One of the easiest way to tighten 22LR groups is to;
- Buy some expensive ammo that is sorted for accuracy criteria. Use sparingly.
- Spend lots of money to buy a world class target rifle and scope. Not me, can’t afford it.
- Buy more affordable ammo and sort it by weight and length and rim thickness. Not yet.
- Test lesser expensive ammo to see what your rifle likes. I do this! But the flyers drive me crazy.
- Ensure the throat of your rifle chamber is cleaned regularly of lead buildup. Important, I do this!
- Stop changing ammo brands without barrel reseasoning. Yea, learning this lesson big time!!
- Shoot often to know your rifle and accessories it needs. Within my budget.
- Try using a barrel harmonic deresonator. Trying this too.
Having said all that, above is what I am doing to tighten my groups.
Buy an affordable rifle known to be used in competition and practice with brands of ammo your rifle likes. I bought a CZ457 Varmint Match Target Rifle MTR for $899. A Vortex Viper Rifle MRAD Scope for $450. I like both. And a Timney Trigger for $180 dollars. A good rest too.
One of the most important criteria I am learning is to put enough rounds through my rifle to season it.
The term seasoning refers to acclimating the full length of the barrel to the bullet lube used by your ammo brand. Very Important!
You will know when groups seem to magically tighten, maybe 15 rounds or even 50 or more.
This will really tighten groups. Experiment with how many rounds of a specific brand to season and tighten groups.
Every ammo type has a different lubricant which seasons/tightens groups. Some suggest cleaning the barrel every 200 or so rounds and then re-season it.
Shooting high quality ammo can be saved only for competition, thus not as expensive as it appears.
As I have said in other articles, being a long time handloader, I like to experiment. It is fun!
Hope this helps!
Good Shooting!