Which round for .22 rifle?

I have a .22 rimfire Browning A-bolt rifle and want to use the new Eley 38-gr subsonic rounds in it. My keeper seems to think these will be the best — what are your thoughts?

With any rifle, it is prudent to test a range of ammunition to see which brand, bullet weight and style works best in it. It is impossible to say which round will suit your gun without trying out several different types.

Rimfire ammunition is quite cheap compared with centrefire ammunition, so I would buy a box of Eley, Winchester 40-gr and 42-gr, RWS and CCI subsonic ammunition to start with. Sit down on a sandbag rest and shoot five lots of five-shot groups at 30 yards to see which brand and weight of ammunition your rifle likes. It is the only way to see which is more accurate in your gun. When you find a round you are happy with, buy as much of it as your licence will allow.

Don’t buy ammo on the basis of price or the maker’s claims — it is essential to shoot it yourself. I use a few different rimfires for vermin and each has its own preference for the brand of .22 ammunition that works best in it. BP How to spot it and where to find it: With its pretty star-shaped flowers, the scarlet pimpernel has the distinction of being one of our few native arable weeds. The bright blooms, usually flame-red but occasionally pink, are borne singly on long, square stalks with oval leaves. It is found on waste ground, roadside verges, open and arable land and sand dunes and is common across the UK, though largely confined to the coasts of Scotland.

Interesting facts: Baroness Emmuska Orczy made this plant famous when she wrote The Scarlet Pimpernel, about a dashing masked hero who tried to rescue the French aristocracy from the guillotine. He left calling cards depicting the red flower that gave him the name. But in Spain, where the pimpernel is also widespread, the flowers are a rich cobalt blue. Some of its colloquial names came about because the flowers close up in inclement weather. The genus Anagallis comes from Greek and means “to delight again” — a reference to the reopening of the blooms each day when the sun comes out — and arvensis means “of cultivated land”, the habitat commonly graced by this lovely little wildflower.

Each rifle has its ownpreference for the brandand weight of ammo thatworks best in it