.22lr bullet weight question

[capflyboy05]

Alright, so I have my Remington Thunderbolts at 40 gr. and 1255 fps, and the Winchester Plated Hollow Points at 36 gr. and 1280 fps.
I have my rifle sighted in at 50 yds.
Will the shots be close enough together to not have to worry about re-sighting?
I have a ballistics calculator on my itouch, but it's not working.
Any ideas?

 

[Brian Pfleuger]

It depends on how you define "close enough". In a perfect world, their trajectories are not going to be very different at 50 yards. In the real world, your gun may not shoot them very close at all. The only way to know is to shoot paper and see.

The difference is powder residue can cause a fairly significant difference, all by itself.

I have tried handloads at 100 yards using 2 different powders. When I switch from one to the other the shots will string left for about 4 rounds and then group nicely about 3 inches from the original load. Switching back, the shots string to the right and recenter after 3 or 4.

Short answer, you'd have to try them and see.

 

[Doyle]

Even when you have identical exterior ballistics when comparing two brands of ammo, you might get SIGNIFICANTLY different points of impact. Granted, at 50 yds this difference will be much smaller than you would notice when shooting at centerfire distances. It all depends on your particular barrel's harmonics. There is no computer program that will predict this. You just have to shoot both and find out.

For what it's worth, Rem Thunderbolts have a pretty poor reputation for quality. Winchester Super-X isn't much better.

 

[MemphisJim]

From the FWIW Dept: Each .22LR firearm (rifle or pistol in my experience) has its own preferences and quirks. My dedicated target rifle currently is tuned for Wolf Match Extra. When I put CCI MiniMags (40 gr. solid) through it, the impact is about an inch high and an inch left of where the Wolf goes. Federal Match (also 40 gr. solid) is about an inch right and an inch down in the same session. I also get very good results with Aquila Match. I gave up on Remington years ago so I don't even bother shooting it for comparison purposes. I use some Winchester for plinking in my lever gun but have never tried comparing it to others for target purposes. The best advice: try 'em all and stick with the one that seems to give the best, most consistent results.

 

[capflyboy05]

Next time I go to the range I'll just post a quick report on how my gun does with them. I'll try out the CCI Mini Mag HP's, the Winchester HP's, and my Remington Thunderbolts. Thanks for the help everyone!

 

[Doyle]

I recommend you add one more flavor to try. Try the bulk Federal's. Most people like them and they are CHEAP. You can get a box of 550 at WallyWorld for less than $20 out the door.

 

[capflyboy05]

Cool cool, will do.
It seems like she likes the winchester HP's most.
I was pretty much touching each shot at 50 yds.
But I'll keep trying to see what else she likes.