Silhouette ammo

22 Long Rifle ammo is finicky. Tell us all about it here.
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slickab
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Silhouette ammo

Post by slickab »

Fun match Saturday, second bank of buffalo's at 100 meters. Knocked down 2,3 and on 4 heard the distinct ring of lead on steel, yet it did not fall. Two scorers said well you hit it but it did not fall. I could see the black spot at the top of its shoulder through my scope. Then for some reason I shot the same target again, knocking it down, but now out of sequence. Now I have just taken 2 shots and gotten no points. Wound up with a 46 out of 50 and 4th place. We had a 50, a 49 and a 48. The 50 shot iron sights.

Now the problem as I see it is the 40 grain SK standard+ at 1050 fps advertised muzzle velocity has cost me points by hitting but not knocking the target down at 100 meters. This is the second time this has happened to me. I could not ask for better accuracy or consistency from this ammo. But I would like to find a comparable 40 grain cartridge that leaves the muzzle closer to the speed of sound, barely remaining sub-sonic to avoid being buffeted around when dropping below the speed of sound. Maybe 1115 +/- . Does anyone have any ideas? Thanks, Ab
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Re: Silhouette ammo

Post by Jerry G »

I'm not sure kicking up the velocity is going to help that much. I do have some Eley Club that is leaving the muzzle at 1090. That is an average of 10 shots. The following is from Dan Theodore. I hope he doesn't mind if I put this up again.

Now, onto the high velocity ammo testing. The CCI MiniMag had an average MV of 1274 fps and a far average velocity of 1009 fps or about a velocity loss of 265 fps, remember the number you were supposed to remember, 116 fps for the subsonic ammo delta? These numbers indicate an average BC over the course of fire of only 0.129, WOW!!! Faster is not necessarily better. I believe these tests translate to our sport very well. It is my belief that much confusion has slipped into match shooting that is based on high power exterior ballistics. Remember BC translates directly to wind deflection. The higher the BC the lower the wind deflection.

To summarize:

AMMO----------------MV--------100yd Vel------BC
Eley Match Extra----1058--------943-------------0.181
Eley EPS--------------1069--------950-------------0.184
CCI---------------------1274-------1009------------0.129

I hear and I forget,
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I do and I understand.

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jneihouse
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Re: Silhouette ammo

Post by jneihouse »

FWIW, I have shot a LOT of smallbore rams and have seen even more hit through the spotting scope by a lot of shooters and have never saw one truely "rang"....seen a few turned and a few that wobbled from a bullet barely grazing it but never saw one fail to fall when you get a full bullet on it anywhere and 99.9% of the rams I've saw fall fell to 40 grain target ammo, running anywhere from 1060 to 1080 fps....maybe buffaloes are heavier than smallbore rams.....

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Jason
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Re: Silhouette ammo

Post by Jason »

John,
I'm assuming a "fun match" here isn't shot at the normal 1/5 scale smallbore rams just judging by the scores and other details. I'm guessing it's probably the 1/2 scale smallbore cowboy rams, and I have rung a fair amount of those with standard velocity ammo, especially Wolf/SK in colder weather. In my CZ452 and Anschutz 1712, the cold temps in winter affect the SK/Wolf enough that I can't really use it. It's audibly slower, hits lower, and accuracy goes south.

Slickab,
We have had some discussions on ammo for smallbore cowboy rams in the Cowboy Lever Action forum, I think. It might not be a bad idea to check there. Here are a couple threads that popped up with a quick search.

SB What do you use on Rams ?
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=2907

SK STANDARD PLUS
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=3599
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jneihouse
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Re: Silhouette ammo

Post by jneihouse »

That makes sense then...my mistake...first one....or so..

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BlauBear
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Re: Silhouette ammo

Post by BlauBear »

Cathy once recommended Eley Biathlon for our heat, but most of us just started carrying ammunition in coolers to keep it in a happy temp. Dunno if that works for the cold, too, 'cause that's when bears hibernate...
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Dee
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Re: Silhouette ammo

Post by Dee »

BlauBear wrote:Cathy once recommended Eley Biathlon for our heat, but most of us just started carrying ammunition in coolers to keep it in a happy temp. Dunno if that works for the cold, too, 'cause that's when bears hibernate...

Doesn't appear to hot watching any of the Biathlons I have seen, they even have that white stuff on the ground :lol: What about a round made for cold weather would would be a benefit in hot weather? Or is this ammo supposed to be more stable and consistent at both ends of the temp range?


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Re: Silhouette ammo

Post by BlauBear »

Dee wrote:Doesn't appear to hot watching any of the Biathlons I have seen, they even have that white stuff on the ground :lol: What about a round made for cold weather would would be a benefit in hot weather? Or is this ammo supposed to be more stable and consistent at both ends of the temp range?


Dee
That was my understanding, Dee, that Biathlon is less temperature sensitive. I never tested it.
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Re: Silhouette ammo

Post by Evelio Mc Donald »

If you use the SK Standard High Velocity for Lever Action guns you won't have any problem nocking the rams down, regardless of temperature.
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Jerry G
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Re: Silhouette ammo

Post by Jerry G »

For you Eley fans. Eley Sport is back at Cathy's place for $260
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Jason
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Re: Silhouette ammo

Post by Jason »

I'm sure whatever crap bulk pack ammo Wal-mart sells would be cheaper and I'd trust it just as much for a match. That Eley Sport that I had wasn't actually Eley. Save your money and buy actual Eley from Cathy. :mrgreen:
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Re: Silhouette ammo

Post by BlauBear »

Oooh! Was that a plug? :wink:

When you can find it, Federal Automatch is the best discount store .22lr ammunition I've tried. It is a little hot at 1200 fps, but it is consistent. Not to annoy Cathy ( :shock: ), but I would use it over Sport because it burns cleaner and more consistently.
"If the America people ever allow private banks to control the issuance of their currencies, first by inflation and then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the people of all their prosperity" - TJ
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