With all this rimfire talk lately I decided to get out four of my rifles and shoot a variety of ammo thru them to see how they compared. The results was very interesting and not at all what I anticipated.
THE RIFLES
Rifle number one was my Remington 552 BDL Speedmaster. What a classic! The Speedmaster was introduced as the Model 552A Speedmaster in 1959, and sold as such until 1988, when the "A" was dropped. The rifle features a tubular magazine and can handle .22 Short, .22 Long, and .22 Long Rifle rounds, even interchangeably.
Rifle two was my soon to be twenty year old Kimber of Oregon Model 82. This rifle has performed without a single hiccup for almost twenty years! It doesn't shoot anything badly and has a trigger that is to die for. The Model 82 is clip fed using .22LR ammo. Other .22RF ammo may of course be fed one at a time. Quality never goes out of style and the Kimber is just as appealing today as it was when purchased.
Rifle three was my Marlin 7000T auto. This is a nice little auto with competition in mind and a red, woodgrain, and blue laminate stock. The rifle has a rail under the forend and has a stock that is adjustable. The rifle has a 10-shot clip and is designed to only feed .22LR ammo. This model has now been replace with the similar, non-adjustable synthetic-stocked Model 7000.
Rifle four was my new CZ-USA CZ 452 Silhouette. The Silhouette was designed to meet the requirements of the IMSSA for small bore Silhouette competition. This is the same basic rifle as a CZ 452 American, except Silhouette features a synthetic stock and blued finish on all metal surfaces. The rifle has a 5-round magazine and is designed to feed .22LR ammo but like the Kimber, shorts and longs may be fed one at a time.
THE AMMO
I wanted to pick out four different types of .22LR ammo and then shoot each of the four thru each rifle! I picked two target-types of ammo and then two types typical of what one would pick up at their local retailer. I ALSO wanted to pick ammo I KNEW wasn't favored by any of the four rifles. The four types of ammo I wound up shooting was Federal Lightning .22 Long Rifle High Velocity 40gr solid, Remington .22LR High Velocity Golden Bullet 36gr hollow point, CCI Green Tag .22LR competition ammo 40gr solid point, and Remington Target .22LR Standard velocity 40gr solid point.
THE SCOPES/MOUNTS
The Kimber uses the same mounts that I bought with the gun, Kimber/Warne mounts. The Kimber wore the lowest magnification scope, a Leupold 2-7 RF Special. The other three rifles all used the same brand of mounts, BLK. BKL mounts, IMO, are the best mount available for use with 3/8 inch/11mm .22-type dovetails. The 7000T used the BKL 260 with a Swift 6-18X44 scope. What a GREAT scope for the money! The Remington 552 used the BKL 257 mount with a Leupold 3-9EFR in place while the CZ again used the BKL 257s with a Leupold 6-20X40EFR.
THE RESULTS
How many of you picked the 7000T to be the best shooter? How many picked the CZ? I'm betting most of you picked one of those two! How about ammo? SURELY the CCI Green Tag was the most accurate, RIGHT!
I fired 3, 5-shot groups of each ammo type thru each rifle at 50 yards. All FOUR rifles actually shot very good, good enough to cleanly kill a squirrel at that range. Keep in mind in no way is this the best a particular rifle will shoot with its preferred ammo. Three of the four rifles will shoot groups in the .50s with the ammo it really likes.
The Marlin 7000T turned in the largest average groups of all ammo shot. Its four ammo twelve group average was 1.12 inches. The Federal Lightning ammo turned in the best average of .93 inches while the least accurate bullet was the Remington hollow point, 1.37 inches. The small group was with the CCI Green Tag .74 inch, while the large group was with the Remington hollow-point, 1.79 inches.
The next most accurate rifle was the Remington 552. I was expecting this rifle to come in dead last! For a two-piece stocked rifle with only a 9X scope, I think this rifle really performed! Its four ammo twelve group average was 1.00 inch exactly. The Remington Target ammo turned in the best average accuracy of .92 inches while the least accurate average was the Federals at 1.09 inches. The small group was with the Remington Target at .65 while the large group was with Federals at 1.21.
The SECOND most accurate rifle..was the.....CZ 452. And the surprise..it wasn't significantly more accurate than the 552 Remington. The CZs four ammo twelve shot group average was .98 inches. The Federal Lightning turned in the best average at .79 inches while the largest average was with the Remington Target at 1.16 inches. The best single group was with the Federals at .45 inches while the Remington Target shot the worst group at 1.42 inches. I fully expected this rifle to come out on top of the others. It even had the highest magnification scope. Yet the top honors go to the......................
Kimber of Oregon model 82! Quality never goes out of style and accuracy doesn't either! Even being handicapped with the lowest magnification scope, the Kimber simply out shot the others. The Kimbers average group size of all groups shot was .82 inches. The Federal Lightning had the best average of .71 inch but the Green Tags were right there with an average of .72. The largest average was with the Remington Target at 1.00 flat. The small group was with the Federals at .63 while the large group was with the Remington Target at 1.32 inches. What would this rifle have done with the 20X Leupold?
Ammo....The average group size of each type of ammo was:
Federal Lightning- .88 inch
CCI Green Tag- .90 inch
Remington Target- 1.07 inch
Remington hollow point- 1.07 inch
THE RIFLES
Rifle number one was my Remington 552 BDL Speedmaster. What a classic! The Speedmaster was introduced as the Model 552A Speedmaster in 1959, and sold as such until 1988, when the "A" was dropped. The rifle features a tubular magazine and can handle .22 Short, .22 Long, and .22 Long Rifle rounds, even interchangeably.
Rifle two was my soon to be twenty year old Kimber of Oregon Model 82. This rifle has performed without a single hiccup for almost twenty years! It doesn't shoot anything badly and has a trigger that is to die for. The Model 82 is clip fed using .22LR ammo. Other .22RF ammo may of course be fed one at a time. Quality never goes out of style and the Kimber is just as appealing today as it was when purchased.
Rifle three was my Marlin 7000T auto. This is a nice little auto with competition in mind and a red, woodgrain, and blue laminate stock. The rifle has a rail under the forend and has a stock that is adjustable. The rifle has a 10-shot clip and is designed to only feed .22LR ammo. This model has now been replace with the similar, non-adjustable synthetic-stocked Model 7000.
Rifle four was my new CZ-USA CZ 452 Silhouette. The Silhouette was designed to meet the requirements of the IMSSA for small bore Silhouette competition. This is the same basic rifle as a CZ 452 American, except Silhouette features a synthetic stock and blued finish on all metal surfaces. The rifle has a 5-round magazine and is designed to feed .22LR ammo but like the Kimber, shorts and longs may be fed one at a time.
THE AMMO
I wanted to pick out four different types of .22LR ammo and then shoot each of the four thru each rifle! I picked two target-types of ammo and then two types typical of what one would pick up at their local retailer. I ALSO wanted to pick ammo I KNEW wasn't favored by any of the four rifles. The four types of ammo I wound up shooting was Federal Lightning .22 Long Rifle High Velocity 40gr solid, Remington .22LR High Velocity Golden Bullet 36gr hollow point, CCI Green Tag .22LR competition ammo 40gr solid point, and Remington Target .22LR Standard velocity 40gr solid point.
THE SCOPES/MOUNTS
The Kimber uses the same mounts that I bought with the gun, Kimber/Warne mounts. The Kimber wore the lowest magnification scope, a Leupold 2-7 RF Special. The other three rifles all used the same brand of mounts, BLK. BKL mounts, IMO, are the best mount available for use with 3/8 inch/11mm .22-type dovetails. The 7000T used the BKL 260 with a Swift 6-18X44 scope. What a GREAT scope for the money! The Remington 552 used the BKL 257 mount with a Leupold 3-9EFR in place while the CZ again used the BKL 257s with a Leupold 6-20X40EFR.
THE RESULTS
How many of you picked the 7000T to be the best shooter? How many picked the CZ? I'm betting most of you picked one of those two! How about ammo? SURELY the CCI Green Tag was the most accurate, RIGHT!
I fired 3, 5-shot groups of each ammo type thru each rifle at 50 yards. All FOUR rifles actually shot very good, good enough to cleanly kill a squirrel at that range. Keep in mind in no way is this the best a particular rifle will shoot with its preferred ammo. Three of the four rifles will shoot groups in the .50s with the ammo it really likes.
The Marlin 7000T turned in the largest average groups of all ammo shot. Its four ammo twelve group average was 1.12 inches. The Federal Lightning ammo turned in the best average of .93 inches while the least accurate bullet was the Remington hollow point, 1.37 inches. The small group was with the CCI Green Tag .74 inch, while the large group was with the Remington hollow-point, 1.79 inches.
The next most accurate rifle was the Remington 552. I was expecting this rifle to come in dead last! For a two-piece stocked rifle with only a 9X scope, I think this rifle really performed! Its four ammo twelve group average was 1.00 inch exactly. The Remington Target ammo turned in the best average accuracy of .92 inches while the least accurate average was the Federals at 1.09 inches. The small group was with the Remington Target at .65 while the large group was with Federals at 1.21.
The SECOND most accurate rifle..was the.....CZ 452. And the surprise..it wasn't significantly more accurate than the 552 Remington. The CZs four ammo twelve shot group average was .98 inches. The Federal Lightning turned in the best average at .79 inches while the largest average was with the Remington Target at 1.16 inches. The best single group was with the Federals at .45 inches while the Remington Target shot the worst group at 1.42 inches. I fully expected this rifle to come out on top of the others. It even had the highest magnification scope. Yet the top honors go to the......................
Kimber of Oregon model 82! Quality never goes out of style and accuracy doesn't either! Even being handicapped with the lowest magnification scope, the Kimber simply out shot the others. The Kimbers average group size of all groups shot was .82 inches. The Federal Lightning had the best average of .71 inch but the Green Tags were right there with an average of .72. The largest average was with the Remington Target at 1.00 flat. The small group was with the Federals at .63 while the large group was with the Remington Target at 1.32 inches. What would this rifle have done with the 20X Leupold?
Ammo....The average group size of each type of ammo was:
Federal Lightning- .88 inch
CCI Green Tag- .90 inch
Remington Target- 1.07 inch
Remington hollow point- 1.07 inch
Very informative and interesting!
