Bore Buddy 21" 1-12 twist 22LR AR barrel

[12Bravo20]

I mentioned that I bought a Bore Buddy 21" 1-12 dedicated AR barrel in another thread. I finally was able to get everything together and test the new upper. As of right now the jury is still out on this barrel. I still need to shoot more to see if it will settle down for me or not. Plus I was unable to shoot any farther than 50 yards for groups.

I was only able to shoot at 50 yards for groups. And I am not all that impressed with the BB Apogee barrel at this time. I started by shooting 25 rounds to break the barrel in with CCI Standard. I then shot some 5 shot groups at 50 yards with CCI Standard and I kept getting 1 flyer per group. I also tried some Norma Tac 22 and SK Rifle Match. I swabbed the barrel between switching ammo and fired 10 seasoning shots before shooting 5 shot groups. Again I had 1 flyer per group with Norma and SK ammo. Maybe I didn't shoot enough to break the barrel in, who knows.

Now the wind was doing crazy stuff today and changing directions. But I didn't get the flyers when shooting the CMMG 16" 1-16 barrel with CCI Standard. I didn't bother trying any different ammo in the CMMG barrel. Anyway here are two photos, with one 5 shot group from each upper with CCI Standard. The CCI Standard did the best out of the BB barrel. Norma did the worst.

Both uppers have Arken SH4 6-24 scopes with Arken 20 MOA mounts. Both uppers have a RTB bolt with Bore buddy firing pins and Bore Buddy bolt weight. So the only difference is the barrels and upper receivers. The BB barrel is in a RTB 9mm/22LR upper and the CMMG barrel is in an Anderson upper. I used the same lower for both uppers. The lower has a BB pressure plug and Larue MBT-2S trigger. I was using a Caldwell Rock Deluxe front rest and Caldwell Deluxe Universal rear bag.

Here is a five shot group at 50 yards from my CMMG 16" heavy barrel -CCI Standard



Five shot group at 50 yards with the Bore buddy barrel - CCI Standard



Here is a ten shot group out of the BB barrel at the end of testing - CCI Standard

 

[mavracer]

Well that's disappointing so far. Hopefully it settles down and straightens up.

 

[CraigC]

Your CMMG shoots a hell of a lot better than mine!

 

[12Bravo20]

@CraigC is yours the heavy barrel or sporter barrel? Mine is the heavy barrel. And I have always found that heavy barrels shoot better for me.

@mavracer I hope the barrel settles too. I want to be able to use it for shooting out to 250+ yards. But if it doesn't work out, I'll turn it into a M16A2 clone.

 

[CraigC]

@CraigC is yours the heavy barrel or sporter barrel? Mine is the heavy barrel. And I have always found that heavy barrels shoot better for me.

@mavracer I hope the barrel settles too. I want to be able to use it for shooting out to 250+ yards. But if it doesn't work out, I'll turn it into a M16A2 clone.

Probably sporter, it's all over the place. Makes a stock 10/22 carbine look like a benchrest gun.

 

[12Bravo20]

Caig, I would have sent that barrel back to CMMG if that is the case.

 

[mavracer]

Your CMMG shoots a hell of a lot better than mine!

I tried to say in the 10-22 vs 22AR thread that yours wasn't typical of the tests I've seen and my experience actually trying to get one to shoot groups.
The barrel and upper are assembled exactly like a center fire is so given a good barrel and proper assembly it should group.
If it were mine I'd disassemble it and check the crown and barrel to upper fit.
If that doesn't work bore buddy and Beyer both make bentz chamber CMMG bolt compatible barrels. You could prolly pawn the CMMG barrel off on one of the many that just want a blaster to hang a red dot on and make noise with bulk 22.

 

[CraigC]

Caig, I would have sent that barrel back to CMMG if that is the case.

I started to but like a squirrel, I got distracted and forgot about it. I may shoot it again with another optic and see what happens.

 

[CraigC]

Put a 3-12x on it and shot it again. It's terrible. For me it's just a trainer so I'll live with it. Put the red dot back on it and did some blasting. It definitely likes CCI Blazer more than Remington GB's.

 

[12Bravo20]

I've never had any luck with Remington Golden Turds or Thunder Duds. I suggest trying some CCI standard and/or CCI Mini Mags.

And I would still contact CMMG since they have a lifetime quality guarantee. https://cmmg.com/lifetime-quality-guarantee

 

[CraigC]

I shoot more GB's than anything and have had guns that shoot a half inch with them. Either way, it should have done better than it did. Federal Champion was the worst. I 'may' address this at a later date, just way down on the totem pole right now.

 

[Rodfac]

I shoot more GB's than anything and have had guns that shoot a half inch with them.

That mirrors my experience with them as well. From my 4x scoped Winchester M61, I get ~1.5" gps at 50 yds from an improvised, fore end only, porch rail rest...obviously not the most stable of positions but those groups are about the limit of the rest/scope et. al. They also work well from my peep sighted Win M62 and an ancient Springfield 1903 M1922 military trainer with Lyman 48 receiver peep.

I do get the occasional flyer from all of the above, but with the less than rock solid, porch rail rest arrangement, who knows...I attribute many of them to the set up.

Some don't like Rem's Golden .22's, but I've found them to be pretty good for bulk ammunition...and this is current production too. I'll add, that even the HP versions, feed through all of my .22 auto handguns, with similar reliability and accuracy. YMMv. Best regards, Rod

 

[mavracer]

That mirrors my experience with them as well. From my 4x scoped Winchester M61, I get ~1.5" gps at 50 yds from an improvised, fore end only, porch rail rest...obviously not the most stable of positions but those groups are about the limit of the rest/scope et. al. They also work well from my peep sighted Win M62 and an ancient Springfield 1903 M1922 military trainer with Lyman 48 receiver peep.

I do get the occasional flyer from all of the above, but with the less than rock solid, porch rail rest arrangement, who knows...I attribute many of them to the set up.

Some don't like Rem's Golden .22's, but I've found them to be pretty good for bulk ammunition...and this is current production too. I'll add, that even the HP versions, feed through all of my .22 auto handguns, with similar reliability and accuracy. YMMv. Best regards, Rod

I struggle with claims of 1/2" at 50 yards from any bulk ammo, they simply aren't consistent enough. I did a search on YouTube for "Remington Golden Bullet extreme spread" and watched the top video he had an extreme spread of over 200 FPS and a standard deviation of 38.
38 FPS alone would represent nearly a 1/2" of elevation. 200 would a 3" change in elevation.
If your shooting bulk ammo the fliers may not be the set up.
I shoot a lot of 22 suppressed now days and that makes the supersonic crack very apparent, if I shoot enough of them bulk ammo will have a pfft among the snaps.
While not bulk ammo (heck it's marked target) Winchester T22 is about 50/50 and shoots accordingly lol.

 

[12Bravo20]

Each barrel will be different on what brand/type it shoot better. CCI Standard did best in both barrels while SK RIfle Match wasn't far behind. But the Norma Tac-22 groups were horrible. My 50 yard group with Norma Tac-22 looked like my 15 yard pattern with 3" 410 buckshot loads. My Chiappa barrel actually does best with CCI SR Tactical HV. My Savage MkII BTVLSS shoots CCI Mini Mags the best out of the ammo I have tried. And my Romanian M69 trainer does best with Federal Champion 510.

I put Federal Auto Match in the same junk category as Remington Golden Turds and Thunder Duds. Last time I bought Auto-Match, it wouldn't even function reliably in my Marlin Model 60 or Ruger 10/22 and accuracy was horrible.

I will freely admit that the horizontal stringing the other day was me. I have definitely shot better groups with the CMMG barrel.

And just for comparison, here is a 5 shot group at 50 yards out of my Savage MkII BTVLSS with CCI Mini Mags.



I will definitely give the Bore Buddy more time to see if things improve before making a final verdict on it's accuracy. Right now the flyers are unacceptable.

 

[CraigC]

That mirrors my experience with them as well. From my 4x scoped Winchester M61, I get ~1.5" gps at 50 yds from an improvised, fore end only, porch rail rest...obviously not the most stable of positions but those groups are about the limit of the rest/scope et. al. They also work well from my peep sighted Win M62 and an ancient Springfield 1903 M1922 military trainer with Lyman 48 receiver peep.

I do get the occasional flyer from all of the above, but with the less than rock solid, porch rail rest arrangement, who knows...I attribute many of them to the set up.

Some don't like Rem's Golden .22's, but I've found them to be pretty good for bulk ammunition...and this is current production too. I'll add, that even the HP versions, feed through all of my .22 auto handguns, with similar reliability and accuracy. YMMv. Best regards, Rod

Yep. I have guns that won't function on Federal bulk, which is usually considered better. Lots of folks complain about GB's and I think most of those are just repeating what they heard. Certainly has not been my experience. Can't even remember the last time I had a misfire. According to internet lore, it should be every other round. Every rimfire is a law unto itself and you really can't judge a round by how it performs in one gun. I've got 58 rimfires, 51 of which are .22LR. So the stuff gets used in a lot of guns. Right now I can't think of one that doesn't run on it.

I struggle with claims of 1/2" at 50 yards from any bulk ammo.....

Sigh. Half inch at 50yds, average of five, five shot groups using a Leupold 1-4x.

 

[12Bravo20]

I bad mouth Remington bulk 22 ammo and Federal Auto Match due to personal experiences with that ammo. I also won't use any but Winchester ammo for the same reasons. Now if others have good luck with these then more power to them.

 

[berettaprofessor]

Those are still not bad groups with a 1-4X...in fact that's a good day unless you have it in a lead-sled. Put a stronger scope on it and try some other ammo than CCI Standard. It's good ammo but some guns prefer other. Green Tag or SK Match or Lapua might be better.

 

[doubleh]

I have never shot 22 LR in a rifle wound tighter than 1 in 16 and I think there is a reason why that is the standard twist rate. I am looking forward to seeing how this turns out for you as I am always interested in learning something new.

 

[12Bravo20]

I know that some guys that compete in 22 PRS and NRL22 have been using faster twist rates for shooting out to 200 -300 yards and beyond. Everything I have read states that a 1-12 twist does better at longer distances. And some shooters are also experimenting with gain twist barrels where the twist increases over the length of the barrel.

And that is why I bought the 1-12 twist barrel since I want to start shooting 22LR at far distances. But I don't see any need to even try if the flyers don't go away.

 

[CraigC]

I know that some guys that compete in 22 PRS and NRL22 have been using faster twist rates for shooting out to 200 -300 yards and beyond. Everything I have read states that a 1-12 twist does better at longer distances. And some shooters are also experimenting with gain twist barrels where the twist increases over the length of the barrel.

And that is why I bought the 1-12 twist barrel since I want to start shooting 22LR at far distances. But I don't see any need to even try if the flyers don't go away.

Is that for the all copper Cutting Edge pointy bullets or just with standard 40gr ammo?

 

[12Bravo20]

Is that for the all copper Cutting Edge pointy bullets or just with standard 40gr ammo?

With standard match grade ammo

 

[CraigC]

With standard match grade ammo

I can see that. What works well under 100yds might not be optimal at 300 and beyond.

 

[12Bravo20]

I am hoping that the flyers go away after shooting more rounds through the BB Apogee barrel. Otherwise there is no reason to waste ammo on testing it versus 1-16 barrels at farther distances.

 

[mavracer]

Try some Eley Contact it can be had for $5.25 and has shot great in all 3 guns I've tried it in.
Here's a 10 round 50 yard group with RPRR

 

[12Bravo20]

I had some Eley Target with me the other day. But I was so frustrated with the flyers from Cci Standard and SK Rifle Match that I didn't bother trying the Eley. I might try the Norma Tac-22 in my Savage MkII but it was horrible in my BB barrel.