Ammo Test Day #2
.22LR Ammo Test Day #2
Firstly, if you haven’t seen the results from the first test then you need to go here to read all about the backstory, methods used, the rifle, etc…
For this second round of testing the rifle was exactly as it was previously, however I changed one thing with my procedure based on the recommendation of several people. Instead of loading only nine shots into the magazine I loaded ten and fired the first shot off-target or at a “sighter” target. I was told that this method might help first round flyers due to hand cycling the action. (To see if it worked or not read on.)
Ammo used for this test (with my per-shot price)…
Standard Velocity:
Aguila Super Extra SV, $0.09
CCI Standard Velocity, $0.11
Fiocchi Official 320, $0.28
Eley Edge, donated, ~$0.27
Eley Match, donated, ~$0.35
Eley Tenex, donated, ~$0.45
Wolf Match Extra, $0.43
High Velocity:
Aguila Super Extra HV, $0.10
American Eagle (Federal), $0.06
Winchester Western, $0.05
Lapua HV, donated, ~$0.20
CCI Mini-Mag, donated, ~$0.08
Low Velocity:
CCI Quiet-22, $0.13
Here comes the good stuff…
Target #1
Aguila SV; average 0.63”
CCI SV; average 1.08”
Fiocchi; average 0.63”
Both the Aguila and Fiocchi did really well with both producing a few two-hole groups, but at nearly three times the price I’d probably choose the Aguila first.
Target #2
Eley Edge; average 0.83”
Eley Match; average 1.04”
Eley Tenex; average 1.13”
All of the Eley ammo was donated by Doug, a really nice guy I’ve gotten to know up at the range (with some really nice toys!) The Edge seemed to “edge out” it’s brethren with some really nice groupings even though it was the least expensive of the three.
Target #3
Wolf; average 0.83”
Quiet-22; average 2.08”
The Wolf also did really well with the second grouping coming in as a two-hole group right at 1/4”! The Quiet-22 was a pain in the butt because I shot five rounds just trying to get it sighted in (came up 14 clicks on my red dot!) and then it was too light a load to cycle the action so I had to do each one by hand. If you want the experience of a bolt-action rifle with your 10/22 just get some of this stuff.
Target #4
Aguila HV; average 0.92”
Am. Eagle; average 1.04”
Win. Western; average 1.33
Again, Aguila did well, especially for a high velocity round. The American Eagle (low grade Federal) really surprised me with two of the three groups at 3/4” or less. Unfortunately it also gave me two stove-pipes in the ten shots, so not so good on the reliability. The Western was pretty good for bulk, better than the Golden and M-22 in my previous test but still not as good for me as the Blazer. (Sorry for the messy markings on the last group of the target.) The Western also gave me one stove-pipe.
Target #5
Lapua HV; average 0.88”
Mini-Mag; average 1.08”
The Lapua and the Mini-Mags were also a donation by “Sugar Land”, a good guy I know from the TexasGunTalk.com forum. I goofed while making sure I was still sighted in correctly by burning a second shot, meaning I was one shot shy for my last group. Still, I think you can get the jist of it’s performance.
The final results of this test...
And now the moment maybe a few of you have been waiting for... here are the grand total results of my not-so-scientific-but-still-lots-of-fun experiment…
As you can see, price does not dictate results. Furthermore, these results are really only applicable to my rifle, so please take this information as a starting point for your own experiments.
For “Ammo Test Day #3” go here!
