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For indoor/outdoor target, which .22 lr, .22 magnum or .222 rifle best? donot reload. Used to shoot

2K views 17 replies 7 participants last post by  JTJ 
#1 · (Edited)
Best for indoor/outdoor target? .22lr, .22 magnum or .223 rifles. Do not reload. Used to shoot. Other bore? .222, .221?
 
#4 ·
Depends on the distance to your target, among MANY other things.

I shoot a lot of .22 LR, and some are very good to 50 yards. However, beyond 65-70 yards, most .22 LR drops back into subsonic speeds, which gives the bullet a bit of wobble- and drop increases sharply beyond that point. Winchester and Remington both made great .22 rimfire target rifles. Likewise the European makers- Anschutz and CZ. The 10-22 can be made into a very good target rifle by replacing everything but the buttplate. I have a couple of older Mossberg rifles that will give just about anything a run for the money, including a Mossberg 144 LSB with a 24 X scope.

If you want to go for 300 yards and up, look at .223 centerfire, the .204, 22-250 or my favorite, the venerable .220 Swift.

However, there IS a middle ground- take a hard look at the Savage 93 heavy barrel rifles in .17 HMR. Rimfire, so reloading is a moot point. FAST little spitzer bullets that stay supersonic, have much less drop, and ammo is reasonable (around $14/ 50 rounds) I have one that will group 5 rounds into a quarter inch at 100 yards IF the wind cooperates. 17 grain bullets get pushed around really easy.

If you stay indoors, and stay at 10 meters, you can also look at some of the really good air rifles. The match grade guns can put 5 pellets in one hole at that distance.
 

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#5 ·
Depends on the distance to your target, among MANY other things.

I shoot a lot of .22 LR, and some are very good to 50 yards. However, beyond 65-70 yards, most .22 LR drops back into subsonic speeds, which gives the bullet a bit of wobble- and drop increases sharply beyond that point. Winchester and Remington both made great .22 rimfire target rifles. Likewise the European makers- Anschutz and CZ. The 10-22 can be made into a very good target rifle by replacing everything but the buttplate. I have a couple of older Mossberg rifles that will give just about anything a run for the money, including a Mossberg 144 LSB with a 24 X scope.

If you want to go for 300 yards and up, look at .223 centerfire, the .204, 22-250 or my favorite, the venerable .220 Swift.

However, there IS a middle ground- take a hard look at the Savage 93 heavy barrel rifles in .17 HMR. Rimfire, so reloading is a moot point. FAST little spitzer bullets that stay supersonic, have much less drop, and ammo is reasonable (around $14/ 50 rounds) I have one that will group 5 rounds into a quarter inch at 100 yards IF the wind cooperates. 17 grain bullets get pushed around really easy.

If you stay indoors, and stay at 10 meters, you can also look at some of the really good air rifles. The match grade guns can put 5 pellets in one hole at that distance.
Depends on the distance to your target, among MANY other things.

I shoot a lot of .22 LR, and some are very good to 50 yards. However, beyond 65-70 yards, most .22 LR drops back into subsonic speeds, which gives the bullet a bit of wobble- and drop increases sharply beyond that point. Winchester and Remington both made great .22 rimfire target rifles. Likewise the European makers- Anschutz and CZ. The 10-22 can be made into a very good target rifle by replacing everything but the buttplate. I have a couple of older Mossberg rifles that will give just about anything a run for the money, including a Mossberg 144 LSB with a 24 X scope.

If you want to go for 300 yards and up, look at .223 centerfire, the .204, 22-250 or my favorite, the venerable .220 Swift.

However, there IS a middle ground- take a hard look at the Savage 93 heavy barrel rifles in .17 HMR. Rimfire, so reloading is a moot point. FAST little spitzer bullets that stay supersonic, have much less drop, and ammo is reasonable (around $14/ 50 rounds) I have one that will group 5 rounds into a quarter inch at 100 yards IF the wind cooperates. 17 grain bullets get pushed around really easy.

If you stay indoors, and stay at 10 meters, you can also look at some of the really good air rifles. The match grade guns can put 5 pellets in one hole at that distance.
Depends on the distance to your target, among MANY other things.

I shoot a lot of .22 LR, and some are very good to 50 yards. However, beyond 65-70 yards, most .22 LR drops back into subsonic speeds, which gives the bullet a bit of wobble- and drop increases sharply beyond that point. Winchester and Remington both made great .22 rimfire target rifles. Likewise the European makers- Anschutz and CZ. The 10-22 can be made into a very good target rifle by replacing everything but the buttplate. I have a couple of older Mossberg rifles that will give just about anything a run for the money, including a Mossberg 144 LSB with a 24 X scope.

If you want to go for 300 yards and up, look at .223 centerfire, the .204, 22-250 or my favorite, the venerable .220 Swift.

However, there IS a middle ground- take a hard look at the Savage 93 heavy barrel rifles in .17 HMR. Rimfire, so reloading is a moot point. FAST little spitzer bullets that stay supersonic, have much less drop, and ammo is reasonable (around $14/ 50 rounds) I have one that will group 5 rounds into a quarter inch at 100 yards IF the wind cooperates. 17 grain bullets get pushed around really easy.

If you stay indoors, and stay at 10 meters, you can also look at some of the really good air rifles. The match grade guns can put 5 pellets in one hole at that distance.
I must thank you all for the input which gives me much to think about!
Being old school I have to have a nice wooden stock, an old type weapon-like the Anschutz .22 Magnum, with a hair trigger - I used to own in the 80's!
Except in a Semi Auto! An Anschutz I just cannot afford - so was looking at the CZ 512, till I read one discouraging report about the trigger and its action! Someone described it as scraping down on rough dry wall compound! All other reports were glowing! Also thought I read one could get a kit to rectify the trigger? Do not know!
Anyone own or familiar with the CZ family?
 
#6 ·
I must thank you all for the input which gives me much to think about!
Being old school I have to have a nice wooden stock, an old type weapon-like the Anschutz .22 Magnum, with a hair trigger - I used to own in the 80's!
Except in a Semi Auto! An Anschutz I just cannot afford - so was looking at the CZ 512, till I read one discouraging report about the trigger and its action! Someone described it as scraping down on rough dry wall compound! All other reports were glowing! Also thought I read one could get a kit to rectify the trigger? Do not know!
Anyone own or familiar with the CZ family?


Hunteracee
 
#7 ·
For outdoor shooting i've use my savage .22lr rifle, it's a fine shooting rifle. In generally, most bolt-action .22's will out shoot a stock 10/22 carbine.
Another thing to keep in mind is ammo. Most suggest trying a number of different circles to see which your rifle likes best. My advice would be to buy a case of the same amount after you find it.
 
#8 ·
actually the Ruger 10/22 can be pretty danged accurate with some minor modifications and finding an ammo it likes. with some major modifications like a new barrel and new high quality trigger, they would hold their own with any bolt action rim-fire rifle.

one nice thing about the 22 rim-fire rifles, are they can sometimes even be used at indoor ranges as well.
 
#9 ·
Online rimfire ammo prices have come down a lot. I am seeing 22lr as low as 5 cents a round. 22 Mag and 17 HMR are running $10/50. If you want a semi auto you might look at the new Savage A series but there wont be wood. Savage B series bolt action gets you into wood. http://www.savagearms.com/firearms/model/B17G http://www.savagearms.com/firearms/model/B22G
Nikon has a good line of rimfire scopes that are reasonable.
Boyds makes laminate wood replacement stocks.
 
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#10 ·
Another thought. 223/5.56x45 is the cheapest center fire non steel round. 30 cents is the going price on line for brass but I have seen some specials below that. Steel is cheaper but most if not all indoor ranges will not let you shoot steel ammo and check with magnets. Stay away from the 62 grain penetraters/green tip for indoors. Some dont have the green tip.
AR's are really cheap right now and usually accurate.
 
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#11 ·
For outdoor shooting i've use my savage .22lr rifle, it's a fine shooting rifle. In generally, most bolt-action .22's will out shoot a stock 10/22 carbine.
Another thing to keep in mind is ammo. Most suggest trying a number of different circles to see which your rifle likes best. My advice would be to buy a case of the same amount after you find it.
I agree with you on the Savage bolt-action 22s. I have a Savage MKII FV-SR and it's a real tack driver. Very accurate at 50 yards. Best ammo I've shot through it is CCI SV.

Military camouflage Camouflage Machine gun Air gun Military uniform
 
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#12 ·
I agree with you on the Savage bolt-action 22s. I have a Savage MKII FV-SR and it's a real tack driver. Very accurate at 50 yards. Best ammo I've shot through it is CCI SV.

View attachment 179488
i have to agree. it's hard to beat the accuracy of the Savage rim-fires for accuracy given the prices they go for. i love mine. damned accurate as a laser! :)

not mine, but looks almost identical. i think this guy copied mine!


Air gun Trigger Shotgun Wood Gun barrel
 
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#13 ·
Brown Colorfulness Grey Silver Trigger
Alaskan; Yours looks almost identical to mine. I made a kydex comb for mine and it is carrying the Nikon 3-9. I am having a problem with mine though. It does not like Winchester M22 subsonic 45 grain black copper plated for suppressors. It wont always extract them. No problem with other brands. Extractor looks fine and it is clean.
 
#14 ·
Alaskan; Yours looks almost identical to mine. I made a kydex comb for mine and it is carrying the Nikon 3-9. I am having a problem with mine though. It does not like Winchester M22 subsonic 45 grain black copper plated for suppressors. It wont always extract them. No problem with other brands. Extractor looks fine and it is clean.
I've also had a few problems with extraction of spent shells. Even with the CCI SV rounds. I'm wondering if it has something to do w/the new 10-round magazine I bought.
 
#17 ·
I was using a 5 round mag. I have 10's and have had no problems until the Winchesters. The copper plating is supposed to stop the leading issues with the suppressors. CCI has a subsonic or SV copper plated segmented round I would like to try. I have not tried it on the 10's but the 5 will load and feed shorts.
Maybe that's the problem I'm having w/CCI SV since they're not copper plated. ?????
 
#18 ·
Maybe that's the problem I'm having w/CCI SV since they're not copper plated. ?????
It just keeps the leading down in the suppressor. Does not really affect the rifle. I use the CCI SV's too.
 
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