15-22 Accuracy

[photoracer]

My response will turn a lot of people off because shooters are more interested in opinion and hype than facts.

I got my first rifle 68 years ago (Sixty eight) and I still shoot competition both rifle and pistol, not very completive any more, but at 81 years of age I still give a lot of the youngens a run for their money. I shoot at least once a week weather permitting, sometimes more.

A lot of my shooting is testing various guns and ammunition.

I bought my S&W M&P 15/22 for the same reasons you did.

My S&W M&P 15/22 is not the performance center version.

The first thing I did with mine is replace the horrible trigger that it comes with, next was magpull CTR Stock and MOE Grip.

Next Was a Redfield Battlezone 6X18 for accuracy testing to find out the “TRUTH” regarding its accuracy.

Chart show the prelimary and on going results.

Too bad that pasting my Spreadsheet in the post loses it's formating!

OK, here goes an attempt to format my accurace results. Pasting the spreadsheat made it confusing.

Fireing was done with Caldwell benh rest at 25 yards with Redfield Battezone 6X18 set at 18 Power.

I'm listing the average group size in MOA. Average is the average of three 5 shot groups.

A few ten round groups were fired at 100 yards and groupe size at 100 yrds in MOA closely matched the groups in MOA at 25 yards.

The best 10 shot group at 100 yards was fired with Norman Match 22 and measured 2.9"

AMMUNATION______________Average
ELEY STD__________________ 3.5
ELEY BLK BOX______________ 2.1
ELEY HV___________________ 2.5
WIN SUPER MATCH__________ 6.1
FED LIGHTNING_____________4.2
FED CHAMPION_____________ 3.7
CCI MM HP_________________3.4
CCI STD___________________6.4
WIN SX SP_________________5.4
WIN SX HP_________________3.4
RWS HV___________________2.8
RWS TGT__________________2.2
NORMA 22 MATCH___________3.0
SK STD____________________2.5
SK RIFLE MATCH____________2.3

Sometimes the truth hurts, sometimes it enlightens. It all depends on how honest you are with yourself.

The Performance Center may, and should do better than the results I obtained. Would like to find out. But not willing to spend that much just to satisfy my curiosity.

My greatest complaint for the S&@ 15/22 is the flexibility of the action.

Zero it for 50 yards and then put a sling on it and try to shoot it and you will see what I mean. I can shift the zero by 4 inches at 50 yards by varying the tension on the sling. Not Good!!!

Am I sorry I bought it? No, just wish I had opted for the Performance Center version in the first place.

Tell you what I am going to do. Because this debate keeps going on and on and because most of us who have been shooting the 15-22 for several years don't believe a single word anyone says when they claim what we know as impossible accuracy out of the 15-22 I am going to do a test. I do have a PC model upper, which also has a Nordic alloy handguard on it and I will have to put it on my speed 15-22 lower (I think the PC lower was stripped for parts) with its Geissele S3G trigger. I also have a full benchrest with a hydraulic trigger actuator, even though my silhouette 597 can shoot .5 MOA of a plain jane Rock Jr. rest. I will do a test including the roughly 8-10 varieties of ammo I have in stock (including some Eley and Lapua but not the best stuff). And whatever ammo wins I will then tune my Limbsaver Barrel De-resonator for that ammo and see what kind of groups I can tune it for. Too much trouble to tune it for more than one. As for a scope I have several I can use including a BSA Sweet 22 6-18x40 and a Nikon BDC 600 4-12x40, or maybe even my new Leatherwood 6-24x50 and I will do tests at 25 and 50 yards which is the most the bullseye range at MPC in Maryland has. I can do 100 and or 200 at the farm I live at but windless days tend to be few while MPC is fairly sheltered. I can set an 8" steel plate at 200 yards just to see if I can hit it multiple times in a row. That is 4 MOA and even those of us who don't think the 15-22 is accurate believe it can hit that. Might take a couple of weeks to set it up depending on weather. We have been getting a lot of thunderstorms recently. I can even compare it side by side with my Taccom AR-22 which according to the guys on AR15.com makes the most accurate barrels for a .22 AR. I will even put my 3-gun lower on it to give it the same trigger as the 15-22.
Unlike you I bought the PC model first not because I believed the S&W hype about it being more accurate but because I was leaving in a few days for the 2011 Ruger Rimfire WC and I needed a backup rifle. Plus as it came in MD with a single 10 rd mag it was cash and carry (no waiting period). Had to wait for RSC to deliver a few 25 rd mags to my PO box in WV before I could leave. Ended up electing to use it instead of my Rem 597 at the event due to reliability reasons.

 

[photoracer]

I guess I got lucky on my first 1522. At 25 yds with my squirrel hunting scope (Tasco 3x9x40) it will put all the shots into a ragged hole the size of a nickel easily. I can usually hit the bullet hole of choice. That's on a solid rest with my short bipod,no end cap. Using Winchester Dyna Point hp

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk

In reality a nickel is more than 1/2" so yours is shooting 2 MOA just like we all are saying about its limited accuracy. If it shot 1 MOA the hole would be closer to the size of a pencil eraser. 1/2" at 25y is the same as 2" at 100y.

 

[rickyblaze]

It's good enough for a squirrel rifle. I've got them in the freezer I wasn't trying to be as technical as the responses. I just know mine shoots as well as I need it to.

 

[photoracer]

2 MOA in a .22 is plenty accurate enough to take varmints at 50 yards and under. I have done it with just about every type of .22 there is from pistols to semi rifles to lever rifles. Plenty of people on this forum have also.

 

[batmann]

My M&P MOE is about a 2" group on the best of days, but that is NOT why I bought it. I helps keep my costs down for my AR shooting as the controls are pretty much identical.
For the record, I have a Nikon 3x9 rimfire scope and the 2"-3" groups are off a bench, but I have to admit, I don't have the patience to just shoot very, very slow fire. I shoot as fast as I can get back on target.

 

[nippr]

Finally got around to shooting a few groups with mine today. Pulled the red dot and put on a 3x9 scope.

Shot 5 shot groups at 50 yards using CCI SV. Here's my 3 best;