tomfal@tr6.wes.army.mil (Tom Faller) (04/10/91)
I've got a Ruger 10-22 semi-auto rifle that I just sighted in for a Bushnell 4x scope. I used Eley Tenex ammo, frightfully expensive at $5 / 50 rounds, but I can put 5 shots under a dime at 25 yards. Using Wildcat, Stinger, or CCI Mini-max, that opens up to a little under an inch, with no real idea of where the first shot is going. CCI green tag and Win. 40-gr. silhouette are a little tighter, but not as reliable. The Eley ammo is about the same weight as commercial hunting ammo, but I don't know the velocity. 25 - 50 yards is as far as I'm going to shoot at anything, so I wanted to know if anyone else had used match ammo for hunting? It seems contrary to the spirit of .22 - it's expensive, but I figure that if there's enough oomph behind the Eley bullet, which is soft lead roundnose, I'd be looking at a first shot going within 1/4" of where I aim, and that should mean a lot of head shots and first-shot kills. Am I missing something here, as far as practical hunting goes? I expect to practice a lot this summer with other ammo, confident after a box of Eley that it will shoot to point of aim. Practice will be to improve my trigger pull, letoff, breathing, and clearing the occasional jam in the Ruger. Yes, I could just buy a better .22 and go with cheaper ammo, but I like the 10-22 for plinking. I'd like some feedback from anyone who uses a .22 for hunting on ammo, bolt- action .22's, (especially the Ruger 77-22), and accuracy/power favorites. Tom Faller