Longevity of match 22lr ammo

R

rkcal22

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I've been reading here for a few months and now it's time to post a question. There is a lot of very helpfull people willing to share there knowledge and I appreciate it but I don't want this post to turn into a pissing contest and one upmanship that I have seen on a few others. I've been shooting 30 plus years but only the last few, since i retired, into accurate 50 yd 22 rimfire. I recently bought from a friend a few bricks of Lapua Master M ammo that he said didn't shoot right in his Anschutz 54. He bought it from someone who advertises here or in RFC for a price 30% or 40% below market. I shot 2 5rd groups in my Kimer 82 All American Match with scope and had 1/2" groups. I haven't repeated that but it's been windy for a couple of weeks and I have a long way to go to read the wind. So is the ammo suspect ? The lube seems to be a grayist color and on other brands of match 22 that might mean oxidation from being a few years old but I don't know what Lapua Master is supposed to look like when new . Even if a few years old and stored in cool dry area how old can it be before it shoots less than Lapua quality for this ammo ? Will I get flyers, shots dropping a fraction of a inch ? You know what I mean. I just bought a low end electronic scale from Midway and one box of Master M weights in at 3.34 and 3.35 grains total weight for cartridge. One box of SK Match went from 3.2 to 3.7 grains . Thanks in advance and sorry for a long post. Richard P S The lot number on the box is 8468X does that show the year of manufacture ?
 
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I think you would be alright, If you have been reading these forums and reading in between the lines you will know that .22 RF rifles are sensitive to ammo speed and lot. Heck try it in your other gun's you might never miss a squirrel again
 
"I just bought a low end electronic scale from Midway and one box of Master M weights in at 3.34 and 3.35 grains total weight for cartridge. "


Weight for a total cartridge should be in the 53-55 grain weight since the bullet alone weighs 40 grains.

Some of that Master ammo was pretty good, and some wasn't. Hard to tell why it won't shoot up to par. Then again that's the story for most match ammo, some's good and some is pure junk, but unfortunately the junk cost the same as the good stuff. You just have to weed it out by testing it.
 
Had the scale set at the wrong setting Kent. Back to my question, does ammo sitting around for a few years loss accuracy due to powder or primer changing composition ? When lube changes color due to oxidation does it change accuracy ? Thanks Richard
 
rkcal22 said:
Had the scale set at the wrong setting Kent. Back to my question, does ammo sitting around for a few years loss accuracy due to powder or primer changing composition ? When lube changes color due to oxidation does it change accuracy ? Thanks Richard
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I have read on other forums where guy's are still looking for dogbone and palma match to shoot.
 
Ammo should keep for years. The Lapua Master had a grayish color to start with, a lot lighter than the almost black Eley. I have a couple of the X lots that I bought a couple years ago. The ammo should be good. Wether it shoots or not, is another matter.

Ken
 
Richard,
I know some folks who seem to think it gets worse after a couple of years, not bad, just not as good as when it was fresh. Meaning you might drop a point now and then over several targets, and shoot a 249 instead of a 250 in an IR target. That said, I shot 2006 ammo all last year, cleaning out my old stock, and it seemed to shoot as well as it did when fresh. Of course, I may have done better with the new ammo, the newer stuff is much better. I store my ammo in a climate controlled place. I think proper storage is the key to keeping the quality high. I shot some old gold box Lapua that Harry Deneen had and it was awesome, and it was several years old.
Disclaimer-That's just an opinion, and I have no data or scientific evidence either way.:)
 
Kent I have a friend, semi retired eye surgeon, who shoots prone and is pretty good. Presently he is shooting only Eley red box-10 x-and he swears that the powder has change due to European OHSA and it doesn't shoot as well as the older stuff, go figure. Richard. P S Does anyone know how to read the lot numbers on Lapua ?
 
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rkcal22 said:
Kent I have a friend, semi retired eye surgeon, who shoots prone and is pretty good. Presently he is shooting only Eley red box-10 x-and he swears that the powder has change due to European OHSA and it doesn't shoot as well as the older stuff, go figure. Richard. P S Does anyone know how to read the lot numbers on Lapua ?
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I can't help you much with breaking down the lot #'s, but I've shot a fair amount of the X lot Master. Charlie Scott said the Midas and Master lots with the X were the last of the old Lapua made on the new machines, so it is relatively fresh ammo. The newest lot of Midas L I have is 8264U, and it is very good ammo. The X lots of Master I've shot is good too. My CZ 452's love the Midas and Master for some reason, and one 452 American has shot a 248 best on the IR-50/50 target. It averages in the low 240's making it a good factory sporter rifle.
 
Thank you Old Sidewinder, I guess when you say "last of the old Master" you mean that it is discontinued as I have read elsewhere being replaced with a new model name. Richard
 
rkcal22 said:
Thank you Old Sidewinder, I guess when you say "last of the old Master" you mean that it is discontinued as I have read elsewhere being replaced with a new model name. Richard
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Correct. The new Lapua has a different lube, and looks like SK,Wolf. Trust me, it only looks the same. The new Lapua is X-act, Midas+, and Center-X. I really like the new stuff, it doesn't seem nearly as temperature sensitive as other brands. Give Charlie Scott a call, he can tell you more about it, and he is also a Lapua dealer. His # is 913-963-1557.
 
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