Overview
Trying to find the ammo/lot that my Ruger Precision Rimfire rifle liked the best was going to be much easier with my new Garmin Xero C1 Pro. I tested 6 types of 22lr ammo from low to high quality. Lets see what I tested and how the results came in.
Costs
Item: CCI Standard Velocity
Price: $3.50 USD (box of 50) (0.07 CPR)
Vendor: https://shopbfam.com/product/cci-standard-velocity-ammo-22-lr-40-gr-lrn-50-per-box-0035
Item: CCI Green Tag
Price: $21.47 USD (box of 100) (0.2147 CPR)
Vendor: https://shopbfam.com/product/cci-0033-green-tag-competition-22-lr-40-gr-1070-fps-lead-round-nose-lrn-100-rounds-per-box
Item: Norma Tac-22
Price: $3.99 USD (box of 50) (0.0798 CPR)
Vendor: https://www.eurooptic.com/norma-tac-and-match-tac-22-long-rifle-40-grain-lead-round-nose-ammo-50-cartridges-per-box-mpn-231871.aspx
Item: SK Standard Plus
Price: $7.98 USD (box of 50) (0.1596 CPR)
Vendor: https://www.eurooptic.com/sk-40gr-lrn-standard-plus.aspx
Item: SK Long Range Match
Price: $11.99 USD (box of 50) (0.2398 CPR)
Vendor: https://www.eurooptic.com/SK-Ammunition-22-LR-Long-Range-Match-40gr-Ammunition-Box-of-50rds-420458.aspx
Item: Fiocchi Range Dynamics
Price: $3.92 USD (box of 50) (0.0784 CPR)
Vendor: https://shopbfam.com/
Item: Federal AutoMatch
Price: $21.95 USD (box of 325) (0.0675 CPR)
Vendor: https://shopbfam.com/product/federal-am22-champion-training-22-lr-40-gr-lead-round-nose-lrn-325-rounds-per-box
*Prices listed are as of purchase time. Prices subject to change at vendor discretion.
**Vendor(s) identified are only listed to show where I sourced the item(s) from.
Intent
Identify the ammo that performed the best in my Ruger Precision Rimfire, using my Garmin Xero C1 Pro chronograph and group size measurements to determine the winner.
Most importantly, I wanted to find an ammo the performed well enough in the Ruger to get sub-MOA groups so I could use it in NRL22 match reviews.
My Perspective
For each test of the ammo, I first fired 10 fouling rounds and then 10 rounds that I measured with the chronograph. To cut to the chase, here are the chronograph results.
CCI Standard Velocity
CCI Standard Velocity has been my go-to 22lr ammo for quite a while. It is cheap, reliable, and not nearly as dirty as other ammo in its price range. Turns out I was right to trust it, at least in this rifle. It had the third best standard deviation at 13.8, and is also the second cheapest ammo tested.
CCI Green Tag
CCI Green Tag was a major disappointment. I ended up rerunning the test, thinking that I messed it up somehow, but ended up with very similar numbers. Worse standard deviation and Spread than CCI SV and yet somehow three times more expensive. Granted, the standard deviation and spread were still good compared to others on the list, but this was a major letdown.
Norma Tac-22
Oof. By far the worst test results. Not even going to say much more than that. It was just bad in a bolt action. I hear that it runs great in semi-auto 22lr rifles, but if you are looking for accuracy, based on these results, I would look elsewhere.
SK Standard Plus
Second best standard deviation and third best spread. I think I found the gap between budget and precision 22lr rounds. Just over twice as expensive as CCI SV, it does give you an extra edge before taking the next step to SK Long Range Match.
SK Long Range Match
This ammo was by far the best. Well beyond the consistency of any other ammo tested. On top of that, just flirting with the sound barrier without actually crossing it. This was amazing.
Fiocchi Range Dynamics
Not the worst, but far from the best. And being more expensive than CCI SV, though just by a bit, is not a good look. I did shop around for this ammo and found everything at the cheapest I could. Which is to say, this price was not a fluke.
Federal AutoMatch
With very similar to the Fiocchi Range Dynamics, this ammo did not perform well. Like the Norma Tac-22, I am told this stuff is more designed for, and runs amazing in, semi-auto .22 rifles. But, I got it just to try. You never know what your rifle will like.
Other Comments
You may have noticed that I did not discuss group sizes. Some were better (CCI SV, both SK) than others, but none met my desired goal of sub-MOA. All testing was conducted from the prone with a bipod and rear support bag. I had another shooter put some rounds down range and they were unable to group with any consistency as well. Looks like it is time to do a teardown of the Ruger Precision Rimfire and see what is going on.
Conclusion
In my opinion, based on the data above, CCI Standard Velocity will continue to be my primary plinking ammo. The cost to performance ratio is amazing. Sure, SK Long Range Match blew the CCI SV out of the water, numbers wise, but the cost per round is prohibitive for general plinking use. However, when testing a new rifle for potential competition use, SK Long Range Match will be one of the first things I test.
I would say the thing I am most shocked about, is how poorly the CCI Green Tag performed compared to its price tag. I did some after-the-fact research and found several other posts with people complaining of the the Green Tags cost to performance ratio. Maybe in a couple years I will give it another try. Until then, CCI SV and SK varieties will be my primary test ammo for new 22lr rifles.