22 rimfire gongs @ 200 yds

[redrockranger]

Is a 4 inch gong to easy a target at 200 yds ?
Is a 3inch gong to large a target at 100 yds ?
200 yds is max at our range .

Open to idea's and suggestions . Trying to make 22 rimfire interesting. Personally I think the majority of shooters find the competition bull type targets uninteresting .
Thanks

 

[alf]

Going too small, the problem is spotting your shots when you don't have a suitable backstop, it can be a real exercise in frustration when you can't spot your misses.

I have smaller, but typically I use 8" at 100,150, 200, & 250, then 12" at 300 & 400.

 

[dusterdave173]

We do a 200 yd Long Gong using 5 , 4, and 3 inch with a bigger sighter I think may be 12 inch
This allows you to see the hits on the big one , make adjustments before--
In decent wind it is easy to hit the 5--easy to hit the 4 and if you pay attention to the wind you can ring the 3 like a pinball machine but only IF you pay attention to the wind and keep your hold off precise.
In bad wind the MD can opt for larger targets which is a big help in big wind.
I feel like the 3 inch is plenty challenging --but very doable.
I have read a lot about you Must have very low SD ammo etc--ummm maybe but we have done very well using up any odd lots of whatever we have on hand --I truly feel like it is wind calls because lets face it 3 inch at 200 yds is more than MOA and you should be able to hammer that with no problems
I have done well with SK red and SK green as well as Center X and SK long range has been just fine also
In calm wind it should be easy
We shoot 10 shot strings at a time IIRC 90 seconds
It is FUN! Seek out one and try it--It is easier than ARA and with usually just 2 or 3 shooters at a time you have a gallery watching --that part is fun.
We are allowed a spotter that can yell high low etc as misses on the smaller targets can be very hard to see

22 can surprise you with how well it will actually group at 200--

 

[Knotwild]

For practice I put up a 12”x20” IPSC at whatever range I’m shooting for spotting shots and verifying wind calls. Right now my little range goes to 180yds and plastic spoons stuck in the dirt aren’t safe.

 

[dusterdave173]

Going too small, the problem is spotting your shots when you don't have a suitable backstop, it can be a real exercise in frustration when you can't spot your misses.

I have smaller, but typically I use 8" at 100,150, 200, & 250, then 12" at 300 & 400.

I agree that for fun larger targets allow you to spot all the hits and make it way more fun --you can see your good groups as well--we use 8 inch for out in the pasture fun days

Dial up 23 or 24 MOA from a good 50 yd zero and have at it --

 

[Shifty6br]

I do it often...my buddy has a rimfire mostly range out to 325yds, 3" plates are a blast

Impressive what an accurate 22lr can do.

 

[SecondsCount]

I would do a KYL(Know Your Limits) setup with a 6, 4, and 3" target. Even with Automatch, my Bergara can keep hits inside of a 4" target at 200 yards. The wind is another story

 

[xswanted]

3” at 100 is a solid size for a 22. That’s a 3MOA target, certainly doable with even a basic setup.

4” target at 200 is 2 MOA so smaller for sure. Doable but a challenging target for even above average rifles.

 

[MarkS]

I set up long gong at 300yds. 8", 6",4" 200yds I set up 4", 3", 2" and a 1" I put 12" for sighter.

 

[ttfreestyle]

300 yard long gong uses 8,6,4. We had a 200long gong at our range and used 8, 3.5 and 2.5. The 8 was too big but allowed new shooters to find their shots , 3.5 wasn’t hard but the 2.5 was formidable once the wind picked up.

 

[charlie b]

I have a cheap Savage MkII FV. I had a 'left over' Athlon 34x scope so I put it on there.

Haven't done a lot of shooting with it, enough to verify that weight sorted CCI Std Vel is pretty good, right around MOA most of the time at 50yd. My "pistol" gong, 3" on top and 4.5" on bottom. At 200yd, no wind, the 3" is a pretty regular thing. With a bit of wind the larger one is a pretty regular thing. Haven't tried further. Yes, this session I was shooting a bit low and a little quartering wind. About 20 rounds on each.

I got this rig to help me make wind calls and it is proving fun as well. The bonus is the cheap CCI stuff shoots well. Makes a nice diversion when I am waiting for the 'big' gun barrel to cool

 

[Jdub22]

Is a 4 inch gong to easy a target at 200 yds ?
Is a 3inch gong to large a target at 100 yds ?
200 yds is max at our range .

Open to idea's and suggestions . Trying to make 22 rimfire interesting. Personally I think the majority of shooters find the competition bull type targets uninteresting .
Thanks

I'm guessing this is for a club fun shoot match and you're the MD?
Will the competitors be shooting from a bench, positional or off barriers and obstacles like PRS/NRL22?
4" gong would be very easy for some and difficult for others at 200.
At club fun shoots there's always a wide range of skill level with a variety of equipment that show up to shoot in them.

I disagree with your comment "Personally I think the majority of shooters find the competition bull type targets uninteresting"
FYI there were a combined total of 2479 competitors in UL and Factory class last year in ARA. We all were shooting those "uninteresting bull type targets." ARA added a bunch of new clubs across the country last year, it must be a growing sport!

 

[AR Shooter]

A good 22RF rifle (Anschutz, CZ-MTR, etc.) & appropriate ammo (Tenex, Midas, etc.) will group in about 1moa at 200yd if the shooter can read the wind.

As mentioned, unless you have a good back ground or larger sight-in target, seeing your misses can be very frustrating with a .22RF. That little, slow moving 40gr bullet doesn't make much of a splash.

 

[dusterdave173]

A good 22RF rifle (Anschutz, CZ-MTR, etc.) & appropriate ammo (Tenex, Midas, etc.) will group in about 1moa at 200yd if the shooter can read the wind.

As mentioned, unless you have a good back ground or larger sight-in target, seeing your misses can be very frustrating with a .22RF. That little, slow moving 40gr bullet doesn't make much of a splash.

We spot for each other when we shoot 22 at 200 yds and out--Folks seem to like the team work and it helps you get dialed in fast

 

[charlie b]

Forgot.

If the gong is too big it gets really boring as well. I'd use MOA targets from the bench/bipod, a little bigger if position shooting.

If it is fun competition then maybe 2 or 3 sizes. More points for hitting smaller targets.

 

[Tucker 7br]

We started long range 22 in 2017 using IHMSA silhouette targets. Eventually took them out to 110, 165, 200 & 240y. We size targets loosely around 2 moa per the distance. Too big is too easy, but too small will discourage the newbies with ordinary rifles that are still deciding if they want to get into your game.
Jdub22 (post 12) had great questions. Our attendance is mostly age 65+, they are not going to shoot prone, and no NRL for them either. A group here splintered off to run a similar match but they allow benchrest guns, 20 shots in 15 minutes, mechanical front and rear rests. They rarely have over 11 shooters. A young club member bought a $3600 rig but it was for sale a few months later when he realized ammo was $15-$20/box.

Choose your demographic, then build your rules around it. Local word of mouth is usually not kind to $5k+ rimfire guns. The fact that clubs are offering Long Gong events with simple bipods, and weight or sporter classes and 90 second time limits for 10 shots is proof.

 

[ttfreestyle]

Forgot.

If the gong is too big it gets really boring as well. I'd use MOA targets from the bench/bipod, a little bigger if position shooting.

If it is fun competition then maybe 2 or 3 sizes. More points for hitting smaller targets.

This is Very true , the last one we had After two relays I was wishing it was over.

 

[Tucker 7br]

Forgot.

If the gong is too big it gets really boring as well. I'd use MOA targets from the bench/bipod, a little bigger if position shooting.

If it is fun competition then maybe 2 or 3 sizes. More points for hitting smaller targets.

We created 3 formats that we rotate monthly. Each distance has some targets that are do-able by newbies, and some that are more challenging for the more skilled shooters. Rotating the format each month lessons staleness of having the same event with the same targets each match. Works well for us, although we lost the folks that wanted to go all in with money race using BR guns and $1,000 front rests.

 

[charlie b]

Sounds like a fun drill. There is a group of pistil shooters who do a "Lawn Chair" shooting.

https://www.internationallawnsteelshootersassociation.com/

I always thought something like that with rimfire rifles would be fun.

 

[redrockranger]

We started long range 22 in 2017 using IHMSA silhouette targets. Eventually took them out to 110, 165, 200 & 240y. We size targets loosely around 2 moa per the distance. Too big is too easy, but too small will discourage the newbies with ordinary rifles that are still deciding if they want to get into your game.
Jdub22 (post 12) had great questions. Our attendance is mostly age 65+, they are not going to shoot prone, and no NRL for them either. A group here splintered off to run a similar match but they allow benchrest guns, 20 shots in 15 minutes, mechanical front and rear rests. They rarely have over 11 shooters. A young club member bought a $3600 rig but it was for sale a few months later when he realized ammo was $15-$20/box.

Choose your demographic, then build your rules around it. Local word of mouth is usually not kind to $5k+ rimfire guns. The fact that clubs are offering Long Gong events with simple bipods, and weight or sporter classes and 90 second time limits for 10 shots is proof.

This is pretty much the crowd we attract. There is not a consistent group each month. Most are older men that can't do many physical things anymore . The gong don't have to be reset. We also have an interesting varmint paper target that takes 35 shots .
Thanks everyone , keep info flowing.