Wow! SK Rifle Match

[berettaprofessor]

I picked up some of this stuff , SK Rifle Match, at Cabelas to try ($10.99/box) and all I can say is "Wow!".

Put it in a custom 10-22 I built (Ruger receiver, Volquartsen trigger, Green Mountain bull barrel, Tactical Solutions Ambidextrous Stock, Leupold 3-9X scope) and my first 5-shot group (50 yards, 10 mph wind coming in at 10:00 at slight angle to trajectory,) was 0.360 inches! The second group was almost better, at 0.350 inches with the first four shots, but the last shot was a flyer that left the group at 0.600". The picture below shows the first group (0.360) with an unfired SK Rifle match round.

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For comparison, this rifle and I, on the same day, grouped 5 shots into 0.700 and 0.880 with Remington Subsonic, 0.775 with Eley Match, and 0.765 with Wolf Match. Another new (to me) ammo, RWS Subsonic, grouped at 0.850. Normally the rifle shoots Wolf the best, usually around 0.6" at 50 yards on a less windy day.

Gotta make a mental note to pick up some more of this! Can't wait to see how it does in a CZ 452!

 

[FROGO207]

SK Match is what the serious postal league competitors at our range use. They have a couple guys that are always in the top five or so statewide every year. It shoots really consistently in most all my .22 firearms. They use SK Match and SK Rifle Match almost exclusively with a couple shooters that like CCI Green tag a bit better. They order it by the pallet in a group buy every year. Last year they used up their reserve though.

 

[berettaprofessor]

I guess I'm just late to the game then. I'd never run across any before.

 

[Slamfire]

It is a revelation to see just how much better the lower priced match 22 LR shoots compared to the over counter rock busting variety. I have tested standard ammunition such as Green Tag and find its accuracy contemptible. I do not consider it match grade ammunition.

SK Rifle match is a lower priced match ammunition and if you find a lot that shoots particularly well in your rifle, buy a case of the stuff. The next lot of SK Rifle match may not shoot as well. This year, at Camp Perry, the Eley representative was asked what was the probability of finding the best ammunition without testing, and the answer was around 33%. One third of the time just a random lot will shoot best, 66% of the time, the lot will be sub optimal.

I have shot cases of SK Rifle match and its Wolf Match equivalent. In terms of match ammunition, I will shoot the stuff at a local match at 50 yards, where nothing is at risk. At a Regional or the Nationals I am going to shoot Center-X, Midas +, or Black box at 50 yards. At 100 yards I am not going to shoot SK Rifle Match because I have had too many eight ring drop outs. All rimfire ammunition will produce flyers, but the cheaper match ammunition throws them out more often and further, in my experience. I have shot lots of cleans at 100 yards with SK Rifle Match, but when I started noticing a pattern of drop outs, I stopped using the stuff at 100. I will use the stuff in practice at all distances.

A forty shot group is a better predictor of the capability of ammunition than five shot groups. From the May 1958 American Rifle Article, "Assessing the Accuracy of .22 Target Rifles", if a 40 shot group is the 100%, a 20 shot group will be 88% of the size, a ten shot group 71% of the size, and a five shot group 57% at 50 yards. The percentages are different at 100 yards, but not by much.

Anyway, my BSA MKIII liked Midas Plus. Shot good groups with it in Small Bore Prone Competition.