Are you guys getting good accuracy out of your .22s? I want to squirrel hunt with it but cannot seem to get it to group tight enough. It will group a couple then have a couple flyers. I have checked the barrel nut and cleaned the barrel. I also have tried several brands of ammo. My next step is to change scopes. Maybe I am looking for it to do more than it can. Thanks for any help.

The 15-22 is a plinker... not a hunting rifle. Sure it can be used to hunt but it is normally a 3 MOA gun. That means at 100 yards you can expect a 3" group. To me, that is not accurate enough to hunt small game humanely. Don't get me wrong... I love my 15-22s. They are great at what they do. Other guns are better at hunting.

I use a CZ 455 Varmint for when I want accuracy from a .22. Mine shoots sub MOA.

Gun Review: CZ 455 Varmint - The Truth About Guns

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Yes. Use something else, especially if any distance is involved.

My 15-22 is "zeroed" at 25 yards - to me it's a fun bullet hose, especially with my SiCo Sparrow screwed to the end of the barrel...

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I zeroed mine out to 43 yards one day at the range just for kicks. I was getting two to three inch groups. I had the scope attachment on my Vortex Sparc. It was fun.

I give up
How did you know the OP was talking about a 15-22?

This is the M&P 15-22 forum. Most of us would have assumed the OP was talking about that rifle.

Because he posted in the 15-22 forum. This is not a general rimfire forum. Also mentioning a barrel nut sounds like a 15-22.

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got it
thanks

My son hunts squirrels with a BB gun....I think a 3 MOA .22 is perfectly fine


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Sorry guys, but the last .22 rifle I had that shot 3"MOA at 50 yards is now a dandy floor lamp in my man cave.

Never mind...

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Thanks for the replys. I havent given up on it yet but I do want a tight group if I am shooting at live game. What is odd is I did shoot some squirrels with it and then started missing everything so something has changed but I havent found what yet.

I intend to use mine for hunting squirrel. Shots are usually only 20 to 40. Yards I just need to figure out which scope will help the most

Obviously, when dealing with accuracy, there are several factors. The main ones are what the gun is capable of doing & what you can do... and you need to be able to separate the two. First thing I suggest you do is clamp down the gun so that you can determine what the gun can do. As I said, this is a 3 MOA rifle, on average. Some are better... some worse. Find out what yours does. If you get 2" groups at 50 yards, that means yours is shooting 4 MOA. If that is the case, I'd wonder if your barrel was not crowned properly.

You mentioned changing scopes. That is a good idea in that yours might not be holding zero properly. Also a good scope helps you do your part better in this whole issue of accuracy.

As a point of reference, I took this pic last week to show a member here the change in point of impact with and without my suppressor. These 2 groups were shot at 33 yards with me leaning against my Gator, so my poor marksmanship is still somewhat of a factor in the grouping. This was shot with my SBR build with an 11" barrel using my Eotech & 3x magnifier. The barrel was cut, threaded & crowned by Adco, so that helps accuracy. I mention that because if you can't find any other solution, that possibly could fix it. The barrel crown is critical for accuracy. BTW, even with me shooting, at that range my CZ would have one big hole.

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If you haven't already, check that the rings are tight - that they are both keeping the scope from moving in the rings and keeping the base of the rings tightly fastened to the rifle. It's an obvious thing that we all overlook sometimes. Like you said, something has changed so it may still be something small you haven't found yet. I'd try looking for that thing a little longer before you buy another scope or spend a lot of $$$.

So what size groups is the OP getting, and what is your expectation.

The 15-22 is a "sporting" aka general purpose .22lr , not a pure target or benchrest gun. Your standard of comparison are Marlin 60, 735, etc , box stock 10/22 , Rem 597 ect. Generations of hunters have used such guns to hunt generally , and squirels in particular. Just like any gun and ammo combination , keep your shots withing the capability of you and your gun.

For guns of this type ( translating to typical 25yd groups) 1.0in is reasonably adaquate, .75 is pretty good. ( substitute 4MOA and 3MOA for those inclined) If your requirement is for sub 0.5in aka sub 2MOA plan on either a target gun, or rebarelling with good bbl and tight chamber.

I will try clamping the gun down to eliminate me. I hadnt thought of that. I also always clean from the breech end so I dont think I did anything to the crown. I also already have another scope to try so no expense there. I have always just used bulk .22s but I might also try some higher grade match ammo if all else fails.

I cant believe no one has commented on ammo aswell.
What ammo were you using? If you want the most out of your 15-22. Be perpared to spend money on ammo!
Match ammo runs about 50¢ a shot. Im guessing the OP is using bulk ammo.

Match grade might be overkill. I think a good subsonic, such as CCI Standard Velocity or Norma Tac-22 will serve you well... at a reasonable cost.

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there is a HUGE difference in just Bulk Fed ammo and CCI tactical Ammo

That may help alot...

and Like others... Bench shoot it to be sure it the Scope is holding zero...

Hey... did ya ever think It may just be the SHOOTER

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At risk of redundency , how large is Not Good ? What size groups does the OP get with his other .22lr's ?

If we are talking 1.5in , we can discuss rechecking scope mounting , and then testing a wide variety of ammo.

If we are talking 4.0in , then have someone experienced in testing .22lr rifles try. If problem persists , then look for major bbl related problems.

Are you asking too much?....from a 22lr at 100 yards...inch group. Do able? Yes......repeatable everytime....probably not. Lots of things to change in between each shot...but i would say accurate shots are achievable.
After you have checked the ammo, which was my No.1 reason for fliers and errant shots, checked the barrel nut for looseness and eliminated shooter error, then you have to look at the optics...are they budget or decent ones that should hold zero? do you have it mounted on only the upper or have it mounted on the handguard? if so slight flex on the handguard could change POI, is your cheek weld consistent?, you have no parallax issues? There are lots of things that are simply shooter error (i am in no way insinuating that you are guilty of this, just pointing out the things that i have experienced) However i think that a properly maintained 15-22, with a consistent hold and stance and the right choice of ammo, that this rifle is capable of more than what i expected from it.

After i changed ammo:- 25 yards
10 shots....offhand.
offhand.jpg

I rested my AFG on an upturned mag, with the grip resting on the bench, the stock well positioned into my shoulder pocket..got a great line of sight....breathed properly and executed each trigger pull as best i could, really took my time and concentrated and fired off 10 shots.
resting on an upturned mag.jpg

The results speak for themselves. but mine is one of the super accurate UK ones

I'd have no issue using my 15-22 out to 50 ft for squirrel sized animals. Any further then that and it may or may not hit, but that's enough for me to go with another rifle. My Ruger American 22LR can hit a zit on the butt of a tick out to 50 yards.

The 15-22 will out shoot most shooters.
A cheap scope will give you nothing but fits since the reticle will move around. Cheap mounts will drive you crazy too.
I can hit 12 gauge shotgun husks all day long at 50 yards with CCI HV ammo.
Other factors can be if you are using a sling to clamp everything nice and tight when you are hunting. The plastic hand guard flexes and touches the barrel. Remove the plastic hand guard end cap and see if that makes a difference between bench and field.
If you can't shoot less than 1 BOS (Body of Squirrel) there is something terribly wrong with the rifle.

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The scope I am using is a Bushnell Trophy 3x9x40 and it is mounted on the receiver only. I am not sure what brand of mounts but they are tight. The ammo I was using is Winchester M-22 and Federal Spitfire and Remington Golden bullets. The accuracy I obviously need is squirrel size groups out to 50 yards or so. I will admit I am used to shooting traditional style rifles and not AR platforms but I can shoot and I had my sons shoot this rifle also and they had the same results. I will try and post a picture.

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It looks a little too tall. Paralax comes into play.
The clamps look like they are for Weaver style rails.
A one piece scope mount (AR style) will help lock the scope to the upper.
I forgot to ask if the scope rings were bridging the gap, but you took care of that question.

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Golden bullets will make a noise, but not a group.

CCI is good stuff, but it must work with YOUR gun/barrel, etc.

GIGO, in computer parlance.

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I have no experience with Federal Spitfire, but I wouldn't use Remington if I'm trying to get good groups. If you can get some CCI you should be safe as far as the ammo doing its part.
At this point, I'd clean the barrel really well and then season it with 10 rounds or so with one brand of ammo and then shoot some groups.

I tried and mount the scope lower but I couldn't get my cheek low enough to see through it. Also aren't weaver style mounts OK?

If you limit it to close range the 3 MOA doesn't amount to a large group.

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None of this tight grouping may matter now......I saw the Slidefire deal on the other post
I will be out of ammo soon if my sons get ahold of it!

I'd rather throw rocks than agonize over accuracy with my 15-22.

Precision shooting-



Plinking-

Curious. Why do you put an IndexClip on just the ends of your rail? I prefer putting one every other slot, as that gives me a very firm gripping surface. But what does it do on just the ends?

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One on each end keeps the handguard from getting beat up when setting down on the bench between loading mags and stuff.

Makes sense. I wondered if you ran out of money & could only afford a few, considering all the stuff attached to those guns.

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A good clean bore and no lead buildup at the front of the chamber goes a long way on accuracy with any 22LR. try to find some wolf match or match extra (probably around 5-8 bucks a box) and try that. Its about as good as it gets in the price range. cheap 22 LR ammo has a lot of fliers in each box, that's why it is cheap. use the good stuff to hunt with. like the rest of these answers, if you want good accuracy in the woods, buy a bolt action CZ and leave the "plinker" gun at home when you go hunting.

Some of the problem could be that the scope is so far back. You really want the centerline of the scope to be close to the centerline of iron sights.
That's why you need an AR mount.
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Weaver will work on Picatinny, but Picatinny will not work on Weaver.
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The other way around......http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/lid=1...he_Difference_

I disagree with a couple of comments here. I think your scope's height is correct for a 15-22 (or any other AR style rifle) and I think the location of the scope is fine, particularly assuming the eye relief.

The only semi auto .22 I ever hunted with was a ruger semi auto pistol. Resting against a tree I could hit a gray squirrel in the head inside 10 yards 10 out of 10 times. I have a S&W 48K in magnum and a model 10 that would do the job on a squirrel but now it is too pricey and I can't see. My first real rifle was a Mossberg 42. Awesome peep sight. It would knock pennies over at 30 yards all day long. One shoots beer cans plastic spinners and zombie pictures with semi auto 22s. If you want to knock squirrels out of the tall pines get a rifle that will shoot MOA and practice. There will be no follow up shot. Head shot. One shot or nothing. When I was young I could do it with iron. I need glass to do it now.


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So what ammo do you guys suggest for more precise shooting/hunting. Obviously the bulk stuff is better for plinking.

Try some of CCIs offerings or others in that price range.That gun won't be able to take advantage of ammo that's more expensive than that.

Subsonics will be your most accurate. I use CCI Standard Velocity & Norma Tac-22. The real expensive match ammo is best but I find those two work real well with no oddball flyers inches away from the main group.

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So I took my brand new 15-22 out this morning for the first time this morning...150 rds in 30 minutes. After a little tweaking of my TRS 25 red dot, i was consistently hitting spent 20 ga shotgun shells from 30 yds...i'd say thats plenty good to hunt tree rats

I wish I could tell you.

When I first got my 15-22 I slapped a magnified optic on it to see what it as capable of. It didn't respond well to anything, and I keep a wide selection of rimfire in my test box. To give yiu an idea, it shot Fed bulk pack about the same as Wolf Match. Go figure. The only ammo it did noticeably better with is Aguila Match Rifle. I took the scope off and that was that was the end of that. I shoot CCI SV pretty much exclusively because it's about the cheapest subsonic ammo there is for shooting suppressed.

I've taken dozens of squirrels with my 15-22, most all head shots and I don't use any glass. Though I do have a 5mW green laser mounted and sighted on it, they're usually out of range for the laser in daytime. The laser is mainly for night shooting. I hunt with mine more than I plink and I've taken a couple of coyotes as well, several raccoons, a few skunks and 'possums, and a dozen or so cottontails and swamp rabbits. The squirrels and rabbits we eat, the rest are taken while defending the barnyard from the preditory critters.

I use PMC Zapper22 high velocity hollow points for hunting, mainly because I bought a case of it several years ago and it's good ammo. I don't know if it's 2 or 3 or 10 MOA, but I know I can hold it on a skunk's head at 40 yards and take it out so that there's no infamous 'death spray'.

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3" MOA is not a proper term. 3 MOA is 1.5" at 50 yards which would be plenty acceptable for most medium to short range hunting depending on the size of the game. I have other semi-auto .22 rifles capable of shooting to close to 1/4" at 50 yards (.5 MOA) but they have a lot of $$$ in them. There are things you can do that should help the 15-22 if you want it to shoot tighter. A metal handguard, a better lighter trigger, and possibly consider a Limbsaver Barrel De-Resonator. All of those things can have a positive effect on group size.

This matches my experience too. I gave up trying to shoot overlapping groups at 100m with it and went "minute of badguy". It is plenty accurate at 100m to hit a standard pepper popper so all is good.

KBK

Particularily with a sporting chamber , you need to test what your rilfe *likes* .

Aproach #1 - test everything to discover the absoute tightest groups, and then stock up on ammo of that Lot #.

Aproach #2 - have an expectation of your needs/ probably capability of your rifle. Test a cpl types of ammo ( of desired catagory ). If you find something within needs / expectations , declare Victory.

In theory , standard vel or subsonic will be more accurate than "normal high velocity" , but with sporting chambers it can be seemingly random.

As a random example , with a Marlin M795 , the first ammo I tried was bulk Win 555 , gave me 9/16in at 37yds ( with random inexpensive scope on hand) .I considered this well within expectations for a $100 new rifle of this type , and declared provisional Victory. Someday with spare time on my hands I might play with other ammo to see if does even better , but the 555 is more than acceptable.

Of course the next rifle may hate 555 , and love Mini Mags or Green Tag , or whatever, you have to test for yourself.

I found with my 15/22 that trigger control, follow through, how and what I am rested on, (bipod or bag), use of same technique, made all the difference with it. For me, on the bench I find if I relax my trigger hand grip, pull down into the bench and back into my shoulder with my off hand, my gun becomes much more consistent to producing 1.5" 100yd groups. When free shooting, top of a post, sitting, leaning against a tree, for me it all comes down to trigger control. My gun still has the stock trigger in it which will change soon, saving my pennies, but I find that any movement even after the trigger breaks will cause flyers, you have to follow through and be still. Watch those cross hairs and concentrate. My gun seems to run anything, minimags, Goldens Winchesters and the above applies to all of them. Oh yeah, that's right, this is supposed to be fun, lol I'll shut up now.