Epic Fail Posted May 14, 2009 Report Share Posted May 14, 2009 (edited) i have a remington 597... trying to zero it today.. must have put about 150 thunderbolts through it and it would not group at all.. (the rifle was rested all the time) the thunderbolts were all over the targets in every direction no matter how much i adjusted the scope i shot 30 magtech standard velocity through it and they were a bit better grouping.. a little closer together (without changing the scope) and without changing the scope i shot 15 Eley match through it and they were dead on.. even rapid firing 10 they were in a grouping of a 10p piece now is there a problem with thunderbolts in remingtons > there was not even a pattern in where they were going on the target.. they were in all directions (also they jam the last brass with the next bullet and wont fire every now and then) this does not happen with my other rifle.. i have a stirling 14p bolt 22 and the thunderbolts shoot as good as eley match or magtech.. very very accurate does anyone know why this could be happening ? ive cleaned the bore of the 597 and cleaned the mechanism and magazine and re lubed the lot... Edited May 14, 2009 by angelotambini Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LXX73 Posted May 15, 2009 Report Share Posted May 15, 2009 Just because they group well in one rifle doesn't mean this will be the case with other rifles. That's why when you get a new rifle you have to try different ammo types to find which one suits the rifle. Remington thunderbolts aren't an inherently accurate round, I use it myself for plinking on a 25m range with a GSG5. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Epic Fail Posted May 15, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 15, 2009 ive only tried those 3 types of round through it so far but i thought that the thunderpolts would have suited the gun because they are both made by remington.. the eley worked the best but they were also the most expensive Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LXX73 Posted May 15, 2009 Report Share Posted May 15, 2009 but i thought that the thunderpolts would have suited the gun because they are both made by remington.. Doesn't work like that im afraid, if things were only that easy. If you want cheaper ammo you'll just have to shop around and try different types and see what groups well in the rifle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casts_by_fly Posted May 15, 2009 Report Share Posted May 15, 2009 I've never had good luck with any remmy ammo except the subs. Yellowjackets have been particularly poor for me. In rimfire ammo, the rim thickness and the consistency of the rim thickness are both very important for accuracy. The average thickness (I think) is what makes one brand shoot much better than another in a particular gun and why the same brand will shoot differently in the same model but different guns. The rims on the chambers are cut slightly deeper in one gun or another and the extra little bit of distance to or from the lands makes the difference on the board. Of the things that we can control, consistency of rim thickness determines how repeatable the ammo is. Powder charge, priming compound, and bullet consistency will all play a major factor, but we can't control that. At least you can sort by rim thickness if you need to. These are my thoughts based on my own experiences and some general critical thought about the subject, not actual lab testing. At the end though, the easiest way is to shoot a bunch of ammo and see what your gun likes. Once you find what it likes, buy your allotment of that brand/product/lot and shoot it as long as you can. Which reminds me, I'm due to buy a brick of subs. I'm down to my last box. Thanks, Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suffolk shooter Posted May 15, 2009 Report Share Posted May 15, 2009 Try putting some winchesters through the 597, mine likes them and cycles them better than Eley's, CCI's and Remington's. Rechecked your post, but didn't say whether these were HV or subs? I emailed Derek Edgar of Edgar brothers earlier this week and he gave me the following advice. The 597 was originally designed for high velocity and hyper velocity rounds and was not designed to take subsonic ammo even though it will but may be not reliably. We made no alterations to the rifle to fire subsonic apart from screw cutting the Barrel. Any proofed .22 LR rimfire is capable of firing any .22 LR ammunition regardless of speed. Cycling problems on semi-auto guns are not normally caused by the power of the rounds but by the changes of pressure when a Moderator is fitted. They also tend to get a lot dirtier when used with a Moderator again because of the pressure changes in the Barrel. We have found over the years that keeping the rifle clean helps the reliability no end. We've also found cycling problems are often caused by the subsonic round not making the Bolt travel back far enough. One such cure for this is to remove a small section of the rubber bumper at the back of the Action which allows the Bolt to fly back faster before hitting the bumper to dampen the Bolt. You also need to make sure the Bolt Guide Rods are straight and not causing any binding which will slow the Bolt travel down (roll the rods along a level surface. Make sure when reassembling that you don't tighten the grub screws securing them too tight causing the rods to bend slightly. I've also known people to emery cloth these to a silver finish to allow better smoother travel of the Bolt. SS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MC Posted May 15, 2009 Report Share Posted May 15, 2009 I would definetely try some winchesters, my ruger loves them. You are however trying to compare a £2.50 box of hollow point ammo with a high grade match ammo which costs over double that. It will no doubt group better in most guns as the quality control is a lot higher. There are so many variables with rimfire ammo that as said earlier find one your rifle likes and buy a batch. Eley Match is batch tested and each batch has a code on it which has the machine it was loaded on and velocity. I have not seen that on any others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RocketRebel Posted May 15, 2009 Report Share Posted May 15, 2009 It doent matter what the cost is, if your paying £1 per thousnad & hitting nothing, may as well pay £1 a shot & do the job ! (Not that they will cost that for a desent 2 rimmy round) Imo ..thunderbolts are poo! the powder weights are so inconsistant, some low some high. They are that bad , you can hear the diffrence. I would go to winchester, ely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Epic Fail Posted May 15, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 15, 2009 (edited) okay thanks for the help i planned to take the action apart tonight and take the trigger out to de grease as much as i acn and re lube but one allen bolt has rounded so ive been trying to get it out but with no luck... any ideas how to ? i will see what i can lay my hands on tomorrow buy a few different types thanks Edited May 15, 2009 by angelotambini Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest RemmySPS Posted May 15, 2009 Report Share Posted May 15, 2009 Remington Thunderbolts… …..oh my gawd. What a load of Shiiiiiiiiiii Bought a brick of 500 off a friend for £12 so that my granddaughter could blast them downrange in the club semi-auto. They must be the worst ammo’ I have ever seen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Epic Fail Posted May 15, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 15, 2009 (edited) yeah they arent the best i bought a few so that i could zero my rifles as they were cheap Edited May 15, 2009 by angelotambini Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hodmedod.one Posted May 16, 2009 Report Share Posted May 16, 2009 Remington Thunderbolts… …..oh my gawd. What a load of Shiiiiiiiiiii Well said yeah they arent the best i bought a few so that i could zero my rifles as they were cheap They are so useless you will never get a true zero with them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mossy835 Posted May 16, 2009 Report Share Posted May 16, 2009 i have used these and found them no good.used them a in the usa.cheap over there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trex Posted May 16, 2009 Report Share Posted May 16, 2009 Tried Thunderbolts in my 10/22 as had an offer of lots of them at very cheap prices, shot a hundred as mentioned they were audibly different going down range smelt acrid and did'nt group at all. Nasty ammo = never again. As somebody said above thier sh*te and they are not wrong. For High Velocity ammo I buy CCI Minimag by the brick. Rifle liked the 40grain and started using the 36grain hollowpoint a little while ago which groups just a little tighter. Cheap too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Epic Fail Posted May 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 16, 2009 (edited) today i bought some eley standard and blazer also have 50 magtech left over will have to see how i get off tomorrow in the club Edited May 16, 2009 by angelotambini Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Epic Fail Posted May 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 17, 2009 got a little better groupings today even though it was p*****g down and windy finally got 10 eley standard to group while being rested on the barrel in a 10p piece the thunderbolts were still irratic and ive given up on them in this gun (although they are decent in my bolt action) magtech were grouping in about a 2 inch group blazer's were in a grouping of about an inch and a half these were all on rapid fire.. didnt have much time between each shot to pull exactly on target Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minghis Posted May 17, 2009 Report Share Posted May 17, 2009 For High Velocity ammo I buy CCI Minimag by the brick. Rifle liked the 40grain and started using the 36grain hollowpoint a little while ago which groups just a little tighter. Cheap too. Agred, perfect for my Finnfire. Sub 2" groups 90yds and cycle extremely well. Use them all the time, haven't bothered with subs since spring and can't see me going back to them either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vince Green Posted May 17, 2009 Report Share Posted May 17, 2009 Some .22 rifles are fussy about thier ammo, some are not. Its horses for courses, find one you like and stick to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Epic Fail Posted May 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 17, 2009 im trying to do that now my bolt action will fire anything but the semi wont Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LXX73 Posted May 18, 2009 Report Share Posted May 18, 2009 got a little better groupings today even though it was p*****g down and windy finally got 10 eley standard to group while being rested on the barrel in a 10p piece the thunderbolts were still irratic and ive given up on them in this gun (although they are decent in my bolt action) magtech were grouping in about a 2 inch group blazer's were in a grouping of about an inch and a half these were all on rapid fire.. didnt have much time between each shot to pull exactly on target Why are you carrying out accuracy tests using 'rapid fire' ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest RemmySPS Posted May 19, 2009 Report Share Posted May 19, 2009 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vectra26 Posted August 2, 2009 Report Share Posted August 2, 2009 I know this thread is old now, but thought I'd chime in. Thunderbolts have given me the least stoppages in my 10/22. However they definately are inconsistent in powder charge, at first I thought it was my suppressor, then I realised what it was. Obviously they have a good crack on them being HV, but some sounded almost subsonic! Anyway, it happens to be the cheapest .22 I can get my hands on, groups acceptable for me, and cycles my 10/22 better than any other ammo I've tried so far, so I'll continue buying it until I get a pay rise lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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