You guys who like to shoot .22 and might be bored

[BrianK]

I have function tested it and it works fine. But accuracy testing will need to wait until warmer weather. 

[Traveler]

Can't register for whatever reason. Gives me green in each password block, and when I go to send it all, it does nothing, there is an error pop up way down in the right corner that doesn't fully show itself, so I'm not sure what's going on l.

[shooterrex]

12 hours ago, Traveler said:

Can't register for whatever reason. Gives me green in each password block, and when I go to send it all, it does nothing, there is an error pop up way down in the right corner that doesn't fully show itself, so I'm not sure what's going on l.

Could it be because the post is over 2 years old????

[BrianK]

For health reasons I've not been shooting as much as I liked the past 2 years. But most of that is in the rear view mirror now and I'm waiting for spring. 

In that time I entered the rimfire ammo lottery and have oodles of loads to test. I can't afford the really good loads in any quantity, but I bought a case of SK Match Rifle, and a mess of other loads. The expensive stuff, and by that I mean in the vicinity of $30/50, was on black Friday sale so I got 4 boxes of 2 different loads. Hopefully I didn't get ammo loaded by a noob on a Friday or a Monday. I like shooting rimfire. What I don't like is that someone else loads if for me. Centerfire it definitely isn't. I can handload centerfire and make great ammo.

Looking forward to see what the KIDD Supergrade can do with really good ammo. Assuming of course that it's good ammo.

[shooterrex]

I shoot a lot of rimfire. 6 pistols/revolvers and 2 rifles. One of the rifles is an old Winchester 52b target rifle.

While at the fall shoot we were hitting the 450 yd steel target with a 22lr rifle someone brought. Kind of hard to get my mind wrapped around hitting targets at 450 with 22.

Glad your health is improving. Stay warm.

[BrianK]

Thanks. I shoot alot of rimfire too. I shoot rimfire in steel challenge out of a SBR and pistol. Lotsa practice for SC too. But that's with pretty inexpensive ammo (Federal Auto Match) since great accuracy isn't required. I want to start to shoot long range .22 but I need to learn to read the wind. I intend to start that this spring. I have the makin's for wind flags I just need to make them. Other than hunting which I'm starting to get back into, I like to spend relaxing afternoons at the range making tiny holes with many rounds at 50 and 100 yards. It's not easy to  find ranges that go past 300 yards where I live. And 300 yards with centerfire isn't really all that challenging. One range goes out to 600 but only when a match is being run. So rimfire "long range" is what I have.

Waiting for a container of SK Long Range to get into country and when it does I'll buy a case of that as well. My expensive ammo arrived today; Eley Tenex and Ultra extreme long range, 100 rounds of each. If I find a good sale price on higher end Lapua I'll buy some of that also. Yeah, good luck with that Brian! They can't get enough of it now so why would it be put on sale? I'm NOT spending $30/50 for any rimfire ammo. It's just not in my budget. If I hadn't gotten a good deal on the Eley it'd still be on their shelf.

shooterrex, are you also on Rimfire Central Forum? Just curious.

[shooterrex]

Nope never even heard of rimfire central

[BrianK]

Messaged you.

[BrianK]

I haven't done much the last 2 years not due toa lack of desire but because I needed to get myself into the body shop and after getting the body worked on I was living to heal. But  the other day the last of the sutures were removed for all scheduled surgeries. Unforeseen body work? We'll see what happens with that.

But even though I was largely out of commission I was still thinking positively and planning ahead. I ordered a case of SK Rifle Match and Long Range Match but couldn't test it. Same goes for Standard +. I also ordered an ULW barrel for the KIDD SG and hadn't fully tested it, or the closeout 4-16x Viridian scope I ordered for the field rifle conversion for the KIDD. Things were backing up. I set things up, I was capable of doing at least that much. The I saw a sale on ammo that's far out of what I can buy by the case, it's just to expensive. But I could afford 100 each of 2 loads, fingers crossed that those lots selected wouldn't be garbage. I have yet to test that ammo. with the target version of the SuperGrade.

So the other day was comfortable and the sun was muted, temp' was good and humidity low with, when there was one, a gentle breeze, but shooting could happen between breezes. There was plenty of time between air movement. I set up at my home 50 yard range.

This is the >12# target rifle. All shooting was done with a Banish 22 can on the muzzle. 

First the lot from 3+ years ago. It tested that it was good and I wanted to refresh my memory as to what it would do and gauge the new case against it. Pay no attention to the text. I print targets on scratch paper and this sheet was stacked incorrectly. The flier is included in the group measurement.

Next up was the new ammo. Targets are NOT cherry picked they are presented as shot. 50 yards.

I called the new ammo good based on that. Good thing I have a case of each, and the gamble of a case purchase paid off.

Next up was the 16" ULW barrel, not as it would be set up for the field, but the same basic target set up to give best precision to test the barrel and not as it would be in the field. The scope is the 4-16x Veridian (discontinued) because the goal was also to get the scope on paper to make future zeroing a piece of cake. The scope will  be removed for now, and put back on in 2 months. For targets the trigger is KIDDs 2 stage 8/8. That's too light for the field, so the field conversion , seen far below,  has a KIDD 2 stage 16/16 (aka a 1/1, but mine is more like 13/13). 

Yes, all of my optics are mounted high. I have a trick neck and I've had chronic pain for decades. I couldn't "scoonch" down for a proper cheek weld. But a jaw weld? That I could do. No more chronic pain and I don't want it again. I still keep the high optics. 

Same ammo, ULW barrel. The goal was zeroing the optic so I didn't dial in an offset to "keep" the aimpoint. I call it good.

The rifle as set up for the field. One difference... the scope is a Nikon ProStaff that is parallax adjusted for 100 yards.

That might be OK out west, but for Maine the shots are much closer. The Viridian that is now on it in the pic' up above is side adjustable from infinity to <10 yards. I wanted a 1" tube to save weight but the scope still weighs 2# with bases. I guesstimate the entire rifle should be near 7# but I haven't weighed it yet. It should "hold" nicely for hunting. In use I have a tall bipod that can be used standing or anything lower, except prone, which is a useless position in the Maine forest anyway, and my neck won't allow it anyway.

Next up is to test the more expensive loads I got on sale to see what the barrels will really do (fingers crossed that the ammo isn't garbage), then the rifle can be converted to it's field version at my leisure and remain that way until spring.

 

 

Edited yesterday at 03:15 AM by BrianK

[shooterrex]

Looks like you are making progress.

The thing seems to shoot well.

I put a Faxon 10/22 barrel on my Ruger a bit ago and don't even have it sighted in.

Edited yesterday at 03:27 AM by shooterrex

[98Z5V]

2 hours ago, BrianK said:

I ordered a case of SK Rifle Match and Long Range Match

I'll get back into this topic later, but I built a pretty good 10/22 gun to use in NRL-22 matches, and more specifically, the 22X matches - which are crazier than standard matches.  

My build definitely prefers the SK Long Range Rifle Match ammo.  Just great.  Because it ain't cheap, for .22LR.  Just my luck.

Shot it about 3 weeks ago in a match - NRL 22 X match - smoked the 248 yard targets, and good.

I'll get more into the gun later in this thread.  It's a tack-driver.  

[BrianK]

The biggest hurdle I had to overcome was what the "problem" is with rimfire. I handload and tailor my loads to what I shoot the loads out of. My handloads are quite a bit better than factory and I can make them do things that the factory just can't or won't do.

With rimfire we're at the mercy of what the factory makes and we can't tell a good lot from a bad lot just by looking. The only way to tell is by shooting it, then go back and try to get that lot if it hasn't been sold out yet. Good luck with that and  also get a decent price. The retailers who sell affordable ammo get sold out in days. The high priced outfits will have what you want for quite awhile. I'm not made of money so I can't do business with the high priced places. So I gamble. If I get a terrible lot I'll put what remains on consignment at the LGS. But that hasn't happened yet. That latest case of LRM I got for $9.97/50 but it was a gamble.

Want to see what the combination of gear, shooter, and ammo will do? According to Hornady, shooting a 30 round group gets to about 97 (or was it 98?) % of what the shooting equation will deliver. That flyer in the above groups? I called it in the 9 round group. But it hit where it hit and surprised the heck out of me. In a 30 round group it would be included. It was ammo. The shot was good. But I can't afford any better than SK as a regular diet for the rifle.

I'm on a rimfire forum and I suspect that many people there cherry pick targets ignoring the bad ones. I have no proof of that, but they're using gear that just isn't capable (rifles built down to a price and intended for plinking) and getting fantastic results. Some even use HV ammo and display targets that that ammo just can't produce regularly. It's just not going to consistently happen in the real world. BTDT. I sold those safe queens to make room in the safe. 

That KIDD sees nothing but SK ammo to keep the barrel seasoned with the same lube. I bought a brick of their Standard+ to test for hunting to save a few bux. I was pleasantly surprised at just how good it was. Nothing you want for precision because there are more fliers, but for hunting it'll be fine for head shots. Next year I'll buy a case of it. Another gamble but Standard+ didn't make the grade to be Rifle Match, and I know that, so it's expected that it won't up to RM standard. But it's better than any off the shelf ammo I can buy, and out to 50 yards flies to the same POA as Rifle Match or LRM. Any difference is insignificant for me at that distance. Beyond? Yeah. that's where i'd expect the difference will be seen.

I need to get a machine rest and a better rear bag to better remove myself and my gear from the shooting equation to better evaluate just the ammo and rifle. But for a 10/22 it's pretty good. Puts a smile on my face anyway. Not a pretty rifle but I wanted functional and pretty took a back seat. It had big shoes to fill and it's doing that.

[98Z5V]

Everything above is true.  ^^^

Was just at the reloading supply shop this morning, and they had 5000-rd cases of Eley Match-something for $100 below cost.  I haven't shot it, don't know if my gun would like it, and it's still a 5k-rd case...  That's alot of $$$...  

[BrianK]

6 hours ago, 98Z5V said:

Everything above is true.  ^^^

Was just at the reloading supply shop this morning, and they had 5000-rd cases of Eley Match-something for $100 below cost.  I haven't shot it, don't know if my gun would like it, and it's still a 5k-rd case...  That's alot of $$$...  

Eley has a bad rep' lately. When folks discuss Eley today they write wistfully of the old days when it won olympic matches and not todays Eley. It'd be one heck of a gamble that I wouldn't accept.

If you spring for it let us know how it works out. 

I figure that if I get a bad lot of SK I'd put it up for consinment at the LGS and at least get my $ back less the open brick I'd eat. Maybe something like that is an option for you?