Looking to get into 22lr shooting

[William Smith]

Have been back to the gun cabinet twice now and I still can't find the steering column on my Hall actioned Sporter? Can anyone tell me where Allan hides them? If mine is also cracked, it may be the reason for all my missed shots and low scores? Alas, a new excuse is born! Thumper

 

[SGJennings]

The steering shaft on a benchrest rifle is behind the buttstock and frequently suffers from a lose nut there.

Greg J.

 

[Team Windsor]

Conversation is easily shifted when one topic is closley related to another.........But in this case, A beginner who would like to get involved in Rimfire Benchrest compitition is hardly related to steering column's in race car's. Does anyone agree? I hope we don't give this fella the wrong idea, I did after all tell him,( in an earlier post) that he was in a Good place "for advice" Please , take no offence, just my opinion. Let's get this guy on the rite track. Ed.

 

[William Smith]

Attend a match

Greg, I agree with you 100%, however, at my age having loose nuts is a blessing. In getting back to the basics of the thread, and not trying to re-invent the wheel, it is my opinion that visiting a local match would be a prime start and a place where answers to questions could not only be given, but shown, and the sport could actually be attempted! If all of us who have been active in this game for more than a week, think back to the very first time we sat down at a bench, with whatever rifle, using whatever rest, shooting whatever ammo, we came with, then we can understand why newcomers are puzzled at the way we regard this as a "what if" sport. What if, I had a better gun, better equipment, better ammo, etc. and so begins the addiction! Now, we have acquired the latest shipment of ammo, the optimum in gun, scope and equipment, so now bring on Goliath! Also, now we realize that in life, Humility is a good thing! Thumper

 

[buzzard]

read thread #34 that sums it up you really dont know what a benchrest competition is ,i also apologize

 

[tim]

Sad, but true. The game has become little more than a glorified high dollar kit race. Especially in the US.

Little wonder that at the top end it has become predominantly the game of old men.

The only way a shooting discipline grows and survives is if more squirrel monkeys take it up. A predominance of old men is the death knell of any sport.

Of course this "sage opinion" comes from someone 7000 miles away, who never shot in a sanctioned match in his life, AND is considered by many including the moderators to be the biggest TROLL on the forum. Well played sir. Ain't the interweb usefull?

 

[Hambone]

Of course this "sage opinion" comes from someone 7000 miles away, who never shot in a sanctioned match in his life, AND is considered by many including the moderators to be the biggest TROLL on the forum. Well played sir. Ain't the interweb usefull?

Ah Timmy.................... you do make me laugh.

I find the www. very handy .........................................................................from slaying schmucks who make erroneous assumptions, rely upon incorrect information, and jump to fatuous conclusions. As well as lots of other educative and entertaining stuff.

Good to see we are back on topic.

 

[Dave S]

Looking to get into 22lr Benchrest shooting can anyone tell me where to find/buy new or used benchrest guns? Can someone give advice on which would be the most accurate? Would it be better to build a gun or buy an older gun and build off of its action? Who if building a gun would you have do it for you? New to the sport and looking for some advice.
Thanks for all your suggestions!

I will try to give you some straight advice. If you are interested in .22 Benchrest shooting, you should, if possible, attend a match near you and look at the equipment being used. You will notice that there are very few over-the-counter .22's being shot.. 99.9% of the rifles will be custom built rifles or factory match rifles, ie: Remington 40-X's, Suhl's, Anschultz or Winchester 52's. ALL of the rifles will have factory 2 oz. triggers or after markert 2 oz. triggers. There will be a few factory barrels on the rifles, but the majority will be after market Shilen's, Llija's, Benchmark's, etc. barrels. Most BR rifles will have a 36X scope of some kind on them, some will have 40X and 45X scopes. The stocks will be fiberglas or custom wood stocks. The ammo that the competitors will be shooting will be 99% Eley, with a sprinkling of Lapua or RWS ammo. The ammo will cost a minimum of $10.00 for a box of 50. So much for the rifle and ammo. Now, you will notice that most competitors are using one piece rests, made by Pappas, Alan Hall or Von Aherns. Some competitors will be using two piece rests with a windage adjustable top. There are several different manufacturer's of the rests. Next, you will need a good set of wind flags, 4 minimum. Again several different makers of wind flags. Then you will probably need a tuner.. There are a couple different brands of tuners, most use the Harrell's or a clone of the Harrel. Now, the ammo search.. You will probably have to buy several different lots of whatever ammo you decide to use. Different lots mean different machines and different lot #'s off the same machine. You can get some help on that by asking around this forum or other forums. Once you find a lot number your rifle likes, buy at least a case of it, as it probably won't be around long.. THEN, shoot the rifle and test, test, test. To be competitive in the .22 BR game, your rifle should be able to group .200" or less most of the time. I'm talking 3 shot groups at 50 yards..

Cost to get started...SIT DOWN... your are looking at a minimum of $3500.00 to get started. That is minimum.

Where to find rifles.. You can check the Benchrest Central Classifieds or other forums classifieds.. There are several very good rifles for sale in the classifieds..

As far as who builds rifles. There are several good gumsmiths that can build you a good rifle. Here is a few, but Gene Davis, Richard Gorham, Bill Calfee, Butch Hongisto to name a few.

As far as your 9422 and your Savage with the 3-9X scope. You can take those to a match and shoot them, but be aware that you will not finish anywhere close to the top..

Your best bet is to buy a rifle from the classifieds and go get your feet wet..

Hope this helps and sorry if I didn't put in any SA remarks..

Dave

 

[MKane]

Don't do what we did. We now have 4 of everything, that mostly sits in the safe. Buy once, cry once. Ammo's the expensive part.

 

[Hambone]

Cost to get started...SIT DOWN... your are looking at a minimum of $3500.00 to get started. That is minimum.

Where to find rifles.. You can check the Benchrest Central Classifieds or other forums classifieds.. There are several very good rifles for sale in the classifieds..

As far as who builds rifles. There are several good gumsmiths that can build you a good rifle. Here is a few, but Gene Davis, Richard Gorham, Bill Calfee, Butch Hongisto to name a few.

As far as your 9422 and your Savage with the 3-9X scope. You can take those to a match and shoot them, but be aware that you will not finish anywhere close to the top..

Your best bet is to buy a rifle from the classifieds and go get your feet wet..

Hope this helps and sorry if I didn't put in any SA remarks..

Dave

All very sound . But it doesn't have to be like that. Well I suppose it does if you want to shoot in the PSL and such.
I shoot with a group of friends we hold our own informal matches either at the club or on one of own home built ranges. We don't shoot high dollar full custom rifles made by the select. I doubt any of us have over $1000 tied up in our kit We shoot mostly Annies, 40X's and Win52. One of us has a Suhl Some have been rebarrelled using Lilja, Shilen or Border barrels, most are stocked with either adapted stocks or have been restocked with commercially inletted laminate stocks by the likes of Richards and Boyds. Some of us use Harrel tuners some use home made tuners some of us shoot unaccessoriesed. Some of us are .22 target shooters, some shoot Full Bore target, some shoot F class, some shoot cf BR. Several of us do 2 or more. Some of us test and sort ammunition some just shoot what we have left over from other .22rf shooting activities.

We have an assortment of rests. We have wind flags, some purchased, some home made.

We'll never win an international match, becos we shoot for fun first and foremost. Most of us have kids of varing ages and a lot of them like shooting RFBR.

None of us are over 55, a good few are a lot, lot younger.

At the end of the day its all about what floats your boat and what the price tag is to get it in the water and keep it afloat.

 

[Wilbur]

As you can see, the term "benchrest shooting" covers quite a territory. The folks that recommend the costly route are speaking of sanctioned benchrest and the others are speaking of local benchrest. Two entirely different animals. I write this to point out that it would be a mistake to purchase equipment suitable for local benchrest shooting and take it to a sanctioned match. Alternatively, you likely wouldn't be allowed to compete with a full blown benchrest rig in local competition - nor would it be fair to do so given the spirit of local "run what you brung" friendly competition.

 

[DonMatzeder]

Or you could just go shoot in England and be competitive with what you got......

Edit; That wasn't kind, sorry Hambone.....

 

[langenc]

If you have not yet purchased a rifle Id recommend shooting one before buying.

There are lots of shooters and I suspect most gun sellers that will let you shoot a match/few targets before buying.

 

[Hambone]

Or you could just go shoot in England and be competitive with what you got......

Edit; That wasn't kind, sorry Hambone.....

LOL

No need to apologise Don. No offence taken

Its a whole different ball game out side the US. Mainly due to numbers and facilities available. We're are lucky to get a whooping maximum of 2 sanctioned matches a year here in the UK. Neither of which any of my buddies attend due to distance, family/business commitments or their general disinclination to stick any more money into kit. Where as you guys get dozens a season. We do have a number of 25m indoor postals. But lets face it who wants to shoot 25mRFBR indoors and take it seriously. I know none of my bunch would ever leave the pub for the opportunity. We do shoot a few times in a friends barn over the winter but its more of an excuse to go down the pub afterwards than anything else. The prone guys shoot down at the drill hall more regularly.

I've had some good experiencences of formal competative shooting fullbore, clays and T/R Fclass. But personally I enjoy our informals(although there are some very competative guys in the bunch) a lot more.

 

[Hambone]

As you can see, the term "benchrest shooting" covers quite a territory. The folks that recommend the costly route are speaking of sanctioned benchrest and the others are speaking of local benchrest. Two entirely different animals. I write this to point out that it would be a mistake to purchase equipment suitable for local benchrest shooting and take it to a sanctioned match. Alternatively, you likely wouldn't be allowed to compete with a full blown benchrest rig in local competition - nor would it be fair to do so given the spirit of local "run what you brung" friendly competition.

Wilbur

As I said its all about what floats your boat. There is no chance in hell of me sinking $3500+ into a rifle on the basis of maybe getting a chance of shooting a couple of sanctioned matches a year, with the odd trip over to europe to shoot an international every other year(subject to being selected of course)

I'd rather stick the money into a TR FClass rig and shoot once or twice a month.

 

[buzzard]

float your boat

your last statement should of been posted first instead of the negative stuff on a thread about wantin to get into shootin ,alot or even most areas in the states you can shoot a sanctioned match every weekend with no problem,thats how you get yourself into the verbal bull...t

 

[PaperSniper_]

I will try to give you some straight advice. If you are interested in .22 Benchrest shooting, you should, if possible, attend a match near you and look at the equipment being used. You will notice that there are very few over-the-counter .22's being shot.. 99.9% of the rifles will be custom built rifles or factory match rifles, ie: Remington 40-X's, Suhl's, Anschultz or Winchester 52's. ALL of the rifles will have factory 2 oz. triggers or after markert 2 oz. triggers. There will be a few factory barrels on the rifles, but the majority will be after market Shilen's, Llija's, Benchmark's, etc. barrels. Most BR rifles will have a 36X scope of some kind on them, some will have 40X and 45X scopes. The stocks will be fiberglas or custom wood stocks. The ammo that the competitors will be shooting will be 99% Eley, with a sprinkling of Lapua or RWS ammo. The ammo will cost a minimum of $10.00 for a box of 50. So much for the rifle and ammo. Now, you will notice that most competitors are using one piece rests, made by Pappas, Alan Hall or Von Aherns. Some competitors will be using two piece rests with a windage adjustable top. There are several different manufacturer's of the rests. Next, you will need a good set of wind flags, 4 minimum. Again several different makers of wind flags. Then you will probably need a tuner.. There are a couple different brands of tuners, most use the Harrell's or a clone of the Harrel. Now, the ammo search.. You will probably have to buy several different lots of whatever ammo you decide to use. Different lots mean different machines and different lot #'s off the same machine. You can get some help on that by asking around this forum or other forums. Once you find a lot number your rifle likes, buy at least a case of it, as it probably won't be around long.. THEN, shoot the rifle and test, test, test. To be competitive in the .22 BR game, your rifle should be able to group .200" or less most of the time. I'm talking 3 shot groups at 50 yards..

Cost to get started...SIT DOWN... your are looking at a minimum of $3500.00 to get started. That is minimum.

Where to find rifles.. You can check the Benchrest Central Classifieds or other forums classifieds.. There are several very good rifles for sale in the classifieds..

As far as who builds rifles. There are several good gumsmiths that can build you a good rifle. Here is a few, but Gene Davis, Richard Gorham, Bill Calfee, Butch Hongisto to name a few.

......

Dave

Wow, this is an OLD thread, but it sure helps me! Very very helpful advise I think. I have an Anschutz 1903 that suits me pretty well but I want a "benchrest" stock to better ride my Sinclair front rest. I am trying to decide if an Anschutx 1913a (BR50 stock), or perhaps one of KSS's or RimFireCentral's RF BR rifles will suit me better. I am trying to avoid the "I-want-what-something-NEW-syndrome!". <g>
I shoot at 50 yards with a Weaver T36 scope. I do NOT complete except with myself.

If anyone is following this thread and has suggestions for me please chime in!

Oh, I understand that ammo is a huge part of smaller groups. I have been shooting ammo around $5-$12 for a box of 50 rounds, but I do plan to increase that with the new rifle. Here's a dumb question: If I find a used accurate rifle that the prior owner shoot well with XXX, it is a valid assumption that I'd shoot well with that same XXX ammo? Seems like that would be a good place to start ammo-wise, as I'd assume the previous owner would have done a lot of ammo testing?

 

[Wilbur]

Yes and No. If XXX means the SAME ammo (lot #) then you would be good to go. If XXX means the same brand of ammo then maybe not.

 

[doclu60]

Yes and No. If XXX means the SAME ammo (lot #) then you would be good to go. If XXX means the same brand of ammo then maybe not.

I agree with the above with my limited experience. Lot number is the driver. Not brand and type.

 

[PaperSniper_]

Yes and No. If XXX means the SAME ammo (lot #) then you would be good to go. If XXX means the same brand of ammo then maybe not.

Thanks. I was thinking the same brand, like Center-X, for instance.