Aguila Sub Sonic Sniper 22LR keyholing?

Henry22LR · 01-25-2008, 12:06 PM

First, what is keyholing? Is it caused by lead buildup inside the barrel after several shots?

Second, does the Marlin bolt-action with microgrove rifiling do anything to improve/worsen keyholing?

What has been your experience with shooting Aguila SSS 22LR from a Marlin at, say, 50 yards?

neophyte · 01-25-2008, 12:45 PM

Henry22lr: Sir; Key-holing ; when said bullet goes through a target side ways, or any other off center angle.
Lead, obstruction, bullet, heat, cold, deformed bullet, Quite a list.
Try something. Clean your barrel, Clean it again.
Fire 5 shots; do so in a pattern. Don't try and bullseye for this observation. Look at target. If all are straight; ok. without doing anything, shoot 5 more, recheck target, if ok, try one more time with 5 more.
This should give you a good reference point to begin looking for a potential problem.
follow up with your experiences

Big Dog · 01-26-2008, 04:54 PM

Can be caused by the pitch of the rifling too. I find the Aguila SSS rounds to be better in older .22 rifles. My old Marlin 80DL (Ballard rifling) shoots it well, as does my Romanian M69 trainer. All others tend to keyhole.
One of the barrel makers (Green Mountain, perhaps?) used to make a barrel specifically for this round in the Ruger 10-22 - but they were discontinued last I heard.

Bookman · 01-26-2008, 11:23 PM

We shot a few hundred of these odd-looking rounds at camp two summers ago. None keyholed in our Anschutz bolt-action target rifles.

Accuracy was OK, but the kids didn't like the smell of those "Eley"-style primers.

Big Dog · 01-27-2008, 07:22 AM

Heck, I love the smell of 'Eley in the Morning' . . .

Kinda 'fruity'.

samuel · 01-27-2008, 07:49 AM

Keyholing is an unstabilised bullet that makes an egg shaped or keyhole shaped hole in the target.It is usually caused by too slow spin on bullet.The lower velocity bullets are more apt to keyhole.It is also caused by a tight spot in the barrel before it reaches the muzzle causing the bullet to compress and be smaller than the bore at the muzzle.It is also caused by dammage to the crown,(the very last thing that touches the bullet.)which causes more drag on one side of the bullet,causing it to tip.The most accurate speed(fps) for a 40gr bullet found was 1000fps to 1100fps with a 1in16" twist.You can find this at wikipedia or several other sites. sam.

.22guy · 01-27-2008, 08:01 PM

I think those rounds are known to do that. Just shoot them in a different gun or just shoot them up. Keyholing won't really hurt anything, I don't think. Accuracy will likely be poor though.

Big Dog · 01-28-2008, 09:37 PM

Try them in a pistol. My Whitney Wolverine loves them!

SwedeSteve · 02-11-2008, 01:13 PM

What Sam said! I would def inspect the rifles crown.

01-25-2008, 12:06 PM	#1
Henry22LR Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 95	Aguila Sub Sonic Sniper 22LR keyholing? First, what is keyholing? Is it caused by lead buildup inside the barrel after several shots? Second, does the Marlin bolt-action with microgrove rifiling do anything to improve/worsen keyholing? What has been your experience with shooting Aguila SSS 22LR from a Marlin at, say, 50 yards?

01-25-2008, 12:45 PM	#2
neophyte Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Charlotte, NC Posts: 4,825 Blog Entries: 2	Key Henry22lr: Sir; Key-holing ; when said bullet goes through a target side ways, or any other off center angle. Lead, obstruction, bullet, heat, cold, deformed bullet, Quite a list. Try something. Clean your barrel, Clean it again. Fire 5 shots; do so in a pattern. Don't try and bullseye for this observation. Look at target. If all are straight; ok. without doing anything, shoot 5 more, recheck target, if ok, try one more time with 5 more. This should give you a good reference point to begin looking for a potential problem. follow up with your experiences __________________ Craig May the Lord's face radiate with joy because of you. Numbers 6:24

01-26-2008, 04:54 PM	#3
Big Dog Moderator Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Tallahassee, Florida Posts: 10,658	Can be caused by the pitch of the rifling too. I find the Aguila SSS rounds to be better in older .22 rifles. My old Marlin 80DL (Ballard rifling) shoots it well, as does my Romanian M69 trainer. All others tend to keyhole. One of the barrel makers (Green Mountain, perhaps?) used to make a barrel specifically for this round in the Ruger 10-22 - but they were discontinued last I heard. __________________ Moderator of: AR15/M16, M14/M1A, New/Beginning Shooters and Militaria/Collectables.

01-27-2008, 07:22 AM	#5
Big Dog Moderator Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Tallahassee, Florida Posts: 10,658	Heck, I love the smell of 'Eley in the Morning' . . . Kinda 'fruity'. __________________ Moderator of: AR15/M16, M14/M1A, New/Beginning Shooters and Militaria/Collectables.

01-27-2008, 08:01 PM	#7
.22guy Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 4,437	I think those rounds are known to do that. Just shoot them in a different gun or just shoot them up. Keyholing won't really hurt anything, I don't think. Accuracy will likely be poor though. __________________ My first priority will be to reinstate the assault weapons ban as soon as I take office.

01-26-2008, 11:23 PM	#4
Bookman Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: 10 paces south of Canada Posts: 766	We shot a few hundred of these odd-looking rounds at camp two summers ago. None keyholed in our Anschutz bolt-action target rifles. Accuracy was OK, but the kids didn't like the smell of those "Eley"-style primers.

01-27-2008, 07:49 AM	#6
samuel Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 6,081	Keyholing is an unstabilised bullet that makes an egg shaped or keyhole shaped hole in the target.It is usually caused by too slow spin on bullet.The lower velocity bullets are more apt to keyhole.It is also caused by a tight spot in the barrel before it reaches the muzzle causing the bullet to compress and be smaller than the bore at the muzzle.It is also caused by dammage to the crown,(the very last thing that touches the bullet.)which causes more drag on one side of the bullet,causing it to tip.The most accurate speed(fps) for a 40gr bullet found was 1000fps to 1100fps with a 1in16" twist.You can find this at wikipedia or several other sites. sam.

01-28-2008, 09:37 PM	#8
Big Dog Moderator Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Tallahassee, Florida Posts: 10,658	Try them in a pistol. My Whitney Wolverine loves them! __________________ Moderator of: AR15/M16, M14/M1A, New/Beginning Shooters and Militaria/Collectables.

02-11-2008, 01:13 PM	#9
SwedeSteve Thor's Hammer Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Alaska Posts: 14,194 Images: 1	What Sam said! I would def inspect the rifles crown. __________________ Thank God we don't get as much Government as we pay for! -Will Rogers