Ruger Precision Rimfire - My Final Thoughts

[TheFirearmEnthusiast]

Hey guys

I hope that everyone is enjoying the easing of restrictions like I am

Here are my final thoughts on the “Ruger Precision Rimfire Rifle” in 22LR

After months of mucking around with it, testing multiple different types of ammunition etc

I took the Ruger down to the range for the 1st time in a while a couple days ago using CCI standard velocity

And it’s fair to say that I am satisfied with the results

I shot 19x groups from 50metres away (just shooting off the bench)

And here are the results that I got;
0.4”
0.5”
0.6”
0.7”
0.7”
0.7”
0.7”
0.7”
0.7”
0.7”
0.7”
0.8”
0.9”
1.0”
1.0”
1.1”
1.2”
1.2”
1.3”

My best group was 0.4”

I am happy with that

I shot another group which was 0.3”, however I had a flyer which extended the group out to 0.6”, but if it wasn’t for that flyer, 0.3” definitely would’ve been my best group, with 0.4” being 2nd best

Long story short; if anyone is thinking about potentially purchasing the Ruger Precision Rimfire rifle down the track, I do recommend it

Please note;
- I haven't changed the barrel or anything like that, I kept the rifle completely as is
- I only used a front rest in these tests, I did not use a rear rest

Thank you for reading

I hope that everyone is well

And God Bless You all

[Blr243]

CCI shoots the best in my marlin 22 mag

[SCJ429]

Why don't you use a rear rest? Do you prop the butt up on your hand?

[CAVEMAN]

My one time shooting one with CCI standards, i was popping steel cats head at 200m with almost boring repetition. It truly is a lovely 22 for the price and features.

[CAVEMAN]

Was that test also in succession with the widening of the groups associated with warming up the barrel?

[TheFirearmEnthusiast]

Blr243;
Yeah man, I don’t know what it is about CCI Standard velocity but it just shoots so great in most rifles
So affordable too
(Most people probably know this already but) You definitely can’t go wrong with CCI, that’s for sure

SCJ429;
That's right, I just prop the butt up with my hand
I may cop some heat for saying that but.. the reason why I don’t use a rear rest is because then it’s too easy to shoot..
It’s definitely more challenging to shoot without using a rear rest
So I guess I enjoy the challenge of doing that
There's definitely more effort/skills put into it when shooting without using a rear rest (I think)
So I get a higher sense of satisfaction when I achieve good results without using a rear rest
If that makes sense

Caveman;
100%
Like I said to blr243, I don’t know what it is about CCI standard velocity but it’s just such a great round
I love it
Hopefully we'll keep getting them in from the USA despite what's going on over there right now..

And no, those results that I put up, I just sorted them out from "smallest groups" to "biggest groups"
The results that I got were quite random and spread all over the place
I’m not sure if rifles are supposed to shoot better with a hot or cold barrel
I haven't looked into that
But I personally haven’t noticed any difference that I'm aware of
But then again
The Ruger Precision Rimfire does have a heavy barrel
So it may not make that much of a difference in the Ruger Precision but it probably could make a difference in the thinner barrelled rifles

[CAVEMAN]

Yeah its a solid barrel, i thought it was too linear rise of groups. Would have been a mathematicians wet dream.

[TheFirearmEnthusiast]

Yeah its a solid barrel, i thought it was too linear rise of groups. Would have been a mathematicians wet dream.

For sure haha

[in2anity]

TFE onya mate for wanting to challenge yourself - I respect that.

If you are that way inclined (I.e want to pursue more heavily the human error side of the equation) perhaps you could join a club. Perhaps some venerable smallbore? Better still (I’m biased ) even some rimfire metallic silhouette? Nothing like a bit of standing offhand to bring you back to earth!

Or even service rifle/ 3-p field positional? (mainly centerfire however)

[Bugman]

A mate has one and it shoots well. The big tests was standing and shooting freehand and my Lithgow with same ammo was just a tad ahead..........not by much

[rc42]

22LR is an odd round, in particular the way that rifles have ammo that they like and ammo that they really don't.

For my three 22LR rifles all fall into the latter category, I've done extensive testing at 50m with a Walther target rifle in a professional bolted down stock clamp (with sliding rails for recoil) and CCI Std was the second worst performing out of about 20 types tested (cheap Hornady varmint was the worst).
The best performers were Eley Tenex, RWS R10, SK Rifle Match and impressively Eley Std bulk which is my new training round with Tenex for competitions.

[bladeracer]

22LR is an odd round, in particular the way that rifles have ammo that they like and ammo that they really don't.

For my three 22LR rifles all fall into the latter category, I've done extensive testing at 50m with a Walther target rifle in a professional bolted down stock clamp (with sliding rails for recoil) and CCI Std was the second worst performing out of about 20 types tested (cheap Hornady varmint was the worst).
The best performers were Eley Tenex, RWS R10, SK Rifle Match and impressively Eley Std bulk which is my new training round with Tenex for competitions.

Target rifles very likely have match chambers, most .22LR rifles have sporting chamber spec.

[TassieTiger]

22LR is an odd round, in particular the way that rifles have ammo that they like and ammo that they really don't.

For my three 22LR rifles all fall into the latter category, I've done extensive testing at 50m with a Walther target rifle in a professional bolted down stock clamp (with sliding rails for recoil) and CCI Std was the second worst performing out of about 20 types tested (cheap Hornady varmint was the worst).
The best performers were Eley Tenex, RWS R10, SK Rifle Match and impressively Eley Std bulk which is my new training round with Tenex for competitions.

What size groups are you getting from the top end of town?
My cz will shoot eley and sk mag very nicely but cci is so close behind and so much cheaper the 2-3mm diff in groups makes little sense...

[TheFirearmEnthusiast]

In2asnity;
Yeah man, I wouldn’t mind joining a club/starting to do some Rimfire metallic silhouette shootings and 3-Positional shootings etc
I’ll see how I go
Once I get a bit more experience I may

Bugman;
Yeah man, I saw that the Lithgows can be very accurate too
Very accurate
I probably will buy one down the track
Why not

Rc42;
Yes that’s right
But that’s what I like about the 22LR’s though
Whenever I buy a new 22LR
At the same time, I always buy a whole range of different types of ammunition
And I just end up testing everything out to see which ammunition the new 22LR likes most
I like doing ammunition testing and keeping a record of how every ammunition shoots
I enjoy it a lot so that’s no problems for me
(how finicky the 22LR cartridge is)

TassieTiger;
Yeah I think the same too
Like with CCI standard velocity, on my best days, I can achieve a 0.4” group
However, my average seems to be around 0.7” - 0.8” groups
That’s accurate enough for me I think
Unless if I get even way more perfectionist/pedantic down the track lol
Which I may, who knows, lol

[in2anity]

In2asnity;
Yeah man, I wouldn’t mind joining a club/starting to do some Rimfire metallic silhouette shootings and 3-Positional shootings etc
I’ll see how I go
Once I get a bit more experience I may

https://ssaavic.com.au/disciplines/rifl ... ilhouette/

Just tag along, have a crack, you have nothing to lose. Don't worry there are a lot more "average" shooters than there are exceptional - nobody is judging. The joy of club is the social aspect combined with the drive to improve your scores. Your biggest competator will be yourself.

[SCJ429]

Get yourself one of these Harrell Tuners and you can get the most out of any ammo Tassie. In reality the CCI subsonic ammo is miles away from Eley Tenex regarding consistant velocities.

http://harrellsprec.com/index.php/produ ... tuners-403

[rc42]

What size groups are you getting from the top end of town?
My cz will shoot eley and sk mag very nicely but cci is so close behind and so much cheaper the 2-3mm diff in groups makes little sense...

Best grouping out of all ammo testing at 50m from the frame was a batch of 1055 fps Tenex which put 20 shots through a large hole 12mm across (outside to outside) so just over two bullet diameters. This is about the same as the test card from the factory which was 10 shots of RWS R50
CCI Std was 42mm for 10 shots and looks like a shot gun pattern.

Eley Std bulk is equivalent to about $7 for each 50 and groups at about 20mm (outside to outside) with the occasional flyer (about 1 in every 30 shots) so for training it's ideal, if I do get a flyer I just ignore it as it was just as likely to be the ammo.

With me holding the rifle using a sling in prone the groups are significantly larger but at least I know it's not the fault of the ammo or the rifle.

[TassieTiger]

Get yourself one of these Harrell Tuners and you can get the most out of any ammo Tassie. In reality the CCI subsonic ammo is miles away from Eley Tenex regarding consistant velocities.

http://harrellsprec.com/index.php/produ ... tuners-403

Bloody hell SC, so I need to get a permit for those supres... I mean tuners ? Fine line - at least as far as looks go...I guess that’s assuming they end up on the end of barrel.
I’ve never played with one...interesting concept...
Is it trial and error or Is there a formula to follow to tune ?

[Peter988]

Target rifles very likely have match chambers, most .22LR rifles have sporting chamber spec.

Blade racer - can you expand on that for this dummy please. How do they differ?

[bladeracer]

Target rifles very likely have match chambers, most .22LR rifles have sporting chamber spec.

Blade racer - can you expand on that for this dummy please. How do they differ?

https://saami.org/wp-content/uploads/20 ... -06-13.pdf

See pages 14 and 15.

22LR Sporting Chamber Dimensions.JPG (86.91 KiB) Viewed 6918 times

22LR Match Chamber Dimensions.JPG (85.34 KiB) Viewed 6918 times

A Sporting chamber is .2307" diameter at the face tapering to .227", Match is .227" at the face tapering to .2248".
A Sporting chamber is a .818" long taper, Match is a .643" taper.
A Sporting chamber has the lead at .8751", Match is at .6876".

Match chambers jam the bullet into the lead, which is why they generally shouldn't use CCI Stinger length cases.

[rc42]

bladeracer, thanks, I've been looking for those technical specs since I first saw the warning on a box of CCI Stingers that they shouldn't be used in match chambers.


With regard to tuners, I have a Starik tuner and 30cm sight base extension tube on my rifle, the tuner is very cool and has a weight that can be adjusted forward and back along the tube but is optimised at the factory for my barrel length.
The idea is that the weight changes the resonant frequency of the minute whip effect along the barrel and is tuned so that the bullet exits the barrel on an upward movement of the muzzle, a faster bullet will get to the muzzle sooner than a slower bullet so will be released at a lower angle, hence both bullets should have the same height at the target even with a 30 fps difference in velocity.
The tuner only works with vertical stringing of groups due to ammunition variations and groups from my rifle do seem better with it than without, only by a couple of mm at 50m though, it may even be the extra sight radius that's helping the most but I like it.

https://www.starikshooting.com/starik-c ... be/theory/

[bladeracer]

bladeracer, thanks, I've been looking for those technical specs since I first saw the warning on a box of CCI Stingers that they shouldn't be used in match chambers.


With regard to tuners, I have a Starik tuner and 30cm sight base extension tube on my rifle, the tuner is very cool and has a weight that can be adjusted forward and back along the tube but is optimised at the factory for my barrel length.
The idea is that the weight changes the resonant frequency of the minute whip effect along the barrel and is tuned so that the bullet exits the barrel on an upward movement of the muzzle, a faster bullet will get to the muzzle sooner than a slower bullet so will be released at a lower angle, hence both bullets should have the same height at the target even with a 30 fps difference in velocity.
The tuner only works with vertical stringing of groups due to ammunition variations and groups from my rifle do seem better with it than without, only by a couple of mm at 50m though, it may even be the extra sight radius that's helping the most but I like it.

https://www.starikshooting.com/starik-c ... be/theory/

I think you'd have to be pretty dedicated to very tiny groups to throw another $600 at your $800 hunting rifle, but it'd be an interesting toy to experiment with. For a beginner it might be of more benefit overall to spend that on a case of ammo and 5000rds of practice.

[Peter988]

Target rifles very likely have match chambers, most .22LR rifles have sporting chamber spec.

Blade racer - can you expand on that for this dummy please. How do they differ?

https://saami.org/wp-content/uploads/20 ... -06-13.pdf

See pages 14 and 15.
A Sporting chamber is .2307" diameter at the face tapering to .227", Match is .227" at the face tapering to .2248".
A Sporting chamber is a .818" long taper, Match is a .643" taper.
A Sporting chamber has the lead at .8751", Match is at .6876".

Match chambers jam the bullet into the lead, which is why they generally shouldn't use CCI Stinger length cases.

OK thanks.

[rc42]

I think you'd have to be pretty dedicated to very tiny groups to throw another $600 at your $800 hunting rifle, but it'd be an interesting toy to experiment with. For a beginner it might be of more benefit overall to spend that on a case of ammo and 5000rds of practice.

I threw $600 (and more on other parts) at my $9,000 Olympic grade target rifle because that extra 0.1 score per shot matters to me, ammo costs are around $2,000 per year, this is an expensive hobby.
You have to be seriously into target shooting before a tuner is worthwhile though.

[SCJ429]

What action did you use in your $9,000 competition rimfire?

[rc42]

Bolt action?

It's a Walther KK500 so it comes from the factory in Germany with everything ready to go.
Awesome rifle, a lot of people refer to their rifle as a 'tack driver' but this one really is, it's far more accurate and consistent that I will ever be.

[SCJ429]

Walther, I thought you might have a Bleiker if you spent $9,000.

Lovely rifle that KK Walther. You will do well with it.

I use a tuner on a piece of junk CZ to help me shoot at 200. Cheap way to tune a rimfire.

[rc42]

The current pricing on KK500 rifles is around $8.500 to $10,500 depending on options, the Bleiker is a little more and the Grunig & Elmiger a little more again, those latter two are over engineered with more to go wrong and less able to cope with a bit of dirt so I was less keen on them, I do like the stainless barrels on the G&Es though.

The Anschutz models are generally cheaper than the Walther but lack a little in the trigger feel and don't have the short bolt and loading port positioned so you don't have to lift your right elbow, they are a few years behind in technology and design but all are superbly accurate and still far better than I'll ever be.

It takes a long time to get all of the possible stock adjustments to the best position but once done these rifles fit like no sport rifle ever could and are a pleasure to use shot after shot, even as your hand goes numb from the sling.

[SCJ429]

For a while there the Swiss Bleiker rifles using US Lilja barrels were the things to beat in 3P competition. Not that the Walther has not had its share of success.

I was very impressed watching Matt Emmons shooting his Anschutz in a Precise stock and it didn't hold him back. Years ago I used a Anschutz 1813 and I still like the walnut stock. I think it is time for me to buy another one, keeping my eye out.

[rc42]

I believe that sponsorship plays a larger part in which rifles the top shooters (I struggle to call them athletes) use than the accuracy/consistency of the rifles themselves.
Olympic and World Championship finals are dominated by Beliker, Walther, Grunig with occasional appearances by Feinwerkbau and Anschutz (although a surprising number use the Anschutz Precise or G&E stock with Bleiker actions).

For club use they all look pretty but really aren't worth the cost just for improved results which they may not even deliver if the shooter isn't up to it. A top of the line rifle really is more enjoyable to shoot though.

There are a couple of Walther KK300 Blacktec rifles at my club, and a couple of the older Feinwerbau 2700 models, there's even a couple of Anschutz rifles but their model numbering system is still a mystery to me. They all consistently out shoot my KK500 or more accurately, they all out shoot me, I know it's not the rifle's fault and I'm getting better with time.