Ammo suggestions for a new Mark II BV?

[kimberkook]

I'm supposed to take delivery of my first Savage rimfire rifle this coming Tuesday, a Mark II BV. I intend to shoot it at some paper targets @ 50 yards the next day. I have four varieties of ammo: CCI SV, SK Std+, SK Match, and RWS Target (orange box). Any predictions as to which will perform best in a Savage chamber?

[flangster]

All have done OK in my BVTS -- better as the price went up. Some of them are on this target here:

http://benmarks.smugmug.com/Other/Target/i-SZRKcBF/0/L/Savage%20Recrown%20-%20First%20Target_SK%20StdPLUS-L.jpg

This was a pretty random sampling . . . I might try a box of this and a box of that rather than 5 shots here and 10 shots there as I did above. As you know, I took a hacksaw and crowning tool to that rifle. Others have had better luck with their Savage .22's out of the box. Another winter project is to pillar and bed that stock. The inletting on the newer model Savages has me scratching my head a little, but a some research has turned up interesting approaches with aluminum c-rail in the forearm. Bottom line though: I like your initial ammo choices.

[justinp61]

My BTVLSS shoots Eley Tenex just slightly better than CCI SV.

50 yards.
http://i1187.photobucket.com/albums/z399/justinp61/001-1_zps4f6d2d7d.jpg (http://s1187.photobucket.com/user/justinp61/media/001-1_zps4f6d2d7d.jpg.html)

[lee1000]

I had good luck with Ely Target and CCI Green Tag, both ~0.950 at 100 yards.

[Mozella]

....... snip............Any predictions as to which will perform best in a Savage chamber?

Sad to say, let price be your guide. The more you spend for 22 rimfire ammo, the better it will perform, with few exceptions.

There's no such thing as "cheap, good stuff". Take a look at the guys who compete in rimfire matches. NONE of them show up with a "Remington Bucket O' Bullets" bought on sale at Midway.

[Kilroy]

I have only tried Federal and CCI ammo in my BTVLSS, both standard and high velocity. My rifle shoots the best with CCI Mini Mags out of all the ammo I've tried so far.

[Lorenzo]

Definitley shoot CCI SV the most in my FVSR. When I shoot matches I use Eley Edge, just shrinks the groups a lil and cuts back the fliers. Same gun has shot many sub minute groups with mini mags and other supers. Practice with CCI sv then move to Eley, Lapua or another higher end make for the stuff that counts.

[kimberkook]

Thanks, everyone, for sharing your ammo prefs. I got my Mark II-BV today, mounted a 12x scope, and braved some cold wind and chilly temps to do a brief ammo test @ 50 yds. I was too lazy to retrieve the target for pics, and I was really too cold to hold steady, but I think I'm going to love this gun. :-) All the ammo I tried--- RWS Target orange, SK Std+ and CCI-SV, was trying to go in the same hole if I didn't interfere. SK and CCI were great! This is my first experience with an Accu-trigger and I'm pleasantly surprised how light and crisp it is. Overall I'm very impressed with the design, fit and finish of the Mark II. Ammo cycles flawlessly and there's no slop in the bolt. That's very refreshing to see in a relatively inexpensive bolt action. These ammo tests are going to be fun :-) More later. ---

23992400

[flangster]

Nice target! The only trigger modification I have done is to put in the Apache kit. Looks like you got a shooter!

[Zero333]

RWS-50 and Eley Match is what I feed my MK-II and I shoot it at 109 yards only so all I can say is that those 2 types of ammo average about 1 moa.

I've had plenty of 5 shot groups around 1/2 moa and a few sub 1/2 moa, but when I average all the 5 shot groups I've ever shot with that ammo it would be about 1 moa at 109 yards.

109 yards (100 meters) groups

RWS-50 or Eley Match (can't remember which one on these pics)
http://i464.photobucket.com/albums/rr8/Zero333/IMAG1000_zpsnt4pdplo.jpg

http://i464.photobucket.com/albums/rr8/Zero333/IMAG0997_zpsforrwg5c.jpg

[kimberkook]

Zero333, those are nice targets! If I ever run out of SK and CCI the Eley will be on my buy list. I haven't shot it in rifles for several years, but I remember the higher grades (Tenex and EPS Match black) did well in my Kimbers. Club and others not nearly as well. Back then I would cringe paying $7/box for Tenex when I could get SK Match or Wolf ME for half as much and MT for a third. :-) As for RWS, I have some Target Rifle (orange box) and a few Match Rifle (yellow box) and they haven't done as well as the SK and CCI in my BV. Haven't tried Lapua Midas or Center-X yet. It's too cold right now and while I have the shakes I don't want to waste it :-O

[Zero333]

Zero333, those are nice targets! If I ever run out of SK and CCI the Eley will be on my buy list. I haven't shot it in rifles for several years, but I remember the higher grades (Tenex and EPS Match black) did well in my Kimbers. Club and others not nearly as well. Back then I would cringe paying $7/box for Tenex when I could get SK Match or Wolf ME for half as much and MT for a third. :-) As for RWS, I have some Target Rifle (orange box) and a few Match Rifle (yellow box) and they haven't done as well as the SK and CCI in my BV. Haven't tried Lapua Midas or Center-X yet. It's too cold right now and while I have the shakes I don't want to waste it :-O

RWS-50 and ELEY Match are extremely expensive but great for serious practice, although they don't shoot as good in the Winter at all.
Eley Team is also another good one and doesn't cost as much as the Match but still not cheap.

One thing I've noticed with my MK-II heavy barrel, is the first few shots on a cold bore always go higher. First shot goes like 2" high, second shot like 1.5" high, and by the 5th shot they start to group.

The RWS Club (orange/black box) is not that bad and in the winter freezing cold it shoots better than the RWS-50 and the Eley Match. If I wasn't happy with the RWS Club I would not of bough 3 cases of it ! I also have some RWS Target rifle (yellow), but didn't find it any better than the Club

In case you have not come across this article, it helped me select (more like gave me confidence in trying) the expensive stuff.
http://www.accurateshooter.com/guns-of-week/22lr-rimfire-ammo-comparison-test/

I still have not tried any of the Lapua top stuff nor Eley Tennex, but if I come across them I will. For now I have easy access to ELEY Match at the local gun store so I'm not going out of my way to try the lapua Midas and others.

[kimberkook]

Well, I've had three brief shooting sessions with my Mark II BV and I'm still all smiles. http://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/images/smilies/smile.gif There's nothing elegant or graceful about this rifle, but it's sturdy and it shoots great, and that's why I got it. I particularly like its cold shot character. My first shot is right on target; no warm up required. SK Std+ and CCI-SV are its choice of ammo over the similar cost RWS orange and yellow box. Haven't tried any Eley or Lapua Center-X and probably won't until it warms up some. I'll post some targets then when my hands thaw out. I want to show what the rifle can do, not what I can't do...http://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/images/smilies/rolleyes.gif