Friday, December 05, 2014

My .22 Rifles!

Okay, I played hooky today and went down to the range with my veteran 10/22 and the Ruger American .22 bolt gun to dial them in with new scopes. Here's the 10/22:


It's gone through a lot of iterations since it emerged from the factory as a heavy barrel 10/22 Target Version ages ago. The current version includes:

Volquartsen TG2000 trigger group
Factory Ruger bolt
Factory Ruger laminated stock
Clark Custom Guns deep-fluted .920 match barrel

The first 3 rounds on target out of the barrel scope combo went into 1 hole at 50 yards. Here's my "reference" 50-yard 5-shot off the bench group:


You can see I pulled one a tiny bit out of the 4 shots touching group. I shot several brands of .22, and the CCI Mini-Mags produced the reference group.

I also carted out my Ruger American Rimfire Compact "hunter training rifle." I added the Boyd "bumble-bee" Hunter stock specifically to "heavy" the rifle up and make it feel more like my centerfire rifles. Scope is a Burris 2-7x Droptine on Weaver #12 bases.


The groups were almost as good as the 10/22:


These groups, also at 50 yards, were with Eley Edge, which has been an amazing round out of this rifle…I used it in the big Tactical Solution NSSF Rimfire match in Idaho. I think\ I can tighten these groups up with a little practice. I also spent some time with the American on my Challenge Course, doing offhand plates at 25, 35, 50 and 80 yards. Turns out if you don't work the bolt, the gun doesn't go bang.

This is my "play" .22, a Tactical Solutions X-Ring with the wonderful Vantage stock with the SBX barrel option. It's fitted with a bulletproof Burris Speed Dot red dot. This is my NSSF Rimfire rifle.


It's amazing how quick this set-up is! If you're looking for a fun gun to shoot, or you've got a Spousal Unit or teenager involved in NSSF Rimfire, this is definitely the way to go!

I have one other longer term project that I didn't take out to the range…a Marlin 2000L biathlon rifle (I actually shot it in Summer Biathlon) that I want to set up as a long-distance shooting trainer. I was inspired by this story from F-TR Class champion James Croft, who's using a CMP surplus Remington 40X custom .22 as a trainer for F-Class. Kinda cool!




9 comments:

nj larry said...

For those who are bit cash strapped but want to modify their 10/22....with a handful of Duct Sealant tucked into the hollow butt of the factory Hogue stock the point of balance comes right in front of the trigger guard. This on the 20 inch heavy target barrel model. It also brings the weight with scope (nikon AO rimfire) to 8.5 lbs. Solid reliable tack driver.

Michael Bane said...

The Ruger Target 10/22 at an MSRP of $529 (much less if you shop around) is one heck of a deal as well. I suspect that my out-of-the-box Target could have come close to the performance I'm getting out of the Clark/Volquartsen gun. But, hey, I'm a gun geek…can't resist tinkering with them!!!

mb

nj larry said...

MB if you haven't seen or read this book I highly recommend it. Heard author on Tom Gresham show. Having made my way thru it, it is filled with lots of great geeky rimfire ammo stuff. Guts of it is extentive 102 brand 22lr ammo testing. Plus covers 22 mag, 17's etc. Weighs and measures all components, test fires for groups/accuracy. After 50+ yearsbof rimfire shooting I have to say I picked up quite a lot of info. It is a must have in any rimfire addict's library.

http://www.amazon.com/Riflemans-Rimfire-Ammunition-Steven-Boelter/dp/B000NJKFM6/ref=sr_1_1?

Anonymous said...

Good luck finding a copy now :-(

RSR

nj larry said...

RSR...yeah I saw Amazon was out of stock after I posted. BUT .... midway has copies in stock. Plus you can order from the publisher.

P.S. like MB I will give the required disclaimer that I have no financial arrangement with author nor am I a employee of publisher. :( Just an old guy on pension....

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/159384/the-riflemans-guide-to-rimfire-ammunition-book-by-steven-boelter

http://www.zediker.com/books/rimfire/rimfiremain.html

Joseph Ferguson said...

nice post

Unknown said...

What's the best scope for a 22 rifle? That's the one I'm also asking since I'm looking for one that's affordable, durable and has all the specifications I'm looking for. So far, the BARSKA 3-9 x 32 Plinker 22 Rifle Scope is a nice one to consider since it's lightweight at 11.5 ounces, fog-proof and waterproof, too. It is also very affordable and the brand is good. Yet, there's also the Nikon Buckmasters II 3-9×40 BDC that has great accuracy. Thanks to this site, I'm reading all the reviews to come up with the final choice. See: http://opticgearlab.com/scopes/best-scope-for-22-rifle.html

Masnon said...

Personally i like 22 rifle. But when i bought an 22 Rifle for the first time, i was little bit confused about scope for this rifle. But one of my friend tell me about ScopesView.com site name, and after that i found there a awesome reviews for scopes then finally i decided. That was:https://scopesview.com/best-spotting-scope-reviews

Luke said...

Very nice post. I am searching for the right and affordable rifle scope and your information is very useful for me. I'll do more searches to make the right decision. Thanks