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Cooper Model 22

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Category: Firearms, Bows, and Ammunition
Forum Name: Firearms
Forum Description: All makes, models and uses
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Printed Date: March/28/2024 at 18:07
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Topic: Cooper Model 22
Posted By: mlv2k5
Subject: Cooper Model 22
Date Posted: April/11/2010 at 21:24

Anyone else own one? I finally found some ammo for mine (.257 Roberts) and went out shooting today. Needless to say I had high expectations given the repuatation for accuracy these rifles have. I was absolutely not impressed. The groups were around 1.5" at 100 yards from a benchrest with sandbags!

I tried cleaning the barrel, made sure all the action screws were snug, I couldn't find anything wrong the scope or rings...I don't know. I was shooting Hornady factory ammo as it was the only thing I could find in .257 Roberts but its hard to believe that any ammo would shoot up to reputation given the performance of this brand today.
 
I shot my old Model 70 alongside the Cooper just to make sure it wasn't me. It printed inside an inch with the old Lyman 2.5x scope I have on it at 100 yards. My hope is my rifle is just very fickle about ammunition and will group another brand into a respectable .75 at 100 yards. Considering how Cooper rifles are famed for accuracy I am very dissapointed as of now. Really Sad


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-Michael



Replies:
Posted By: 3_tens
Date Posted: April/11/2010 at 22:02
Cooper used to give the load used for there test on the target card that comes with the rifle. If they didn't give them a call they should give the recipe they use for thier test shots. I have three rimfire Coopers and they are all one raged hole shooters. I have never had or fired a centerfire Cooper. I looked at a nice Cooper Custom 38 left hand at the gunshow yesterday chambered in a .221 fireball

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Folks ain't got a sense of humor no more. They don't laugh they just get sore.

Need to follow the rules. Just hard to determine which set of rules to follow
Now the rules have changed again.


Posted By: mike650
Date Posted: April/11/2010 at 22:51
My cousin just bought "the Jackson Hunter" in .280. I haven't shot it... yet... but he claims it's super accurate. It's a beauty that's for sure.   Thunbs Up





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“A hunt based only on trophies taken falls far short of what the ultimate goal should be.” – Fred Bear


Posted By: bugsNbows
Date Posted: April/12/2010 at 06:21
My Jackson Hunter 25-06 IS super accurate. Try some different ammo. If you so desire, talk to Clint at Stars and Stripes Ammo.
http://www.starsandstripesammo.com/index2.html


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If we're not suppose to eat animals...how come they're made of meat?
               Anomymous


Posted By: RifleDude
Date Posted: April/12/2010 at 13:57
I don't have a M22, but I have 2 M21's, and mine are extremely accurate -- 0.3 to 0.4 MOA.  The only difference between the M21 and 22 is action size.  Mechanically, they are identical. 
 
There could be a couple things wrong here.  First, every rifle is at least somewhat ammo sensitive.  Some loads simply won't shoot well in some rifles, no matter how well the same rifle will shoot with loads it likes.  Very seldom will you hit a home run with the very first ammo or load tried.  Second, every manufacturer puts out a lemon every now and then, even mfgs with good accuracy reputations like Cooper.  Though it's not common for Cooper to release a rifle that simply won't shoot, anything is possible.  As 3_tens said, look at the test target that came with the rifle.  It should have the load recipe (minus the powder charge weight) on the test target.  Third, are you sure the barrel twist is appropriate for the bullet weight you tested?  I don't recall the standard twist Cooper uses for the .257, but it is probably either 1:9 or 1:10.  If you are shooting bullets over 100 gr. you're probably better off with 9 twist.


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Ted


Money can't buy happiness... but it's much more comfortable to cry in a Porsche than on a bicycle.


Posted By: little cleo
Date Posted: April/12/2010 at 19:55
My Sako .270 sure didn't like Hornday ammo either.  Actually Rem. Coreloyts shoot way better go figure.


Posted By: mlv2k5
Date Posted: April/13/2010 at 02:28
Unfortunately I do not have the test target because I purchased this rifle used. I am going to run a few more factory loads through it and see if anything gets better. I am not presently set up to handload so that will have to wait.

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-Michael


Posted By: mike650
Date Posted: April/13/2010 at 07:01
Call Cooper and supply them them serial number of your rifle. They may have the info documented during their testing and can suggest a factory round(s) to use. Pretty much what 3_tens suggested.  Thunbs Up

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“A hunt based only on trophies taken falls far short of what the ultimate goal should be.” – Fred Bear


Posted By: Sparky
Date Posted: April/14/2010 at 15:23
Tagged for interest.


Posted By: SVT_Tactical
Date Posted: April/14/2010 at 15:49

Any update???



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"Most folks are about as happy as they make their minds up to be" - Abraham Lincoln


Posted By: mlv2k5
Date Posted: April/15/2010 at 13:32
Spoke to Mike, the customer service rep at Cooper today. He informed me that even with factory loads the rifle should be shooting MOA or better in almost all instances (as I expected). He went over a few possibilities to rule out user error/obvious mechanical problems and then decided that it would be best to take a look at it. He suggested I send it in to be looked at in their shop and mentioned that possible fixes might include touching up the crown or even having to rebarrel if neccessary. Of course all of this will be at MY cost and the shop rate is 75$ an hour!!! Whatever. Leave it to me to buy an "ultra accurate" rifle and get a two minute of angle gun that is going to cost me even more cash than I've already invested. 

I bought the gun used, but it does not have any physical defects as best I can tell and the bore looks good, I just don't understand how the accuracy could have gone to pot so badly. I will be trying a few other brands of ammunition just to see if I get lucky.

To be continued I suppose...


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-Michael


Posted By: RifleDude
Date Posted: April/15/2010 at 14:31

A used gun introduces other possibilities that the bore could have been damaged by improper cleaning or other damage caused by the previous owner.  You just never know.

Still, every manufacturer can produce a lemon from time to time.  Depending on what is wrong, I would push for Cooper to cover the cost of repairs if it is related to a manufacturing defect.  If not, that's the cost and risk you assume when buying used guns.
 
I disagree with what he said that any factory ammo should shoot MOA or better.  It simply doesn't work that way.


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Ted


Money can't buy happiness... but it's much more comfortable to cry in a Porsche than on a bicycle.


Posted By: SVT_Tactical
Date Posted: April/15/2010 at 14:58
I agree with Ted here.  Saying all factory ammo is a bold statement  that i can't believe.

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"Most folks are about as happy as they make their minds up to be" - Abraham Lincoln


Posted By: mlv2k5
Date Posted: April/21/2010 at 22:55
Perhaps not minute of angle, but i would think a gun capable of half inch groups with a handload should be able to do better than two to three inches with a reputable factory load like Hornady. Still, I will have it looked at and see what needs to be done. If the costs are too high I guess I will have to sell the rifle. Really too bad, because I love the way it looks and handles.

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-Michael


Posted By: RifleDude
Date Posted: April/22/2010 at 22:48
Originally posted by mlv2k5 mlv2k5 wrote:

Perhaps not minute of angle, but i would think a gun capable of half inch groups with a handload should be able to do better than two to three inches with a reputable factory load like Hornady.


Not necessarily.  Some rifles just don't shoot some loads well, and there's no rhyme or reason why.  I would work up some handloads and see what she will do.  If it still won't shoot any load you try to expectations, I would send it to Cooper and have them take a look at it.  Ask them to give you a quote before proceeding further with repairs.  Often they will fix problems for free, despite what they may tell you over the phone.


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Ted


Money can't buy happiness... but it's much more comfortable to cry in a Porsche than on a bicycle.


Posted By: mike650
Date Posted: April/22/2010 at 23:10
Originally posted by RifleDude RifleDude wrote:

A used gun introduces other possibilities that the bore could have been damaged by improper cleaning or other damage caused by the previous owner.  You just never know.

Still, every manufacturer can produce a lemon from time to time.  Depending on what is wrong, I would push for Cooper to cover the cost of repairs if it is related to a manufacturing defect.  If not, that's the cost and risk you assume when buying used guns.
 
I disagree with what he said that any factory ammo should shoot MOA or better.  It simply doesn't work that way.


Thunbs Up


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“A hunt based only on trophies taken falls far short of what the ultimate goal should be.” – Fred Bear


Posted By: nightranger
Date Posted: April/23/2010 at 13:52

Cousin Mike650 is right.  My Cooper Jackson Hunter .280 is lights out.  Out of the box it grouped less than an 1" at 100 yards with a lead sled rest.  I will be the first to admit that I am not the most accurate shooter but I was really happing with my groupings.  A 50 yards my groupings are within 1/4".   Mike you can shoot it anytime you want. 



Posted By: cbm
Date Posted: April/27/2010 at 08:07
I bought a Excalibur model #52 last year in a .30-06 and was having similar problems. I could not get it to shoot a 1" group at even 50 yrds. The test target showed 3 shot in one clean hole. I was very confused but sent it back in to Cooper. They recrowned the barrel and replaced the extractor(had some trouble with it as well). I got the gun back and could tell it was shooting much better but realized that the trigger had a fair amount of creep and seemed to be pulling pretty hard. Bought a Lyman pull guage and checked it and it was pulling 4.4# from the factory. I tried to adjust it but could not get it to pull a consistant weight.............sent it back again. They adjusted it to about 2.75# and it has a little variance between 2.75-3# per pull.
 
Anyway.......went to sight it in and it was the easiest gun I have ever sighted in. I had bought some Federal Matchking 165's which are the factory version of what Cooper tested in it and got some sub-.5" groups. Loaded it up with Winchester Ballistic Silvertip 168's and shot a .5" group with 4 shots. Locked everything down !
 
Wasn't the way I wanted to get there..........but I got there in the end !! Good luck !


Posted By: tturner6
Date Posted: October/07/2011 at 07:08
Just bought a Cooper 54M in .260 and am having a devil of a time finding a factory load that will shoot sub 2" groups! 

So far, I have had 3 different shooters print weird groups with different factory loads.   If I could figure out how to insert photos, I'd show them off in a bad sad sort of way.

Anyone else have a .260?  If so, what do you shoot in yours?  I am not wear I can handload at present here in Germany but I am willing to listen ;)




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168gr BTS What more do you really need?


Posted By: mlv2k5
Date Posted: October/10/2011 at 17:33
I found that nosler factory stuff shot well in my .257 and nosler makes the same rounds for .260. You may want to give that a try if you havn't already. 

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-Michael


Posted By: Kickboxer
Date Posted: October/10/2011 at 17:39
Michael... haven't seen you around in a while.  
I agree on the Nosler custom ammo.  I've not seen any of it that didn't shoot well.  


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Opinion,untempered by fact,is ignorance.

There are some who do not fear death... for they are more afraid of not really living


Posted By: mlv2k5
Date Posted: October/10/2011 at 17:42
Yea, work has kept me pretty busy lately. Nosler seems to have good QC and I like the performance of their ammo as well. Considering the relatively low cost of many of Nosler's offerings I think it is a great option for factory ammo, which is important since I am not set up to handload. 

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-Michael


Posted By: Kickboxer
Date Posted: October/10/2011 at 17:50
Originally posted by mlv2k5 mlv2k5 wrote:

Yea, work has kept me pretty busy lately. Nosler seems to have good QC and I like the performance of their ammo as well. Considering the relatively low cost of many of Nosler's offerings I think it is a great option for factory ammo, which is important since I am not set up to handload. 
Yep, me too.  I keep threatening, but have not "crossed the Rubicon", yet...


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Opinion,untempered by fact,is ignorance.

There are some who do not fear death... for they are more afraid of not really living


Posted By: Urimaginaryfrnd
Date Posted: October/10/2011 at 19:26
I was on the range one day earlier this year with a guy who had a Kimber and his first shot cold barrel was 10 to 12 inches different than where it shot after the first shot warmed up the tube. I am told those test fire targets are done at something like 40 ft not 100 yds so if I want a rifle that shoots I would go to GAPrecision or Tac Ops.

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"Always do the right thing, just because it is the right thing to do".
Bobby Paul Doherty
Texas Ranger



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