extreme distance rimfire shooting

[Tomcat]

Id like to start a topic on long distance rimfire shooting basically trying to get the feel for which caliber is the best suited for this application.

My claim to fame was shooting a stock Savage MkII BVTS with a Bushnell elite 10x and target turets witha bubble level.
Best I could do was shooting 12ga shells at 175meters 8-9 out of 10 shots and clays lined up at 250m consistantly. Obviously in ideal weather conditions. Took it out to 300m meters as well, but scope bottommed out and wasnt really reliable at that distance.

Anyone tried this with a 22MAG or 17 HMR considering they're supersonic?

Tom

 

[robbor]

I first got interested probably 10 years ago, and then there was an article in VHM where there was a winchester sponsored squirrel shoot. I want to say the longest confirmed shots were right at 400 yards with 22lr and around 450 with 22wmr. Ive had a tough time finding spots with good visibility and quarry, ive gone to 300 with 22wmr, hit and miss

 

[kansas45]

I only started longer distance rimfire this spring. Before, I thought 50yds was a long ways for a .22. I am doing this to learn to read the wind, my scope, trigger control & breathing to help me do better at 600 + yds with my bigger rifles. End's up that I'm hooked on this long range rimfire stuff! I'm good in the wind up to 200yds, & hit at 250 6 or 7 out of ten times in the wind this morning.

 

[JoeM57]

Like Kansas45, I to have only started long range rimfire this Spring, and in doing so have helped to progress our Tuesday Night .22LR group of shooters into shooting long range out to 300 yards on silhouettes and gongs.

We have folks using scopes from 3-7x20, 3-9x32, on up through the Mil-Dot scopes, and they are making a goodly number of hits on the existing silhouettes and gongs from 150 yards to 300 yards.

Where we once shot the 'standard' 25 to 50 yards with the occassional 100 yards, we no longer begin with those distance's other then for someone to post paper at 25 & 50 yards to work their way out to a 50 yard zero.

From this 50 yard zero - there is now enough of us to lend some helpful advice as to where one should place the bottom post of their scope on -or- over,depending on distance) the target and target area.

Yesterday I gave our local welder a list of gong sizes to have him cut from 3/16 or 1/4 inch metal,what he has available) for us to hang more challenging swingers;
,150 yd - 6x8'),,175 yd - 7x9'), 200 yd 8x10'),,225 yd - 9x12'),,250 yd - 12x14'),,275 yd - 14x14'), and,300 yd - 14x16')...

We're not trying to duplicate any ballistic comparisons. It is what it is, .22LR long range shooting, and we're having a lot of fun with it. Some are using subsonic ammo, some use standard velocity, while most are using the high velocity stuff. In time I expect many will lean towards the subsonic .22LR round, but they'll get there at their own pace depending on what they are looking to achieve.

The long range .22LR shooting is a lot of fun for all of us.

 

[rayjay]

A local range has been having 'Extreme Rimfire Silhouette' matches for a few years. I was going to enter the match last Saturday but my house AC died and the repair guy ended up coming Sat morning so I had to miss the match :,

Read the rules below. 4 yardages starting at the Chickens at 75 meters and the rams are at 188 meters. BR rests and bags !!! No individual windflags !!!

Last week I fired my homebuilt BR 40x to figure out the various clicks needed for the 4 yardages. I made a '20 MOA' base by putting .020' of shims under the rear screw of a one piece Davidson 40x base I had on hand. I used Devcon 10110 to fill in the resulting wedge. Worked perfectly.

The only ammo I had is some Eley Silhouex. It seemed to do fine for the first 3 yardages but at the 205 yd line I had a heck of a time. I would get some wild flyers. I only had 4 boxes and I want to save 2 boxes for the match so I couldn't shoot too much. As I said, I didn't make the match so I have some more time to experiment.

I also have a 22 mag AR15 that I fired at 200 yds last Tuesday. Did terrible. When I got home I inspected the crown and leade and found some issues that I have hopefully corrected. I will try out both the 22 mag and the 40x next Tuesday.

http://www.cherokeegunclub.org/HTML53.phtml

 

[kansas45]

I made good progress out to 250yds last Sunday morning. I'm shooting at 16' disc blades mounted on electric fence posts. I mounted a Wonders Optics 4-14X50 on my Savage MKII F, replacing the Center Point 4-16X40. The CP is a good, inexpensive scope to be sure, but I've been dying to give the WOTAC a good work out. I usually lives on my TIKKA .308 Varmint & because of the wind & rain lately I haven't gotten a chance to use it much. I'm going for 300 & further while the wind is still down this morning. My Savage MKII FV still has a Center Point on it, & it's a deadly combo. I'll probably leave that alone for awhile.

 

[DukeDuke]

Didn't do it with best group in mind, just wanted to see if the bullets would go thru at 300

 

[JCummings]

I've been thinking about doing this myself. I had two spinal fusion surgeries on my neck this year, most recently 11 weeks ago. I find I can't tolerate the recoil from my highpower rifles very well now. Every shot is literally a pain in the neck. I also can't get into a prone position without significant pain. I'm hoping that shooting off a bench with a 22LR I won't have to put up with pain in my neck everytime I pull the trigger. Besides not shooting well I'm afraid I'm going to develop a bad flinch. I know I'll learn a lot more about reading the wind shooting the 22LR. Only trouble is I'll need to restock it in a benchrest stock to shoot it. Presently its set up for 4 position shooting,Anschutz 1913 in an aluminum stock). I hope someday I'll be able to shoot in position again. For now it looks like smallbore off a bench is my only option.

 

[kansas45]

Boy JC, that's gotta' be hard to live with. I'm not a benchrest competitor. When I shoot frome the bench I use good sandbags to rest on. When using the bi-pod, a rear mudflap off of a 18 wheeler helps to keep the feet of the bi-pod from moving. I don't believe that it is necessary to re stock your rifle, but it would be kinda' cool to have a real benchrest gun, i guess.

 

[JoeM57]

None of my .22's have bench rest stocks, I shoot'em as they came from the factory with my little additions I add - bipod, sling, scope.

I agree with Kansas45, no need to restock to shoot long range .22LR. Sporter class rifles work just fine. I would suggest a 20 MOA EGW Scope Base to zero with at 50 yards.

However, I have also found that even without a 20 MOA scope base,like my Savage MKII FVT with 6-24x42 Tasco Mil-Dot scope) has,,, a 50 yard zero even with a 3-7x20, and/or 3-9x32 scope,like my Lakefiled MKI & Marlin 795 has) - using the bottom post beneath the cross hairs for elevation you can hit out to 300 yards on a metal gong of say 14'x16' like I had made.

I shoot long range .22LR for for what it is - .22LR long range. I don't worry to much about the group size of where I hit on the gongs, I just enjoy the delayed report of the ping I get from making the shot/hit.

I'd suggest shooting it for what it is and enjoy the accomplishment of hitting long range,,,then take the next step if one desires - to tighten the groups at long range, and perhaps up grade your scope setup.

 

[JCummings]

The thing is my 22LR is not a sporter. It is set up as an olympic free rifle with sling swivel and butthook. It could be shot off a bench but is probably the worst possible set up for doing so. Besides, the Anschutz 54 action is a great action for 22 benchrest. If it turns out that shooting from a bench is all I can do anymore it will be woth the restocking to be able to shoot. As it is I'm starting to get pretty depressed about not being able to shoot without pain.

 

[rayjay]

You could make or buy a 3' front glide plate that would work in your current forend rail. Should be easy to make something to work with a rear bag. You might could just leave off part of the buttstock hardware to make the backend fit a std rear bag.

 

[JCummings]

Yes that would help. I even have some Delrin blocks I could make one from. I may do that for the short term. If It turns out that I can't get back into position shooting I'm buy then benchrest stock. Heck, I may buy it anyway. That way I can drop the action into which ever stock is vbest for the shooting of the day. Still hope I eventually can shoot Highpower though. If not there's goning to be a lot of stuff for sale.

 

[JCummings]

I guess I could also shoot with a bipod on the accessory rail off a bench to start with. The buttstock is certainly not compatible with rear bag in anyway though. It is just two long bolts with the adjustable hook assembly. No way that would ride a bag.

 

[ba_50]

My last 5 shot group at 225 yards was 3 3/4" with Federal 510's. It was breezy too.

One time when the wind completely died I put 5 shots into 4 7/8" @ 365 lasered yards. I think shooting at 200 is better than 350 since it is hard to figure out what is happening farther out. By the time the bullet gets there the wind had really knocked it around. It's still fun to dial in the corrections and hit that far out.

 

[sscoyote]

A buddy's kid killed 2 adult prairie dogs at 290-something several years ago in about 5-7 shots,on a calm day) using a little Marlin 22 with 3-9x Simmons set at 3x. He used the plex post tip,about 18 MOA) for reference. The kid now works at HS-Precision building Chey-Tacs, etc. but i bet he'll never forget 'The Day of the .22'.

I've been doing fairly well on jackrabbits with same-lot Stingers out of my Ruger Charger with 3-9x Rapid Reticle to about 125 yds. or so.

What i'd like to read about sometime is ground squirrel shooting at long-range with 22's. Seems like that'd be the right up a long-range varmint hunters alley.

 

[rayjay]

I never did report on the Long Range BR Silhouette match I shot in. I got a first and a second so needless to say I had a good time. Link http://www.cherokeegunclub.org/HTML53.phtml

The 188 meter rams are a hoot with a 22 lr. You pull the trigger, the gun bumps your shoulder, then you wait wait wait PING impact [ you actually can hear your own bullet hit at that range ], and then the ram slowly falls over.

The other targets being smaller and lighter go down with more alacrity.

I just chambered up a 17 HM2 bbl for an old Savage Anschutz project BR rifle I built a couple of years back. I just need to do the crown and screw the rifle back together [ I threaded the action ].

The guys at the club say that the HM2 will NOT knock over the rams but I am going to give it a try. I bought 550 rounds of ammo when I bought the reamer !!!!!!!!!!!! Maybe if I can hit the rams up high or on the horn I can get them to fall. That will be a real challenge !!!!!

 

[JoeM57]

How has everyone's long range rimfire shooting been going of late? I eventually reached 300 yards,,as far as I can go at my local range), hitting a 17' diameter 1/4' round gong on calm days 8 and 9 out of 10 shots,,never got 10 in a row), and on not so calm of days anywhere from 50% to 70%. I used the .22lr Eley Sport ammo,1080 fps)...

Since reaching 300 yards in early August, I've since worked mainly on my 200 yard 4x5 and 5x7 inch gong shooting. I even did a few practice runs on a 3.5 x 3.5 inch gong at 200 yards with not to bad of results;,10 of 15 and 11 of 15)...

I'm using the same setup as before; Savage FVT with 6-24x42mm Tasco Mil-Dot scope mounted on a EGW 20 MOA Base. I've pretty much settled on the Eley Sport ammo, though I've tried a few others off and on, but the Eley Sport has worked well for me with a moderate price.

Was just wondering what and where the rest of you were with your .22lr long range shooting?

 

[Travelor]

Our Club, http://www.bentongunclub.org ) shoots a 200 yard rimfire match each month. We use a A21 NRA smallbore target which has a 4' 10-ring. SO far we have only had one target shot with all 20 rounds in the 10-ring.

What a great match it has turned out to be. We have three classes - benchrest, prone, and metallic sights.

If you live near centeral Arkansas, come out and shoot with us.

George Toney
Match Director for 200 yard RF

 

[JoeM57]

Sounds like lots of fun, Travelor. You guys have a very nice looking range I might add! Very nice!

In the morning I'm off to my local range to do some 200 yard .22lr shooting with my MK II-FVT. It'll probably be the last time I shoot this rifle as I told my son tonight that I was going to hand it down to him. I'm getting a MK II-BTV next week.

http://www.savagearms.com/markiibtv.htm

Needless to say this was all right with him. I think he's kind of had his eye on it for a while but never complained about his scope mounted Marlin 795 he's been shooting.

He would shoot that 795 with the rest of us at the range and did pretty darn good using a 3-9x32 Tasco scope on that rifle. He was hitting metal out to 200 yards with it,,, sometimes with consistency and other times not so much consistency. He's in for a new treat with the MK II-FVT that carries a 6-24x42mm Tasco Mil-Dot scope mounted on a 20 MOA EGW base.

The reason I'm getting the MK II-BTV is that I've read some good things about it and from what I understand it's a good rifle,reasonably priced) for Tactical Rimfire. Something I'd like to try sometime next year at our local range. I know I could have easily used the MK II-FVT for this, but I also wanted my son to have something that was of higher quality then the 795 Marlin, as well as something that he could compete with - with the potential of better results then the 795 could yeild.

Besides, dad's do these kind of things for their kids.:thumb: