.22 recommendation to practice long range

[Buzzsaw]

eggs at 200, get out the checkbook!! Rifle AND scope. You aint getting out of this one cheap

Altus Solutions for sure
Custom barrel, bedding, TRIGGER

maybe:
Sako Quad Varmint
Anschutz BR gun
Tony Kidd Super Grade

 

[pgar171]

Check hillcountryrifles.com. They have a high end .22lr, that when shot with subsonic ammo mimics trajectory of .308 out to 300 yards. You can get the rifle or the entire system. Great for practice.

 

[flatlande01]

EuroOptic advertised an 'extreme trainer' 22RF rifle several years ago, based on a Stiller 2500XR action, Bartlein bbl, Manners stock, etc. I immediately contracted a case of the hots for one of these rigs, but choked on the price ($4000+). Long story short, I bought one of the Stiller RF actions & built myself a very nice trainer, fitting & chambering a Krieger bbl. Since then, I've sent off a couple of CMP 40X actions to have them converted into repeaters, then barreled them myself, then finally gave in to temptation & bought a Vudoo V-22 action & built another very nice rifle on it. A friend who'd shot my Vudoo asked me to build one just like it for him, but since Vudoo didn't have any bare actions for sale, I wound up buying four bbl'd actions from them, so now own three V-22s of my own. Shooting high quality custom bbls chambered with a match reamer will spoil a guy or gal, and make it a little tough to settle for the accuracy of your average factory .22RF rifle. And the relative ease of quick reloads with the V-22's 10rd magazine is a luxury compared to anything else I've seen.

After looking at photos of the new CZ457 American & Varmint MTR rifles, I bought an American to have a classy-looking .22 sporter. I like this rifle a lot, but the jury's still out on its accuracy potential. To be fair, std vel match .22RF ammo doesn't perform well in temps under 40*F (unless you're shooting higher priced Lapua Polar Biathlon), and I just haven't had the chance to wring the CZ out for accuracy in decent conditions. As mentioned, the new Tikka T1x is also reputed to be a very accurate .22, but both these rifles are considerably lighter than any of my CF rifles, so for anything more serious than plinking at tin cans, I'll stick with my 40XB or V-22 repeaters. I've fired something close to 10 times as many rounds of .22RF ammo as I have put through all my CF rifles together in the past four years, and it shows. Trigger time is trigger time, but having a selection of precision .22RF rifles that are very accurate AND come very close to duplicating the proportions & weight of my CF comp rifles has paid dividends. I seriously doubt you'd ever regret investing in a V-22...

 

[juggernaut]

Have you considered a pcp rifle? You can punch paper accurately just the same -seemingly- without the price tag of these customs rimfire rifles.
Plus mine shipped to my door along with my ldc. Just thought I'd offer a different opinion.

 

[Herr Nagler]

22LR is a great way to develop wind reading skills as it requires approximately the same elevation and wind displacement as a .308 at 1/4 the distance. In other words the elevation and wind holds you need to hit a target (with sub-sonic .22 match Ammo) at 200 yards is roughly the same for a .308 shooting 175gr match loads at 800 yards.

In terms of the actual rifle it depends on what your goals are. I have some friends that purchased Vudoos and built them exactly the same as their centerfire PRS match rifles. As such, those .22's have $3,700 Schmidt & Bender scopes on top. But it's worth it to them as the vudoo mimics the ergonomics (including) mag changes exactly. They get 10x the practice with the .22's.

This market is exploding and even Anschutz is starting to build tactical style guns.

If your goal is to improve your long distance hunting/shooting skills then any .22 that will shoot at least 1/2"-1" (5-shots) @ 100 yards will do. Lots of good options like cooper, Kimber, sako ... etc.

Use the same scope you use on your hunting rig and then go out and try to hit 1/4 scale targets at 1/4 the distance standing sitting off of sticks leaning against a tree ... great fun great practice.

I have a friend who takes his model 52 super grade to the .22 range and shoots at least 500 rounds sitting, standing using sticks before each hunt in Africa.

 

[Pro2A]

I'm a firm believer in "everything you need to learn can be done with a .22". I'm getting back into shooting and learning to shoot long range. I read with interest an article about shooting an egg at 200 yard. After doing a little more reading I saw that the CZ 455 varmint was a good choice, but it isn't made any more. What recommendations can others make?

Take a look at the Ruger Precision Rimfire. MSRP about $525; can buy for less than $400. A lot of gun for the money and closely replicates the Ruger Precision Rifle centerfire in feel, performance for when you need something larger. Can even replicate the bolt throw length of short action centerfire to help muscle memory when you move to centerfire. Learn to measure the rim on the .22LR ammo and group shells according to size. Will greatly improve consistency and accuracy. Get the Hornady Rimfire guage (not precisely the name....check Hornady website). Quick, easy, very beneficial. Get a good scope that has good glass and tracks precisely and repeatedly....and confirm such via shooting the square and tall target tests....learn to true the DOPE for your system.....that cannot be over emphasized. Spend way more on the glass than you do on the rifle. Get a reliable ballistic program (I like Applied Ballistics; or JBM; Hornady 4DOF,...) and Kestrel 5700 enviro station. Will need an accurate rangefinder....range errors really matter. Learn how to use all the above. Takes effort, but that is why it is so much fun. Buy once; cry once. Use for rimfire and then centerfire.

 

[Herr Nagler]

"You buy right you buy once..."

"You buy wrong and you end up surrounded by piles of dissatisfying junk."

 

[6x6 elk]

Anschutz makes top notch rimfire rifles. Can be had in competition set up or as Sporter/Hunting rifles. I have not seen one yet that wasn't super accurate. If you like older rimfire rifles, the Winchester 52's and the Remington 40x are also amazingly accurate. Cooper and kimber also make Nice rimfire rifles that are of a Sporter design.

 

[Toecutter]

Anschutz here but those CZs have always intrigued me for relatively cheap money. Shot against lots of guys with them and they do perform. This word of tikka 22lrs is intriguing though, gonna have to look them up.
200 yds is a poke with 22lr though. A childs breath at that distance gets you out of the zip code(in egg terms). If you have a good rig and high quality ammo that it likes, i would stick to building fundamentals at 100yds (Once you work out all your bugs on ammo selection and form at 50).
If your goal is to get practice in for center fire hunting, it would seem to me that chasing barely comprehensible wind at 200 with a slow moving lightweight bullet would just frustrate me and gaffe up my wind calls in real hunting situations with the big guns.
Either way, youve found a great rabbit hole to explore. Have fun and keep us posted on your journey.

 

[Mounted Shooter]

I shot 3 position with an Anschutz 1913 when I was younger. 28" long x 15/16" diameter barrel made it around 15lbs or so. Benchrest at 200yards put 10 rds inside a golf ball. The first time we went out west Prairie Dog hunting we took it along. When the barrels on the high power got too hot we broke out the Anschutz and routinely tipped them over at 200yards and a few beyond that. I ended up selling it back in the late 80's, but I'd love to find a used 1913 again.

 

[Greyfox]

I have used the 22 rifle quite a lot for long range training. Mated with the proper ammo, it's is very accurate and easily adapted for use with a ballistic RF that serves as an excellent "scaled down" trainer for accurate shooting to 300+ yards. Myself and my buddies use Savage, CZ, and the Ruger 22 PR, all quite capable of achieving 1MOA or better at long range. My personal favorite is a Savage TR, that has a heavy barrel, and stock configuration with ergonomics and balance quite similar to to my high power LR rifles. Shown with a Vortex AMG, this rifle also serves as my rimfire PRS rifle! My longest shots in game was a woodchuck(headshot)at 205 yards, and a crow at 236 yards, both cold bore, with elevation and wind corrections taken from my Gunwerks G7 RF.

 

[skipglo]

I'm a firm believer in "everything you need to learn can be done with a .22". I'm getting back into shooting and learning to shoot long range. I read with interest an article about shooting an egg at 200 yard. After doing a little more reading I saw that the CZ 455 varmint was a good choice, but it isn't made any more. What recommendations can others make?

I haven't tried 200 yrds with my Ruger heavy barrel bolt...but at 100 it's a tack driver. Not sure what they cost in the U.S. but I paid 950.00 in Canada...not sure if you are on a budget...

 

[CooperNV]

Tikka T1X. Will accept T3 stocks. Comes theaded.

 

[Sflutes]

I do a lot of recreational rimfire silhouette shooting (have a 100 yard setup in by back yard). Have done a lot of internet research/reading and the subsonic/supersonic theory is not universally accepted. I have come to the conclusion that I would rather have the flatter trajectory of high velocity than the theoretical advantage of the sub sonic round.