long range 22's

[KWK]

While not a benchrest shooter, I am curious about what works and why.

Are 22's competitive in the 1000 yd matches?

My impression is that bores larger than 22 dominate, and if so what is thought to be the reason for this? Perhaps it is more difficult to keep the same percentage tolerances (weight, concentricity, profile, bore) with the smaller bullets?

Thanks,
Karl

 

[flatlander]

I think your guess on the difficulties of QC for LR .22 cal bullets is one reason more shooters haven't gone that route for 1000yd. shooting. It's pretty obvious that lighter .22s are capable of extreme accuracy in short range BR, but when you get into making 90gr. VLDs, I think it gets a bit more difficult to maintain consistency. I recall speaking with Kevin Thomas of Sierra at the Mo. State 600yd. Prone Championships a few years ago - we were discussing their 90gr.MatchKing, and he told me they'd had a rather large reject rate during the production of the initial lots of these bullets.

My own personal experience centers around shooting JLK 90s in 6.5-twist PacNor 3-groove AR15 bbls. 2001-2002 lots of these bullets were great for HP use, even out to 1000yds. I would think that, in something like a 22-250 AI with a 7 or maybe (this is probably a stretch) 7.5-twist bbl., Berger or current JLK 90s as produced by Swampworks would be worth experimenting with. The thing is, it's so easy to put together an excellent 6mm LR rig, and good LR 6mm bullets are just not an issue.

 

[eggman]

LR 22 Caliber's

Karl, I cannot comment on 1000 yard competition but all my IBS 600 yd. competition in '07 was done with a 22 caliber. Either a 7" twist 22 Dasher or a 8" twist 22 PPC. Berger makes an excellent 90 gr. VLD which I use in the 22 Dasher and I use 80 gr. JLK's in the 22 PPC. I sort all my bullets by bearing length and pretty much load just as if I were loading for a 6 BR or 6 Dasher. I think the two biggest reasons you do not see more 22's in LR competiton is the lower BC of the 22 bullets and a shorter barrel life. For the 22 Dasher one season and I'm getting a replacement barrel tuned and ready to go for when I have to retire the first barrel to just shooting groundhogs. Also, wind drift may be more of a factor with the 22 bullets depending on the velocity. I find the 22 calibers easier to tune than the 6mm's but that's just me.

Rodney