Did some chronographing of two Ruger 22 lr handguns.

[bigbore442001]

The other day I took off to the range and decided to play with my new chronograph. I am an avid handloader and my intention is to collect data on my handloads as well as some of my muzzleloading guns but it is fun to see what the real world numbers of the rimfires do.

I used two Ruger handguns. A Single Six single action revolver with a 5 1/2 inch barrel and Williams Fire Sights and a Ruger Mark 3/45 autoloader with standard factory iron sights. It too has a 5 1/2 inch barrel. I will post the comparative velocities and accuracy results.

Ruger Mk3 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ruger Single Six

CCI Velocitor :

1168 fps--------------------------------------------------------------------------------1068.1
2" group--------------------------------------------------------------------------------2 1/2" group

CCI Quik-Shok :

1350.4 fps------------------------------------------------------------------------------1231.3 fps
3/4" group-------------------------------------------------------------------------------3" group

CCI Stingers:

1366 fps---------------------------------------------------------------------------------1302.6 fps
2" group----------------------------------------------------------------------------------3" group

CCI SGB( Small Game Bullet)

1104.9 fps-------------------------------------------------------------------------------1060 fps
2" group-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------2" group

Eley Silhouex:

993.6 fps----------------------------------------------------------------------------------988 fps
2" group-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------2" group

Remington Thunderbolt:

928 fps------------------------------------------------------------------------------------925 fps
2 1/2" group------------------------------------------------------------------------------2 " group

So there you have it. The range was at 25 yards and using an MTM pistol rest on a bench. I did notice that I can shoot better with the Ruger Single Six and the aftermarket Firesights. The standard iron sights on the Mark 3 are a tad fuzzy. I guess that happens when you are at 47. One nice thing about the Ruger autoloader is that it came with a scope base that can be attached to the reciever of the gun. If I had a spare pistol scope I'd mount it to see what the true accuracy potential is. Also, I noticed the velocity difference between the autoloader and the revolver. We all know that the revolver has a cylinder gap but the Ruger gap seems to appear much larger. I did not measure it but I suspect it is over the standard 6 thousandths. I was surprised to see that the difference in velocity with the ammunition that produces lower velocities is not that much between the two guns. It is very evident when the velocity approaches the sound barrier level. The next time I may test the velocities out of the TC Contender Super 16" stainless 22 lr barrel. It will be interesting to say the least.

[AJMD429]

Nice range report. I too think Rugers seem to have bigger cylinder gaps than other revolvers I've seen (but I still like them).

Those sub-sonic loads would be great with a suppressor on the Mk-3/45.

[DixieBoy]

bigbore - Great little test. I like that you had identical barrel lengths to test with. I noticed right away that your differences in velocity seemed to vanish as you got closer to the speed of sound. Very interesting.

And don't worry about those "fuzzy" sight at your age of 47. It gets much better when you're 57 ! - DixieBoy