunnel 107 yards long and on rare occasion I use it to test my 22 rimfires at 100 yards.
I set up my portable but very solid shooting bench 8 yards into the tunnel and set my target stantion one yard out the far end of the tunnel.
I have shot a few very pleasing groups thusly - secret is NO winds and no side winds and no buffeting winds.
Depending on the quality of your Rifle and your ammunition obtaining 1 M.O.A. at 100 yards is rather hard to do (5 shot groups at 100 yards measuring one inch or under)!
I have some rather pricey 22 rimfire Rifles and can count on the fingers of my hands the groups I have made at 100 yards measuring UNDER 1.000".
Again I recommend shooting at 50 yards on dead calm condition days and assessing your Rifle and your ammunitions compatibility with it there.
Good luck.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy
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If a fella can’t find sub MOA at 100 with a .22 RF he’s doing it wrong.

My Ruger 10-22T with barrel chopped to 16+” shoots CCI Velocitors well enough to hit my 3” steel gong consistently. My son could do it consistently when he was about 10. That’s plenty good for me

I fall into that category - the Anschutz tries going sub but then I like to throw one out to make MOA

This must be a TIC comment, as my experience has been 180-degrees opposite, both from a hardware and shooter's skill perspective.

Jeff, we can't all be barbarians.....

You wankers....leave me without words. Almost.

20+ years back, 10/22 on the bench. Full length bedding and a new trigger is all it took.



100 yards


I do it right, so can you fellas.

I think the key words there are "he's doing it wrong." I have to agree with Dan. If a fella can't do it he needs to take a hard look at his equipment, get some good ammo, and Learn To Read The Wind.

That is the key and the hardest to learn. Anyone with enough $ can get the good equipment and ammo, it's that last part that takes practice and dedication. Anyone can get lucky on a real calm day and shoot a decent group but getting wind flags and understanding/recognizing what they're telling you as far a holding off, is what separates the lucky from the accomplished.

True - all of it.......

Wind is subtle most days, a blind rage on others. One constant is that wind is never uniform in magnitude and direction from one moment to the next. At the range multiple wind flags are your friend. Out in the field...leaves and grass are your buddies.

Crash course for learning about wind can be had with a small caliber round ball ML. If you want a PHD do your learning in Wyoming around March-June.

Many casual shooters give little thought to the wind. I did quite a bit of rimfire benchrest shooting (which is shot at 50 yds and 50 meters) and I've seen many times when wind flags over that distance would be pointing in different directions. Confusing? You bet! Also, even just a change on a partly cloudy day, when the sun comes out can create a thermal that will carry your shot high. I also used to use a flag called the Uppy/Downy that would show vertical air movement. Features like a berm, hill, buildings etc can also cause vertical movement. And I won't even talk about what mirage can do.

He's a story to illustrate the importance of doping the wind. One time at the range my wife wanted to try to shoot. She had trouble doping the wind cause she didn't know what she was looking at. I said, "Want to shoot an X?" I set up the rifle in the rest for a right to left wind (which was the prevailing condition that day) with the proper hold-off for a light 5 mph wind (a 4 o'clock hold just outside the 10 ring) and told her "pull the trigger when I tell you". When I saw the condition (direction and velocity) that I set up for, I told her "now". She fired and I called out "X". She said, "How did you know?"

Norma Match and SK Match will shoot MOA all day in my Anschutz 1710 and 1712. I sight them in for 50 yards however for normal shooting. An amazing thing is, I have an Anschutz 1720 which is 22 magnum that will shoot 1/2 “ with Hornady V-Max. 22 mags aren’t known for their accuracy but if I have a good rest I can hit a squirrel in the head at 100 yards quite consistently.

This is a fine example of a complete waste of time and money. you cannot break in a 22 rim fire...you would do just as well to run an oily patch through the barrel 10.000 times.
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Nonsense. You most certainly can, though not like a centerfire rifle barrel. Even shooting the best match-grade hand-lapped barrels from makers like Shilen, MullerWorxs, Lilja, Broughton, Benchmark etc., we (my gunsmith and I) would always shoot at least a brick of ammo down the barrel with quality match ammo. We also noticed that, over time, the accuracy would improve as the barrel broke-in. However, they could also suddenly fall off. Some will tell you that you can't shoot-out a rimfire barrel. Also nonsense. Maybe for casual shooting you won't notice it but I did. At one time I had a Broughton 5R barrel on my custom sporter rifle that was the best in the country. I won several National sporter class events with it and in 2010 had the highest sporter class average. It was a "hummer" barrel. Then at around 2013, it went away for no apparent reason. My gunsmith bore-scoped it and re-lapped it trying to bring it back to life but could not figure out why it stopped shooting to it's past level. Sadly, I we had to re-barrel it and while that barrel was better than the shot-out Broughton, it wasn't as good as the Broughton was at it's peak. Even though that Broughton was no longer competitive at that level of the sport, most .22 shooters shooting it would find it superb.

I like Norma match ammo as well, and also SK. Luckily my rifles love the cheaper SK standard ammo. Norma shoots MOA out to 100 yards. Here's how it shoots at 50 yards, as all of our clubs rimfire matches are shot at 50 yards:


Even though, we've messed around and shot a couple 100 yards matches. My rifles print 1 moa groups at 100. With iron sights.... So to answer the OP's question, "what is considered good accuracy from a 22 rimfire at 100 yards", 1 moa with iron sights is what I consider "good" accuracy...

My newest edition to the rimfire family shoots just as good as its 70 year old brother...

Well it looks like I need to find some Norma Match or SK Standard to try out. It appears that presently under $10. a box 22 ammo is hard to come by. But I found some Lapua Center X for around $13. a box and will order some. In reality it is shooting plenty good enough for offhand shooting of relatively large rimfire silhouette targets. Offhand makes me a 3" or so shooter at 100 yards anyway.

If you can find an ammo that gives consistent one inch 5 shot groups at 100 yards then you are smiling.
Quality ammo, good equipment, wind flags and the ability to read them - it takes all of these things to make it happen consistently though.

drover

I've got a 10/22 with a superb aftermarket match grade barrel and am able to shoot under 1" groups at 70 yards with a few of the off the shelf .22lr ammo. Beyond that range of 70 yards I find my groups in those same rifles to be in the 2-3" groups at 100 yards. I dunno why other than the effects of a small amount of undetected wind gusts or just the QC of that batch of ammo. As a result I try to keep most if not all of hunting shots with those 10/22's at that distance.

If I want to reach out to 100-150 yards I will switch over to the 17HMR using the A17 17 grain round and the accuracy carries out to that distance wind permitting.

I really don't want to be spending $5 and up for a box of 50 .22lr ammo for plinking with the exception of the CCI Quiet ammo.

Curious that is. I can't hit squat with CCI Quiet.


Same gun different ammo....

That is an exceptionally nice Model 52. Mine is not nearly so nice and will be getting tested today (very briefly, it's kind of cold out) I'll test with S-K Standard Plus, and Lapua Center-x and some CCI SV.
I have fired some sub MOA groups at 100 but am not foolish enough to claim I can do so on demand. Fliers matter! GD

Well, there you go. I sighted in at 25 yd then moved back to 100m. The first group of five went into just over 5/8 inch off to the left. I adjusted to center than fired another five. Four went into .8" and one shot hit 1 1/2 inches high and that is the issue I have with the .22's; there is always a flier in every ten shots.
My model 52 is not pristine by any stretch. I just set the barrel back an inch and built an off-hand stock (myrtle wood) for M-S shooting. The headspace is a little bit snug on the S-K. I think it is about .002" tight so I'll have to fix that. If my rifle will shoot consistent 1 1/4, I would be ecstatic. GD

Use good ammo greydog and it will reduce the amount of fliers you get. As with all shooting I do, I always count the fliers in the group. They won't let you slide in a competition and I don't let them slide in real life either. Always count your fliers!!!! I was actually shooting one of my rimfire rifles yesterday, in preparation for a turkey shoot I will go to on the 21st. I'll be using my A17 and it has a definite preference for Federal 17 grain ammo. Yeah, some people think its exactly the same thing as Hornady ammo, but it isn't. It shoots slightly different and I get an occasional flyer with Hornady. As we all know, choosing the right ammo for your particular rifle makes a huge difference.

Over on the Rimfire Central long range forum, testing shows that even some of the better ammo has over 100 FPS of ES. I have forgotten what that translates to in terms of POI shift at 100 yards. In each 50 round box of most ammo tested there were several rounds that were dramatically different in speed. I suspect it's the ammo, not you or the rifle.

Curious that. I’ve shot a lot of Wolf and SK Standard over the chrony in the last few years, even a fair bit of CCI SV and Norma Tac. Never saw ES numbers that large. 25-35 is the norm for 5 shots. On occasion the CCI will nudge up to the low 40’s. By “a lot” I mean a brick or so of each. I have NEVER seen an ES in the 100’s.

Ditto ES up to 40s for CCI SV,. When GECO bolt first hit the market bought a case. Disappointing even at 50 yds vs SV.

Chrono showed ES around 120 fps. Bad luck, evidently. Others report better results with the stuff. Revolver ammo for me.

Because I shoot rimfire primarily for M-S, I don't worry about it too much. As long as it stays on the ram, I am, if not happy, at least not depressed. The fliers are, usually, high or low and are most noticeable at 100m. I don't suppose that's any surprise. GD

I bought a bunch of Quiet when it first came out for maybe $2.30 a box. Not sterling, but good enough for offhand practice out to 50 yards, and typical of CCI, always goes bang. Also have a few bricks of the SemiAuto version, which functions in my 10/22 and Victory. Much prefer these for such use than crappy bulk that misfires.

I think 22LR rifles are shot for accuracy at 50 yards. If you want to shoot at 100 yards I recommend that you get a 17 HMR.

So you don't know? Ever think about not putting in some BS opinion when it is not asked for are even relevant?

It's none of your business what we want to shoot at a 100 yards. If you want to shoot your 17hmr at a 100, I recommend you STFU and go shoot it, and leave everybody alone with your recommendations. So there, pbtttttt.....

I dont shoot match grade ammo or guns, just the higher velocity hunting stuff out of CZ and Ruger 96/22. If I can get one of CCI minimag, Velocitor or Stinger to group about 2" at 70 yards, which is also where I zero for hunting I am happy. Thats roughly 3Moa at 100. Currently my ruger 96/22 does this with Stingers, velocitor groups are sometimes slightly tighter.

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