New to benchrest- what is a good starter rifle/scope combination ?

[midnattsolen]

Hello all. I am thinking of getting into .22 benchrest competition. I used to shoot 4 posistion back when I was a kid, but have been away from competition for many years. The club I would be shooting with is a local sportsman club so the rules are pretty loose. Unfortunately I am left handed and my left eye is my dominant eye. That causes some problems as there are not many options for left hand bolt action rifles. I would like to possibly use the rifle for shooting prone as well. Right now I am on a tight budget. I noticed that one of the guys was shooting a heavy barreled Savage with good results. Savage offers this rifle in left hand version. I noticed that a lot of the old bench rest type rifles look to have ambidextrous type stocks even though they are right hand bolts. I used to have a Ruger 10/22 that was pretty accurate. Wish I still had it. It would have been a good stater rifle for now. Thanks for any advice.

 

[tim]

Well since this has been up a bit I'll take a stab at it. You don't indicate what your planning on but I'd assume it's club level shooting. Savage's are not known as being BR capable accuracy and 10/22's are definately not. If you shoot prone you'd best investigate 2 stocks cause prone stocks don't work very well off rests. If you're going for a barely capable rig at any level of BR you'd probably start looking for a decent, low milage, lefty Anschutz I'd imagine.

 

[tuj]

I just started benchrest in December and took my first showing in competition this past weekend. My setup is a 40X, tuner, McMillian stock, Jewell trigger, T36 scope. All in I spent $1500 buying the rifle and scope used + $700 for a Sinclair competition rest and good rear bag. I think you should focus your attention on the used market, either a Anschutz 54-series action or a 40X.

 

[Pete Wass]

I saw a Myers actioned rifle the other day for sale in the classifieds. If I didn't have a pretty good rifle I would try to buy that one if'n it is still available. Buy the best rifles you can afford the first time.

Pete

 

[Charles E]

Sort of an oddball thought -- but if you really mean an occasional prone match, and benchrest at the local club level only, a used BSA Martini Target Rifle can get you some wins. The guy who runs the local club matches (Joel Pendergraft) bought one & let a bunch of us shoot it. Surprisingly good for under $500 (plus cost of a scope). IIRC, I shot a 249 when it was my turn with the rifle. He was also able to later sell it for what he'd paid for it, always a plus.

You have to accept that there will occasionally be someone who makes a small mistake & still beats you when you made no mistakes because of the rifle.

Can't remember if there were left-handed stocks, but of course, the *action* will work with either hand, and a cheek piece only matters with prone, not BR...

Well, I said it was an oddball thought.

 

[Edward Ashley]

Not a benchrest rifle, but a very accurate and fun sporter is made by CZ, and the 452 is still available in left hand models. The 452 is generally replaced by the 455, and the older 452's are held in higher regard by most. Not expensive, you can get a new one for around $400.
Ed

 

[Bigfish10]

Hello all. I am thinking of getting into .22 benchrest competition. I used to shoot 4 posistion back when I was a kid, but have been away from competition for many years. The club I would be shooting with is a local sportsman club so the rules are pretty loose. Unfortunately I am left handed and my left eye is my dominant eye. That causes some problems as there are not many options for left hand bolt action rifles. I would like to possibly use the rifle for shooting prone as well. Right now I am on a tight budget. I noticed that one of the guys was shooting a heavy barreled Savage with good results. Savage offers this rifle in left hand version. I noticed that a lot of the old bench rest type rifles look to have ambidextrous type stocks even though they are right hand bolts. I used to have a Ruger 10/22 that was pretty accurate. Wish I still had it. It would have been a good stater rifle for now. Thanks for any advice.

I joined the hobby of benchrest rimfire shooting last October. A great group of local shooters took my under their wings and provided me with some great advice to get me started with the right decisions. The first thing they told me was to buy quality gear. You can buy inexpensive rests and rear bags but you will end-up buying better gear after you shoot for awhile. Just buy quality gear to start with and save yourself money in the long run. I can highly recommend The Fulghum Front Rest and Protektor Rear Bag filled with heavy sand. Someone above recommended CZ Rifles. I have purchased two of them. If you go that route they will require trigger jobs (stock trigger pull is way to heavy for competitive shooting) and you need the right bag or add a benchrest block to the forearm to hold it in the rest. I would also comment that some CZs are very good shooters while others are just okay but they are great when you consider they sell for around $400.00.

Benchrest shooting is all about accuracy. To shoot competitively you will need a quality rifle and quality gear. You will also need to purchase quality match quality ammo. Most of the guys I shoot with use Lapua (Center X, Pistol King & Midas+) or Eley Match. I am told Wolf was pretty decent in the past but the stuff I have tried varies greatly. The important thing is to experiment with different ammo to determine what works best in a particular rifle.

When I started I had no idea how much fun, how addicting and how expensive this hobby can be. Just go into it with your eyes open and buy quality gear. You will find the Benchrest Shooters to be a great bunch and do not mind helping newbies into the hobby!

Good Luck!

I need to add that I would recommend a Weaver T-36 for benchrest shooting. You can purchase more expensive Leupold Scopes but the Weaver T-36 is an excellent value.

 

[Hambone]

Being a southpaw puts you at a bit of a disadvantage where the 2nd hand market is concerned.

Lots of guys over here in the UK use Anschutz and 40X's with a Weaver T36 scope as their starting point. Which is not a bad place to start IMO. A few minor stock alterations and you're ready to compete.
You can always opt for the all of the bells and whistles later once you have decided that .22br is what you really want to spend your time doing.