Posted: 12/4/2025 4:18:43 PM EDT
[Last Edit: SpeyRod][Edited]
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I am starting to go down the rabbit hole of 22 elr. I have been watching the Mark and Sam videos. Before I jump into a new rifle I want to see what my accurate Savage MKII BV will do with some good ammo. Locally there is no high end ammo. I will need to order some online. I see Lapua and SK get good reviews. It seams like most lean more towards Lapua. What do you like for long range accuracy work? Thanks! |
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Welcome to the party! Think of this pursuit as finding what works best in your gun. You will want to try numerous types of ammo to find what shoots best in your rifle. I have guns that prefer certain lots of Match or Tenex. I also have a gun that shoots Lapua Center-X and Tenex into 4 moa groups. It prefers Eley Target and SK Pistol Match. When you find something that delivers the accuracy and precision you want, make sure you can buy that same lot of ammo in BULK. DM me if you have questions as you go. |
"Favorite", is that like "best"?  I use WOLF Match Extra, the old stuff, made before ELEY started producing the WOLF-brand ammo. For me, it was a good compromise between cost and performance. It shoots as well or better than I can. I say that because I have tried ELEY Tenex and LAPUA Midas and did not do any better with them, despite their much higher costs. Neither of my rifles exhibits any distinct preference for one type over another. Whenever I test, I see the same result for both rifles. Good ammo shoots well, cheap ammo does not. |
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My rifle really likes the Lapua Long Range. But, it’s high dollar. This is a 150 yard group. Attached File 50 yards Attached File |
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| Thanks everyone. I am going to our clubs board meeting Tuesday to propose putting on a 22 elr match. For now I am going to milk my old savage which is accurate. I will order a bunch of the above mentioned ammo and get to testing. I am thinking there will be a CZ in my future… |
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Originally Posted By SpeyRod: Thanks everyone. I am going to our clubs board meeting Tuesday to propose putting on a 22 elr match. For now I am going to milk my old savage which is accurate. I will order a bunch of the above mentioned ammo and get to testing. I am thinking there will be a CZ in my future… These matches are FUN! They have a different vibe than an XC match. Setting up and running a new match can take a surprising amount of work and time but can be fun with the right attitude. "Do you have targets for the match?", and so many other questions come to mind? What distance do you consider to be "ELR"? What distance are you going to propose? |
300yd Long Gong 22lr matches are becoming pretty popular. 8",6" and 4" gongs at 300yds. Shoot 10 rds at a time. Total of 50 rnds for a match. Score 1pt for a hit on the 8", 2pt for a hit on the 6" and 3pt for a hit on the 4". Start on the 8" and have to hit it and call to advance to the 6". Miss and have to go back to the 8" or hit and advance to the 4". Wind hold is the big thing with 22lr at that distance. Last time out, had 2 MIL dialed in for the constant wind and then watch for gusts. SK Long Range has been my go to ammo for long gong. And yes, a CZ is in your future.
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Originally Posted By Trollslayer: These matches are FUN! They have a different vibe than an XC match. Setting up and running a new match can take a surprising amount of work and time but can be fun with the right attitude. "Do you have targets for the match?", and so many other questions come to mind? What distance do you consider to be "ELR"? What distance are you going to propose? Once I get a 30moa rail and new scope I’ll decide on the range. We can go out to 600 but I suspect most shooters will struggle beyond 4-500. Working on the details as I go… |
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Originally Posted By HammerTech: 300yd Long Gong 22lr matches are becoming pretty popular. 8",6" and 4" gongs at 300yds. Shoot 10 rds at a time. Total of 50 rnds for a match. Score 1pt for a hit on the 8", 2pt for a hit on the 6" and 3pt for a hit on the 4". Start on the 8" and have to hit it and call to advance to the 6". Miss and have to go back to the 8" or hit and advance to the 4". Wind hold is the big thing with 22lr at that distance. Last time out, had 2 MIL dialed in for the constant wind and then watch for gusts. SK Long Range has been my go to ammo for long gong. And yes, a CZ is in your future. https://i.imgur.com/EQOFtbp.jpg I’ve been researching Desert Precision. May visit him while I am in AZ for Christmas. |
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Originally Posted By SpeyRod: Once I get a 30moa rail and new scope I’ll decide on the range. We can go out to 600 but I suspect most shooters will struggle beyond 4-500. Working on the details as I go… Offer a 200 yard stage. It will get the newbies warmed up. Subsequent stages can stretch it out from there. 600 yards is a long way for rimfire. Many will find it difficult to make hits, especially so if there is any wind (isn't there always). It can even be difficult to hear the hits, too. Swinging targets help but even they are not a perfect solution. I wonder what courses of fire the NRA sanctions. My use of Wolf Match Extra is based on use out to 200 yards. I've never tried it out beyond there, as my club doesn't have rimfire matches beyond that distance. Hmm,... maybe I will shoot some of the longer distance gongs next time I am there. We have targets every 100 yards from 200 to 1,000 yards, except nothing at 700 yards. It would be good to know how Match Extra compares to the ELEY Tenex groups posted by Hoser, above. |
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Originally Posted By Trollslayer: Offer a 200 yard stage. It will get the newbies warmed up. Subsequent stages can stretch it out from there. 600 yards is a long way for rimfire. Many will find it difficult to make hits, especially so if there is any wind (isn't there always). It can even be difficult to hear the hits, too. Swinging targets help but even they are not a perfect solution. I wonder what courses of fire the NRA sanctions. My use of Wolf Match Extra is based on use out to 200 yards. I've never tried it out beyond there, as my club doesn't have rimfire matches beyond that distance. Hmm,... maybe I will shoot some of the longer distance gongs next time I am there. We have targets every 100 yards from 200 to 1,000 yards, except nothing at 700 yards. It would be good to know how Match Extra compares to the ELEY Tenex groups posted by Hoser, above. I am thinking of doing two classes, a prs’ish course of fire and the long range. I think I can run them both in one day and attract more shooters. We will see. |
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Originally Posted By SpeyRod: I am thinking of doing two classes, a prs'ish course of fire and the long range. I think I can run them both in one day and attract more shooters. We will see. I did exactly that for about 2 years. I offered a prone match from 9:00-11:00 and a PRS/NRL match from 12:00-3:00. At first lots of people shot both. After 18 months I only had 7-8 people staying for the PRS/NRL portion. After 6 months of single digit shooters, I pulled the plug on the noon PRS. Then I added 20 targets to the belly match and started an hour later to let it warm up a little in the winter. I also added an optional PRS side match like a mover or a spinner to give shooters something to do if they are waiting. More shooters show up in the end and lots more happy people. Easier on my head also. |
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Originally Posted By Hoser: I did exactly that for about 2 years. I offered a prone match from 9:00-11:00 and a PRS/NRL match from 12:00-3:00. At first lots of people shot both. After 18 months I only had 7-8 people staying for the PRS/NRL portion. After 6 months of single digit shooters, I pulled the plug on the noon PRS. Then I added 20 targets to the belly match and started an hour later to let it warm up a little in the winter. I also added an optional PRS side match like a mover or a spinner to give shooters something to do if they are waiting. More shooters show up in the end and lots more happy people. Easier on my head also. Very good info. I asked one of our guys if he could build us a 22lr mover. That would be great fun? Takes me back to the county fair gallery days. |
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Originally Posted By SpeyRod: Very good info. I asked one of our guys if he could build us a 22lr mover. That would be great fun? Takes me back to the county fair gallery days. We used two. A Caldwell which we still use for side matches around 75-80 yards and a DM. The DM was good, but it is a huge expensive beast. |
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I am pretty much disgusted. I finally finished my home built custom 10/22 ....... everything is kidd other than the receiver and stock. It shoot's one hole 5 shot groups with Lapua center x at 50. Shoots like crap with everything else. aguila shoots as good as match, team etc  My brother who shoots benchrest 22 tested it for me to make sure i wasn't crazy....... that's where the center x came from. So now i have to stumble into basically unobtanium ammo. |
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Originally Posted By FVMC: Not to derail this thread but... Can you use 22 elr in a regular 22 lr? Say a 10/22 for example? Or is it an entirely different rifle/setup? TIA |
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Originally Posted By acman145acp: I am pretty much disgusted. I finally finished my home built custom 10/22 ....... everything is kidd other than the receiver and stock. It shoot's one hole 5 shot groups with Lapua center x at 50. Shoots like crap with everything else. aguila shoots as good as match, team etc My brother who shoots benchrest 22 tested it for me to make sure i wasn't crazy....... that's where the center x came from. So now i have to stumble into basically unobtanium ammo. What does "Shoots like crap" mean in terms of group size? Do you get a few fliers or are they all fliers? Which other ammo have you used? Have you tried any mid-grade match ammo? Something is likely wrong with the rifle. |
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Originally Posted By Trollslayer: What does "Shoots like crap" mean in terms of group size? Do you get a few fliers or are they all fliers? Which other ammo have you used? Have you tried any mid-grade match ammo? Something is likely wrong with the rifle. 3/4 to 1 1/8 Way to many fliers vs clustering up. Something is likely wrong with the rifle. Was his assessment also... eley tenex , match , team , semi auto benchrest precision, club , target, semi auto benchrest outlaw sk ,long range match, rifle match , biathlon , standard plus He also had 3 kinds of lapua don't remember the other two. |
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The search begins... No matter what I did, I could never get my 10-22 to shoot worth a damn. I sold it off cheaply. Keep searching, though, you may find your rifle's problem, or maybe not. That was a prodigious list of failed ammo tests. It IS the rifle. |
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Originally Posted By Trollslayer: The search begins... No matter what I did, I could never get my 10-22 to shoot worth a damn. I sold it off cheaply. Keep searching, though, you may find your rifle's problem, or maybe not. That was a prodigious list of failed ammo tests. It IS the rifle. The sick part is i could have bought a factory tikka or cz and 99% chance i would have had a better shooting gun. When i was young with good eyes i had old cheap ass marlin bolt actions that i could shoot better groups with open sights. (they probably worth a few dollars now) |
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You can introduce shooters with just about ANY .22 to "Mini Palma." If your range goes to 200 yards everyone shoots on the standard centerfire SR 200-yard target:  The aiming black is 13 whopping inches across. At 200 yards the wind affects a 40-grain .22 Long Rifle nearly the same as a 7.62mm bullet at 1000 yards. If you change the aiming black to 13-inch circular steel plates you get immediate feedback. This gets everyone interested in going further. It is challenging but not impossible and hooks people quickly -- with gear they already own. |
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Originally Posted By Sinister: You can introduce shooters with just about ANY .22 to "Mini Palma." If your range goes to 200 yards everyone shoots on the standard centerfire SR 200-yard target: https://www.pistoleer.com/shooting-targets/pics/sr.gif The aiming black is 13 whopping inches across. At 200 yards the wind affects a 40-grain .22 Long Rifle nearly the same as a 7.62mm bullet at 1000 yards. If you change the aiming black to 13-inch circular steel plates you get immediate feedback. This gets everyone interested in going further. It is challenging but not impossible and hooks people quickly -- with gear they already own. Excellent post, our Club used to run these matches. Now, they run an even easier, introductory match. The "gear they already own" resonates strongly with me. The shooting sports industry thrives on selling expensive stuff to shooters and seems to de-emphasize the actual shooting. Even the shooting tends to have equipment requirements (rules) that exclude potential participants. |