Target Shooters........Advice needed

[Garth Reckner]

Savage 93R17 HMR17
Anyone looking for a rimfire should at least check one of these out before deciding. I got one for my 7 year old son and I last week. I got it to the range today to zero it and break in the barrel and was shooting softball sized groups at 200yds. Thats not saying much for some, but I can't see or shoot. The Accutrigger is great and has failproof adjustability from 2 1/2 to 5 or 6 lbs. This one came set at 2-3/4lbs. The stock feels nice, fits my large hands and has a freefloated bull-barrel. The rifle was on sale for $299 and with the BDC scope and mounts was under $400 (I love no sales tax in OR)

That is the exact 17HMR that I have. Really a great shooter. One of the only thumb hole stocks that actually fits and feels good in my hand.

Garth

 

[crazyengineer]

Having said that, you can build a 10/22 that will easily run with the big names; I'm talking 1/2 MOA out to 200 yards.
It takes a lot of work though and people don't realize it takes a lot more than a barrel swap. If you want an accurate 10/22 you need to:
-Get a high quality match chambered barrel with a barrel extension that fits tight in the reciever
-lap the barrel shoulders to make the barrel sit flush/in line with the reciever and shim the barrel if needed
-Headspace the bolt. Radiusinig the rear of the bolt doesn't hurt either
-Lap the bolt in the reciever if it's not settling consistently when returning to battery
-put a set screw in the reciever to remove the trigger guard-reciever play
-get a good trigger
-and most importantly, bed it perfectly into a good free floating stock. This may be the most critical part that doesn't involve a parts swap. A lot of guys have good luck bedding at the action screw and the closest 1-3 inches of the barrel while freefloating the rear of the action and the rest of the barrel.
I personally have had good luck bedding the action at the screw and also bedding the rear of the action and rear of the trigger guard. If you do it this way it's critical that you remove all play between the receiver and trigger housing.
-Make sure the scope is mounted solidly. 10/22s have a bad habit of having a hump in the front top of the reciever that needs to be filed or milled flush

I had the problem with the hump in the reciever. I have that annoying coating on my receiver so I didn't want to try filing it. Instead, I used a cheap set of spark plug gauges and shimmed my scope in the rings....now its right on target.

You really can make a pretty accurate 10/22 for cheap like you said. I have one that I bought the gun and then put maybe 250 into and dropped the group by half (at least, maybe more depending on how I am doing that day).

Only things I have left to make it more accurate is bedding and a new trigger, can't just decide what to do first and what kind of trigger (oh, and my barrel is tapped for scope mounts on it, so i will switch that sooner or later too)

 

[PeterPHWS]

Target .22 rifles come in many guises ... usually depending upon what shooting discipline you want the rifle for.

Many of these disciplines have rules on rifle weight ... trigger pull weight ... sights ... magazine capacity ... action type ... etc

If you are going to use target peep sights or simple "open" sights or optics ... all of these things also alter the design ... and in the case of micrometer target peep sights these often don't come with the rifle ... or at least the rear peep sight does'nt ... many do come with a fore sight but these are sometimes disguarded by top shooters who might favour a certain type of target foresight. The rear micrometer target peep sights can be very expensive in their own right ... almost like asking for a "watch" where you have cheap wind up actions all the way to complicated swiss chronometers. It is the same with the rear sight ... some are $500 to $600 just for the sight ... and the total cost for the rifle can be in the $2500 - $3000 bracket and that is without the rear sight and without altering the foresight.

These top line rifles are epitomised by Anschutz who make everything from target rifles to Biathlon rifles to even new disciplines like .22 Benchrest rifles. It is a case of what do you want the rifle for ?

My experience with .22 rifles in this genre is solely Biathlon rifles ... I have done some .22 target rifle shooting too but my target rifle shooting soon progressed into full bore T/R as the military train you as cadet's on .22's and then move you up to full bore if you show an aptitude for target rifle shooting.

It is only in Biathlon shooting where all rifles must be .22 calibre that you stick with the .22's if doing competitions through the military ( at least over here ).

The spec on a Biathlon rifle is unique to doing that sport. Most Olympic medals are won with an Anschutz Fortner rifle which has a straight pull bolt. There are medium spec rifles and top spec rifles by Anschutz but no beginner or entry grade rifles.

I won't go into the differences etc as I doubt that this sport would be relevant for your interest ... but the Aschutz range of rifles more or less is the "gold standard" by which other rifles are judged when it comes to .22 Target Rifles ... in any discipline.

Even the independant custom .22 Target Rifle makers who will do you a bespoke build nearly all use Anschutz barrels ... only changing the action and the stock ... so you get the idea that they are hard to beat ...

Discipline wise the barrel selection though needs to be carefully researched ... for example ... in Biathlon shooting the ammo used is sub sonic ... supersonic would damage the targets ... and at the ranges shot in Biathlon sub-sonic stabilises quicker and has proved to give better groups. Most target ammo runs at sub-sonic velocity AFAIK ... so if reading the wind and doing 200 yard .22 shooting is your intended pleasure ... researching as to whether a certain type of alternative barrel is needed might well be required.

As I say ... I have'nt done long range T/R .22 ... only used a normal hunting .22 varmint rifle at these ranges ( Sako heavy barrel ) and reading the wind is all important so testing for groups was no real issue. I was bagging rabbits and cheap ammo did the job.

Personally I would'nt spend high end money on a .22 target rifle unless a given sport or discipline was going to be a serious pastime. A Sako varminter in .22 which had the trigger worked on and the right ammo for a tight group and good optics was all I ever needed. I do prefer a bolt action to a semi auto though ... getting semi auto's to shoot as well as my Sako would'nt interest me ... if I did'nt hit with my first shot and became accustomed to shooting a quick second shot after seeing the "splash" ... I would get lazy on technique and reading the wind and distance ... basically developing bad habits for longer range.

Reading the wind at 200 yards with a .22 is like shooting a .308 at 1200 yards ... challenging and great fun! :thumbup:

 

[SpyderPhreak]

If I could just get my FIL to part with his '60's vintage Weatherby that he doesn't shoot anymore, I'd be all set!

 

[BigLebowski65]

In my opinion the best fun for the buck is Cz 452/3 rifles.
Bed the action, float the barrel and you are all set, a suppressor is optional, but highly recommended.

With Wolf ammo at around 90 yards: