My .22 Beater - what can I do with this?

[Eurodriver]

https://i.imgur.com/lGJBnMi.jpg

Savage MkII FVSR
Nightforce 4-14 Mil SHV F1
Harris Bipod
Boyds At-One stock
Seekins 30mm Rings
Butler Creek sling
AAC Pilot 2 Suppressor

I wanted to build a .22 to give me something to do that wasn't $0.85 a pop 6.5CM match ammo or $0.60 a pop .223 match ammo. It's not really meant as a trainer, just something fun to mess with that is inexpensive now that .22LR ammo is cheap and plentiful again.

The thing is I haven't owned a .22LR in almost a decade. I chrono'd it and it's about 1070 FPS which gives me enough elevation in the scope to just barely get to 300y. If I dial and use the reticle I could get to 400 but I felt like there are more fun/practical uses for it within that range. What do you guys think?

[BWT]

... Shoot it?

You bought it, built it, and put in parameters on why and how it is to be used.

Either use it and when bored with that - tweak your parameters?

God Bless,

Brandon

[Eurodriver]

Shoot it how? From a bench? What kind of shooting do people do with 22s? What accuracy metrics should I strive for? At what distance? What are some challenging things I can do with a suppressed subsonic 22LR that I cant do with an AR?

[1168]

Whack squirrels and wabbits. Go around bragging that you eat rodents erryday.

[easy]

Where do you live? Prairie dog shooting, ground squirrels, stray vermin, etc.

Or, you could just sell it.

[FromMyColdDeadHand]

Don't you live near swamps full of things that deserve to die? ;)

Didn't you pick up a wife and a few kids recently? Great platform for teaching kids to shoot...

Those 22lr 'tactical' matches are a hoot. Hoser's match here in CO even has moving targets..

[Watrdawg]

Paper gets boring. Go out and blast some tree rats or other vermin. Make it challenging and do it from distance. I just bought a Ruger Competition 10/22 to take out as many as the tree rats I can that are raiding my deer corn. My stand is almost 100 yards from my feeder. Going to be fun taking head shots at those little buggers from that distance!

[SeriousStudent]

I have a suppressed CZ 455 precision .22 trainer as well. I have some 2" spinner targets that I use. Also, a dueling tree at 100 meters is a lot of fun with a .22 bolt gun shooting man on man.

And ain't nothing like practicing your wind calls when pushing a 40-grain projectile. You're already pretty good at that, so the smaller projectiles would be a new challenge.

[Tx_Aggie]

There are some PRS-style 22 matches in this area that are a lot of fun. Typically most targets are between 50 and 200yds, with some as far out as 300. Lots of positional shooting at multiple targets, often at several different ranges within a stage (just like a centerfire precision rifle match).

There's also an NRL22 league with clubs in many areas of the country. It's the same style of shooting, plus some unsupported standing, kneeling, and prone with a sling. I think NRL22 specifies a max range of 100 yards.

I don't know what's available in your area, but your rifle would be perfect for something like that.

[Eurodriver]

There are some PRS-style 22 matches in this area that are a lot of fun. Typically most targets are between 50 and 200yds, with some as far out as 300. Lots of positional shooting at multiple targets, often at several different ranges within a stage (just like a centerfire precision rifle match).

There's also an NRL22 league with clubs in many areas of the country. It's the same style of shooting, plus some unsupported standing, kneeling, and prone with a sling. I think NRL22 specifies a max range of 100 yards.

I don't know what's available in your area, but your rifle would be perfect for something like that.

Thanks this is exactly what I was looking for. That would be a blast. I bought a bunch of Eley target and I am curious how this shoots - but I do still need to work on the trigger.

[Pappabear]

We have matches at a local range of which I have never attended. I have several nice .22's and I am challenged to enjoy shooting. I need to get off my poor perception and give this round a better chance. You can spend .30 a round for good match ammo, of which I have mucho. Yet you can buy cheap .22 that shoots well.

I just got my back cut on so .22 needs to be in my future.

PB

[Tx_Aggie]

Thanks this is exactly what I was looking for. That would be a blast. I bought a bunch of Eley target and I am curious how this shoots - but I do still need to work on the trigger.

Happy to help. I hope there's something in your area that you can get in on. I found an article about one of the matches near here (about 4 hrs drive from me, so a long weekend).

https://www.ssusa.org/articles/2017/7/8/eley-practical-rimfire-challenge-a-new-discipline-on-the-rise/

Those little savages generally shoot pretty well. A friend has one that likes CCI Standard Velocity, so he shoots that in practice and then switches to higher end ammo for matches (Midas, or maybe Center-X, I think). The CCI stuff is pretty heavy on the wax and does tend to gum up the gun, especially since his MKII seems to have a pretty tight chamber. I shoot mostly SK Plus out of my CZ455. I'm not serious enough about it to spend on ammo any better than that.

Rifle Basix sells a replacement trigger for the MKII, but I think there are also some tutorials floating around online for a DIY trigger job.



We have matches at a local range of which I have never attended. I have several nice .22's and I am challenged to enjoy shooting. I need to get off my poor perception and give this round a better chance. You can spend .30 a round for good match ammo, of which I have mucho. Yet you can buy cheap .22 that shoots well.

I just got my back cut on so .22 needs to be in my future.

PB

I love my 22s. I love the centerfire stuff more, but there is something magical about shooting plates at 200 yards with a 22lr. I'll bet you'd enjoy one of those matches though some of the positional stuff isn't always bad-back friendly.

[Eurodriver]

I took it to 200y steel yesterday. My hold was 27 MOA. Or 54”


https://youtu.be/CrC7DHKxJeE

I also chronod my rounds.

Eley averaged 1080. CCI SV (which shoot very well) were 1050. American eagle was 1180 and golden bullet was 1250. CCI quiets were 730.

Those CCI quiets at 100 yards are so slow you can see the bullet in the air.

[Eurodriver]

The gun is still light enough for shooting it like a 22 too. I think that, and as Pappabear mentioned, the 2.5c per round ammo is very appealing.


https://youtu.be/UcTrj04N8l0

[tb-av]

Thanks this is exactly what I was looking for. That would be a blast. I bought a bunch of Eley target and I am curious how this shoots - but I do still need to work on the trigger.

I have a CZ 455 and have been testing ammo. But only so far at 25 -50 yards. Just to get some general ideas.

Best Ammo:
Winchester wildcat -- now this was an old box adn it was white with orange print. I haven't been able to buy some of the new to see if it's the same.
Winchester SuperX red plastic box
CCI MiniMAG



Good Ammo
Fed Gold Medal Match -- this was old too. White box blue print
Aguila SubSonic - Yellow box --- **** This ammo shoots HIGH... don't ask me why but I had about 10-12 different ammo and it landed on the target above the target I was shooting at. 8.5x11 piece of paper with multiple targets... it landed 3" high but a nice group.
Geco 22lr RIFLE SILVER
Geco Match GOLD
Eley CLUB Orange


Not Good ammo: - I would not call what this stuff did would actually be called a group.
Browning Perf Target
CCI Quiet
Federal Target Gold Medal ORANGE BOX -- not same as Gold Medal above
Federal P??? Match.. can't read my writing. looks like it starts with letter P
Federal HiPower - red box
Remington Thunderbolt - Green box bulk
S&B Subsonic
Geco Semi-Auto - ORANGE

If I had to pick 2 for my rifle regardless of cost.
Winchester SuperX
CCI MiniMag
In Subsonic it would be
Aguila Sub but it does not group at 50 yards like the above.

[artoter]

What can you do with it? Looks like you could pick off a lot of critters with it.

[Mick Boon]

I have a CZ 455 and have been testing ammo. But only so far at 25 -50 yards. Just to get some general ideas.

I also have a 22lr CZ 455. I shoot it at 110 yards almost every other day with cheap Winchester 36 grain, experimenting has shown me it's about as good as anything else.

[flenna]

That’s a beater .22? I wonder what you would call my 35 year old Marlin 60 that has a gazillion rounds through it.

[Pi3]

.22 silh matches.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEk3AulEHac

[Tx_Aggie]

Good shooting!

Altus in Baker FL is doing an NRL 22 series:

https://www.altusshooting.com/products/altus-nrl22-series-presented-by-vudoo-gun-works

That may be a bit of a drive for you, but I think you've mentioned shooting a centerfire match there.