I’ve won many matches with a Stevens 44 with an original factory barrel & one with a Shilen ratchet barrel, & I routinely get beat with CPA rifle, Low Walls, Ballards, Hepburns & custom rolling blocks in the hands of experienced shooters.  Ignoring the shooter, when these rifles win matches, what they tend to have in common is high-quality barrels, match chambers & ammo that that been tested out to 200yds.  And from experience I can tell you that selecting the right ammo is more important than some believe.  And it’s not just the quality or consistency of the ammo, the velocity is a key factor.

In my Stevens rachet-barrel rifle I can shoot various lots of Lapua Center X, SK Long Range, RWS R50, Eley Match, Eley Tenex, & RWS R100 & never achieve acceptable accuracy until the velocity approaches or exceeds 1100fps.  By acceptable accuracy I mean 1 to 1.5MOA.  I get similar results in a Stevens 44 with an original factory barrel with a “sporting chamber” although the Shilen rachet barrel with tight match chamber is noticeably better but not my much.

So, what I’ve settled on is using CCI Target (std. velocity) for the chickens & pigs & Eley Match for the turkeys & rams.  CCI Target shoots as good as the expensive stuff out to 100M & is a heck of a lot cheaper.  Since I’m concerned about velocity, I buy known velocity lots from Killough Shooting Sports.  Another option some of my fellow shooters have used is to utilize Lapua’s .22 ammo testing service.

Wayne

I should also say that I have 3 cpa's and they are all very accurate and reliable.  They all needed a little fiddling to get them that way.  All stuff that I could deal with easily at home ( and I'm not an experienced gunsmith or anything), but it's something to be aware of.   Once dealt with, the guns have been excellent.

Chris.

I agree on the Stevens 44 as a shooter. I have one that is lined with a TJ's liner and it is a tack driver. I had a low wall in 22 with an original barrel and the 44 would out shoot it all day long. I sold the low wall and kept the 44. I have a pattern for a shotgun butt stock for the 44 if you don't like the original crescent butt plate.

Babydriver,
I read that in Campbell's 1st book a couple of days ago.  I was researching the High Wall Winder action with cut down sides making it look like a low wall, but all other measurements are those of a standard high wall and the action has a large shank.  Campbell goes into th history of this action version in same detail.   

I think this topic deserves its own thread.  I will start one later today. 

Jack

Gunmaker; those are nice 100 yd groups, but in .22BPCR matches, the rams are at 200 yards/meters. I’ve shot groups like that at 100 yds, moved to 200 yds and the groups looked like shotgun patterns - same rifle, same ammo, same conditions.

Yeah I definitely know that 200m groups can really blow up based on what you see at 100m.  I was just trying to show that the CPA rifles are very good.   I haven't shot 200m paper for a while, but the rifle can do it, it's mostly the brand of ammo you pick once you have a good barrel and match chamber.   The one big benefit of the CPA in my humble opinion is that the triggers are better than many of the single shots out there. 

But everyone has to pick what you like to shoot.  I'm pretty confident that a good gunsmith can build an accurate 22 on any of the single shots you'll commonly find of course.   

Chris.

I’m a long time 22BPCR Silhouette shooter. I’ve seen a lot of changes/progress over the years since I shot my first match at Raton in 2001. The gear, ammo, and the skills of the shooters now is amazing compared to those early years.
The game has become extremely competitive, the guns and ammo available are light years ahead of what was available when I started. There is a downside, tho, and that is that the cost of entry to be competitive has gotten very high, especially if you’re a scope shooter. 
I’ve read the comments posted and have to suggest that Texasmac’s comments in post #31 deserve to be read and re-read, they are spot on.