[Bassguy]

Hey all,

I got some great help here a while back with deciding on a beginner rifle for target plinking, and was going to go with a Savage 10FP .223. That is, until I told my father what I was considering. He's been shooting for a while, and is exclusively trap-shooting now. So, he no longer has the need for his .22lr. He offered to send it out, and it arrived at my local dealer today. I went in to do the paperwork (gotta love CA), and took a look at it...:what:

http://www.kimberamerica.com/images/rifles/kimber1722/svt.jpg

It's a Kimber SVT, identical to the one above. Geez, I'm just a little thankful.

At any rate, I'm wondering if anyone else here has one and would let me know what factory ammo they've had success with? I got a few boxes of CCI (40 grain, I believe) to try out, but figured I should ask. It's been quite a while since my father fired it, he couldn't remember what he was using at the time:rolleyes:

[zero_chances]

:what: wow, nice gun

i got an aunt that is sending me two guns soon, but i have no idea what they are though

[Bassguy]

Thanks: yeah, once I take possession I'm just going to shut-up and shoot, because I'm feeling like I need to earn this one. :D

[RustyFN]

Bassguy, nice looking gun. I hear they shoot as good as they look. Congrats
Rusty

[Terrierman]

Nice rifle. Very nice rifle.

[dfaugh]

.22s are notably finicky about what ammo they like. Sometimes two "identical guns" will prefer different ammo. My buddy and I just finished a year long search for "the most accurate" .22 ammo. We treid every loading we could get our hands on, in 5 different .22s. The first thing we found was that "standard velocity" ammo was pretty much always better than "high velocity" ammo. Best results were with 38 or 40 grain standard velocity loads.

The 3 best we found were (in decreasing order of accuracy):

Wolf Match Target
Winchester T-22
Federal "Classic" Gold label

Interestingly, these shot better than som eof the really expensive (Eley) target ammo we tried. And, all shot quite well out of all 5 guns we tried.

So, you might try these, as a starting point. But try others as well to see what your gun likes.

P.S. Remington ammo, no matter what kind, just sucked, we stopped trying it it very quickly.

[Bassguy]

Thanks dfaugh, I'll give those a shot (no pun intended) and see how it turns out.

Next step is to find a good range around here...

[BrainOnSigs]

I would give Eley Tenex Ultimate EPS a try. I have several .22lrs that love it.
The Lapua Midas or Master series are also nice.

As dfaugh suggested, buy several different brands and see how they do. Cheap and expensive.

Nice rifle by the way.....

[50 Shooter]

Where do you live in CA?

Take a look here to see if it helps. http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=34480

[trueblue1776]

dang thats a nice gun, I want one, alas it costs more than my AR15, so I will probably never get one. Have fun, it's a beaut.

[ACP230]

If you want to try some e-mail match shooting there are some going on all the time at www.rimfirecentral.com.

Benchrest .22 rifle shooting is a lot of fun. I almost bought one of those rifles for it, but ended up with a CMP Remington 40X instead.

[rangerruck]

i dont have one, but have shot one, from a guy who I know has one, and I shoot with him quite a bit. he seems to like wolf match or target, Golden eagle target match or target rifle, Eley, and as a wide variety group, Aguilas.
I can tell you they all shoot just fine.

[cslinger]

Wow dude when we tell people a good "beginner" rifle is a .22 that is not what we usually think of. That there is a very fine firearm. Enjoy it. Put some good glass on it and see what she can do at 100 yards. As for ammo, like others have said all .22s are finnicky and 2 of the same gun might not shoot the same with the same ammo. It is about experimentation.

I would highly suggest giving the Wolf Match Target ammo a go as well as the Eley Match Rifle ammo. Wolf is pretty much known as low end ammo in the centerfire world but their .22 is made in Germany and is VERY good stuff.

If you want the best accuracy make sure to keep the ammo subsonic as the faster .22 ammo gets a bit unstable as it breaks the sound barrier.

Enjoy your new rifle and color me a slight bit jealous. :D

[Bassguy]

50 Shooter: I'm actually in Central/Northern Ca, just south of Sacramento. I've found a few ranges, both indoor and out, that offer training classes.

Cslinger: as for the scope, well, I felt a bit embarassed mentioning it, but it does have one mounted: a Leupold (don't know the exact magnif.) in something like 8x40-ish. I'll know for sure in 10 days (countdown begins).

Thanks again to all for your help and comments. I really am humbled by it, and consider myself very lucky that my father can let go of such a firearm. Of course, it'll be and advanced bithday gift, lasting until I'm in my 50's :)

[larryw]

Very nice!

To ammo, there are many things to try. You mentioned you're a new rifle shooter, so nothing better for accuracy than practice. Your 40grain CCI's are very good fodder there. You can also go with some of the bulk packs, in my experience, the Federal is best "milk carton" ammo. Start with inexpensive ammo as trigger time is most critical at this point.

As soon as you get to the point where you can tell the bullet didn't hit *exactly* where you wanted it (call the shot), you'll want to step up to more "accurate" (expensive) ammo.

Now, herein lies the quandry, because 22 ammo runs from $1/box to 10X that, and money isn't always an idicator of accuracy (in your gun). I'm a big fan of Wolf Match Target here, it shoots exceptional in all my guns (from a basic 10/22 to my CZ to my Cooper), in most cases besting the $10/box stuff. This, by the way, is the least expensive of the three Wolf 22LR ammos.

And don't discount the CCI ammo you have; it is great stuff for the money.

B-U-R (Buy ammo - Use up - Repeat)

[Bassguy]

I've finally made it to the end of the 10 day period, and get to pick it up tomorrow...

One thing my father mentioned is that I might want to pick up a nylon cleaning rod versus an aluminum (or other metal) rod. He said it wasn't a huge deal, but it might be a good idea. Any thoughts on that? Any good online sources if I can't find one locally (I've checked a few shops with no success)?

[Q-Lock]

You could always just buy a patchworm like I did. .22's don't get all that nasty compared to centerfires.

[10-Ring]

Does your dad have any other guns he has no need for? :D Congrats! You & your dad have great taste ;)

[larryw]

As Q-Lock said: Patchworm.

And make your own. Get some weed eater cord about a foot longer than the barrel. Cut one end at a sharp angle (to poke through the patch). Melt the other end and form into a small ball, just a bit smaller than the bore diameter. It will take some trial and error to get the right size; you want it tight, but not so tight you break the end off when pulling through.

Poke a patch and pull it to the end with the ball. Run the cord from the breech to muzzle and pull through.

My procedure is to pull one through the barrel; clean the breach/action and the muzzle; and then another through the barrel.

[dfaugh]

Additional note: you may find that the gun prefers to be shoot "dirty" My most accuate .22 (surprisingly a Model 60 Marlin) needs 30-40 shots before it "settles in" and starts to shoot its best groups. So, I actually don't clean it that often. Usually wait until I've fire 500 rounds or so (when the action starts to get dirty) before I do a thorough cleaning. YMMV.