I finally got out to shoot the SU-22. It's broken in and I opened up the ejection port a bit and it shoots like a completely different rifle. Slicker than owl snot. If the feed ramp needs any work, I can't tell. I shot 200 rounds today. No feed problems. No ejection problems. Two misfires where Federal didn't put any primer in the case. I'm loving that little SU-22. It's the only gun I took to the range today, and I still didn't leave until dark, as usual. Having relatively inexpensive .22 ammo to shoot sure does help.
 
Here's my best target today, although many were almost as good, including a few that were a ragged 4 leaf clover with a flier.
 

Click image to enlarge

 
I shot from the prone position. I need to add two inches to the Charlie stock. The length of pull is far too short for me to get a good cheek weld and lockup in the prone position. Seated, it seems OK. The somewhat random position of the rifle caused some extra motion that accounted for some of the accuracy error, changes in eye placement caused a little parallax in the 9X Simmons scope which caused some of the error, and the cheap bulk pack ammo might have opened the groups a little too. About 1% of the Federal bulk pack ammo have no primer at all and misfire. About 3% of the Federal bulk pack ammo would make a funny sounding pop instead of the usual .22 crack, and they'd often fly an inch to the right at 25 yards. I didn't see much difference in the quality of the Federal Value pack (maroon box) and the Federal Champion (light blue box) That's about $3 more per 525 round box. Both had the same number of rounds with no primer, the same percentage of squib sounding loads, and about the same accuracy although the Champion might have been slightly better.
 
I inadvertently did a little survival test. Last time I was out, someone dumped my box of Federal bulk pack ammo into the dirt. It was wet. I picked it all back up, but the ammo was wet and there was a lot of grass and leaf debris mixed in. About 125 of the rounds I shot today were those, and the bullets were nasty and tarnished. They shot the same. I suppose getting .22 ammo damp on the outside doesn't hurt it too much, but getting it soaking wet would probably be bad. I think I'll have a wide mouth waterproof bottle for my .22 survival ammo.
 
I'd like to shoot the SU-22 off the bench so I can really see what it'll do. I still plan to evaluate it with a lot of different types of ammo.
 
Here are the pictures of the ejection port after I opened it up before shooting.
 

Click image to enlarge

 

Click image to enlarge

 
I was going to mill it, but it was too much hassle to try to hold the stock in the correct position. I used a file and then two grades of sandpaper. You could do a better job with a wide sanding stick and use 100 grit, then 220 grit, then if you want to be anal, 1500 grit Abralon or MicroMesh to polish it. I didn't use the sanding stick and finally did the job while talking on the phone, so the ejection port has a slight waviness to it. It shoots great, so I don't mind. It's a tough little rifle and I didn't buy it to baby it. It was out in a drizzle at the range for part of today. I just opened the gun case and it looks like I took a garden hose to it. I'll air dry it tonight and give it a good cleaning tomorrow.
 
I'm loving this little rifle. I'm looking forward to bench rest shooting it and seeing what ammo it shoots best, and maybe put a small diameter scope on it. I may get a 6X fixed but I like the 3X-9X. A 10X might be ideal for what I want.
 
I need a good lightweight sling, and I'm thinking about getting either a light but stiff bi-pod, or maybe some stiff shooting sticks for stabilized shooting from the improvised seated position.
 

Quote from ktwm on 11/13/08 at 07:47:47:

I'm sure I could do better with bench rest shooting. Like all stable shooting positions, prone shooting relies on three points of contact. Three points define a plane sort of like a bar stool that doesn't wobble no matter how uneven the floor might be. Unfortunately, when I get in the prone position, I'm more like a beach ball. My belly forms one contact point and I roll around alternately touching at the knees and elbows.  
 
I know a guy who is nuts about the Appleseed Project.
 
http://www.appleseedinfo.org
 
They teach rifle shooting, with a strong emphasis on the need to be an expert rifleman to defend our liberty. It's sort of like Militia Lite, now with 50% less crazy. They use a lot of Ruger 10/22 rifles to teach because ammo is cheap. They shoot at 25 meters and they shoot reduced sized silhouette targets that simulate people at 100, 200, 300 and 400 yards. I think they should have little light blue UN "peace keeper" helmet outlines! This guy has a couple of the Ruger 10/22 rifles that the Appleseed guys call LTRs, or Liberty Training Rifles. His are tricked out with AR-15 style Tech Sights, match triggers, and one has a bull barrel. It's very accurate. The Appleseed guys discourage scopes, but being almost 50, I say to heck with that. My goal is to get a good scope on there and find an ammo it likes and work on my technique and out shoot this guy's tricked out 10/22, or at least do as well as he does. for a lot less money, and a lot less snob appeal... and my rifle folds in half sucka. I think I'll need a lighter trigger on the SU-22, too.
 
My neck is a little sore today from lying on the ground and holding my head up to look through the scope.
 
I went scope shopping. I wanted a smaller and lighter and shorter scope. The small diameter scopes are not high magnification scopes. The best option I found was the TrueGlow 4X32.
 
http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=924813
 
I like that it ships with the rings, (Edit To Add: The rings are for dovetail .22 mounting and are not compatible with the SU-22 Picatinny rail) so all I need to buy is some good BushWacker flip up lens covers.
 
http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=172205
 
4X is probably enough magnification and the larger field of view will help a lot in quick target identification. I tested the 4X on my 3-9X scope with some dry fire practice in my suburban neighborhood. I hope my neighbors don't call the police on me. I think they already believe I'm some sort of uber-right extremist. Hey, as Barry Goldwater said, extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. Anyway, with a clear 4X scope, I think I can shoot the dusk to dawn sensor off a streetlight at 100 yards.
 
This is all good learning. If I like the small 4X scope on the SU-22, I may get the same setup for the Carbine RFB, which I'd expect to shoot at 200 yards or less. $80 for scope, rings and lens covers, delivered, seems a good value, although I realize that the RFB deserves some excellent optics. This may be the rare exception to the rule that the scope should cost about as much as the rifle.
 
Oh yeah, there were no marks at all on the surface where I made the expanded SU-22 ejection port, so that confirms that the brass isn't catching on the ejection port any more, although the zero jams while shooting and no cases stuck above the chamber pretty well confirmed that theory.

I just ordered a small 4X32 TruGlo rimfire scope for the SU-22. The scope also includes the rings. (Edit To Add: The rings are 3/8" dovetail rings and do not fit the Picatinny rail)
 

Click image to enlarge

 
I also got a pair of the very nice Quake Bushwacker lens covers. I like them better than Butler Creek, and they're slightly less expensive.
 
I tried to buy this stuff at Midway but both items were back ordered, as is too often the case.
 
http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=924813
http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=172205
 
I checked my Midway Wish List and 30%  of the items were back ordered and 50% of the dollar value was on back order.
 
I found the items in stock at SWFA.com. They sell a lot of scopes and accessories and I like them. The delivered cost was also $12 less than Midway. I like Midway for many reasons, but I can't buy what they don't have. These items were back ordered in early November at Midway and they estimated they'd be available in mid-November. Now their estimate is late November. I gave up and spent a couple of minutes Googling. I not only found the stuff I wanted in stock at SWFA, but I found it for a couple of dollars less at J&M Hunting Supply, for a delivered cost that's 22% less than Midway. I ordered the scope and lens covers from them. I'll see how that works.
 
http://www.shootnhunt.com/catalog/JM/scopes_sights_and_optics/handgun_rifles_sco pes/truglo_scopes/0923083.html
http://www.shootnhunt.com/catalog/JM/scopes_sights_and_optics/handgun_rifles_sco pes/scope_covers/quake_bushwacker/0907643.html
 
If you don't want the see-thru yellow lens covers, you can save a few bucks with the black lens caps.
 
http://www.shootnhunt.com/catalog/JM/scopes_sights_and_optics/handgun_rifles_sco pes/scope_covers/quake_bushwacker/0908015.html
 
Hopefully soon, I'll have a nice little lightweight 4X scope on my SU-22!
 
I gave up on mounting the scope on see-through rings so I could use the fixed sights underneath. I think I'll prefer the lower profile of shorter rings with the smaller diameter scope, for the smallest possible folded size. I'll pack the small Torx wrench I need to remove the scope (like an Allen wrench) and the small Phillips driver I need to reinstall the rear sight. I might Blue Loctite the right screw so the windage adjustment is maintained when the rear sight is removed. That way, in the unlikely event that the scope fails, I can pull it off and replace the rear sight in the field.
 
I'll post pictures and a range report for this new TruGlo scope, hopefully soon.

Mighty nice lookin' setup FlyBoy.  
 
I like the looks of the shorter scopes myself.  
 
Looking forward to a range report.  

I went on a strenuous 4.4 mile rapid hilly hike today (man, I'm out of shape) and dropped by my local shooting spot on the way home to try to squeeze in some SU-22 trigger time before dark. I wanted to evaluate the new 4X32 TruGlo scope mentioned earlier in this thread. Short answer - I LIKE IT!
 
I set up the targets and on the way back to shoot I was distracted by a lot of nice brass just laying there for the taking. I couldn't resist, so 45 minutes later I had seven pounds of brass (lots of .223, 5.7 and .357 Sig) and it was almost dark.
 
I shot the magazine of Federal Champion Bulk Pack ammo and went home. Here are the five targets in the order I shot them, five rounds each.
 
 
 
The first was shot from a sitting position, but I was winded and woozy from bending over picking up brass (told you I was out of shape), and it was nearly dark. The 9mm pistol in my back pocket is normally very comfortable and unobtrusive but is not conducive to shooting from the sitting position. I rocked back and forth sitting on the 9mm like a Weeble who wobbles but he won't fall down.
 

Click image to enlarge

 
 
 
The rest of the targets were shot from the prone position, fairly quickly, as darkness fell.
 

Click image to enlarge

 
 

Click image to enlarge

 
 
 
I shot the fourth target with my middle finger pressing the trigger, per a current discussion elsewhere on KTOG, and didn't do too badly. The SU-22 felt surprisingly good that way. I should practice that more often for rifle shooting.
 

Click image to enlarge

 
 
 
For the last target, I was back to using my right index finger.
 

Click image to enlarge

 
 
 
The five successive targets had consistently smaller group sizes despite the rapidly descending darkness. At the rate I was going, I'd have been putting all bullets in the same hole after another two magazines, 15 minutes later when it was completely dark.
 
The 4X scope didn't seem like enough magnification to me at first. I'm old, and 40 years of intense computer use has ruined my eyesight so I like a lot of magnification, but I shot the 4X32 scope as well as I did the 9X50 scope that I used the last time. My ability to hold the SU-22 on target while releasing the trigger seems to be the limiting factor on accuracy and not the scope magnification. The 4X32 scope seems ideal on the SU-22, as others have found to be the case on many .22 rifles. Clear optics seem more important than magnification at this distance, for this type of shooting.
 
I thought the 32mm scope would do poorly in such a low light condition, and while the image was dim it was clear and usable, even without any way to adjust the focus. In more typical daytime lighting, I think the small and lightweight 4X32 scope will be ideal.
 
I didn't touch the windage or elevation adjustments after installing the new scope. I used the Leupold Zero Point Bore Sighter to locate the cross hairs from the previous already sighted scope on the bore sight's grid and adjusted the cross hairs on the new scope to the same grid offset and it seemed just about right. That's a cool feature if you swap a scope and want to be on paper in as few shots as possible.
 
Notice the group offset to the right on the last target. I think I had a different cheek weld and that caused a little parallax error. I remember having a hard time getting a clear sight picture in the scope. I kept getting a dark ring around the outside of the scope image, indicating my pupil was misaligned to the scope's focal point. I need to work on a good and consistent cheek weld on the Charlie stock (which I'm still digging on the SU-22).
 
I'm looking forward to shooting the SU-22 with the TruGlo 4X32 scope again soon. Hopefully next time, I'll shoot in the daylight instead of picking up brass.
 
I'm still loving this little .22 rifle. It's a ton of fun to shoot, and cheap to boot! As I mentioned before, it's settled in nicely and is now running like a Swiss watch. I think Kel-Tec has a big winner on their hands with the SU-22.
 
I might need to get a PLR-22 and put a bi-pod on it and have a little friendly competition with KY-Redneck-Geek and his very nice bull barrel Ruger Challenger pistol. I'd also like to find an accurate ammo that the SU-22 likes a lot and challenge some 10/22 owners after I work on my shooting skills. The SU-22 is a great little rifle to learn better shooting skills. It's my new Liberty Training Rifle.

Nice looking set-up Liberty.  What does the blue tape stand for on the mag?

Makes sense - sorry for asking again.