How accurate should I expect a 22lr to be?

[Demos]

Hi guys,
I was out at the range the other day sighting in my savage mark ii at 50 yards with Aguila 40gr subsonic ammo off of a front rest and sandbags at the rear and getting 1-1.5 inch 5 shot groups, and about the same with Federal bulk ammo. Should I be expecting any better for a stock gun at 50 yards at an outdoor range with a bit of wind? What size group at 50 yards makes a 22 fall into the "accurate" category?

Thanks,
Demos

 

[Tex4426]

In my opinion that's not terrible for a 22 but it could be better..I don't have alot of experience trying to group on on account I haven't shot one in probably 8 years and back then all I wanted to do was pull the trigger as fast as I could

 

[Fluxeii]

Rimfirecentral.com will have all you want to know, and then some. And THEN some.

As aforementioned, those groups sound decent but have room for improvement.

 

[clamman]

I have a CZ 455 that will do dime sized one hole groups at fifty yards with Federal ammo. I have a case of Wolf MT on the way, and I'm sure my groups will shrink quite a bit with that stuff.

 

[JohnBT]

You will need to try a variety of ammo and see which one(s) work the best. You might even need to try different lot numbers of the most promising ammo. Rimfires are ammo sensitive, some more than others.

I took a brand new Sako Finnfire and a Cooper Custom Classic out of the box and shot 50 yards groups with Wolf Match Target ammo that measured a half an inch down to 3/8". My last two boxes of the old Federal Gold Match shot even smaller groups at 50 yards.

To answer your question, I would expect most bolt action .22 rifles to shoot under an inch at 50 yards easily with most brands of ammo. I might get disappointed, but I'd expect that.

Anyway, try some different brands of ammo. Start with the cheapest, maybe you'll get lucky.

 

[BCRider]

From what I've read and from my own experience even at 50 yards the wind has enough effect that your group is partially affected by it. Also YOU play a part even with bags used. If you tend to snatch the trigger or build the pressure on the trigger with a variable sideway push at all it will all come out as inconsistency of the group size. It may not seem like it when you've got bags used as a rest but it does matter.

So all in all I suspect that shooting on a calm day and at the same time concentrating on how consistently you both hold the gun on the bags and how consistently you pull the trigger will reduce the groups by some. Then toss in the ammo factor for the final part of the puzzle and sub 1 inch groups should be possible. But each counts for about the same size of the pie. Wind, ammo and you.

 

[Tennessee Ned]

I wouldn't be too upset with those groupings considering "a bit of wind".

 

[Tim the student]

Sounds ok, but there is room for improvement. I bet your shooting (including being able to read the wind) could improve - as could mine, and your rifle may shoot a bit better with different ammo.

 

[CraigC]

A Savage MKII should do much better than that, I would say a half inch at 50yds with preferred loads.

 

[Tex4426]

Have a Marlin bolt action and a ruger 10/22 both shoot well to 100 yards with cci hollwpoints

 

[DM~]

I don't consider any 22 i own to be accurate unless it will shoot AT LEAST 1/2" groups at 50 yards with good ammo.

That doesn't mean that they are junk if they don't do it, to me it just means thay aren't particularly accurate but, they still can be a lot of fun.

DM

 

[R H Clark]

Here is one of my best ever. 5 shots at 50 yards with my Anschutz 1416 and Wolf MT.I held on the point of the angle of the 7. I cut it out because there were a dozen worse groups on the target.

 

[hipoint]

I must say it, but are you the kind of shooter that can shoot 1 inch grouping? I have on days and off days, more off than on... I would be very proud of myself if I could do much better than that.

 

[Slamfire]

I don't think your group size is bad for bulk ammunition.

I have shots lots of cheapo ammunition in my match .22LR's, bulk ammunition sometimes surprises me, but 99% of the time, it goes bang and shoots within an inch or two inches at 50 yards.

A better test is to shoot your rifle with some good ammunition, and Wolf Match or SK Match, (same stuff) is very good and affordable.

As for what can you expect out of a real good .22LR with a real good shooter, I met Mr Charles Kemp of Mobile Alabama in 2010, the year he won the Camp Perry Metallic sight prone championship.

Mr Kemp told me his rifle shot consistent ten shot groups at 100 yards of 0.38" diameter. He shot early in the morning when the wind is low, and he tests all his ammunition. He shot those groups with one lot of Red Box Tennex, and that was the best lot for his rifle.

He told me there is no "best ammunition", all ammunition has to be tested in the firearm it is to be fired.

 

[243winxb]

Wind Flags

Clean the barrel before testing the next lot of ammo. The difference in the lube from brand to brand can give bad results. 1/2" to 1 1/4" is about right for run of the mill ammo/rifles. Make some wind flags.

 

[FlyinBryan]

Should I be expecting any better for a stock gun at 50 yards at an outdoor range with a bit of wind?

the "bit of wind" part is the x factor. x as in algebra.... unknown. wind will play havok with a 22lr. lokk at some wind drift charts and you will be suprised what just a 5-7mph change in crosswind will do.

What size group at 50 yards makes a 22 fall into the "accurate" category?

in my opinion, 22 rifles start to fall into the "accurate" category @ about a half inch for 5 shots.

my 10/22 was not accurate enough for me in its factory configuration, but became accurate enough for me with a 100 dollar barrel swap.

 

[Sniper66]

As others have said, those groups are acceptable with bulk ammo. I shoot a Remington 541S with Winchester Standard Velocity and have also used Federal Gold Medal. Both can shoot a ragged .5" hole. I shoot squirrels with the standard velocity stuff and rarely fail to come home with less than my limit and mostly head shots.

 

[mberoose]

I probably did about the same yesterday w/ my Marlin 795 and junk Winchester bulk HP's. If I wasn't being lazy and had some nice CCI Mini-Mag or something, definitely would've achieved better results....have before.

 

[Norrick]

Buy some wolf match if you want to see how accurate your rifle is without breaking the bank. Otherwise, bulk ammo is a terrible indicator and each rifle has its own preferences. I consider that type of rifle capable of half inch at 50 yards maybe slightly better.

 

[Damon555]

Try out some better ammo and I bet your groups will get better....That is unless your shooting skills aren't up to the task. I don't own a savage but have heard good things about that particular model. I just cut to the chase and bought an Anschutz so there was no question as to where any problems might be....any bad shooting is me for sure.

 

[Don357]

I have a Tula TOZ-78 (pre Winchester Wildcat), that suprised me by doing dime sized groups at 50yds and nickle sized groups at 100yds with CCI Mini-Mag 36gr HP's. It's topped with a 3x9x32 Tasco "Pronghorn". It was suprising because this was not just an isolated incident, it will do this every time.

Most .22's SHOULD be able to do 1/2" groups @ 50 yds with decent ammo.

 

[mahansm]

I've got an ancient Wards .22 rifle that will easily shoot under 1/2" groups at 50 yards using Winchester T-22 ammo. With generic Federal or the like it opens up to over an inch.

Using some of the cheap Russian steel case stuff that came in 20 or so years ago it would shoot 3" at 50 yards.

Buy a lot of different types of ammo and see what works.

 

[Stevie-Ray]

My old Stevens bolt will shoot inside half an inch at 50 yards. Groups open up at 100 because of the scope's magnification only-I need to put a large scope on this thing, at least a 3-9, just haven't done it yet.

 

[Orion8472]

Where's the best [priced] place to pick up Wolf Match?

I have a 10/22 that shoots Velocitors at about an inch at 100 yards. I wonder what it would do with the Wolf Match?

 

[Sako Shooter]

There is a saying that "anything less than 1/2" at 50 yards is gravy." Every rimfire bolt gun I own will actually do LESS than 1/2" on AVERAGE. But, I must qualify that statement - that is with select ammo, usually with European match/subsonic ammo.

I had a pleasant day (no wind in the 70s) to shoot the other day, and with an Anschutz 64 action every group was less that 1/2" with an entire box of SK Subsonic HP ammo, - that's nine, 5 shot groups, one after the other. If I would have used some other ammo, I might have been lucky to average close to an inch if that particular rifle did not like that particular ammo.

My advice is to experiment with ammo. Splurge a bit and buy some Eley Tennex, Lapua Midas, Lapua Center X, etc. Shoot it on at least a 70 degree day with no wind if possible. If it is extremely cold or windy this will affect your groups. This ammo is expensive but shoots MOA or better in every rifle I own. If your rifle does not group any of these brands, I would look into either your rifle (float, bed, trigger, etc.) or shooting equipment/style if your goal is to shoot MOA, that is.