While teaching my grandson to shoot, I always make sure to impress upon him the fact that squibs and hangfires can occur. Your experience with good ammo is a clear reminder that vigilance is important to safety.

 

SK Standard Plus? Just about the bottom of the pile from SK.
It's the production that doesn't meet the factory standards to be labeled "match"
Chronograph numbers and target results nowhere near as good as the better options from SK.


Unless you get lucky and run into a batch that turned out better than the sample the factory tested.

 

SK Standard Plus Accuracy

I have been shooting SK Standard Plus as my go to ammo for a few years. I recently started shooting Center X (same manufacturer, Lapua) just for competitions. I shoot SK Magazine and Standard Plus for practice.

I find the main different between all three is fliers, not necessarily accuracy.

In order of reliability/accuracy I would rate The SK Magazine the lowest and SK Standard Plus second and Center X the best in regards to bullseyes and minimal fliers.

I shoot primarily CZ452 and 455 and find the Lapua products superior to any CCI or Federal products for these rifles.

 

So what is a fairly consistent SK brand.??
I am shooting at 50 yards and CCI sv does ok. Respectable groups for a rookie.
Getting ready to order a few boxes of Eley match and target.
SK Pistol Match.?
RWS Pistol Match.?


CZ 457 MTR 20.5

Bill H

 

I've had good luck with the rifle match. More consistent than std+. Lapua center x and red rifle match shot great for me. I would love to try some pistol match. Alot of good reviews on the pistol match from so out of some rifles. My rifle however did not love eley flat nose bullets. But try them and see. Generally the more you spend the less squibs you should have. It still happens though.

 

I also like the rifle match and pistol match. Std + is my usual practice ammo and yesterday I had one round drop four inches just like you describe; windage was dead-on but the elevation was low and I saw the round plop down like in slow motion.

 

The lot number of SK Standard + I have does the same, random drops of 6" or so. Here is what I typically see.

 

I had the same experience a few weeks ago shooting a USBR target using SK Rifle Match. I was shocked as I watched the bullet hit bull #10. I guess duds aren’t only found in less expensive ammo.

 

I had the same experience a few weeks ago shooting a USBR target using SK Rifle Match. I was shocked as I watched the bullet hit bull #10. I guess duds aren't only found in less expensive ammo.

Just because you see the bullet does not mean it is bad. Special lighting conditions can allow you to see a bullet trail I even see it with center fire rifle rounds too. A lot of pistol rounds can do it too.

 

Random dropped shots have been a fairly common occurrence with SK Standard plus and the lower grade Wolf for over a decade, some good lots haven't shown it but its a known trait. For practice its okay but I'd definitely move upstream if the target means something.

 

I had fliers with Wolf-MT in 2007 or 2008, in an accurate rifle, when competing in the 10/22 SuperStock game. Never bought any since. Hack Tooey Award!

 

I have only been in this game for a little less than one year now and was initially pointed to SK+ and Tac22 as ammo that worked well in the rifle when I bought it. Someone tell me if I have just been lucky all this while or what, but I can't remember throwing but maybe a couple of 7s at any time. I am plagued with an occasional 8 and they seem to be coming more regularly lately but I always chalked that up to poor trigger control. Certainly not bragging here but just curious. Will the move to SK Pistol or CenterX tend to eliminate some of those 8s?

 

Moderator what does this have to do with cz? No ammo is perfect but it's pretty good considering the price one bad round move on it's not the end . I suggest buying better ammo

 

I'm guessing you are just whining, but just in case it is an honest question, what it has to do with CZ is that the bullet came from a CZ rifle.

 

jagerman........ join us in the monthly 25 yd. matches sometime. The difference is a 246 instead of a 248. Big difference in the monthly stats. You are welcome any time.

 

Don't waste your time reading this guy's posts, lasttombstone. He's a known CZ hater who shoots his mouth, not his rifles.

 

I had to test a dozen or more lots of SK Rifle Match to find a lot good enough to buy in quantity, but when I did finally find it, I bought two cases of that good lot, and am still impressed with how well it shoots at 50yds. Had the same experience with Lapua Center-X, and nearly gave up spending $10+ per box looking for something worthwhile. Again, when I did find a good lot (actually, Daniel at the Lapua Test Center found it), I bought in quantity, and haven't had reason to regret it. Seemed odd to me that none of the Midas+ Daniel ran through the Krieger on my V-22 shot even as good as that good lot of Center-X, but I'm not complaining - Midas+ is nearly $5/box more expensive.

Accuracy with SK Pistol Match (not the Special) has been more consistent, with four of six test lots shooting quite well for me. However, that's at 50yds - Rifle Match typically does better at 100yds.

The first time I tested the new SK LR Match, four out of five lots were pretty much crap at 100yds, but the last one of the five lots was very good, running neck-and-neck with the good lot of Lapua Center-X, yet having higher velocity and priced $2.50/box under the Center-X. I go back-and-forth with these two lots of Lapua & SK - one time, the LR Match is better at 200+yds, next time, it's the Lapua that is better. If I kept good records of the way they shoot in different conditions, I might be able to figure which one does best in what conditions - or maybe it's just me?

I'd played with numerous lots of SK Std+ for several years, but had never gotten very serious about lot testing with it. However, early this spring, I bought 2-box samples of five lots of it, and found what I consider to be an exceptional lot. It was good enough to convince me to buy a case of it, and it's shot pretty darned well out of several rifles, including those with Bartlein, Benchmark, Krieger, Lilja, & Shilen customs, all with EPS chambers. My CZ 457MTR also likes it. At less than half the cost of Center-X, what's not to like?

I do get tired of lot testing, especially after doing quite a bit of it. But OTOH, it's a great excuse to get rifles, rests, targets, & chronograph out and go do some shooting with the potential of having productive results.

 

I had to test a dozen or more lots of SK Rifle Match to find a lot good enough to buy in quantity

This.

The first two pieces of advice I got when I started shooting .22 on the bench:

1. Every rifle is different, and you have to test a wide range of ammo to find what shoots best in your rifle.
2. Results can vary by lot, so don't assume the next will be as accurate as the last.

I do get tired of lot testing, especially after doing quite a bit of it.

And, this.

Over 2 months I shot 11,550 rounds from 17 different brands/lines, scanned the targets, plotted them in OnTarget, and exported all the stats to Excel for analysis. (Yes, I geeked out.) Top 5, lowest avg center-to-center to highest:

• Lapua Center X
• SK Std+
• Wolf Match
• Wolf Match Target
• Remington 22 Subsonic

That was almost nine years ago. I've been shooting different lots of the top 3 ever since, and my results have varied between lots. Statistically, they've been equivalent - a "bad" lot of Center X shoots wider than a "good" lot of Std+.

So, test several different brands/lines, pick the top 2 or 3, test different lots if you can, and then buy a case of the best lot if you can afford it.

 

Thanks Ray. Haven't been around long enough to know the individuals but know the type from the other forum I frequent. Now I know.

 

My 455 seems to hate SK (and wolf) ammo.

Tested 5 brands, 5 fouling shots on top bull, then 10 shots at 100yd.
Top left Aguila super extra
Top right CCI SV
Middle is center-x
Bottom left eley edge
Bottom right sk rifle match

Interesting that the lapua/SK is much lower than everything else. The SK is even lower than it seems, I had to aim at the top circle on that bull to even hit the target (8” bulls)

 

My 455 loves sk and lapua but i have the same results. I've zeroed with rifle match and with lapua, sk, and rws all right on. Anything eley is high about 2 inches high and that's at 50 yards.

 

Maybe I've been blessed but I've shot many cases of SK standard+ with outstanding results. My last lot # was excellent and I bought 4 cases of that lot #, sadly, I am down to just over 1 case now. I tried 2 new lot #s yesterday with dismal results. The first shot with the new ammo was 1" low and 1/4" left, the second shot punched out the center dot as did the third shot, the fourth shot was 1/2" high and 1/4" left, the final shot joined the two in the center. Out of 50 rounds fired I had 3 respectable groups and they were grand but the fliers plagued me throughout the first lot.
The second lot tested was as bad as the first.
I've had a few fliers from all ammo, seldom would a flier be more that 1/2" from the group but these two lots was throwing them, both high and low.
I hope this is not the "new normal" for SK standart +.

 

hickorynut - I bought a case of Std+ less than two months ago that's been shooting pretty well in all the rifles I've tested it in. Check out the 1st group at top/left in the attached photo, which was fired with this lot. As noted on the target, these were the first shots fired out of a new Shilen bbl after a thorough cleaning which included brushing with a bronze bore brush. I haven't shot any of this ammo out past 100yds yet, the weather's been quite a detriment to getting a lot of shooting done at any distance. But this is probably the best lot of Std+ that I've had. Just looked at the photo again and realized that I neglected to write "50yds" on it anywhere - shot off a portable bench over bags.

 

Flatlander, Those are some nice groups, I'll be on the hunt for more SK standard + with those qualities. We have suffered some very wet conditions here in Arkansas as well and now 54 degrees, fortunately I shoot from a heated and cooled "shootin' house" The auto target set and return help keep me dry:bthumb: and its only 50 yards from my door. That may explain the volume of .22 rimfire I've burned in the last couple of years.

 

retoohS,

What were the other 12 brands of ammo you tested?