My 10/22 Story
For the first ten years or so of my gun career I mostly shot handguns. I owned a few rifles but none were very accurate and I didn't shoot them much. Then around 1998 I read some articles about 10/22s and they seemed interesting and looked like a lot of fun so I had Claude Gatewood build me a tricked-out 10/22.
I didn't have access to a good outdoor range at the time so I shot it from a bench at an indoor 25 yard range. And lo and behold -- it shot really small groups.
I'm not saying this was a superhuman feat or anything. I realize it was only 25 yards and there was no wind. The point here is that I had never before shot such small groups and when I saw them on the target I got hooked.
And the next think you know I was buying a Remington 700 .223 and reading everything I could get my hands on about reloading for accuracy and bought a Sinclair front rest and Protektor rear bag and some windflags and joined a range where I could shoot at 100 and 200 yards and spent a lot of time working up loads and trying to shoot in the wind. And one day, Bill Dittman, who runs our matches at River Bend, saw me shooting and invited me to shoot in the next monthly club match, where I could shoot in a factory class. I took him up on it.
That was in 2001 and I have missed few of the monthly matches since then. Eventually I bought a real benchrest rifle and then another and now centerfire benchrest is my passion. I'm not very good at it but I have a lot of fun doing it and have met some great people in the course of it. My 10/22 is not a benchrest-grade rifle, but if not for the fun I had shooting it, I wouldn't be shooting benchrest right now.
Fun, my friends, is the name of the game here. Whether we shoot a 10/22 or a $3000 rig, we do it for fun. And we get enough grief from people who don't like guns that I cringe when we rail against each other.
So the next time someone mentions their 10/22, smile politely, acknowledge the joy they get from shooting it, and if you are fortunate enough to own a benchrest rifle, invite them to try yours.
Dave Rabin