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Old July 1, 2010, 01:27 AM   #1
Norrick
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Join Date: April 1, 2008
Posts: 577
Range Report (T-Bolt)

Its a sweet shooter. I am very happy with the accuracy so far and I think I can do better. I had a lot to do and was slightly rushed (more towards the end, you probably know how that goes).

Here's the basic rundown. I have a Ruger 77/22 and a Browning T-Bolt, and my friend has a Savage MK II FV.

Between the two of us we have barrel lengths of 20, 21, and 22 inches.

I know everyone says 16 inches is optimal for 22LR velocity but I figured I'd come up with some of my own data to help me determine if I want to shorten the 77/22 barrel. My concern was does the 16 inches apply to the hyper velocity ammo as well (1400+ fps). I thought maybe they would use perhaps an extra couple of inches of barrel length to gain max velocity.

I'm doing velocity vs. barrel length (and general checking for accuracy) for Wolf Match (low vel.) CCI Blazers and Aguila Super Extra 38gr. yellow box (medium vel.) and Aguila Interceptors (high vel).

When I'm done I'll have some nice graphs with standard deviations and stuff, but I figured may as well show some groupings for the T-bolt at least.

It was warm today, about 85 degrees, and a light sporadic breeze. I was shooting from the bench with a bipod up front and sandbags in the back. All T-bolt groups were 5 shots @ 50 yards, except for the last which was @ 100.

I am used to shooting my 77/22, which is not the most accurate 22 bolt gun. This photo is a picture of groups that are typical of my 77/22 @ 50 yards.


I have used quite a few lower priced ammo in that rifle, with the most consistent results being CCI blazers. So I figured it would be a good place to start on my T-bolt. To my surprise it hates them. They are of no use to this rifle.

A bit frustrated I pulled out the Wolf match ammunition. It was my first time using any type of "match" ammunition so I didn't really know what to expect.

Here is a picture of my first group with wolf:


I was very happy with this group, and subsequent groups showed the same results. I only brought a box of 50 with me so I switched ammunitions so my friend had some wolf to use on his rifle so we could get the chrony readings on his barrel length.

The next ammo I tried was the hyper speed Interceptors. The ammo was not accurate at all but I still got the chrony readings for later use.

Last was Aguila yellow box (it's just what I call it for short). This ammo was acting kind of funny. I would get 3 bullet holes touching, and then a flyer, and then a few more touching and then more flyers. What was interesting was that the flyers seemed to be grouped very nice and tight together. Looking at the chrony I think it was because of the velocity inconsistencies. It's a shame because for how cheap it is, it is very accurate in my rifle. Here is a pic of one of the groups that was flyer-free. Nearly as good as the wolf:


Someone was telling me at the range I may have better luck if I weigh my bullets and separate them based on the consistency of the weights. I might give it a try, but I am not sure if it is worth the effort.

So I keep chatting with this guy and he is talking about the silhouette smallbore matches they hold and it sounds like alot of fun. He tells me he's going home because he lives right around the corner and he'll bring his Anschutz to show to me and my friend. Really cool rifle. Anyway we both got carried away with him and before you know it we pulled out the chickens and started shooting them offhand, which I am TERRIBLE at by the way. This guy was pretty good. I don't remember what class he was in (he was explaining how your scores change your class, but I don't recall all the details). He had a go at my rifle and he says he likes it and it would be perfect for the competition (although the scope was not set up properly for him).

Anyway by this time I realize I am going to be late for work and I wanted to test accuracy at 100 yards. I had no more wolf ammunition because we were using it on the chickens (because they don't want the high vel. stuff damaging the targets), so I tried using the less consistent Aguila Yellow Box.
Ok so just saying again, I was rushed, but I think these groups would be better if I had more time, and even better still if I was using wolf match.


A good day at the range. I've thoroughly enjoyed shooting ever since I moved to 22's. Its so much more affordable. It's isn't a matter of running out of ammo (wolf being the one exception, but I won't let that happen again), it is a matter of running out of time.

Anyway I thought I'd post this. The T-bolt is a great rifle. More plastic than I'd like but it shoots much better than my 77/22 (for now, we will see when I test wolf match in that gun) and the action is so unique.

As for the chronograph results, when I finish getting all the data i will make another post with the results, but even with the holes in the data, it looks like the trend is for all ammos tested, velocity is decreasing as barrel length increases (big surprise right). I am still unsure if I want to shorten the 77/22 barrel, but if I can't manage any better accuracy out of it I am going to start to feel like I have nothing to lose. I am thinking maybe 17 inches, and then I can add another set of data to the pile.

Last edited by Norrick; July 1, 2010 at 02:31 AM.
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