moved. Besides the inserts protecting that area under the rings from scratches or dents, even on the hardest kicking of fi rearms, they secured the scope. With the inserts in place, the entire surface area of the ring grips the scope. This ring-and-insert arrangement greatly in- creases the gripping power and ensures that your scope does not move … which is why I prefer these on handguns, slug guns, or rifl es. Accuracy: What impressed me
after fi ring everything was that all am- munition reviewed grouped quite well at 50 yards. When I then fi red at 100- yard targets, everything also grouped well. Then, as the yardage increased, the groups opened up to the point that hitting a ground squirrel center mass for a humane kill was not consistent. Bullet drop: For me, bullet drop is
Five handguns were used to gather data. The smallest is a 22 WMR with a 10-inch barrel. In the tables it is matched against the 14" and 23" barrels to compare velocities. Also, as with any Contender or Encore, you can mix and match grips and fore-ends. The key is not looks but how the handgun functions and groups.
Table 4: Muzzle velocities and groups with handguns at 50 yards. Ammunition
17 Mach 2 17-gr. Hornady V-Max 17 Mach 2 17-gr. CCI V-Max
17 HMR 17-gr. Remington AccuTip-V BT 17 HMR 17-gr. Winchester V-Max 17 HMR 20-gr. Winchester Gamepoint 17 HMR 20-gr. Hornady XTP 22 LR 32-gr. CCI Stinger
22 LR 33-gr. Remington Yellow Jacket 22 LR 37-gr. Winchester Super Speed HP 22 LR 40-gr. Winchester Hyper Speed HP 22 LR 40-gr. PowerPoint HP 22 WMR 30-gr. Hornady V-Max 22 WMR 30-gr. Federal Sierra JHP 22 WMR 33-gr. Remington AccuTip-V
Table 5:
How barrel lengths affect velocities of the 22 WMR Rounds Contender Barrel Lengths:
22 WMR 30-gr. Hornady V-Max 22 WMR 30-gr. Federal Sierra JHP 22 WMR 33-gr. Remington AccuTip-V
Page 62 Spring 2012
10-inch 1,835
1,928 1,625
14-inch 23-inch 2,039 2,245
2,060 1,770
2,235 2,058
MV 3-shot group in inches in F.P.S.
1,950 2,026 2,422 2,376 2,216 2,211 1,417 1,208 1,213 1,138 1,090 2,039 2,060 1,770
50 yds. 0.60
0.75 0.50 0.55 1.25 0.50 0.75 1.10 0.80 1.00 0.40 0.25 0.55 0.60
what determined which cartridge was adequate and at what ranges. With my 50-yard sight-in ammunition, I then fi red groups at 100 yards. At that dis- tance, the 17 Mach 2 dropped 1" and the 17 HMR dropped 1.1". In the 22 calibers, the long rifl e round dropped 1.6" while the magnum round dropped 1.30". These fi gures show any of these could be considered 100-yard varmint rounds, with energy and bullet type both important. At 200 yards, the data demonstrate that none of these are consistent 200-yard cartridges. The 22 LR round dropped off of the 24-inch paper. The magnum dropped 18 inches while producing a 3-inch group. When it came to the newer 17-caliber rounds, the Mach 2 group dropped 16 inches and the group measured a large 7 inches. Out of these four, the 17 HMR dropped only 6 inches while producing a three-shot group measuring 3.5 inches. These data show that if any of the cartridges can be considered a 200-yard round, this one gets the nod. However, for consistent hits on small varmints, I will try to stay within 150 yards for shots with the HMR and Magnum and within 100 with the other two. Sure, we can get hits at 200 yards
and more by watching where a bullet strikes and then making adjustments in where to hold the cross hairs. That works but the method does not always produce consistent hits … and that is what varmint hunting is all about. Note on Cartridge Chambering: Concerning the 22 Winchester Magnum
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