Just ordered a 455 American to use as a silhouette gun . Plan on topping it with a Nikon Prostaff EFR . I'm thinking this will be a good entry level set-up for at least a couple of years .
Any thoughts on a starting point for ammo ? the only non-bulk ammo I have is CCI mini mags & CCI standard . Between the lack of choices on the shelves & cost Im wondering what might be a good ammo to start with for this rifle . Not looking to spend .50 a rd but would like decent enough accuracy to put me in the game .
What does your 455s prefer ?
Al

If you ask 50 shooters you might get 50 different answers. The answer is to shoot what your rifle likes - so you'll have to experiment with several before you find what you and the rifle likes.
One of my rifle likes Wolf, one likes Federal AutoMatch.

In testing you want to fire at least 15 rounds to "season" the barrel before shooting for group size. Change ammo and fire another 15 "seasoning" rounds. Plan to spend a day at the range with several different boxes of .22s.
These days I suggest you shoot what you can find - mail order may be your best source.

I get Wolf from Champion Shooters Supply and I go to WallMart a couple of times a week to see if they have any Federal AutoMatch .22 ammo - you'll need to go around 7am.

Consider yourself a .22 ammo prospector (I was in Carlsbad, NM for the past two days - I hit every possible store - One had Remington .22 Green Bulk and a nice supply of powder for my centerfire rifle.) I'll hit the local stores again early next week. Ya gotta keep looking, get lucky and buy only what you need.

Michael

You may just be impressed with the CCi Standard Velocity you have. It is a pretty good ammo in a lot of rifles

I hear ya Michael . Im not new to the 7:00 am dance at the local Walmarts Im thinking I will start off with the CCI SV since I have some . I have various bricks of Federal , Remmington & Winchester but find myself in uncharted waters as far as "Match or target grade ammo" goes . The various ammo I have shoots great in assorted marlins and such I have in my safe . I am not seeing a lot of target grade ammo in any of the locals . I don't know if I would be wasting my time trying the bulk ammo I have or not . I guess I will have to find some online an order a small sampling of Wolf , Eley etc... & see what she likes .
Al

The CCI standard will probably be an acceptable starting point. I used it for a while too. Every gun is different, but the CCI SV is probably one of the cheapest ammos that will shoot ok. I found out that my old gun liked the wolf ammo better than the Eley Match and Club. I get to start this all over tho when my new rifle gets here. I just got an email that wolf is in at champion shooters supply, you might try ordering a few boxes....

http://www.championshooters.com/index.p ... Itemid=111

OldRanger , thanks for the link . I ordered some Wolf
Question : Is it standard for most to practice with less expensive ammo & shoot matches with match ammo ?
If so , is the scope reset & zeroed evey time the ammo is switched ?
Al

Al to answer your question about ammo and zeroing, some only shoot one type of ammo no matter whether practicing or shooting a match and other shoot the ammo grade based on the importance of the match to them. As for zeroing with any ammo, typically it varies for each range and the local environmental conditions of the day, so yes I (as do shooters) check my zeros at the range on the day of the match. Thus the notebook, to record range, conditions, equipment, ammo etc. usually the range of movement between animals is consistent, so once you find your chicken setting the other distances will remain similar scope changes.

Mary

Thanks for your input Mary .
Al

Howdy Al.

You might want to put this link on your trolling list. Cathy typically has some of the best prices and she's one of the best shooters in this game. If you end up at any of the big regional matches she typically brings a supply with her so you can save on shipping etc.

https://www.goodshootinginc.com/index.p ... goryID=559

This ammo was highly recomended on Rimfire Central . Have not been able to find a source .Thanks for the link Bigfoot !

You have to check regularly, like every morning. Good Shooting had SK Std+ a month or so ago, as of early that morning. By mid-afternoon, cases were gone, only box quantities left, and that was gone by evening. Yesterday, Champion Shooters Supply had Wolf and SK in the morning, all gone by evening. I haven't seen any on Champion's Choice lately. It's crazy. Good luck.

The SK standard is imported by the really great people at Lapua. A lot of us use Center X as it's a bit better (your milage may vary) than SK but they both come off the same assembly line from what I understand.

Not to sound like a fan boy but Cathy and the folks that bring this ammo to the USA do a really great job at supporting our game. Adam from Lapua had a ton o' bricks of ammo as door prizes at nationals and up here in my neck of the woods (Seattle area) they always make sure the winners table is stocked with both Lapua and SK ammo for both door prizes and the winners table.

In these days when good stuff is so hard to come by it's nice to know that you can buy from peeps that appreciate what we do and our business.

Ok. Fan boy singing off.