22 Rimfire competition??

2muchgun

2muchgun

New member
I have been thinking about getting into this at my local club when I get a chance. I think I may just have the right rifle for it and won't really have to spend a dime to start competing. Does anyone here shoot .22 Rimfires competitively?

Feel free to throw up some pics of your rigs also
grin.gif
Also what loads you shoot. Any info would be great. Thanks....
 
I used to shoot some of the "Vintage Benchrest" competitions until I ran out of ammo in their price class that would shoot well in my rifle...

HERE is a link to the normal rules for Vintage Benchrest...

This was my first experience dealing with some shooters that went to extremes with their research and equipment for .22 rimfire competition shooting..Many years ago, I shot on a college ROTC rifle team, but it was nothing like some of these guys..
 
Thanks Bill. That sounds pretty cool. Although my rifle would not qualify for either of the vintage classes. I had a chance at an AWESOME Winny 52 not long ago and missed the bus. I consider them all time classics, and for those who don't know, those babies will shoot with the best of them. They may not look as high tech as some, but Winchester did something right cuz they will hang right there with Annies and 40Xs..........
 
In .22 competition the ammo becomes the factor.There are several rifles that will shoot really well but you have to get the high dollar ammo to do it.I have never shot in a match that had a price limit on ammo.That would change things quite a lot.
 
I used to shoot what we called "squirrel shoots" at our club. It was shot at 50yds. and scored by points and the amount of X's not by group size. You could shoot any rifle you wanted as long as it was under a certain weight(don't recall what that weight was) and your scope had to be 12X or below. You could use any type of rest as long as it didn't attach to the rifle. You had to operate the trigger by finger, no hydraulic fire controls.

When I first started you could use any ammo you wanted, but after a couple of years as ammo prices increased they decided to make everyone use the same ammo. So they went to using Federal Blue Box. I would always get there early and get my ammo so I could sort it with my rim thickness gauge.

There were mostly CZ's with a few 541T's and an occasional Anschutz.

I shot a CZ 452 with an Automation Solutions trigger, that I had pillar bedded, and a 12 power Leupold scope.

I used a rest that I had cannabilized together from 3 different rests with a Hoehn adjustable top on it.

I won a couple of matches over the years but I have to admit we have some good shooters down there. One a former Camp Perry Champion from some years back, so they had to have a bad day and me a good.

I have some old targets around I think, I will see what I can find.
 
We use to shoot rimfire matchs at a sister club, but factory guns had to shoot with full blown BR rifles. They did seperate the class's though. Mainly bragging rights only. I had a HB Sako 78 that would give the big boys a run for their money. Would occasionally catch a newby off guard and take him out!! Had a ton of fun. Now they have a factory only class. I have a new Savage MK II TR that looks to be a shooter. Its needs a good trigger and maybe a little bedding to be a top shooter. Its already producing some tight groups at 50 yards.
 
2muchgun.


Back when the wife and I were a bit younger we both shot 22Rimfire for the Gresham Wild Cats in the Columbia / Willamette rifle league. It was indoor at 50 Feet. The wife and I shared the same rifle an old Rem. 37 tricked out with an adjustable but with hook, rail under the forearm for sling/hand stop and for palm rest.We used a 15 power Lyman super spot scope.shot 4 position, Prone, sitting, kneeling and off hand. Off hand was the only position we were not allowed to use a sling to shoot. Perfect score would be 400 with 40 X's. Never seen anyone shoot a perfect score.

When we started we used Winchester Easy-X ammo but Win. stopped making it so we went to Ely Black box and Ely Red Box ammo

Shot a few 100 Yard Four Position matches (out doors of course)


One thing ya got to have beside a great rifle and that is a [beeep] good trigger or you might as well not even shoot. I don't mean in the pounds I mean down to the OZ's. Ours was set at 9 OZ's.That was heavy to what some guys used.

Most rifles were Winchester or Anschutzes.
Many different brands of high end target scopes Some as high as 30 power.

Talk about seeing your heart beat in the scope.
scared.gif


Eye - trigger finger control is where it was at
thumbup1.gif
or at least a [beeep] big part of it.

Don't skimp and buy cheap ammo. Practice with what you shoot at a match.

Dry fire practice is something you don't want to over look.

DAB
 
Smallbore competition is extremely competitive.
To win even your entry fees will take a whole lot of effort and quite a lot of money invested. Just basic rifle, clothes, shoes, spotting scope, ammo, etc. will be well over 5K. And the time needed to become competitive will cost much more.
I doubt that anybody working a full time job could even finish in the middle of the pack.

Smallbore competition is for people with very deep pockets and a lot of dedication. You will frequently have to get up at 3:00AM to drive to matches or pay to fly there the day before and then a hotel.

Jack
 
Last edited:
You will be a slave to your ammo. The person with the right lot number for their rifle will win. A guy at or club was unbeatable. He ran out of that lot number and just couldn't buy a win. Although those Eley black box are generally pretty good.
 
The vintage BR sounds really interesting. I have NO interest in getting hyper competitive, but do enjoy a bit off competition. A rule structure that keeps people from going over the top on equipment, with little to nothing for prizes would be great.

The club I'm a member of has a monthly handgun speed steel shoot with classes for .22s (open sight and optics) and CF. I shoot federal bulkpak through a Ruger MKIII and usually finsh in about the 70th percentile. The prize is your name on the score sheet. It's a a lot of fun.
 
Last edited:
2MG-Read an interesting post on 6MMBR on rimfire long range shooting with 22's. Three class's shot at 100 yards. F-T/R, F open and Palma. This sounds like a fun shoot and makes for good practice for the big guns.
 
Originally Posted By: Jack RobertsSmallbore competition is extremely competitive.
To win even your entry fees will take a whole lot of effort and quite a lot of money invested. Just basic rifle, clothes, shoes, spotting scope, ammo, etc. will be well over 5K. And the time needed to become competitive will cost much more.
I doubt that anybody working a full time job could even finish in the middle of the pack.

Smallbore competition is for people with very deep pockets and a lot of dedication. You will frequently have to get up at 3:00AM to drive to matches or pay to fly there the day before and then a hotel.

Jack

I'm just looking to kick some butts at the club, not go global
grin.gif
 
Thats the same thing I was thinking also. Just a bunch of guys (or girls) having a good time shooting 22's. Bragging rights are always more fun and no pressure.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: Jack Roberts
Smallbore competition is for people with very deep pockets and a lot of dedication. You will frequently have to get up at 3:00AM to drive to matches or pay to fly there the day before and then a hotel.

Jack

What ! That the only way ?

Must me nice living on the top of the ladder looking down on everyone.
crazy.gif
 
Originally Posted By: MGYSGTYou will be a slave to your ammo. The person with the right lot number for their rifle will win. A guy at or club was unbeatable. He ran out of that lot number and just couldn't buy a win. Although those Eley black box are generally pretty good.

I've not shot my gun much yet. Volquartsen told me to shoot mini-mags out of it, which surprised me. The first 5 mini-mags I shot went into one ragged hole @ 100yds. The next 5 about the same. I was going to save the target until some guy with 6.5x284 starting shooting at it. Apparently my bud told him he could shoot at the rest of out targets cuz we were leaving
angry.gif
Which normally would have been okay, cuz I'm not one who saves, matts, and frames every good group I shoot.

Here are some 5 shot 100 yd groups with 3 different ammos(top group LH is 10 shots). I still have some Eley here I have not tried and may get some Lapua also.....

13ef6ba8.jpg
 
Back
Top