22's in unlimited?

B

ballpowder

Member
Is it just me or am I dreaming? Every month I scan NBRSA news for loads for my 22br and 22-100 it seems to me that most 22's in the equipment lists are
Shot in unlimited matches. Is this coincidence? Are 22's more apt
For success in this class or is that few people using them in Lv-Hv?
Tim J.
 
???

If you go to a typical Registered Region Level Unlimited Match, say 35 shooters, I bet there will be 2 or less 22 calibers.

Even at the Nationals, where you have possibly 130+ entries in Unlimited , less than 5 will be shooting a 22.

So, it is just not the Bag Gun Classes. Most shooters do not bother with anything but a 6mm in all of the classes.........jackie
 
I believe the biggest part of the reason you do not see as many .22's in LV/HV is because you cannot shoot it in Sporter Class. If you are going to shoot one gun in 2 (where one is Sporter), 3, or 4 classes it cannot be a .22

Dick
 
Oh, I realize 22's are uncommon as a whole. I was referring to my observation that they seem to make to ten more often in unlimited than the three bag classes. Sometimes it is hard to come across on a key board.
 
I dont know about anything above but i do know that i have been bitten by the 22-100 bug and they sure are fun t shoot. No recoil not as much muzzle blast and tiny tiny groups. But yes i have also noticed that not many folks shoot the 22's. I sure like them!! Lee
 
Ok Skeetlee can I get a few of your loads? Been using 322 in all my ppc's. Thats a 6mm, a 22-100, and a 20. Just discovered the potential of 4198. Had a local sporting goods store special order 2lbs of n133 and almost cried when he casually said $107! Hope my gun hates that stuff! Also sitting on some
X-terminator. What do you think?
 
I think Dick is pretty much right.
Though I think I will be trying that next year for a switch barrel.
 
Ballpowder, perhaps a little history lesson will enlighten you as to why things have evolved the way they have in Benchrest.

Years ago, 22's dominated the Sport. there was no such class as Sporter, which requires a caliber of .23 or above. When the NBRSA institued the Sporter Class, it was understood that 6MM would never be as competitive as a 22 in 100-200 Benchrest. But, then came the 6PPC, and the Gods went mad. Suddenly, shooters were winning LV and HV with Sporters, and sooner or later, the vast majority of shooters simply said, "why even put up with the hassle of shooting two entirely different calibers, when I can simply build a Sporter, and win".

Now granted, that is a rather simple explanation of events that happenned over a 25 year period, but the reality of the situation is still there. At any Registered Match, including the Nationals, you can count the number of shooters who are not shooting a 6MM on one hand, maybe two on certain years. In fact, I do not even know of a shooter in our Region who seriosly campains a 22.

Why?? Simple. This is a competitive game, it is an expensive game. Many shooters expend thousands of rounds a year, and the difficulties in just keeping one set-up in a competitive state is difficult enough. So, since "Sporter" is the lowest class, and can be shot in any class, and a 10.5 pound Sporter can win on a regular basis in LV and HV, why not just go that route.

Since that is what 90 percent of the NBRSA Members do, it seems to be a sound train of thought..........jackie
 
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Thanks Jackie, that was a thorough explanation. So the answer to my question of "why do more 22's show up in unlimited equipment lists than the other 3 classes?" is because very few use them in the other 3 classes.


Tim J.
 
Life doesnt have to be all serious all the time either. I play this game because i enjoy fine rifles and i enjoy the fine people i meet along the way. I wont ever be in the hall of fame but thats not a goal of mine either. This is a hobby for me. I have done the the serious traveling all over the country type competing with my shotgunning and it just wasnt fun for me after a while. So my personality these days is to just take it easy and play. yet i still have a small part of me that likes to win so, i still shoot the best i can when it is time to shoot but my preparation probably isnt what it should be to be on top of this game, and thats OK for me. On the other hand i do understand the drive that a lot of folks have to win in this sport or any other sport for that matter. We invest a lot of time and money into these rifles and we speed a lot of time practicing so yes i do understand the reasoning to keep things simple. After all simple wins most of the time, if not all the time. I guess one needs to decide what he wants out of this game, and from there you can build a game plan, and after you build that plan and your plan is to win you stick to that plan and work hard but keep it simple. I like to play. I have a young family and i dont have the time to travel nor the drive to anymore. I like trying different things and i have found the 22ppc to be incredibly accurate and easy to make shoot. I also think if the 22 were allowed in sporter class things would be different, but they arent so things will remain the same. The most important thing is to enjoy the sport no matter the direction you choose! Lee

PS I sure hope this doesn't sound like a rant, as that wasn't my intent. This is just how i approach this sport for myself. I beat myself up having to win with my sporting clays days and i did win my fair share but it just wasn't a pleasant experience for me. I was to serious to much of my time and i was neglecting all the real events in my life that help real meaning, like my children and my wife. So i take things easy these days and i play with my toys. Like i said i still like to win and i dont think i can ever shake that part of my personality, but winning isnt everything to me anymore. One last thing that i hear a lot about and that i disagree with. Most guys are under the impression that making cases for the 22ppc short is a choir or a pain in the neck. I think quite the opposite is true. One trip through my cut off 22-250 die and im done. Everything else is normal brass preparation. You do have to trim a little more neck length but that's it. I sure enjoy it. Lee
 
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I've shot quite a few .22-100 short PPC's in LV, HV and UL. While I like shooting them, there is just too much time involved in making the cases to shoot it. It's a lot easier to neck up a .220 Russian, neck turn and shoot the 6 PPC. I've also tried the straight .220 Russian. It has more case capacity than the .22-100 short and seems to give more trouble with die problems and cases getting tight than the .22-100 short. The variations of the .220 Russian come down to just how much money do you want to throw at it to get the dies and reamer right to let the .220 Russian work correctly for a case that imo has too much case capacity to be ideal for the .22. To me the .22-100 has ideal case capacity for the .22 size bullet.

When you shoot in a Nationals format, it seems better to stay with one gun all the way through the varmint classes if you have a rifle thats working for you. If you're having trouble with your sporter, then you change, but otherwise probably not. One thing that I've noticed though is that when you go from a 6 PPC to a .22-100 short, while recoil isn't bad in the 6mm, the .22 seems about half of the 6mm. Another thing about the .22 is that if you shoot a group that is round with a .22, you'll have a very small group. You shoot a group with a 6mm that is round and you can have a .3" group.
 
Just out of curiosity why not just change the barrel for sporter to a 6 and then to 22 for the remainder?
 
I have identical weight barrels in each. While I agree that it obviously costs more and consumes more time, I like the fact that my BR guns can play which ever role I feel by simply spending 3 minutes spinning barrels
 
Bill Sturm said:
What are the best 22 bullets out there today and what powder is tops in the 22-100
Click to expand...
Bill,
I have had good luck shooting Cheeks 52gr. bullets. I shoot a 220Beggs and I load 25grs. of V V 133 with a Winchester small rifle primer. Works for me.
Best,
Dan Batko

"Where are we going and why am I in this basket?"
 
So, if the conventional wisdom of the 6mm will never be as competitive as the .22 has been busted by the PPC, why not just eliminate the .23 caliber or bigger requirement for the Sporter?

jackie schmidt said:
Ballpowder, perhaps a little history lesson will enlighten you as to why things have evolved the way they have in Benchrest.

Years ago, 22's dominated the Sport. there was no such class as Sporter, which requires a caliber of .23 or above. When the NBRSA institued the Sporter Class, it was understood that 6MM would never be as competitive as a 22 in 100-200 Benchrest. But, then came the 6PPC, and the Gods went mad. Suddenly, shooters were winning LV and HV with Sporters, and sooner or later, the vast majority of shooters simply said, "why even put up with the hassle of shooting two entirely different calibers, when I can simply build a Sporter, and win".

Now granted, that is a rather simple explanation of events that happenned over a 25 year period, but the reality of the situation is still there. At any Registered Match, including the Nationals, you can count the number of shooters who are not shooting a 6MM on one hand, maybe two on certain years. In fact, I do not even know of a shooter in our Region who seriosly campains a 22.

Why?? Simple. This is a competitive game, it is an expensive game. Many shooters expend thousands of rounds a year, and the difficulties in just keeping one set-up in a competitive state is difficult enough. So, since "Sporter" is the lowest class, and can be shot in any class, and a 10.5 pound Sporter can win on a regular basis in LV and HV, why not just go that route.

Since that is what 90 percent of the NBRSA Members do, it seems to be a sound train of thought..........jackie
Click to expand...
 
Hey Dan hows it going.
I have been thinking of the 220 Beggs how does it shoot agg wise?
 
Bill Sturm said:
What are the best 22 bullets out there today and what powder is tops in the 22-100
Click to expand...

Bill, I shot Guy Wilson's bullets when I was shooting the .22-100 short. When he sold his Rorschach dies, I followed the dies and now buy the same bullet from Cecil Tucker. 133 has always worked well in the .22-100 short as well as the old unobtanium BLC.
 
Mike, may I ask why your not shooting the 22-100 anymore? I just ordered two new 22 cal barrels this morning and one was a 1-15" twist. Has any one else used this combination?

Tim J.
 
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