Long Range 22LR

This post come about from me taking some heat from a couple less than cordial members. The post was about me looking for an affordable extended range optic for 22lr training out to 600yds max.

To be honest, I think 22lr is extremely fun and surprisingly consistent at distances many think are crazy.
What do you more experienced guys think about the22lr capabilities, and how to use one for long range practice/wind calls?
Thanks in advance to those who would like to contribute in a positive and educated way.
•••Links below may provide some answers to this as well•••



https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2018/03/06/long-range-22lr-trainer-get-best/

Thanks Mike

I've never taken a 22 past 250 yards but at that distance I was getting good consistency and the gun I was shooting has a crappy trigger.

There is a growing ELR Rimfire community. I have seen this discussed quite a lot elsewhere. Here is an example:

http://www.longrangeonly.com/forum/...2-vudoo-v22-lapua-center-850-yards-video.html

There was also a discussion of appropriate optics:

http://www.longrangeonly.com/forum/long-range-and-elr-rimfire/4611-22-elr-scope.html

There are certainly some interesting developments in ELR Rimfire shooting. From what I can tell, many recent centerfire developments are trickling down to rimfire applications. A quick mental inventory of the rifle and optics in the first link posted above puts the price tag of that rig somewhere around $7k. It's fun to see it being done, but that end of the pool is too deep for me!

Just as in the centerfire world, as the range and accuracy standard increase, so too do the dollar signs required to play. It is intriguing to see the art of the possible being explored with rimfires. I am interested in seeing what I can do with what I have, along with reasonable tweaks to ammo and optics.

Before a person can define a distance limit, the desired accuracy standard has to be defined. Taking my best SWAG, I would expect 2 MOA out to 400 yards or so to be within reach for a carefully chosen off-the-shelf rifle/scope combo. From there, I would expect equipment demands and price to escalate quickly. I have plans to investigate this for myself, starting with a CZ 452 and this optic:

https://www.primaryarms.com/primary-arms-4-16x44-illuminated-mil-dot-scope-pa416x

Even with a canted rail, I expect the 30 MOA total internal adjustment in this optic to be the limiting factor. Before I go beyond this, I really want to see what kind of accuracy I am able to obtain out to my range limit. If there is enough accuracy potential, I will consider further equipment upgrades.

A good friend of mine has completed a modest Savage build with a 9 twist Green Mountian 10/22 barrel adapted to fit. Though the primary purpose of that build was for the Aguila SSS ammo at shorter ranges, I am interested to see what effect the tighter twist has on standard ammo at greater distances.

Overall, other than development of shooting fundamentals, I am not sure there will be direct crossover between rimfire and centerfire LR and ELR shooting. Mostly, I think of LR and ELR Rimfire as something fun and interesting to pursue.

That Video was pretty amazing. Wonder how much cant one would need under the scope mounts to be able to aim at 500 yard target with the .22 and hit it. Think he said he was aiming about 25 feet over the target at a tree.

I'm also into long-range with anything I shoot. I've even used 2X scopes on pistols for just such an application. My Ruger Mk III often has the 2X Nikon handgun scope that has something like 80 MOA adjustment range in the erector system. I've actually shot that rig out to 600 with surprising accuracy informally. If I need shim under my optics I use Burris ***-Align rings with the offset inserts and additional plastic credit card strips.

I also use a Browning Buckmark Varmint as a walk-around prairie dog rig. I stuck the Nikon 3X P-223 scope on it that has more than 100 MOA adjustment in it's target turret system. Haven't tried going to extreme range with it yet but intend to when I can get a spotter to go with me.

Sometimes there is so much forward tilt with the shims I have to get longer screws for the rear ring.

Sure is fun though!

22LR at distance is fun. I still feel the SWFA scopes offer the best value for the dollar. and a 3-15 scope is all you will ever need on a 22LR for out to 1000 yards. you just need a adjustable elevation base or a the charlie system.

http://www.longrangeonly.com/forum/...ter-850-yards-video.html?highlight=yards+22LR

I shoot my custom vostok match rifle to 300yds. with an swfa 16x and rws r50, it will consistently hit 3"x5" steel

I consistently hit clay birds at 230 yards using a 10/22 with a Tac Sol barrel and factory triggers that I polished. I imagine I could do better with better optics and trigger.

Used to shoot clays at 300 yds with a 17 hmr and I thought that was a challenge, many times the bullet was drifting farther than it was dropping. Sure was a lot of fun.

I think there is a part of the NRL that is doing ELR 22 stuff.

I have been considering buying a better quality optic and upping the money to over 1K so that I can shoot longer distances with the elevation required. I have a 52C Winchester and a Remington 513T with custom Ken Vianni mounts that will provide me the extra moa needed for the further distances. The scopes will be mounted on both of these rifles as they are solid shooters. I have narrowed down the scopes to Nightforce, Zeiss, and Sightron. Shooting 22lr at long ranges is extremely challenging and fun.

I've owned or own Vortex Gen2 Razor&PST scopes, NightForce, Leupolds and Bushnell Elite ERS optics, but the new Bushnell Engage 4-16x44 is doing well on my Ruger Precision Rimfire so far. It's 2nd focal plane but for a 22lr that isn t bad. The subtensions are exact at 16X for holdovers and ranging. I prefer mrad, however, it has a clean moa reticle.

I just started dabbling in 22 at some distance. 200, 300 are very easy with a good rig. Once you step out to 400 is really where the fun starts. I am running a swfa 10x HD on a savage mkii. That scope has good bit of adjustment but at 400 I dialed 15 mils and was holding 5 mils on reticle. I am running gemtec subs with a thunderbeast 22 takedown can. Went yesterday and tried a few other ammos. So far my gun like the norma match and the eley target. I ordered a 20 moa rail to replace the flat egw rail I am running now. That should help a little. I am about to buy a ruger precision rimfire also. How is your shooting?

Remmy700 said:

I just started dabbling in 22 at some distance. 200, 300 are very easy with a good rig. Once you step out to 400 is really where the fun starts. I am running a swfa 10x HD on a savage mkii. That scope has good bit of adjustment but at 400 I dialed 15 mils and was holding 5 mils on reticle. I am running gemtec subs with a thunderbeast 22 takedown can. Went yesterday and tried a few other ammos. So far my gun like the norma match and the eley target. I ordered a 20 moa rail to replace the flat egw rail I am running now. That should help a little. I am about to buy a ruger precision rimfire also. How is your shooting?

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I find aguila's 40 grain super extra high velocity rounds to be very accurate beyond to 200 yards on my rifle, more so than subsonic rounds.