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Old August 2, 2019, 05:01 PM   #1
unclejack37
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Ruger 10/22 set up for 100 yards

I'm trying to set up my Ruger 10/22 for a 100 yard Senior Olympics Tournament next week. The 100 yard range that I use is under construction but I did a little work on 22 LR Ballistics Charts. For ammo I'm using CCI mini-mag 22LR HP. according to the chart the 36 grain bullet will drop -5.6 inches over 100 yds. According to the ballistic chart there is no bullet drop out to 50 yards.

So, if I got this right, when I'm at my indoor range of 25 yards If I aim at the center bulls eye and strike the paper 5.6 inches higher than where I aimed I should be good for a 100 yards. Of course that means everything else is equal. I know I should have done this earlier but softball was in full swing. Here's the chart I used if anyone is interested.
https://www.mcarbo.com/22LR-Ballistics-Chart

I hope this gets me on the paper.
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Old August 2, 2019, 05:09 PM   #2
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Your chart says they have zeroed at 50 yards, not 25 yards.
Unless you know the adjustment you need from 25 to 50 yards, you won't know if you will be OK.

With a slower Lapua Center-X match bullet, I use 6.5 inches to adjust from 50 to 100 yards.

I think you'll find that Mini-mags will have transitioned through the transition zone for the speed of sound between 25 and 50 yards.
Most competitors use match bullets because their muzzle velocity is already below the speed of sound and the transition wobble won't effect the accuracy.
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Old August 2, 2019, 05:33 PM   #3
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As Rimfire5 said, that chart shows a 50 yard zero for all cartridges. It is not really correct to say that there is no bullet drop at 50 yards. Since the rifle is zeroed at 50 yards, there will be no drop below the line of sight at 50 yards.

The height of your optic or sights above the bore will enter into the calculations, but I think that you will find that for 22lr, 50 yards will actually be your far zero. The near zero will be just beyond 20 yards (21-22) and maximum ordinate will be somewhere around 36 yards. So by the time the projectile recrosses the sight line at 50 yards, it will already have passed its maximum rise above the sight line and have dropped a little over a quarter inch from maximum ordinate to recross the sight line.

If you are unable to zero at 50 yards, I would zero at 21-22 yards to get a 50 yard zero. With that zero I would expect you to hit between 6 1/4 and 6 1/2" low at 100 yards.

If you zero at 25 yards, that will be your near zero. Far zero will be around 44 yards give or take a yard or two, your drop will be less than 1/4" at 50 yards, and between 6 1/2 and 6 3/4" at 100 yards.
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Old August 2, 2019, 05:34 PM   #4
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I do a bit of plinking with .22LR and second the suggestion to use standard velocity ammo- as it is way more consistent once you get to 100 yards

IIRC my rimfires are 2" high at 25 yards to zero at 100 yards. I'd have to go double check though.

My Anschuzt 1710 is 5.5" high at 50 to zero at 100 yards, but my 1416 is 6" high to get the same zero at 100 yards with the same ammo.

YMMV
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Old August 2, 2019, 06:23 PM   #5
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unclejack37,

If you look in the ballistics chart that you posted the link for, they have a link within that article for a 22 LR bullet trajectory chart. If you take a look at that it will give you a pretty fair idea of what you need at 25 yds in order to be on at 100. It is more likely about 1.25 to 1.5 inches high based on the trajectory data for the mini mags you are using. The other posts suggested standard velocity ammo to improve ballistics throughout the trajectory of your bullet, and that is a good idea. I have a lot of fun shooting my CZ 455 at 100 yards, and it helps to use standard velocity even though there is more drop, because the bullet flight is more stable throughout. Keep in mind, setting your scope at 25 yards to achieve a 100 yard zero will likely be more ballpark than perfect, but it will not take much to final tweak it in. The Senior Olympics Tournament sounds fun! Hope you enjoy it.
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Old August 2, 2019, 07:12 PM   #6
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I agree with other to use standard velocity .22, not high velocity Mini Mags. That's good ammo for general use, but in a competition at 100 yards, I question if it will remain over the supersonic threshold until it reaches the target. Standard velocity .22 is subsonic from the moment it leaves the barrel, so it never has to go thru the transition zone and improves accuracy.

I would also advocate using match ammo like Eley or SK. I find SK shoots better in my Ruger Charger, but CCI Standard Velocity shoots the best and is also the cheapest.

What scope are you using?
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Old August 2, 2019, 07:37 PM   #7
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Quote:
TruthTellers wrote:
I agree with other to use standard velocity .22, not high velocity Mini Mags. That's good ammo for general use, but in a competition at 100 yards, I question if it will remain over the supersonic threshold until it reaches the target.
Yep, Just ran some trajectories.
Like TTs speculated - CCI minimags won't stay super-sonic to 100 yds.
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Old August 2, 2019, 07:38 PM   #8
Drm50
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If you are going to shoot 100yds why don't you just sight in at that range? Tables are fine and lab conditions out of test gun. That gives you decent idea of what to expect. I have targets to rough sight 22s in for 40yds at 25'. It saves time and ammo for final tune up but is not a substitute for fine tuning at 40yds.
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Old August 2, 2019, 07:50 PM   #9
RaySendero
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Quote:
unclejack37 wrote:
.....
So, if I got this right, when I'm at my indoor range of 25 yards If I aim at the center bulls eye and strike the paper 5.6 inches higher than where I aimed I should be good for a 100 yards.
Nope don't work like that.
Try 1.8" high at 25 yds for cci minimags to be on at 100 yds.
2.5" high if you switch to sub-sonics.
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Old August 2, 2019, 08:50 PM   #10
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I get far better accuracy in my 10/22 with standard velocity Eley, SK, or Wolf.
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Old August 2, 2019, 08:57 PM   #11
David R
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I read all the posts. I use target velocity ammo. For CCI SV or Eley Target, I need to go up 7 inches from my 50 yard zero which is the same as my 50 FEET zero. Don't get me wrong, If I am on at 50 yards, I will be on at 50 feet. Not the other way around.

We shoot silhouettes.

As far as SV or HV, just shoot some groups and you will know what to do. Hint, SV most always wins. Our problem is the SV doesn't always knock the steel down. So I had my wife shoot groups of both at 100 yards. She stuck with SV.

I understand your 100 yard range is out, Best of luck.

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Old August 2, 2019, 09:02 PM   #12
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I have a 10/22 set up for precision rimfire events. As others have noted, hi-velocity isn't ideal for the best accuracy at 100 yards.

I use CCI standard, which groups the best in my rifle. I've also tested more expensive loads. CCI makes their green tag competition product, which is CCI standard that has been checked to ensure consistency. Therefore you can practice with CCI standard, and compete with green tag.
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Old August 3, 2019, 08:58 AM   #13
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Don't forget the windage,

We have a bunch of 22 lr rifle shoots at the club I belong to. A lot of the new competitors fully understand the bullet drop concept and compensate, but never actually check their rifles at 100 yds. A ragged one hole group at 25 yds or even 50 yds can be off by several inches, right or left, at 100. If you're shooting a 2 inch target, or a small silhouette at 100 yds, you can drive yourself crazy missing targets because that ragged hole at 25 is now 3 plus inches off at 100.

Long range 22lr competitions are a hoot. The one that most guys seem to like best is the multi distance set ups where you have to shoot targets from the bench, in varying sequences at distances from 25 to 150 yards in a set amount of rounds and time limit. This match forces you to really learn how your rifle, scope and ammo choice work together as a system.

Good luck and enjoy the experience.

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Old August 3, 2019, 09:45 AM   #14
David R
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10 mile an hour wind can blow your 22 4" at 100 yards.

Check my memory, but its a LOT.

Sv is less affected by the wind than HV

We have an offhand match on Saturday morning. Any rifle Any sight. I used my Anschutz 1416 a few when its not windy. I do as well as centerfire. I usually shoot a thumbhole stock bolt action 223.

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Old August 3, 2019, 10:45 AM   #15
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I’ve just done a fairly extensive set of accuracy testing in my 10/22.

For me, minimags were not in the running at 50 yards.
The guys at Rimfire Central agree with me that CCI SV is no longer the “no brainer best ammo punching far above it’s price point” that it used to be. Now you have excellent lots and “just better than bulk ammo” lots.

Aguila SV shoots best in my barrel, beating the CCI but perhaps it depends on the batch.

After putting about 25 rounds of Eley Edge down the barrel, the snotty wet goopy stuff settled out and was strikingly more accurate than anything for me. Like... groups were half the size, under 3/4 inch outside hole to outside hole groups of 10. That might not sound that accurate, but it’s darned good for my $200 carbine that’s been free floated and bedded with only a 4x scope and Ruger upscale trigger for upgrades. The Eley costs more per round than my hand loaded 30-06 plinker rounds.

RWS rifle match isn’t as dear, but still isn’t cheap. I got a whole batch on sale after finding it clobbered all my budget ammo. Not as good as the Eley, but half the price.

Without a couple weekends of testing for accuracy, my advice would be to use CCI SV or Aguila (regular old standard stuff) as both seem to be solid better than average rounds. The mini mags... unless you have a barrel that specifically loves it, the odds are not in your favor.

These are results with my particular stock ruger carbine 16” and 18” barrels. Your mileage may vary.

Zeroed at 50 yards, expect on the order of 5” additional drop at 100 yards. Ballpark.
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Old August 3, 2019, 02:02 PM   #16
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I shoot mine out to 200-250 yards and the 36 gr Mini-Mags are what I use. I CAN get ever so slightly better accuracy with low speed target ammo at 50 yards, but they are just too slow at 100-200. The Mini-Mags will shoot MOA out to 200 (with no wind) and that is good enough for what I do.

And the drops are so much that I don't think I have enough elevation adjustment on my scope to get me to 200. Even at 50 yards the target ammo is 2" lower than the Mini-Mags with the same zero.

I have one of my 10-22's set up with a Leupold CDS scope. I zero at 50 yards and move up 6 clicks to be zeroed at 100. For 200 I have to twist one full revolution + 6 more clicks. I often place clay targets on the bank behind the 200 yard targets with ranges between 220-250 yards where it becomes a guessing game as to elevation.

I have other 22's set up with either a long range dot type scope or standard duplex. I don't shoot those at 200, but at 100 they do just fine. The dots are calibrated for most center fire cartridges to be zeroed at 100, with each dot working for 200, 300, etc. I zero at 50 and the 1st dot works out almost perfectly at 100. On the scope with a plain duplex cross hair I simply use the point where the thick post narrows down to thin as my aiming point at 100. It is close enough.

Unfortunately there is no substitute for actually getting to the range and getting your rifle zeroed at the ranges you plan to shoot.

A couple of things. I can still shoot in a mild breeze at 100 and do OK. At 200, if it isn't a dead calm it is almost a waste of time. And I don't have a standard 10/22. This is the one I much prefer. Much more accurate than the standard carbines.

https://ruger.com/products/1022Sport...eets/1237.html
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Old August 3, 2019, 04:22 PM   #17
David R
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2 MOA @ 200 WITH MINI MAGS!
How much for that rifle?
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Old August 3, 2019, 05:50 PM   #18
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Quote:
For ammo I'm using CCI mini-mag 22LR HP. according to the chart the 36 grain bullet will drop -5.6 inches over 100 yds. According to the ballistic chart there is no bullet drop out to 50 yards.
Even CCI Mini-Mags are subject to the law of gravity. What the chart says is that the rifle is zeroed at 50 yds, so there is 5.6" of drop between 50 and 100 yds.

Think of a arc with the gun at one apex and the target at the far end. To zero your rifle for 100 yds, sight it in 2.9" high at 50 yds. At 25 yds, you would zero it 1.45" high. At 75 yds, you would zero it 1.45" high. Pretty simple.
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Old August 3, 2019, 08:05 PM   #19
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My ballistics calculator says with Mini-mags (if you are zeroed at 25 yards):
At 50 yards, the drop would be 0.36
At 75 yards, the drop would be 2.56.
At 100 yards, the drop would be 8.02.

If you zeroed the Mini-Mags at 50 yards,
At 25 yards, the drop would be +0.18
At 75 yards, the drop would be 2.02
At 100 yards, the drop would be 6.17.

If you choose to use match ammo with a MV of 1070 fps (Most Eley, Lapua or RWS) and you zeroed at 25 yards,
At 50 yards the drop would be 0.85
At 75 yards the drop would be 3.16
At 100 yards, the drop would be 10.79

For match ammo, zeroed at 50 yards:
At 25 yards the drop would be +.043
At 75 yards the drop would be 2.74
At 100 yards, the drop would be 7.68

I generally have found that for good match ammo zeroed at 50 yards, the drop is more like 7 inches at 100 yards. That is what I dial in when I move my targets out from 50 to 100 yards and need only a click or two on my T-36 Weaver 1/8 MOA target turrets to get the POI right on the POA.

With 3 range buddies over the years, we have shot 17 different rifles with 58 different ammos and shot a total of over 50,000 rounds or 10,000 groups, all carefully measured and recorded.

From that data, for good match ammos when shot in really accurate rifles like Cooper and Win 52C bolt actions, and Kidd semi autos using ammo that cost from $8+ to $20+ a box, the 5-round groups with the best ammos and the best rifles average from 0.487 to .329 at 50 yards respectively from cheaper to most expensive ammos with an overall average of 0.430.
The average multiple of group size is 2.08x between for group averages from 50 to 100 yards.

With match ammos, you pay for the quality control during the manufacturing process and the really expensive ammo really does shoot better, especially at 100 yards. I don't think it is worth the added cost unless you are in serious competition, but the data shows that there is an improvement in accuracy, especially at 100 yards. At 25 yards, just about all the good match ammos shoot in one hole. At 100 yards, the $26 a box ammos shoot around 0.6 to 0.7 inch 5-round groups. We only shot the really expensive stuff in the 4 most accurate rifles. The $8 a box ammos shot from 0.85 to 1.0 inch groups on average at 100 yards depending upon the rifle.



Interestingly, Mini-Mags average 0.775 for 5-round groups at 50 yards based upon a 63 group sample with the best rifles. That would mean you could expect 100 yard group averages around 1.616 inches with a match grade bolt action rifle.

A factory Ruger 10-22 Target model averaged 0.509 for the same match bullets and over 1 inch with Mini-Mags at 50 yards.
Our 10-22 rifles, that are so tuned that only the receiver remains, averaged 0.475 with those same match bullets.

The 10-22 off the shelf Target model shooting Mini-Mags would have averaged over 2 inches at 100 yards if we bothered to waste the ammo shooting them at 100 yards.

I doubt Mini-Mags are going to win any medals with a factory stock 10-22.
However, the standard 10-22 target model with match bullets might average slightly over an inch and if you can read the wind, you might do pretty well.
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Old August 3, 2019, 08:05 PM   #20
RaySendero
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unclejack37,

I visited CCI's website for some info for running those trajectories.
I noticed that CCI Velocitors looked like they would stay super-sonic to 100 yds.
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Old August 6, 2019, 01:22 PM   #21
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I shot some CCI Velocitors through my CZ 455 this morning. Got a 1.75” group at 100; nothing impressive in the way of accuracy...will give them a run in the 10/22 one of these days when I have more time. Best 100 yard with the CZ came from Eley, RWS and Federal range pack ammo. Federal range pack shoots pretty consistent 1.25” or less...gotta love that from cheap ammo. Eley gives around .75 - 1.0, and RWS around 1.0. I can shoot Federal range pack with a smile...
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Old August 6, 2019, 01:41 PM   #22
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I would not expect a Ruger 10/22 with stock barrel to get better than 2 MOA accuracy and sometimes not that good. Yes, I know some people get lucky and buy a rifle with a stock barrel that is more accurate.

As far as non-match commercial ammunition goes, my 10/22s seem to do best with CCI 40 grain standard velocity with Eley Target 40 grain and Aguila Super Extra High Velocity 40 grain close behind. But I seldom shoot at 100 yards and if I do I am only ringing steel.
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Old August 6, 2019, 07:38 PM   #23
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Quote:
Originally Posted by stinkypete
Without a couple weekends of testing for accuracy, my advice would be to use CCI SV or Aguila (regular old standard stuff) as both seem to be solid better than average rounds.
I've found Aguila SV to be accurate (not the most accurate, but nearly as accurate) as any of my other ammunition across several rifles, including some AR22s and 10/22s with Feddersen and Green Mountain barrels.
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Old August 8, 2019, 02:53 PM   #24
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Wow, A lot of information. Thanks guys the Tournament is 2 days away I'll post the results. Thanks again
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Old August 8, 2019, 05:42 PM   #25
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I shot .22 sil. Zeroed at 50 yards, up 28 clicks at 100 yards(7" elevation). this will give you the approx. zero at 100 yards with standard velocity ammo. You may need to fine tune a bit on elevation and windage. If the wind is blowing, good luck. Standard ammo is supposed to buck the wind better than high velocity. I never checked this as we were required to shoot std vel ammo.
To be dead on by using info on the chart is highly unlikely.
You gonna have to shoot it at 100 to confirm.
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