I have recently purchaced a Ballard (Cody) Number 6 in .22 LR and am looking for a target load for it for paper at 100 and 200 yard (also silhouette if I can make it legal.) My question is, after seeing in the Journal that ASSRA has shoots to 200 yards for these rimfires, what is the most recommended ammo? I know that each barrel perfers a different brand/lot but there must be a consensus as to what is the most consistant in a variety of different barrels? I have done some research and have found Federal 900 UM is very much liked but, alas, it is no longer available. What should a person try without having to buy hundreds of brands to experiment with? I would like to try to narrow the field down to a 1/2 dozen or less. Ah, the problems of today's rimfires. Thanks.

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What Boats said. I too used the Federal until recently, but I've also always used the Eley Tenex even more. Not a lotta difference in most of my rifles, but the Eley has always been available and that's the key thing here. Also the cheaper Eley seems to shoot to the same zero as the high-priced spread and I see little evidence of lube differences between the few Eley types I've tried. This is important, to me at least, for practice purposes.

Out of ~50 wannabe squirrel rifles tested over the last few decades, only two failed to do their best with either Eley or Federal. Those two, as it happens, were original Winchester low walls with original barrels, and did their best with CCI Green Tag. Green Tag has usually been a mediocre performer for me but I gotta admit that it did quite well in these two rifles. For whatever reason, I personally have never gotten good results with RWS.
Just my experience, good luck, Joe

I started with Win. T22 because that's what my dad and uncle used, and I was using their rifles.  After many years I switched to Federal 711B, because they had, at the time a "match grade" product.  But when I went to use the "match grade" in a match,  I kept thinking about how it cost 4x what I usually shot.  Did not do well with match grade.

It's my thought to get whatever you feel you can shoot 6-8000 rounds per year with and go with that.  The practice is more important than the ammunition.

Keep in mind though, that I shoot only off-hand.  A bench is only for sighting in.

The guys who started me though said to stay with standard velocity outdoors as high velocity is more affected by the wind.

Chrisj

Thanks for all the reply's. I do have a brick of Wolf Match Extra and a couple boxes of Eley Tenex EPS (it is too gosh-darn expensive to buy a brick and find out it will not work) along with CCI Green Tag on my shelf to try out. My local gun store stocks a very nice supply of misc. match rimfire so I can get pretty much what I need without much hassle. I have heard some are using Match Pistol. Has anyone had any experience with it? Also, does the Lapua L or M (the one that is larger od) work better in an older barrel with many rounds fired or should one stick to the standard diameter? I also have a well-used Lo-Wall that I need to get out and use as well.
Thanks much.

If u have a tight match chamber like found in the Martini's and Eric Johnson bbl's u will not be able to get about half of the Lapua Master or Midas L's even in the chamber but if u have a std chamber the "L" will from my experience perform better than their std ammo - I am still shooting the Federal cause I still have a supply of it - but someday I will run out and I will weep and nash my teeth.
U have a good day now,  rimfire

Rimfire;
  I do not know what the chamber is in the lo-wall. It was barreled sometime shortly after the turn of the 20th century by the Denver gunsmith George Schoyen and has since had many rounds through but still has a bright shiney well cared for bore. The Ballard (Cody) is their match chamber. If I could figure how to post a photo on this forum I could show you what I have.

I personally find the 200 yd .22rf benchrest to be about the most fun target shooting gets.  I have been shooting wolf/TM, because I bought a case a while back when I was shooting a different rifle and my current 12/15 martini seems to like it too.   It seems though that the ammo that works best at 200 may or may not do as well at 100 or 50.  I'm not sure why, but the accuracy capability is not a straight geometric progression.  When I was testing the previous rifle I ofund some ammo that would group well at 100 was not as good as at 50 or 200, while another brand/lot be opposit.
To me the trade off was that I could afford a case of WolfTM that shot quite well, and not afford a case of Ely or Lapua that might have shot a slight bit better.  I didn't want to practice with one ammo and that go to matches with another.

Not to quibble with Brent  but as mentioned above,  a guy who can work the wind (at least at 200 at EG) can generally beat others with technically more accurate rifles and ammo; so the cost of a lot of practice has to be factored in.

There is also a complex argument  regarding barrel time vers. angles of movement and shot dispersion at the target which throws a whole different fox into the ammo selection henhouse for those who shoot offhand

Ely as been accused of changing the lube formula for their TenX several times over the years if my memory serves me right.  I would think anything with the same lot number would be safe but beyond that I believe that we are total at any of the manufactures mercy.  Thats what makes 22 shootin so interesting.  u have a good day now - rimfire