I had been looking for a 22LR for some time to use for practice. Being on a budget, I had it narrowed down to either a savage or a CZ. Then I discovered the Ruger American target back in late January. Decided that I would wait to get the chance to see one before deciding. I have a Ruger Mark III pistol and have been very happy with it (other than when it's time to clean it) so I was hopeful that their target rifle would be a performer.

I finally had the chance to put my hands on one a couple weeks ago, and decided to go with it over he savage and CZ. Today was the first chance I had to take it to the range. Really liking it so far, trigger has a slight amount of creep, not enough to make me want to fix it immediately, but I think I will get tired of it...

I went prepared with a variety of ammo, trying to find what it would like to shoot. I had read/heard that it can take a few rounds for the lube from different manufacturers to be consistent, so I fired 3 10-shot groups on each piece of paper, with the exception of the first one, since that was the ammo I used to get on paper. I was expecting the Eley ammo to shoot better, so I finished with the CCI ammo that seemed to shoot well in order to rule out fouling or shooter fatigue. Detailes are written on the targets, images are in order fired.

Results are below. Note you may also see evidence of why I got this for practice/self improvement.

Range is indoors, I was trying to isolate bullet performance...

Looks like you have a winner with the CCI.

Very good to see, I just got mine and waiting on rings now. good shooting

Very nice shooting right there

Just FYI...Targetmaster is advertising a 50Y range. It's not! That 50Y seemed always a little close to me. The other day I took my rangefinder and it's only 44Y. At 44Y your target is in the shade. If you want it to take the light so you can see better, then it's only 42Y.

But you're getting really good groups with those CCI SV (even at 44Y).

Nice groups with the CCI. I've always had good luck with the same rounds.

A couple of very good groups there! While you're still in the "discovery mode," try some of CCI's Small Game Bullets. I've had excellent success with them.
http://www.surplusammo.com/22-lr-cci-small-game-bullet-40-grain-lead-flat-nose-50-rounds/

kevin1, thank you for the FYI on the range. I had my rangefinder with me but didn't even cross my mind to check it. I was fooled by the internet again... I did have the target back as far as it would go, it wasn't in the brightest spot but there was still enough light to work with.

I didn't have high expectations for the bulk Rem and Win ammo, but I have a lot of it. I just wanted to see what it would do. I did have higher expectations for the Eley ammo though. The CCI was a pleasant surprise as it was one of the cheaper options. I was disappointed with the Norma ammo, very greasy/oily, made me think that continued use could lead to lots of cleaning if it's leaving lube behind in the magazine, etc.

I'll try to acquire more ammo this week, and hopefully have the time to test it next weekend. I'm thinking Eley target and Tenex, and the CCI mikei mentioned would be a good start.

I also wanted to mention, if anyone else wants the Boyd's pro varmint stock for this rifle, there is a product request form on their website where you can request new products with no commitment to buy. I called them about it last week, they told me that the pro varmint stock does have enough material on the forend/channel if I wanted to modify one myself, and if I wasn't up for that I should fill out the form and wait.

Good Work!

Looks like it likes the CCI but IMHO if you were in a pinch, you'd have several options to choose from...

Oh Yeah...

which rifle, bolt or semi?

How did you get the last target to be in the black? Nice post and shooting.

Buzzsaw, Rifle is the Ruger American Rimfire Target:
http://www.ruger.com/products/americanRimfireTarget/specSheets/8348.html

Swmays:
I wanted to zero at 50y, (although I just found out this morning that the range was likely only 44y. Assuming we are referring to the same Targetmaster range) in the process I quickly noticed that it was way easier to see the holes when they were in the white area of the paper because I was a bit "out of the light" at the range, so I left it about 1" low until the last course of fire. I brought the scope up 1.25 MOA for the last piece of paper.

Scope is a Sightron S-TAC 4-20x50, my first non-Leupold or Vortex scope. I was planning on doing a tracking test on it as well. Seems like a decent scope for the $, and it had all the features I was looking for.

Also thank you to everyone for your feedback and ammo suggestions. The rifle is a blast to shoot, I'll try about any ammo just to see what it will do. Even if it doesn't shoot well, it will be just as fun to find out.

Looks like a good shooting rifle. CCI has typically shot great for me out of a variety of rifles and pistols. My 22/45 target really likes the standard velocity rounds.

Yes we are talking about the same range. Targetmaster in Garland. I believe they are the only ones with an advertised 50Y in Dallas area. After I measured the distance at 44Y with the target all the way back and at 42Y if you want it to catch the light, I became paranoiac. Took the rangefinder to Garland public shooting range and measured the 50Y and 100Y target...The rangefinder showed exactly 50Y and 100Y.

With both my Ruger 10/22 and Ruger MkI Target handgun, the CCI Standard Velocity shoots notably better than the others. I have not tried any of the expensive .22 target ammo.

Agree

Thx for posting and good shooting!

Great info. thanks!

all the rimfire ammo makers are coming out with new loadings now. CCI have the Standard Velocity and a new high velocity match load.

Congrats!!! Nice rifle, scope and shooting!

I've got a CZ 452 and have found it shoots the expensive ammo A LOT better than the less expensive ammo. Before I bought my CZ I always shot bulk ammo and never really considered that the accuracy of a 22 could be improved that much by finding the right ammo for the rifle but boy when I bought a bunch of different types of ammo and put the rifle thru it's paces with the different ammos I learned that ammo does matter if you are looking for the best the rifle can shoot.

All Great stuff, great targets. Buzzsaw, been thinking about a quality bolt in the price range of these two models. Not as keen on Marlin or Savage though they have a good following.

How is the meat damage via 22 mag on say Tree squirrels? On the 17, I have had some interest, but thought the 22 mag might offer easier to find ammo, and more bullet weight should it be preferred on larger game, if I did not use the LR. Trajectory is as much as any reason for me to look at the mag, but also yote sized game. Anyone know how far a 22 mag reliable kills yotes?

I need to try the CCI SV more, and I wanted to ask the guy above posting those targets, have you tried the CCI TAC ? I wonder if they shoot better than say Mini-Mags and how would they compare to SVs. I know SV and that speed ammo is often found to shoot much better than HV.

Good info guys, more welcome to chime in. Thanks.

Nice shooting!

This rifle generally prefers CCI and federal ammunition. Most of the Eley ammo I've tried shoots well too, but usually not enough better to justify the price over CCI SV.

I have not tried the CCI TAC or mini mags yet, but others that did well were the CCI SGB and CCI select precision.

The federal bulk 275/325 round boxes seem to shook ok. They are what I normally use for plinking. the federal match ammo does better than their bulk stuff, but even their match stuff didnt do any better than the CCI SV.

I have a couple more boxes of bulk winchester and Norma ammo I'm trying to burn thru before buying more to test. But I do have some RWS target ammo that I might try out this weekend.

I haven't tried many, but I have yet to find a HV round that it shoots well.

If you do decide on the 22lr, I would recommend not buying more than 100 rounds to test. It's not as fun shooting ammo you know doesn't perform well. Also, shoot about 10-15 rounds before you make a determination on how well the ammo performs in your rifle.

The 22lr is the only Rimfire I have, so I can't speak to the other calibers.

Did you try the wolf match? That's very good ammo at a good price. Only thing that shot better than CCI SV in my Anschutz. The wolf was in another league entirely.