Ruger American Rimfire, Ammo Testing

[Spats McGee]

I got out to the range yesterday & it was absolutely glorious! 62*, sunny with a light breeze & I had the range all to myself.



Anyway… I shot 150 rounds: (a) 50 rounds of Aguila Super Extra SV, (b) 50 of CCI SV; and (c) 50 rounds of CCI Quiet. 10 shot groups. All suppressed with the Dead Air Mask. I have not run the targets through my app to measure group size, but the CCI SV looks like it did slightly better than the Aguila. The Quiet was fun, but not worth posting the target. And FWIW, I haven’t cleaned my barrel in ages. I need to do that soon.

Aguila Super Extra, SV, 40 grain


CCI SV, 40 grain

 

[horsemen61]

Awesome!

 

[tominboise]

I'd be curious to see what the rifle would do after cleaning thoroughly. Same ammo, same shooter, same range. No doubt the first few groups would be scattered as the barrel seasoned, but after that, it would be a good test.

 

[Spats McGee]

I'd be curious to see what the rifle would do after cleaning thoroughly. Same ammo, same shooter, same range. No doubt the first few groups would be scattered as the barrel seasoned, but after that, it would be a good test.

I have a couple of variables that I need to work with. I bought 500 each of the Aguila and CCI, so I've got enough ammo to do it. I need to try it with a clean barrel, and I also need to see how she does without the suppressor. (It's just so darned fun with it, though!)

 

[d2wing]

S ome claim better groups with dirty rifles but I always get better groups with a clean rifle in all of mine. This is an casual ammo test target for a CZ 452.

 

[Spats McGee]

It was about 75* and sunny with a mild breeze so I took a couple of hours "mental health time" and went to the range. Same range as above, same lane, even. I took 100 rounds of CCI SV and 100 rounds of Aguila SV. This is the first outing since the last cleaning, including JB bore paste.

Targets were each shot with 50 rounds, unsurpressed, at 50 yards as follows;
1. Top left, CCI SV, off a bipod. I had to fiddle with the zero just a little.
2. Top right, Aguila SV, off a bipod. Also a little fiddling, but less so.
3. Bottom left, CCI SV, off a bipod and carpet-covered wooden block.
4. Bottom right, Aguila SV, off a bipod and carpet-covered wooden block.



Conclusions: (1) Both kinds of ammo shoot moderately well, but I think this rifle prefers CCI SV to the Aguila SV. (2) A little schmutz in the barrel seemed to tighten my groups up. and (3) I really need a proper rear bag.

 

[Ks5shooter]

Love me a good rimfire day.....awesome.

 

[LiveLife]

75* and sunny with a mild breeze ... 50 rounds, unsurpressed, at 50 yards as follows;

Conclusions: ... rifle prefers CCI SV to the Aguila SV

Thanks for the follow up range report.

Your larger 50 yard sample size reflects what I found during my 10,000+ round testing ... CCI SV produced smaller groups than Aguila.

I noticed you used 40 gr Lead RN of Aguila over CPRN. I have found Aguila 40 gr LRN to produce slightly smaller average groups than 40 gr CPRN.

 

[Spats McGee]

Thanks for the follow up range report.

Your larger 50 yard sample size reflects what I found during my 10,000+ round testing ... CCI SV produced smaller groups than Aguila.

I noticed you used 40 gr Lead RN of Aguila over CPRN. I have found Aguila 40 gr LRN to produce slightly smaller average groups than 40 gr CPRN.

Eh? Lead Round Nose of Aguila over... Copper Plated Round Nose? How could you tell?

 

[LoonWulf]

Eh? Lead Round Nose of Aguila over... Copper Plated Round Nose? How could you tell?

I've only seen the copper plated aguila in high velocity....

 

[LiveLife]

Eh? Lead Round Nose of Aguila over... Copper Plated Round Nose? How could you tell?

Bottom of top target.

BTW, Aguila 40 gr LRN is 1130 fps and 40 gr CPRN is 1255 fps. Boxed (Not loose bulk) LRN has produced smaller groups at 50 yards for 10/22 with factory 18.5" barrel (1/2"-3/4" for LRN vs 3/4"-1" for CPRN)



50 yard 10/22 comparison groups with "boxed" Aguila 40 gr LRN on the bottom and "boxed" 40 gr CPRN on the top (I used the CPRN to zero the remounted scope and why groups were walking around ... But green circles were POA) - https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...22lr-on-the-cheap.898035/page-2#post-12304052

50 yard groups with T/CR22 and KSA bull barrel produced 1/2"-3/4" groups with "boxed" Aguila 40 gr CPRN on par with CCI SV (Factory 10/22 barrel produced around 3/4"-1" shown above) - https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...22lr-on-the-cheap.898035/page-2#post-12180149

I've only seen the copper plated aguila in high velocity....

They do make them along with 40 gr LRN Pistol Match at 1080 fps - https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...-shipped-pricing.902560/page-16#post-12851247

• Aguila 40 gr LRN (1130 fps) boxed $2.65/50 + free shipping on $250+ orders - https://www.aeammo.com/products/aguila-1b220332-640420013329-ag22-40gr-sv-50-5666

And 10/22 "Boxed" Aguila compared to "Loose bulk" ... Top left two Aguila 40 gr CPRN are "boxed" groups around 3/4"-1" but bottom left three Aguila 30/40 gr "loose bulk" groups are around 1"-1.25" with final confirming "boxed" 40 gr CPRN on the bottom right of 1" (I use 40 gr CPRN as reference and always shoot groups at the beginning, middle and end of ammunition comparison to rule out gun vs ammo related group size increase ... If reference ammo group size stay the same but comparison ammo group size is larger, it's not the gun rather ammo) - https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...22lr-on-the-cheap.898035/page-2#post-12304052

 

[Spats McGee]

Bottom of top target.

BTW, Aguila 40 gr LRN is 1130 fps and 40 gr CPRN is 1255 fps. Boxed (Not loose bulk) LRN has produced smaller groups at 50 yards for 10/22 with factory 18.5" barrel (1/2"-3/4" for LRN vs 3/4"-1" for CPRN)

View attachment 1199060

50 yard 10/22 comparison groups with "boxed" Aguila 40 gr LRN on the bottom and "boxed" 40 gr CPRN on the top (I used the CPRN to zero the remounted scope and why groups were walking around ... But green circles were POA) - https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...22lr-on-the-cheap.898035/page-2#post-12304052

50 yard groups with T/CR22 and KSA bull barrel produced 1/2"-3/4" groups with "boxed" Aguila 40 gr CPRN on par with CCI SV (Factory 10/22 barrel produced around 3/4"-1" shown above) - https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...22lr-on-the-cheap.898035/page-2#post-12180149

They do make them along with 40 gr LRN Pistol Match at 1080 fps - https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...-shipped-pricing.902560/page-16#post-12851247

• Aguila 40 gr LRN (1130 fps) boxed $2.65/50 + free shipping on $250+ orders - https://www.aeammo.com/products/aguila-1b220332-640420013329-ag22-40gr-sv-50-5666

And 10/22 "Boxed" Aguila compared to "Loose bulk" ... Top left two Aguila 40 gr CPRN are "boxed" groups around 3/4"-1" but bottom left three Aguila 30/40 gr "loose bulk" groups are around 1"-1.25" with final confirming "boxed" 40 gr CPRN on the bottom right of 1" (I use 40 gr CPRN as reference and always shoot groups at the beginning, middle and end of ammunition comparison to rule out gun vs ammo related group size increase ... If reference ammo group size stay the same but comparison ammo group size is larger, it's not the gun rather ammo) - https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...22lr-on-the-cheap.898035/page-2#post-12304052

Ah, that makes sense.

 

[PapaG]

I had an Anschutz sporter that needed from five to ten rounds to settle in for the day.

 

[Peakbagger46]

That’s got to be so much fun with a suppressor! How bad is the maintenance on that Dead Air Mask? I’ve been seriously considering getting a rimfire can this year.

 

[Spats McGee]

That’s got to be so much fun with a suppressor! How bad is the maintenance on that Dead Air Mask? I’ve been seriously considering getting a rimfire can this year.

Oh, it's absolutely a "barrel of monkeys" level of fun suppressed! It's the only suppressor I own, but it's been worth every penny I spent and every day I waited for the stamp.

Maintenance isn't bad with the DAM. As I mentioned, this is my only suppressor, so be aware that I'm not an expert on cleaning and maintenance of suppressors. With that said: Both end caps screw off and the stack of baffles comes out for cleaning. I wasn't too bright when I first got it and shot about 1K rounds before cleaning it the first time. As a result, I have some deposits I still haven't gotten rid of. They don't affect performance, though. I've been experimenting with different cleaning methods. I have found that soaking the baffles for a day or two in CLR (which is widely available and pretty inexpensive) gets them about 90% clean and a quick wipe down gets rid of almost all the rest. The trickiest part was getting rid of deposits inside the tube, but I got a few larger diameter cleaning brushes (like these) make that a lot easier. I just cleaned my DAM a few days ago, and this time, I tried coating the baffles with AeroShell, which is the anti-seize I use on the threads in the hopes of keeping powder and residue from sticking. We'll see how that goes.

ETA: I also just bought a tumbler for cleaning the baffles, but I haven't even unboxed it yet, so I can't say how well it works yet.

 

[Peakbagger46]

That was very helpful, thank you!

 

[Arkansas Paul]

Very nice.
The only .22 I have is an old Marlin 60 and I put 100 rounds or so through it the other day and forgot how fun plinking with a .22 really is.
I need to get me a nicer bolt that's capable of some good accuracy.

 

[Lo-Profile]

Nice, just picked up one of these with a 22" barrel. Going to mount a Vortex Crossfire II on it when it arrives.

 

[2ndtimer]

Did a little ammo testing myself this afternoon. Using my CZ 455 Standard with Nikon Buckmasters 4.5-14x40 scope. 5 shot groups at 50 yards, a little bit of wind gusting on occasion from right to left. Norma TAC-22 seemed to outperform CCI Standard Velocity and Federal Auto Match bulk (note on the far right Auto Match target the high flyer actually keyhole Don the target!)

 

[red rick]

A few weeks ago I saw a guy selling SP primers for $50 dollars . Then when I met him he told me about some other things that he had for sale . I ended up spending over $700 dollars with him on primers , bullets , powder , presses , dies and a tumbler . His prices were so low that I couldn’t resist . He was also selling this .22 ammunition for $130 dollars .