Accurate Reloading format:

Major edit after much more data acquired.

TL;DR: In a STOCK 10/22 18” barrel, CCI Standard Velocity is great, there's only an edge with some expensive ammunition if you're competing. Lapua Polar Biathlon was the best by far, but many times the cost of CCI SV.

The Firearms


Bottom: 1993 Stainless Steel Ruger 10/22, black laminate stock. I guess it was offered at Wal*Mart. Prior owner had some trigger polishing done. I added purpleheart and tiger maple.

The rest are brand new 2018 Ruger 10/22s I've modified. Walnut spacers, tiger maple grip cap and forend. Red dyed wood, red dyed shellac. They all still need sanding and TruOil, I had to get them ready for an Appleseed event.

Link to HYPNO MAPLE. Obey the HYPNO MAPLE.

Straight from the gun store to the range, Stainless Steel shot a 2.5MOA group. Not bad, as 10/22's are typically up to 4 MOA. The new ones all shot 4 MOA out of the box.


I am quasi-apprenticing with a retired gunsmith. The list of what we did to accurize it is:

Glass-bed, free float barrel, shorten chamber, polish chamber, rear lug and second takedown screw, 11 degree match crown.

Ease of use modifications: trigger group springs, mag release, slingshot bolt release, extended +20MOA rail, hardened extractor.

The Range

Old limestone gravel pit. Until I put up wind indicators, I had no idea what a chaotic vortex this range is! The longest part of the testing was waiting for the wind indicators to calm down.
Bench rest: two-point. Rear sand bag and a forked tripod up front.

Ammunition Tested (group size):
Lapua Polar Biathlon (0.65”)
Lapua/SK Subsonic (gold box, green lettering) (0.85")
Eley Match (0.95”)
CCI Standard Velocity (0.9 to 1” all day long)
Lapua Midas+ (1.01”)
Eley Target (1.1”)
Eley Club (1.1”)
Eley Edge (1.9”)

Untested: Lapua Center-X, Eley Subsonic Hollow Point.

Pictures will be edited in later, Imgur is being a punk to me at the moment.

At $17 for a box of just 50 rounds, it was HARD to place some of these orders, I've never spent this much on 22lr, lol. However, I'm gearing up to sell some of these 10/22's and thought it worth the time and money to scratch my itch on how accurate we got them.

My inspiration was based on articles here:

Accurate Reloading results out of an Anschutz

More from Accurate Reloading out of a Bleiker

I looked at the "best" of these testing results and focused on the winners I could still find online. MANY brands from these tests have changed names, brands, or aren't available online.

Yes, I cleaned the barrel between each set of ammunition. Hoppes, brush, patches until dry, etc. Arduous, but for SCIENCE. 5 rounds was not enough to get past the break-in from cleaning. Weird that a barrel needs some lube and fouling to settle in.

Discussion

CCI Standard Velocity, less than a nickel a round, is AMAZING, and out-shot HALF of these expensive rounds.

At 25 yards, CCI SV has dime-sized groups, everything you'd need for an Appleseed or even shooting aspirin tablet and flies.

I hope to contact Eley and Lapua to quiz them, but all four of the Ruger 10/22 barrels LOVE CCI SV, capable of 1" groups in all these STOCK Ruger guns with some 'smithing. There are variables I'm sure about (lead hardness, burn rate, lubrication, barrel length).

Q: Why not a hypersonic round like StingBlazapperThunder(tm)?
A: Drops below sound barrier by 100 yards. The 0.050" chamber reduction means I should never shoot larger hypersonic ammo again.

Q: Did the LimbSaver vibration dampener help?
A: Before massive smithing, yes it halved the group size at 100 y. Hundreds of rounds testing torque settings and limbsaver, I found a sweet spot 2" back from barrel end. After all the smithing, I don't think it hurts, but I've tried it every quarter inch from stock to front sights again, and there was no difference between on vs. off or position. Gives me something to grab on to, lol.

Q: What about tuners !
A: $$$. Maybe I'll try a tuner, but I'm out of cash due to Eley and Lapua.

Q: Dude, you need to spend $300 on a VolquTandTact(tm) with a 2 gram, Tier-Plaid trigger job !!!
Q: Dude, you really need to spend $300 on a BlueMoleHill(tm) Barrel with HoneyTwistCombFluting(R) !!1!1!1!

A: I got under 1 MOA at actual 100 yards out of a modern Ruger plastic-housing STOCK trigger group, Ruger STOCK barrel with minor smithing, in open air on a breezy day with 2 point benching.
I earned a "Distinguished" patch at my second-ever Appleseed (245/250) with the same STOCK trigger and STOCK barrel with some gunsmithing.

I've lurked lots of forums for months. Praise Saeed for the time, patience, and cash for the initial tests. Not here, but so many Armchair Operators respond to people asking for upgrade advice with trigger and barrel advise ($500 that could be spent elsewhere).

Please, share these results when you see someone else's money about to get blown on after-market triggers, stocks, and non-floated barrels that won't increase their accuracy. Spend the money on a glass bed job, a torque screwdriver (15-20 in-lbs), and free-floating the barrel, and still have $200 left to spend on adjustable objective glass.
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A great trigger makes it easier to shoot, but if Flinchy McHamfist sucks at trigger-pulling, it just minimizes how long Flinchy sucks at trigger-pulling.

A great, longer barrel would very likely reduce the group. Fluting helps with stiffness and vibration nodes, too. However, if the barrel and receiver aren't glass-bedded, if the takedown screw is over or under-tightened, it's still gonna be bigger groups than could be achieved. $120 Aftermarket stocks are not as good as glass-bedding yourself with a $35 Acraglas Gel kit from Brownell's, with enough left over to do 9 other guns you own.

TL;DR: CCI Standard Velocity is all you need out of a stock 10/22 for practice and non-competition settings. Some rounds were half the size (Lapua Polar Biathlon), but 8 times the cost per round.

Peace.




New out of box 4moa

After gunsmithing 1moa:

my 10-22 custom will shoot every bullet into the same .25 caliber hole at 40-59 yards with the bulk pack federal ammo....... every .22 rimfire has it's own favorite ammo.......

Each gun is its own world. My Ruger bull barrel Mark II did not like Eley nor Lapua. It did however love Winchester Wildcat. As dirty as ever, but it did shoot little clusters of holes.

Ditto. Each rifle is individual, as are specific ammo lot #s. Months before the Newtown panic put in 10k of a single lot of CCI-SV. Not psychic, just happenstance. That lot shoots in our Anschutz sporters. The 1712 puts 10 in 1" at 100 yds, as does my 52C bull. The 64 sporters give between 1" and 1.75" for 5 at 100. When I play with the 64s at 200 yds 4-5" for 10 is the norm. Assuming calm conditions.

During the "bad" years bought bricks of SV when I could find it. The stuff - all different lots - never shot near as good. I thought it was the rifle, until I got back to my main stash.

At 100 and beyond the "good" SV outshoots both Eley Club and Eley Sub-HPs (lots I have). Different lots could reverse things.

And I would not knock barrels as irrelevant. Good ammo, most always, will separate good from mediocre barrels. You need to know your lot of supposedly "good" ammo really is good, factually, in your barrel/chamber.

Barrels ARE relevant. I did say bull, fluting length would shrink group. The point is there are other ways to get accuracy that are not automatic barrel and trigger replacement.

Second round incoming, sets of 5 and 5, showing effects of cleaning and more rounds for rifle to "settle in". Short version: Lapua settled in by round 4, Eley got worst after round 5. Weird.

Hoping to test all ammo in same setting with 1813 Anschutz.

Interesting to see progression of shots after cleaning. Lapua took at least 3 shots to get near final zero.

Thanks for all above. Saeed did an outstanding job from start to finish (?) on his tests and you have the same conclusion I do: CCI Standard for 25 yds. There is simply a limit to what can be done with a .22. I shoot an OLD Remington 513 and with their great trigger system and being a bolt action I get dime size results.

9x feels like it may be limiting, ordered a Vortex Diamondback FFP 6-24x (can't justify a Golden Eagle 15-60 yet, lol).