So true - Gold Medal is definitely not Ultramatch.

I still have a brick of the Ultramatchleft from my last case of the stuff. It wass a good ammo and shot great in some rifles.

Lones Wigger brought some Ultramatch to a silhouette match when it first was introduced and it was as good as anything I've ever shot, it's nice to know that Americans can still make first quality products. Then the accountants started checking the profit margins and that was it for Ultramatch. The last time I seen Lones was at his BR-50 match at his home range in Colorado Springs and he was using sorted Tenex.
It's a mystery to me why developed countrys{with labor costs similar to the U.S.} like England and Germany can make quality 22 ammo, ship it half way around the world and make money, but we can't compete?

That's one of my dissertation questions - if Federal will talk to me. Tim North of Broughton barrel already described getting whacked by some export restrictions that hurt them.

I emailed a contact at Federal (same coporation, different division) asking why they didn't make a world class 22LR ammo. The reply was, "All the shooters at Federal shoot Automatch." Not an answer to the question.

dwl wrote:I emailed a contact at Federal (same coporation, different division) asking why they didn't make a world class 22LR ammo. The reply was, "All the shooters at Federal shoot Automatch." Not an answer to the question.

Or maybe it is. No. Not the answer we want, but it is an answer.

We must remember that competition shooters make up such a small percentage of ammo consumers that the American ammo makers simply can not afford us.

Instead, our American ammo companies churn out cheap to inexpensive ammo for those who will blaze away at large targets and at close distances. The term is, "Blasting ammo."

Federal Automatch is actually pretty good ammo for what it costs. But it won't cut the mustard at 100 meters.

I couldn't wait any longer, we had a break in the weather this week and I had to know what could be done with Automatch.
I decided that the test bed rifle would be my 541 rather than my 1712 or 40X because Automatch is more likely to be shot by up and coming shooters rather than seasoned veterans. Along with that same train of thought it has a 12X Leupold target with a CPC dot. It is not a stock 541 however, it was one of those 541's that dropped the first shot 2" low in a five shot string.
I had the barrel taken off, threaded, action threaded, and cut a new match chamber. It's been bedded and a third lever added to the trigger.
None of this transformed it into Anschutz or Remington 40X but it's a very capable little rifle.
As a control in the test I decided to shoot two other brands of ammunition and establish a benchmark of what is possible. All testing was done at 100 meters and shot over a Pact model 1 chronograph. The two other brands of ammunition were Eley Tenex Ultimate EPS, and SK Standard Plus.
The Eley is remnents from a carton I had for BR-50 two years ago, the SK was a box I won at a match last weekend-a new lot. The Auto-match is from a carton bought at Wal-Mart monday. I put 25 rounds of it in a SK box, turned it upside down and sprayed it twice with Hornady one shot case lube. Range conditions: 62 degrees 7-9 mph wind from behind 8 o'clock to 5 o'clock The results were interesting.
Tenex 10 shots fired
Average speed: 1112
High:1124
Low:1100
Extreme spread:23.9
Standard deviation:7.9
Average deviation:6.2
Group size:1.175
SK 25 shots fired
Average speed:1083
High:1107
Low:1049
Extreme spread:58.3
Standard deviation:16.1
Average deviation:13.1
Group size:1.41
Auto-match sprayed with case lube 25 shots fired
Average speed: 1216
High:1242
Low:1184
Extreme spread:57.7
Standard deviation:18.7
Average deviation:16.1
Group size:1.72 three shots fell out the bottom for a total 2.650
Auto-match dry/unlubed 25 shots fired
Average speed:1224
High:1250
Low:1195
Extreme spread:54.7
Standard deviation:14.5
Average deviation:11.9
Group size:1.625 no flyers
Group sizes are indicitive of range conditions, this little rifle is capable of better groups than this, adding extra lubrication didn't seem to help anything except it was easier to chamber the round.
The surprise was that the inexpensive auto-match shot nearly as well as the SK at twice the price. This warrants a test in the 1712.