In this series we are dealing primarily with the shooter's habits and knowledge, touching on some equipment and ammo thoughts. One thing about me, as a shooter, is that I like to take the "underdog" approach. I try to squeeze as much accuracy out of the rifle and ammo as I possibly can before considering any type of upgrade.
Case in point, I use the least expensive store bought semi-auto .22 rifle on the market. The Mossberg 702 "Plinkster". No bells, no whistles. Typically around $110-$120 brand new. On top is probably the least expensive Tasco 3-7x20 scope that you can purchase for $18-$20 at the same store.
Most of this series is geared towards shooting .22 rifles and .177 air rifles. Why? Because a very high percentage of firearm owners already OWN a .22 rifle. It is the perfect beginner rifle and the perfect training rifle. They are relatively inexpensive to buy, shoot, and maintain. What about the .177 air rifles? 1000 rounds for $16-$18 sound good to you? Quiet training, at night, when the kids are in bed. I love it.
"Beware the man with one gun, because he probably knows how to use it." It's an old saying, but it is so true. Consider the fact that quote probably came from latter 1800's, after the Civil War, when repeating arms became widely popular. Lever action rifles shooting .45 long colt cartidges, cowboy style. The trick is, they didn't have all kinds of ballistic knowledge at their fingertips like we do today. They had to go out and get some serious work in to make sure they knew how their equipment operated at different ranges and under some extreme weather changes through the year. If you spend enough time shooting your rifle, you will have an intimate knowledge of its personality and performance.
So let's start by discussing the .22 rifle and ammunition. One thing they all have in common is that they all shoot the same ammunition size. You could own a $4300 Anschutz bench rest target rifle and it will shoot the same bullet/cartridge as the little $110 Mossberg does. What you really NEED to understand about the .22LR ammunition is the different types of ammunition and their capabilities.
Most .22LR owners will, at some point, purchase a box of "Bulk" ammo. 500 rounds, 550 rounds, whatever...a whole bunch in the box/case/carton, for a low price.
I use it all the time, but I understand what it can and cannot do.
I do NOT expect .22lr bulk ammo to group well beyond 45-50 yards.
I DO expect it to group well at any range out to about 45 yards consistently, and it does.
I understand that there will be some hot loads and some duds in the box. It's the nature of "bulk" ammo.
So many times people will take their inexpensive .22 to the range, load up with bulk ammo, shoot really nice groups at 50 yards, then have something that resembles a nasty shotgun blast when they stretch it out to 100 yards. They blame the cheap rifle and/or the "cheap bulk ammo", but neither one of those is entirely correct. It's not the equipment, nor the ammo's fault.
It's the sound barrier that made their groups ugly at 100 yards. HUH? How so?
Most "bulk" ammo is H.V. or High Velocity. That's good, right? Faster is better? It all depends on YOUR application.
The bulk ammunition that I use shows a muzzle velocity of 1260 feet per second. The speed of sound is 1127.92 fps at 70 degrees F. At 50 yards, the bullet is going through the trans-sonic barrier....slowing down to below the speed of sound. Air and turbulence make the projectile wobble, tumble, and all kinds of fun and unpredictable stuff as the bullet slows from supersonic down to trans-sonic. The smaller the projectile (a .22lr bullet IS small), the more it is affected. A 36-40 grain bullet is going to get beat up in this region a LOT more than a 165 grain bullet.
Am I telling you that you won't be able to hit your target beyond 50 yards? No, I'm not telling you that. What I am telling you is that with high velocity ammo, don't expect a lot of precision beyond 50 yards with it. Don't expect a 1/2 group at 60 yards. If it DOES group 1/2" at 60 or 70 yards, FANTASTIC!
How do those guys that shoot those tight groups at 100 yards do it? They shoot SLOWER ammunition. Sub-Sonic stuff which is typically in the 1065-1050 fps range.
Why that low and not 1125 fps?
Two reasons. Reason #1 The speed of sound is not "constant". It varies with air density which changes due to temperature. The ammo manufactures typically test the velocities around sea level, at 70 degrees. If I took ammo with 1100 fps to the range in the winter time, and it's 32 degrees outside...the speed of sound is 1067 fps, so I have the same issues.
Reason #2, not all barrels are the manufacturer's test barrels. You will have different muzzle velocities from a 16" barrel vs. an 18" barrel. It might not be a lot, but when dealing with the sound barrier, every fps counts.
1050 fps is good because the temperature would have to be ZERO F to be at the sound barrier for 1050 fps.
How is a slower bullet more accurate at longer ranges? The subsonic does not have to mess with the sound barrier and all of the wobbles/tumbles/unpredictability. It will carry on it's ballistic path unmolested. Gravity and air density/wind are the only things affecting the flight path. Those things can be accounted and adjusted for.
That little tidbit of knowledge can prevent so much frustration on range day. The difference in price between a premium subsonic and "bulk" high velocity?
About .30 per round.
500 rds bulk/$20= 4 cents per shot.
50 rds subsonic/$18.75= .37 per shot.
My suggestion? Learn to shoot tight groups at short distances no further than 50 yards with the bulk ammo. It's great practice stuff. Non-frustrating IF you understand the limitations. When you are consistently grouping 30-50 yards with the cheap stuff, then you can bump up to some premium ammo and stretch things out. Those 30-50 yard groups are going to tell YOU how well YOU are shooting. It doesn't make any sense to spend hard earned money on premium ammo if YOU the shooter are not doing your part correctly. It'll be great ammo being shot poorly.
Remember the triangle of accuracy.
Something else to note. All rifles are NOT created equal, even two that come off the line right next to each other. Manufacturing tolerances differ and quality control tolerances are not quite as stringent on mass produced firearms. Rifles tend to "prefer" different types of ammunition. Brand A might be the best that money can buy, but for some reason (deeply scientific, I'm sure) the rifle does not like to shoot it. I see a lot of this with pistols, as well.
True story...my nephew is shooting his Remington 597 combo. He's loaded with brand X and his groups are nothing shy of UGLY and HORRIBLE at 25 yards. This young man has some pretty good fundamentals, his papaw taught him well. I watched every shot and every trigger squeeze. They checked the scope to make sure it wasn't loose. Checked the screws to make sure they weren't loose. Everything was nice and tight, as it should be. In essence, we did some troubleshooting on the equipment and since I had seen that the shooter's fundamentals were good, it eliminated the shooter and the equipment from the triangle of accuracy...I loaded him up with a magazine of the ammo that I was using and his groups went from 6" diameter down to 1.5" diameter....just with an ammo change. That is a massive difference.
We cannot condemn the ammo manufacturer for the stuff not shooting well out of his rifle. His rifle just didn't like it. It happens, especially with semi-autos.
How in the world can I find out what my rifle likes to shoot? Trial and error. If you have friends, do some 10 round trade-offs. They have brands A and B, you have brand C....everybody trades off 5 rounds to each other and end up with 5 rounds of each brand to try out.
Something else to make note of. Do not expect your rifle to shoot the same after the barrel being cleaned! I will certainly be doing a demonstration of this sometime soon, but when you put anything down the barrel of your rifle, it is altering the dynamics of the bore. Am I telling you NOT to clean your barrel? No, but I AM telling you not to EXPECT your point of impact to be the same as it was before you cleaned it. Johnny shooter goes to the range, puts some awesome groups on paper, goes home, cleans his rifle and makes it perfectly spotless inside and out, taking exceptional care not to bump the scope or anything. Goes back to the range the next weekend, brags to his buddy how his rifle is shooting so nice.....and then cannot get his first 15 shots even remotely close to where he was zero'd.
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
"Don't mess with a streak"
"If it's hot, don't touch it"
When you are dialed in, think about those three quotes, because rifle barrels fall into those categories. It is ok to clean the outside and in the chamber, the bolt, etc. Stay away from the inside of the barrel unless you just like to foul and re-zero your rifle every time you go shooting.
"When SHOULD I clean it?"
1. Whenever you get sand/dirt/foreign substances into the barrel.
2. When it's extremely humid or raining and you didn't have your muzzle/barrel protected from getting moisture in it.
3. You notice your groups start to open back up again. Your 1/4" group is now a 3/4" group and getting worse.
4. You shoot old or corrosive surplus ammunition. Powder/propellant recipes these days are so much cleaner than they used to be. Use older ammunition, clean it spotless every time.
5. If you notice any rust starting to form in the bore/barrel. See #2. Moisture can get you when you least expect it, even in your gun safe. It makes VERY good sense to do a visual inspection every week or two, religiously, just to make sure. Don't forget to wipe off those KFC greased fingerprints when you put it back!
6. A shotgun is NOT a rifle, clean it every time you are done shooting it, even rifled barrel slug-guns.
7. Military/AR applications. Direct impingement AR-15 and M4/M16 varieties. These are gas operated rifles and introduce a TON of carbon into the chamber and throat areas of the weapon. If you want it to work properly when your life is on the line, clean that sucker spotless x3. Spray carb cleaner and keep cleaning it, if you don't bend at least 1 dental pick, you are doing it wrong. Your buddy depends on you. Enough said.
But Claymore, you didn't say a whole lot about the actual rifle. There are so many .22 rifles out there...
Exactly. I mentioned how inexpensive my personal rifle is, and how expensive an Anschutz can be. It is virtually impossible to really get into too much depth as far as the actual rifle is concerned, except for the fact that all rifles are NOT created equally and that most rifles have a personality all of their own.
Here is what I CAN tell you about any rifle that is new to you....
Store bought, brand new:
Take it home and clean it, inside and out, especially the barrel, bolt, and chamber areas with a mild solvent like Hoppes #9. A bore brush or bore snake MULTIPLE times and use a synthetic bristled tooth brush in any cracks and crevices around the chamber area. Rifles are not pristine when they are shipped from the factory. There are lubricants and preservatives coating the inside and out to prevent any rusting while it sits on the shelf of the factory/trailer/store. There are also leftover remnants from the manufacturing process that could use being cleaned out of there. In essence, spit shine it before you shoot it.
Pawn shop/Gun show purchased, used:
Same as store bought, brand new. You probably won't have to be as aggressive, but chances are good that there is a larger coating of oil than is needed which will collect dust and particles, etc. Better safe than sorry, clean it, then shoot it.
Heirlooms:
Your grandfather bought it, shot it, took care of it, then your mom/dad, and now 40 years later it is yours. Do some research, you may not even WANT to shoot it a lot, but if you do, run a bore snake through it once or twice with mild solvent, give it all a good wipe down, but be careful with the "furniture", because every spot and nick in the wood probably has a family story to tell and you may know those stories. Enjoy your history and take care of it like no other. Hand it down to a family member and tell those stories to them. Maybe it will make another generation or two down the line.
Surplus & Historical:
Cosmoline, cosmoline, and more cosmoline. Prepare yourself for the icky sticky mess. Watch some youtube videos, about cleaning cosmoline, etc. Even if you purchase one that has "been cleaned", it could be YEARS before all of the cosmoline/preservatives are out of the woodwork.
It's an old military rifle, it shot old military ammo which was corrosive and probably even came with some old corrosive ammunition. Military is what it is. Clean it spotless every time.
When you get done with the corrosive ammo, clean it one really good time (Windex is highly recommended for EVERY cleaning that involves corrosive ammo) and then move on to new ammunition and stick with it, even though it may be more expensive...unless you just like the smell of Windex.
New rifles come with an owner's manual. Used ones typically do NOT. I recommend researching the manufacturer's website and also Youtube for basic and advanced operation of the rifle as well as dis-assembly, reassembly, and function checks. There should also be information for the rifle as to dealing SAFELY with malfunctions and failures. This is extremely important. Safety is ALWAYS the key.
Quick Recap:
1. Don't blame the rifle or your choice of ammo for sound barrier issues.
2. Don't blame your rifle for shooting poor groups or losing zero if it is spotless and clean.
3. Don't blame the rifle if your fundamentals are good, it could just be the rifle doesn't like that brand of ammo that you are feeding it.
4. Inexpensive "Bulk" ammo doesn't suck, it just isn't great for any type of precision accuracy beyond 45 or 50 yards due to being high velocity. It is a great way to "break-in/condition/season" the barrel inexpensively and learn to shoot precision shot groups within 45 yards.
5. Inexpensive rifles can be precise and a lot of fun to shoot, if you give them half a chance.
Next up in the blog I will talk a little bit about iron sights vs. magnified optics and what you can expect out of each and why.
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