New to BR

[boltman13]

We just started shooting non-sanctioned 50 yd. Bench Rest at my Club and it was a blast. I now own a Walther 22LR target rifle and would appreciate some advice. I have shot Hunter BR for years but this is even more fun. I have attached one of the Sinclair 3" front rest adapters and have an old 36X BSA target scope I have had for years. I have looked at Harrels tuners but so far have not bought one. I plan to begin sorting out which brand of target ammunition the rifle shoots best and to see if the BSA scope is at all useful. I may need a better scope, the tuner and a real bench rest stock if I decide to go all the way. Any advice from experienced BR shooters would be appreciated.

 

[linekin]

I would shoot what you have for now & once you feel that you're outshooting your equipment, then I would upgrade.
At that point I'd re-access & look at buying a purpose built rfbr rifle. New or used. You'll be way ahead of the game financially doing that as opposed to re-stocking & re-barreling the Walther. Not bashing the Walther as I'm sure its a good gun & likely competitive with what you're shooting against. But eventually you're gonna want more. This is the slippery slope!
Another thing you should do is try & get to a sanctioned match & see what we're using to help with you're decision later on.
Good Luck!

Keith

 

[Boyd L.]

Linekin gives solid advice about easing into, and learning a discipline.

I'm not sure if this link will help or not. It's worth a scan: http://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=320

 

[Tim s]

You can probably plug along and develop a decent skill set.
Do not invest a lot of cash on that platform, get a tuner cause you can throw it on a BR gun should you stay interested.
Get rid of the scope....with it you will likely only hurt yourself, it is not remotely comp worthy.

 

[Rsadams]

Most everything above but the most helpful thing is finding the correct ammo... Rimfire is soooo picky... Even a bad gun will shoot Well with the right ammo but put ammo that the gun doesn't like and it will make for a long day..

 

[boltman13]

Thank you for your expertise and advice. I will be getting a tuner when funds allow. I know the BSA scope is suspect and will not compare to more expensive ones but it has held up to center fire recoil from a 308 Win. and not lost it's zero. I well know the slippery slope of competition with 3 F-Class, 1 Hunter bench Rest, and 1 AR-15 Match Rifle. You have to pay to play with the big boys. I think there is sanctioned rim fire bench rest at the Colorado Rifle Club east of Denver which is a long drive but I have shot other types of matches there and will keep their matches in mind for next year. Our non sanctioned matches use a rim fire bench rest target and I can reuse them to see if I am improving. I will try to begin sorting out target ammunition tomorrow and hopefully post some pictures. Thanks again.

 

[vicfox]

A bit more info on your Walther would be helpful. I had a 61 year old KKM that matched it with the better ones at out club so before you upgrade your rifle or scope for that matter seek a bit of advice from a few aroundd the club you shot at.
Even try other equipment and see how you compare to your gear too.

I agree with getting the best out of the gear you have first and sorting ammo that works best for you. The rest is a good one. Always a process of working through the element to look for weaknesses and where you can get improvement. Think along the lines of just competing with your self for a start.
Best of luck.

 

[boltman13]

vicfox, thanks for the advice. Unfortunately there are no other "experts" in 22 RF BR at my club I can turn to. That's why I really appreciate this site. My rifle was said to be built in the 1950's by the seller on the Internet. I do not really know what model it is. I hoped to post some pictures but apparently my camera takes photos with too many megabytes. I have an older one that I have used on other places on this Forum to post and I will use it next time. My rifle is a single shot with a 2 stage trigger. The first stage has about 0.125" of take up and no appreciable weight and the second stage breaks at about 16 oz. The butplate is adjustable for height and is plastic. There was a forend rail but it had been removed. The barrel is 24.5" long and uncrowned. The diameter is approx. 0.864" and untapered ahead of the stock. It came with target type iron sights which I have removed and mounted a 36X BSA target scope with rings fitting the 11mm groves on the receiver. My first range session using unsorted 22LR target amunition in really terrible wind conditions was somewhat dissapointing. None of the various Federal amunition was acceptable. The Eley Club barely stayed inside an inch but the Norma Target did just break 0.750". I also found the BSA scope impossable to focus completely clearly at 50 yards. It may have been the dust or me but I think I will eventually need a better scope. I also plan to have the muzzle target crowned. I will be trying some more target amunition and hopefully in better conditions. I will try and get some postable pictures as well. Again my thanks.

 

[dickn52]

A bit more info on your Walther would be helpful. I had a 61 year old KKM that matched it with the better ones at out club so before you upgrade your rifle or scope for that matter seek a bit of advice from a few aroundd the club you shot at.
Even try other equipment and see how you compare to your gear too.

I agree with getting the best out of the gear you have first and sorting ammo that works best for you. The rest is a good one. Always a process of working through the element to look for weaknesses and where you can get improvement. Think along the lines of just competing with your self for a start.
Best of luck.

+1111. The KKM will keep up with just about anything out there..except me an my Martini MKII.

 

[boltman13]

I was finally able to get back to the Range and conditions were much less severe. There are 2 pictures of my rifle and 3 of the best 5shot groups with the type of non sorted amunition noted. The target is a 100 yard Hunter Bench Rest one and the scoring rings are 0.25" wide. The first is 0.269" with Norma Match 22, the second is 0.465" with Norma TAC22, and the third is 0.281" with Eley Club. All fired at 50 yards. The BSA scope will have to go, and a tuner is in the works. The Norma Match 22 is consistently the most accurate of the amunition I have tried so far and I hope to get more of this lot, and see if rim thickness sorting improves it.

 

[John Perizzolo]

I was finally able to get back to the Range and conditions were much less severe. There are 2 pictures of my rifle and 3 of the best 5shot groups with the type of non sorted amunition noted. The target is a 100 yard Hunter Bench Rest one and the scoring rings are 0.25" wide. The first is 0.269" with Norma Match 22, the second is 0.465" with Norma TAC22, and the third is 0.281" with Eley Club. All fired at 50 yards. The BSA scope will have to go, and a tuner is in the works. The Norma Match 22 is consistently the most accurate of the amunition I have tried so far and I hope to get more of this lot, and see if rim thickness sorting improves it.

Do not know which club you are currently shooting at, but Buffalo Creek Gun Club near Bailey holds a monthly non-sanctioned USBR match if that is closer to you than Colorado Rifle club. It is a little lower keyed than the ARA matches at CRCI, and we have 2 divisions, limited (2 piece rests) and unlimited (1 piece rests). Generally the limited class is shot with sporters, CMP type rifles and older target rifles, and the unlimited class is where you see the true custom stuff come out. As you get more experiance you will probably find ammo is key, no matter what the platform, and a step up ammo wise to Eley Target or something similar will likely shrink your groups dramatically. Good luck, and remember to keep it fun.....

 

[boltman13]

John, I love the Buffalo Creek range. I shot NRA Xcourse there a number of years. I assume the Rim Fire BR is at the new range not the 600 yd. one. I will try and make a match or two if scheduling permits. My home range is the Orchard Mesa Gun Club in Grand Jct. and we had our first Rim Fire BR match last July and it seamed very popular. We will probably have 2 or more matches next year.