Why do you have one?  What do you do with it?


Mine is a trainer - nearly perfect replica of my centerfire match rifle.  It has the same ergonomics and stock adjustments, same exact sights, same trigger.  I have found a lot of carry over from live fire shooting the rimfire to the centerfire.

I am able to get to the local range in 15 minutes.  I go through all the motions of shooting a match and get off 30-50 rounds from offhand (the standing position).

Things it doesn't do include,... well, there isn't much.  It is just a single shot, so no training on the reloading operation; no training on bolt operation.


How about yours?

Just for fun and trigger time. Mine is also a centerfire clone, set up exactly like my go to rifle.

I like to compete with myself. I purchased a used national champion custom made .22 benchrest rifle. I like the peace and solitude when I am shooting it.
Here is 5 shots at 50 yards rested of course

Quiet pest control.

JUST TARGET SHOOTING BUT I WISH POLICE WOULD START USING THEM TO KNEE CAP PROTESTERS.

You are BAD!

Yikes!

Psh.

Subsonic suppressed .308 for that, man. Overkill is the best kill.

Came here to post this: Right there a single hole target. Nice shooting marksmanship!

I hope theirs a use.  I just bought one.

Anschutz
Manners T6
Athlon Cronus 4.5-29x54

Well, now that you have it, what are you going to do with it?

What will be your objective the first time you take it shooting?

I moved from Idaho to NH recently.  I ID I had miles of open land to shoot in.  I had a ton of fun shooting long range precision and I liked to do the long range precision matches too.  In NH the longest range I have access to is 300 yards.  That's why I decided to do precision 22.  Its fun to shoot, and theirs several different rim-fire matches around here.  Shooting it at 300 yards is like shooting a .308 at long range.  Its also a great practice and training tool.  I can practice the fundamentals of shooting that translate to other guns.  I can see the impacts in the target at 100 so I get instant feedback so I know if I did everything right.  I went with a rifle that had a track record of being very accurate so that I know when I get a flyer in a group, or my groups are crappy, that its on me.

.22s in general are fun to shoot and so are accurate rifles.  I can shoot it all day without ear pro and not have a bruised shoulder or wallet at the end.

My go general shooting ammo is SK standard and I bought a bunch for about $0.10 per rd.  I'm still waiting for a good day to try out an assortment of match grade ammo but it usually about $0.24 per rd.  I reload my 6.5 Creedmoor for about $0.80 per rd.

Sounds cool to me.  I've used my rimfire in 200 yard matches.  It is fun and challenging.

I am working my way through a case of Wolf Match Extra and have a case of the corresponding SK ammo when the Wolf runs out.  I'm no longer sure what I paid for either case.

$0.80/rd for any reload sounds high.  That must include the full price of the brass, to which I say, you forgot to amortize the cost of the brass over the life of the brass (~10 firings).

I have a precision AR that is very accurate, but it costs a lot to shoot quality ammo and the only range nearby is usually filled with idiots. I can set up my bench on my property and shoot rimfire on my own 50 yd range all day, with no distractions. I enjoy shooting small groups more than anything, and I can do it relatively cheaply with a quality .22 rifle.

I bought mine mostly for practicing offhand shooting. The best way to do that is to shoot ground squirrels. They're reactive targets and you have a limited window to make the shot. 

Agreed, I use mine mostly offhand.  I, too, have learned you have limited time to mount the rifle, get the sights on and trip the trigger.  Fail that and the muscle tremors and eye fatigue start.  

I also shoot at small targets, about squirrel sized.

The mantra is, "get up, get on, get the shot off".

I came up shooting smallbore and keep my 2013 to stay up on fundamentals. 


Though I just got another Marlin 2000 to replace the on I sold to fund the Anschutz. 

DAMN, that's pretty dialed in! 

What's the groups diameter, I'm curious to compare it to my free rifles factory vise test target (.3" dia for mine, yours looks a lot smaller)

My precision .22 LR rifles have 4 uses.

1)  Prone and 3 Position shooting, with both iron sights at 50 yards and prone shooting with an optic at 100 yards.

It's good practice maintaining solid position shooting and basics such as trigger control and sling use.  Below is a Anschutz 64 Match re-stocked with a semi inletted Master Class 1300 stock, as the original didn't fit me very well.    




2) Target shooting at 100 yards with precision .22 Sporters.

I've never been into bench rest shooting as the rifles are just not practical in the field, but I do enjoy a good 1 MOA capable sporter like the Winchester Model 52R , or a CZ 453.  It's the last useful purpose, but it's a satisfying change of pace now and then.  

Below is my CZ 453 American with a 100 yard group.



Here's one of my Model 52Rs with a 100 yard group.



3) Shooting steel plates at 200 and 250 yards in the wind.

Given the m,such greater susceptibility to wind with the .22 LR, it is great practice for doping wind and timing the shots with the wind, when you don't want to drive to a 600 or 1000 yard range, or spend a heap on centerfire precision loads.   Here's my CZ 453 Varmint, and a 200 yard plate shot in full value variable 5-10 mph cross wind.





4) Varmint shooting at ranges out to about 125 yards.

I do a lot less of the since transferring to the east coast, but when I was in SD, I'd use a .22 LR for prairie dogs out to about 125, yards, then switch to a .22 Hornet for shots out to about 250 yards, the use my AR-15 varmint rifle in .223 out to about 400 yards, before switching to a .308 for any really long shots.  

On a seldom hunted dog town, if you're prone and not moving, the mild report of a standard velocity .22 LR, especially if shooting into the wind, would keep the PDs up and let you do the bulk of your shooting with a .22 LR or a .22 Hornet, which also has a comparatively quiet report.   On a more frequently hunted dog town, the .22 LR would let you get a lot more close shots before the closer ranged PDs hunkered down.    

The .22 LR and .22 Hornet also don't generate much heat, which helps keep the barrel temps cool, allows a lot more shots, and saves wear and tear on your .223 and larger varmint rifles.

I just think they are fun to shoot. As the saying goes, only accurate rifles are interesting and this applies just as much to .22s as anything else.

I have never been the person that has to justify everything I buy or do. If I enjoy it, that is reason enough for me. I am not training for anything and I rarely shoot any animals. But, If I had to come up with some specific reason I guess I can come up with one: I spent most of my life in the southwest US and did a lot of rifle shooting at fairly long range. I really enjoyed that. So, I moved to Ohio and the typical "rifle range" around here is 100 or 200 yards. At my local club they have a 200 yard range with steel targets, the smallest of which is 20"x20" ().  There are much longer ranges, but the one club that has a 600 yard range is over an hour away from me and you have to be a member; I joined and ended up only going there twice in a year. I know of two other ranges that go out to 1200 yards but they are privately owned and you have to know somebody to shoot there. I do know somebody but the opportunity to shoot on those ranges are few and far between. So, if I wanted challenging rifle shooting I had to adapt. And right now that has taken the path of shooting .22s for semi-serious accuracy and stretching the .22LR out to 200 yards.

I guess the other thing about .22s is that I think nothing of going out and shooting a couple hundred rounds at a sitting with my .22s whereas I typically shoot 20-40 rounds of centerfire rifle ammo at a shooting session. So, I shoot a lot more and thus have a lot more fun. This sort of brings up another pet peave of mine, which is the common idea that there is no reason to put any serious money into a .22 rifle or a scope for a .22 rifle..........after all, it's a .22. Well, to me, I shoot my .22 a lot more than anything else. I spend a lot more time shooting my .22s. So if I was going to drop a lot of money on a rifle, or a scope, or some related purchase; it only makes sense that I would spend the most money on the guns that I shoot the most.

glad I'm not the only one doing this. I put like $900 in glass on my $200 savage, but I think it might be my favorite gun to shoot. My local range only allows rimfire rifles so I can blast and practice transitions with a 10/22, but then sit back and plink quietly with a suppressed 22.

On thing I want to add is training new shooters. they seem to enjoy the slow place, no recoil and noise, and practice before we move on to more action based shooting. I have mine set up to mostly ring small steel at 100 yards, and I'm the coach of a school team. I had a few kids the other week who had never shot making hits on 3"  steel time after time. that really got them excited to go try some more challenging stuff.

Guys, good glass is always good.  A scopes can be shared across several or all of your rifles.  Just be sure to have good rings and good bases, properly installed.  Then, you can move the scope from rifle to rifle with no loss in zero*.  At the same time, you are shooting excellent glass on every rifle.



* no loss in zero - every rifle will have its own zero.  With a good scope, with its reliable, repeatable adjustments, you can crank in the zero for that rifle and the scope will be on target.  You may need a sighter or two but you are likely to need those, no matter which rifle the scope is on.  Get a torque wrench, too, so you get consistent, repeatable torque when moving the scope to a new rifle.

Originally Posted By 444:

... I wanted challenging rifle shooting I had to adapt. And right now that has taken the path of shooting .22s for semi-serious accuracy and stretching the .22LR out to 200 yards.

Yes, a 22 LR rimfire at 200 yards is not trivial.  You WILL learn to read the wind.  



...it only makes sense that I would spend the most money on the guns that I shoot the most.

It does make sense, to me.  

It also makes sense to shoot good quality ammo, especially at 100 and 200 yards, not the cheapest fodder one can find.