Ruger SR22 Pistol Review
Part 6 - Range Test
February 27, 2012

Ruger SR22 Review

In my range tests of the Ruger SR22 Pistol I wanted to shoot a variety of ammunition to get a general idea on the accuracy and reliability of this pistol.  The photo below gives you a glimpse of most of the different types of ammunition used in this review.  The ammunition ranged in price from inexpensive bulk to more costly target ammunition.  The ammunition ranged in bullet weight from 36 grain to 40 grain and bullet type from round nose to hollow point.  Last, it ranged in velocity from subsonic to standard to high velocity ammunition.

 

Figure 1
Ruger SR22 Review

All the ammunition used in this review is listed in the table below.  For each type of ammunition, I shot a full magazine at 13 yards from a bench to get a 10-shot group size as shown in the table below.  I also calculated the group size based on getting rid of the worst shot to give a 9-shot group size.  In my opinion, tossing out the worst of the 10 shots is probably a better representation of the pistol's ability instead of my shooting ability.

Company Brand & Product Load No. Grains Velocity** (ft/sec) Bullet $/Box* $/Shot 10 Shot
Group
9 Shot
Group
Blazer 22 Long Rifle 00021 40 High (1235) LRN $20.79 / 525 $0.040 2.05" 1.59"
CCI Mini-Mag Target/Plinking 0030 40 High (1235) CPRN $6.45 / 100 $0.065 2.24 1.50
CCI Mini-Mag Varmit 0031 36 High (1260) CPHP $6.65 / 100 $0.067 2.23" 1.53"
CCI Standard Velocity 0032 40 Standard (1070) LRN $6.72 / 100 $0.067 2.58" 2.48"
CCI Segmented Hollow Point 0074 40 Subsonic (1050) SHP $5.45 / 50 $0.109 3.30" 2.06"
Federal Premium American Eagle AE5022 40 High (1240) LRN $1.86 / 50 $0.037 3.24" 2.60"
Federal Premium Champion Target AutoMatch AM22 40 High (1200) LRN $13.76 / 325 $0.042 2.13" 1.75"
Federal Premium Champion Target Value Pack 745 36 High (1260) CPHP $18.90 / 525 $0.036 - -
Federal Premium Gold Medal HV Match 719 40 High (1200) LRN $3.92 / 50 $0.078 2.84" 2.15"
Remington Remington Golden Bullet ? 36 High (1280) CPHP $18.89 / 525 $0.036 1.58" 1.38"
Remington Target 21284 40 Standard (1150) LRN $6.16 / 100 $0.062 2.50" 1.94"
Winchester Xpert 22 XPERT22 36 High (1220) HP $26.08 / 500 $0.052 3.05" 2.10"
Wolf Match Target ? 40 Subsonic (1050) LRN $5.79 / 50 $0.116 1.20" 0.94"
Average 1.84"
CPHP - Copper Plated Hollow Point, CPRN - Copper Plated Round Nose, HP - Hollow Point, LRN - Lead Round Nose, SHP - Segmented Hollow Point
* - Box quantity shows and price based on CheaperThanDirt.com, MidwayUSA.com or Brownells.com prices as of 2/26/2012
** - For the purposes of this table, I categorize these as Subsonic < 1070 ft/sec, 1070 ft/sec <= Standard < 1200 ft/sec, High >= 1200 ft/sec

Although the above table represents only 130 shots, between myself, my son and two in-laws, we put well over 800 rounds through the SR22 Pistol.  The only issue I had was with one round of the Remington Golden Bullets failing to fire.  Considering the Golden Bullet ammunition is one of the cheapest used, I believe the issue was ammo related.  Looking at the group sizes, I'm still amazed at the performance of the Wolf rimfire ammunition.  In the March 2012 issue of Guns & Ammo Magazine, their range test results were slightly better than mine.  My 1.84" composite average factored from 13 to 25 yards gives a composite 25 yard grouping of 3.54",  The G&A article had a composite group average of 3.06".

These photos below show the 13 yard 10-shot groups for the Wolf Match Target and Remington Golden Bullet and were the best groups out of everything I shot though the Ruger SR22 Pistol.

Figure 2                                                           Figure 3
Ruger SR22 Review   Ruger SR22 Review

 

Thoughts

Throughout my range test, I found the Ruger SR22 Pistol to be fun and reliable and it seemed to handle a wide variety of ammunition.  I don't consider this pistol to be a target pistol, but the accuracy achieved with my range tests is clearly sufficient for general target shooting and overall plinking.  I thought the SR22 had a good sight picture and the trigger was crisp in the single action mode.  Although I consider the grip to be smaller than I would normally prefer, it still had a good feel in my hand and I was able to comfortably reach all the controls (slide stop, manual safety, hammer and magazine release).

For more detailed photos and commentary, make sure you check out the other parts of this review and feel free to leave comments on my Reader's Comments page.  The following links are provided to help you see other parts of this review. 


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