What to reasonably expect from 22 wmr?

[bikemutt]

I've had a Savage 93 .22 WMR for a few years now which I enjoy shooting from time to time, at the range. It's always been a 50 yard tack driver for me. I decided to push and see what we could do at 100 yards.

I really have no idea what I should consider good, bad or excellent with this particular round so I figured I'd ask here. 90% of my groups were within 1.5", the pictured one was quite a bit better, but not the only one that stood out. I was shooting CCI Mini Mag ammo.

I guess my question is should a .22 WMR Savage/Shooter be making one ragged hole at 100 yards? Or is this about right for the platform?

Thanks for helping.

 

[chicharrones]

I don't have a whole lot of experience with Maxi Mag, but that group looks good for .22 Magnum not counting that outlier. Heck, that's what you get for shooting 6 shots.

Seriously though, in my limited .22 Magnum experience out of sporter weight barrels, the groups open up after about the 5th shot. The barrel on a .22 Mag seems to warm much faster than .22LR which I'd guess contributes to the peculiarities of .22 Mag fired for groups.

 

[frankenstein406]

My gun is a tack driver with poly tipped hornady 22 mag ammo, cci just doesn't group as well. So honestly those groups seem fine to me in my opinion.

 

[bikemutt]

My gun is a tack driver with poly tipped hornady 22 mag ammo, cci just doesn't group as well. So honestly those groups seem fine to me in my opinion.

I'll try some of that Hornady, thanks!

 

[Vern Humphrey]

I get 1" groups at 100 yards from my Ruger 77/22M using Winchester ammo. Get several brands and experiment with them -- you'll probably find one it really likes.

 

[gazpacho]

1.5 MOA out of a stock mass produced rifle should be considered excellect results by anyone.

Other 22wmr cartridges may produce better or worse results.

In general, I expect better potential accuracy from 22lr over 22wmr. I'm not sure why that is the case, but it seems to have been empirically proven. It may have something to do with the jacket consistency of 22wmr vs the homogenous nature of 22lr.

 

[Bart B.]

Vern, are all your 100 yard groups with your 22M one inch extreme spread?

Or are you only referencing the smallest ones?

 

[Fremmer]

That looks like a nice group to me.

I would try some other brands of ammo.

 

[bikemutt]

That looks like a nice group to me.

I would try some other brands of ammo.

Thanks Fremmer, I was pretty happy about that. Oh, the "flyer" chicharrones chuckled about was not part of the group, it's from sight-in

Perhaps worth noting is I was shooting this suppressed. This rifle doesn't appear to dislike a suppressor as some of mine do. Maybe a small change in POI but as accurate either way.

 

[PapaG]

I have had five 22 WMR rifles, from the H&R semiautomatic, a 9422m, a Marlin, a Savage 93, and now a 77-22m all weather. None were "tack drivers" with any of the available ammo but the Ruger, in spite of a stiff trigger, turns in pretty good groups. 1.5" from a stock 22WMR is pretty darned good. My best ever is one 7/8" five shot group with some old WW Supreme stuff. Normal is in the 1.5" area. CCI maxis are next best out of my gun.
My CZ 455 22lr can sometimes, on a really calm day, with Eley Club, do under an inch.

 

[jimmyraythomason]

I shoot nothing but CCI Maxi mags in my Savage 65M bolt action. They are one hole accurate from a 5 rd magazine@ 100 yards. It is glass bedded (action and full barrel channel) with 3x9x40 Bushnell scope. I've killed squirrels and crows at 125 paces shooting from a rest.

 

[Sunray]

CCI Mini Mag is .22 Long Rifle, not .22 Magnum. The two aren't interchangeable either. Clean it and buy some Magnum ammo.
My Savage 65M bolt action only ever saw Winchester. Mind you, it was 40 plus years ago and there was nothing else.

 

[jimmyraythomason]

My Savage 65M bolt action only ever saw Winchester.

I used to shoot Winchester 40grn solids and hollow points back in the day when, as Sunray said, that was about all there was but after I discovered CCI Maxi mags I've had no need for anything else.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

Vern, are all your 100 yard groups with your 22M one inch extreme spread?

Or are you only referencing the smallest ones?

No, that's just about average -- that little 77/22M is an honest minute of angle rifle -- with ammo it likes.

 

[ExAgoradzo]

I don't claim to be Annie Oakly or her brother Andrew. But one of my few 'great' shots was with a buddies 1894 22mag. At 135 yards I shot a squirrel off a pile of wood. He regularly 'dings' his metal fence at about 15 yards closer. I told him if he ever finds it missing not to look in my safe...

I like the 22 mag. Mine is a Colt Colteer.

Greg

 

[P51D]

Hi, Bikemutt. I have a Savage 93FV. Ammo I've tested at 100 yds, scoped, from the bench includes:

CCI Maxi Mag 40 gr HP
Hornady 30 gr V-Max
Rem 40 gr soft pt
Fiocchi 40 gr soft pt
Rem 33 gr Accutip

These are listed in descending order of accuracy.

So far it likes the Maxi Mags the best, averaging 1.3" (four 5-shot groups).

Across all of those listed above, it's averaging 1.6".

When you wrote "Mini Mag" in your original post, did you mean "Maxi Mag"?

P51D

 

[bikemutt]

When you wrote "Mini Mag" in your original post, did you mean "Maxi Mag"?

All the CCI ammo I have has gun store labels on them which cover up the name. After peeling one off, yes, Maxi Mag. Sorry for any confusion.

 

[1911 guy]

Definitely try different ammo. At one time, I had two identical Marlin bolt guns in .22 MRR. One liked Winchester ammo, the other one liked CCI. Every rifle barrel is somewhat of a law unto itself.

Assuming those are one inch grids on the target, that's a pretty good group, aside from the flier.

 

[cdb1]

I have CZ 512 22 mag. It's had a trigger job and sports a Clearidge Ultra RM Rimfire scope. With the CCI Maxi Mag 40 gr HP ammo it groups right under an inch at 100 yards.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

The .22 WMR has a reputation for poor accuracy, but my experience is that it ca be as accurate as any centerfire -- with ammo it likes.

 

[PJSprog]

I've wrung a couple of 1-1/2" groups at 100 yards from my 93-G. If yours are under 1", I'd call that excellent from rifle and shooter. Try some different ammo. Mine likes the Winchester SuperX best (so far).