F/TR Practice Load?

[Boisblancboy]

For those shooting a .22lr at 200 yards do you have to have a high quality rifle for it? Anyone using there factory rifle for this practice and ammo?

 

[Crow]

You'll want an accurate rifle, but you don't have to go overboard. I'm using a CZ 455 Varmint (~$400) that I've doctored up a bit (adjustable sear to eliminate trigger creep and pillar bedding), shooting $5/box Eley Target... holds about 2 moa @ 200 yds.

Medic505's Anschutz 64 is also a factory rifle, although on a completely different plain.

 

[Medic505]

I've shot Savage .22's at 200 and also in competition that have performed really well. Trick is to find ammo that works well in whatever rifle you are using. The Anschutz does really well with Federal 922A, but also shoots Norma Tac .22 nearly as well. At half the price as the Federal, I shoot lots of Norma. Don't get hung up on thinking you have to have a high dollar rimfire do benefit from practicing with one. It was explained to me when I started this game, Trigger Time is Trigger Time.

http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/2014/07/f-tr-champs-secret-weapon-40x-rimfire-f-tr-trainer/

 

[Medic505]

quality over quantity

Against my better judgement, I'm going to respond to your post. Those three words prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that you know absolutely nothing about shooting F Class. What I don't understand is why someone that knows squat about a subject feels compelled to comment on it. If I'm not mistaken, the first line from the original post was "I was bitten by the F TR bug last year". Or something close. There once was a plethora of knowledge available on this site, but over the years those shooters that I learned so much from have one by one either stopped posting or have just faded away because they tired of arguing with posters that had no clue. 3200 posts and you haven't even been here a year, yes sir, you're destined to become an internet high master in no time.

 

[JFrank]

Against my better judgement, I'm going to respond to your post. Those three words prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that you know absolutely nothing about shooting F Class. What I don't understand is why someone that knows squat about a subject feels compelled to comment on it. If I'm not mistaken, the first line from the original post was "I was bitten by the F TR bug last year". Or something close. There once was a plethora of knowledge available on this site, but over the years those shooters that I learned so much from have one by one either stopped posting or have just faded away because they tired of arguing with posters that had no clue. 3200 posts and you haven't even been here a year, yes sir, you're destined to become an internet high master in no time.

Hello Dean
I couldn't help noticing that you quoted me, obviously you wanted to get my attention while you gave me a piece of your mind. I'm ok with that no problem.
When I look at my post count I'm amazed myself sometimes, how is that even possible I wonder?perhaps I'm just an old man with too much time on my hands.
Although when I joined this open forum there wasn't any limit brought to my attention , maybe I missed that while reading the rules.
I've competed in several things over the years even got pretty good at a few of them once I understood the mental approach it took I got better and for me regardless of the task at hand it wasn't about volume. My point about the 22 cal is based on ballistics and recoil management and not to take any shot at you"
Obviously you believe that FTR has a separate approach to accurate shooting so that's ok.
Interesting reading this thread I wasn't the only one that differed from you.
I don't see you calling them out.
That's cool also because I figured you got your reasons.
I made a promise to myself soon after joining that I would help anyone possible to re pay the help and guidance that was given to me and once that had been accomplished I would delete my account. I'm at that point right now and have discussed this with moderators and a few members that asked me to reconsider.
So I'll ask you- do you want me gone?
Here's your chance..
Jim

 

[Ned Ludd]

Come on you two, knock it off. There is no correct answer to the question of whether a .22lr is a good training aid for F-Class. It's solely up to the individual. I have a very nice .22lr bolt rifle I had set up similarly to my F-TR rifles for that specific purpose. As it turns out, I personally don't find it very useful. That is largely because the recoil and bullet dwell time in the barrel of the .22lr are so dramatically different from my .308s with 200 gr bullets. In fact, I have even found over the years that practicing too often with my .223 Rem F-TR competition rifles causes me noticeable problems in terms of gun handling when I go back to one of my .308s. But that's just me. I enjoy shooting the .22lr, and even at only 100 yds, it is VERY challenging if there's any wind at all. I just choose not to use it as a training aid for F-TR. However, the next person might try one and find it to be an absolutely outstanding training aid. It's a personal choice and can only be determined empirically by the individual. There is no right or wrong answer. It's not worth arguing about, and certainly not worth someone leaving over.


To the OP, as Jade suggested, there are some ways you can reduce the price of a practice load, such as by using a less expensive practice bullet of similar weight. However, there is a limit as to how much you can save by this approach, and you will still be putting rounds down a barrel, whether it is your competition rifle, or a practice rifle. I would also suggest trying to work up a load in the practice rifle with something like the Hornady 178s. As an alternative, don't overlook the idea of using a .22lr bolt rifle. You might find it works very well for you, and it will definitely save more money than simply using a less expensive .308 bullet. It's always a good idea to experiment to find out what works best for you, and it doesn't necessarily have to be the same thing that works for someone else.

 

[radford56]

As the OP, I have to admit that this thread took a rather interesting turn, but then I think that's what makes forums interesting. Thanks to everyone who took the time and effort to post.

I need to practice with my match rifle, at least until I get comfortable with it and learn to deal with the .308 recoil in the new set up. It's a big change to go from a Harris bipod/squeeze bag on a short barrel tactical rifle with a nearly 4 pound trigger to a 30" F/TR rifle with a Phoenix bipod and a heavy rear bag and 10 ounce trigger. So my initial intent was to hopefully get a recommendation for a cheap(er) bullet than the Bergers to use to acclimate myself at 100 and 200 yards. I pretty much have to practice at short range because that's what's available to me. So, that's what I'm going to do. I did get a couple of good suggestions - from Jade and on a PM on a cheaper practice bullet. Honestly, I pretty much knew what I was going to do before I posted, but I thought I'd see what I got by throwing the question out for comment. I don't see any real need to shoot the more expensive Bergers in my Lapua Palma brass just to learn the rifle, so I'll spend a little more time and effort to work on an acceptable (not inferior) short range practice load. I've already resigned myself to the fact that I'll probably wear out this barrel sooner rather than later just because of the fact that I need to unlearn some old techniques and learn some new ones.

As for the .22lr option - I just might do it, later. I can remove the barreled action from the CMP 40X .22lr heavy barrel that I have and bolt it directly into my F/TR chassis. I need a slight scope upgrade and a better trigger to match my .308, but otherwise it'll pretty much match the feel of my .308 match rifle. But using it that way now really won't teach me to shoot the .308, because as Ned pointed out above, the recoil and dwell time are dramatically different. A little further down the road I'll probably bolt it in the chassis between matches and work on my wind doping (because I need it), but right now I think it would be negative practice. There seems to be a wide range of opinion between some very proficient shooters regarding the benefits of using a .22lr for F/TR practice. I think I'll have to try it for myself before I come down solidly in either camp.

Thanks again for all the answers!

 

[Medic505]

You are welcome. You'll figure out what works best for you. I apologize this became a drama queens dream.

DQ

 

[MislMan]

So.... maybe consider buying a low cost .308 rifle (Savage) for practice while saving your match rifle/load. Load with cheaper brass & bullets (but still very good) and you don’t need to worry about barrel wear. You get the recoil and quite possibly learn to read the wind as well.