LITHGOW 101 VS VUDOO SINISTER 100 YARD JOURNEY – ARMS RACE
BREAKING IN THE LITHGOW 101 22LR
Lately DM45 and I have been on journey to master 22LR at 100 yards; when I say master, I use that word lightly. I guess it really is more about bragging rights than mastering. Both he and I started this journey with Kimber 82G’s http://www.dayattherange.com/?p=6211 Unfortunately for me, DM45, the OLD Air Force guy, is leading this arms race 2 to 0. Knowing that it had to be the rifle and not the shooter I decided to bring in a Lithgow 101 22LR, to better compete with the Air Force guy.
Well, not to be outdone, DM45 decided to turn this thing into a serious arms race and reached out to Vudoo Gunworks and bring in a Vudoo Sinister.
FIRST RANGE OUTING
First order of business was to get the Leupold Scope mounted in the Leupold rings for the Vudoo and get both rifles sighted in on the 50 yard line.
SIGHTING IN 50 YARD LINE
DM45 used SK Rifle Match to get on target and centered after bore sighting and I would use Fiocchi 320 Super Match.
BEING BOLD 100 YARD LINE
So only after a few rounds and no break-in what so ever we decided to press our luck and move over to the 100 yard line.
Starting out with the Lithgow, we quickly realized that with the combination of the zero MOA base and minimal MOA adjustment that I did not have enough adjustment for my satisfaction. Though I was satisfied with the grouping considering this is the first outing.
Not wanting to totally waste a great range day I did also bring along my Savage MKII TR. So I would complete the rest of the 100 Yard challenge on this day with the Savage MKII TR.
VUDOO 100 YARD LINE FIRST OUTING
The Vudoo Sinister and Leupold seem to be a perfect match; with a few adjustments it was on target and performing. Yes, the OLD Air Force guy has definitely out glassed me.
But maybe not out shot me today, though this one doesn’t count for score.
LITHGOW DAY 2 WHAT AMMUNITION?
In day 1 I realized that I needed more MOA adjustment, and considering the Redfield was a gift and produces a nice clear view, I did not want to just buy another scope. I headed over to rimfire central and the nice folks there guided me to a few companies making scope rails for the Lithgow. Unfortunately they all are in Australia where the Lithgow is manufactured, and every time I tried to order from the US the order would not go through. I kept receiving errors from the website. So instead I ordered Burris Zee Rings and used 20MOA with the POS align inserts – 20MOA in the rear and 0MOA in the front.
After getting my scope mounted I looked through the 22LR ammunition stash to gather as much variety as possible to determine what might be the best ammunition for the Lithgow and headed to the range.
22LR AMMUNITION TESTING
CONDITIONS OF THE TESTT:
It has been said elevation and barometric pressure can affect accuracy of a round so my elevation is 894 feet, purely for comparison to your location.
Distance: 50 Yards
Weather: 79 degrees, winds of 8 MPH
Fire 10 shots into a test target to foul the barrel and acclimate the barrel to the particular brand ammo, and then fired 5 shots for grouping on a scoring target.
Before beginning this test this rifle was completely cleaned with 20 passes from a 22LR brush, 3 wet patches and 2 dry patches before arriving at the range. Between each brand of ammo I would use my Otis pull through with one wet patch and 2 dry patches before firing the next group.
A note on the fouling shots – this is to remove any lubrication left over from cleaning and previous bullets, or to build up lubrication that is on the test bullets. I have seen some erratic behavior, some very tight groups, some groups with multiple fliers from previous residue such as wax, lube or lead from the prior brand. I noticed with this rifle the test groups starting to tighten up after two test shots.
LITHGOW DAY 2 GROUPINGS
22LR AMMO SHOOT OUT
After eyeballing all the groups through my spotting scope I decided to have my own shoot out. I would take what would look like the best groups on paper and re-shoot them. I would use the same exacting cleaning and firing regimen.
As I was packing up I found some Federal Hunter Premium Match and Wolf Match Extra.
So happy I found the Wolf Match Extra as it proves out to the be the winner of the day. Though it does seem a bit dirty – very little examination on this claim.
LITHGOW & VUDOO COMPARISON
In wrapping up my story/pictorial I wanted to conclude with a few thoughts. Both rifles are beautifully finished, though I prefer the walnut laminate look of the Lithgow.
Both rifles have the same barrel profile and both weigh about the same. The Vudoo tips the scales at 8 pounds and the Lithgow comes in at 7.2 pounds.
The stock trigger out of the box most definitely is awarded to the Vudoo; it is twice as good as the Lithgow. The Vudoo comes with a wide target trigger and the Litgow comes with a hunting like trigger. Stay tuned for trigger pull weight comparisons.
The bolt on the Lithgow is twice as good and much smoother to operate than on the Vudoo. The Vudoo bolt is really stiff to me but I am sure will break in really well. The bolt handle on the Vudoo is larger and fits my large hands better. I do plan to change the bolt handle on the Lithgow.
Overall, both are really nice rifles, opportunities are the price with the Vudoo. Lithgow aftermarket parts are limited and products seem to all come from Australia which have proven to be hard to get for me. Right now I have a spring in route to improve upon the trigger pull and will see how long it takes. Eventually I would love to get an aftermarket bolt handle and bolt shroud. The Vudoo on the other hand is a direct replica of many long range rifles including the magazine size making it just about the perfect long range trainer.
Stay tuned for additional Marine vs Air Force 22LR 100 Yard Shoot Outs.
