Long(ish) range .22 shooting expectations?

[awp_101]

I don’t have easy access to any ranges over 200 yards so I’m thinking about scratching the long range shooting itch with some .22 rifles at 100 and 200 yards. What should be a reasonable accuracy expectation for a production rifle/slightly tweaked production rifle with decent (but not match) ammo? 4”@100? 6”@200?

I really have no idea what a reasonable expectation should be in this area.

Thanks!

[farscott]

Assuming no wind, a match .22 LR rifle can shoot into less than two inches at 200 yards with match ammo. Add wind and use less than stellar ammo, I struggle to hold eight inches consistently. I use a Winchester 52D with a Leupold M8-12X with the adjustable objective, so any poor groups are caused by me. I use match ammo in the 52D. I am fond of SK and Geco loads.

Reading the wind is critical with a .22 LR. Always use standard velocity ammo as supersonic .22 groups are always larger. CCI Standard Velocity used to be a great ammo to use when match ammo was not available or too pricey for the work. I have also had good luck with Geco Bolt and Semi-Auto ammo, which is less expensive than the match offerings from the same brand. I used to buy it for $205 delivered for a case. Now, good luck finding any. Try some to see what your rifle likes.

Getting enough ammo to shoot groups is the issue, especially as rimfire are sensitive to different ammo lots. Humid days are better for consistency than drier days. I am not sure why, but air with some moisture in it leads to smaller groups with the same ammo.

ETA: Prepare to invest in a good bench rest. I use a Randolph front rest; a good rest helps a lot when shooting ten-shot groups at distance. Ten shots is also more challenging than five shots. I have blown more groups at rounds eight through ten than I care to remember.

[Zincwarrior]

What rifle are you shooting AWP?

[BN]

It depends a lot on the rifle, scope and ammo. I've been shooting out to 350 yards with a Vudoo, Anschutz and a 10-22.

With the Vudoo I get slightly under MOA at 100 or 1" groups and slightly over (2" groups) at 200 yards. I'm the weak link there. ;)

I posted a 3.280" average of six 5 shot groups at 200 yards with my 10-22 over at the Snipers Hide 6x5 thread. https://www.snipershide.com/shooting/threads/6x5-thread-v5-0-new-1-1-21.6253073/ This ongoing thread should help you with what to expect.

What are you shooting?

[awp_101]

Rifles will be a stock Ruger Precision Rimfire and a stock (for now) 10/22 (model 31139 (https://ruger.com/products/1022Carbine/specSheets/31139.html?buy=1)) that's going into a KRG stock. Fodder will be CCI SV, old Wolf Match and some really old Rex if I can remember where I put it. Plus any other non-bulk I run across in my ammo cans.

Besides the stock, I plan on eventually upgrading the 10/22 trigger group and maybe replacing the factory 18" barrel with something like a 16" TacSol. Not real sure what I can do to/do with the RPRR. I haven't dug very deep to see what upgrades are possible. I know Lilja makes a replacement barrel but I'm not that serious about this. I'd REALLY like to upgrade the cheek piece, it just feels really flimsy to me.

Would being able to keep 5-10 shots on a B-8 at 100 be a reasonable starting goal to shoot for (so to speak)?

[oregon45]

For .22lr at 100, and especially 200, yards I've found that wind flags at 50, 100, 150 and 200 make life much easier. A wind reading at the gun is all well and good, but it doesn't take much wind to move a .22lr bullet, so knowing what the wind is doing downrange is critical.

If you're holding 5 shots in the black of a B8 at 100 yards with the guns and ammunition you describe, I'd say you're on the right track and that should be well within the limits of the hardware. What would tell the story (and give you an indication of what to work on) is the dispersion of the shots on the target; vertical vs. horizontal stringing, clustering vs. fliers, etc.

Long range .22 is a lot of fun. Good luck with your endeavor.

[BN]

Would being able to keep 5-10 shots on a B-8 at 100 be a reasonable starting goal to shoot for (so to speak)?

Yes, that's a good starting goal. This is a deep, deep, $$$ rabbit hole you're going down. ;) But the journey is so much fun.

Both Rugers are good to start. What scopes do you have? You will probably want a scope with enough internal elevation that you can dial for longer shots. I think the RPRR already has a 30 MOA scope base, so that will help a lot.

Bi-pod, rear bag or front rest with rear bag?

The old Wolf will probably give you a little better results than the CCI from my experience. I shoot a lot of SK.

I started long range rimfire about 5 years ago and I'm having a lot of fun. :)

[farscott]

EGW offers 10 MOA, 20 MOA, 30 MOA, and 40 MOA bases for the 10/22. My Winchester 52D has an EGW 20 MOA base. Well machined part.

https://www.egwguns.com/scope-mounts-rings/standard-rifle-scope-mounts/ruger/ruger-10-22/

[Wheeler]

I played around with a Ruger American .22, CZ 455, and a TC/R22 at 100 yards off a bench. The best I could get out of any of them was a 1" group using CCI SV or Blazer. Those groups were what I'd consider outliers and I'd usually run 1.75" groups. Using supersonic ammo will open those groups up a fair bit as .33 usually goes transsonic around 60 yards.

[awp_101]

Thanks, I hadn’t thought about running out of elevation so I’ll add one of those bases to my 10/22 upgrade list. I’ve already got some kind of Tasco varmint scope on the RPRR (6-24 IIRC) and I’m pretty sure I’ve got a second that will probably go on the 10/22.

I’m going to use what I have on hand until I decide I *really* want to go down this rabbit hole so I’ll be starting with a set of San Angelo bags and unknown/unremembered Cabela’s grade front rest. If I get hooked I’ll upgrade the front rest and might even check out the tripod and head assembly mentioned in LL’s money pit thread.

And unless I get ahold of myself, I might be adding a BSA 12/15 with a Freeland stock and forearm to the safe. The downside is I’ll have to d&t it for modern mounts because I don’t want to go down the vintage scope trail.

[jeep45238]

Tikka T1x in a KRG bravo stock, and a Riton 6-24 scope (adjustable parallax is a freaking requirement man), and it's not a challenge to hold a 2 inch group at 100 yards with bulk ammo of practically any sort. 1.2 inches with some nicer ammo, but still not match grade stuff. That should work out to under a 5 inch group at 200 with bulk ammo, if I call the wind right. That's also the whole point of shooting that cartridge at distance, for me.

[Squib308]

I regularly shoot 22lr at 200 yards. It’s a blast. Beyond 200 yards it’s just frustrating. I run a leupold 4x rimfire optic on a cz 452 or a Ruger American rimfire. As noted above the choice of ammo will determine results. Supersonic ammo is inconsistent but still fun.

[BN]

And unless I get ahold of myself, I might be adding a BSA 12/15 with a Freeland stock and forearm to the safe. The downside is I’ll have to d&t it for modern mounts because I don’t want to go down the vintage scope trail.

We've got some local guys running peep sights on old rifles out to 200 yards and beyond. They're having fun.

[Caballoflaco]

From the way less sophisticated side of things here. A dozen clay pigeons on the hundred yard berm and a stock marlin .22 semi auto with a cheap 4x scope was loads of fun and not hard to get hits on when I was a teenager. Eventually the pieces get smaller than the beaten zone so you might make a couple three trigger pulls before you get a hit. 12 ga shotgun shells didn’t last very long at that distance either. This was shooting mainly bulk ammo.

Shoot what you have and buy more shit when you identify what your current set up can’t do that you want to do.

[awp_101]

Tikka T1x in a KRG bravo stock, and a Riton 6-24 scope (adjustable parallax is a freaking requirement man)
How do you like that Riton? They popped up when I was searching for a compact scope but I'd never heard of them and kept looking.


We've got some local guys running peep sights on old rifles out to 200 yards and beyond. They're having fun.
If this one came with the peeps I'd give it a go but I like seeing what I'm shooting at so a scope is in it's future regardless. I had an epiphany this afternoon. EGW sells undrilled sections of pic rail up to 24" long. It's already set up for some kind of long scope so all I should need to do is get the distances and spacing and have the EGW rail drilled to match. Then I can use a modern scope and mounts without adding new holes and if I ever come in to stupid amounts of disposable income, I'll go down the vintage scope trail.


From the way less sophisticated side of things here. A dozen clay pigeons on the hundred yard berm and a stock marlin .22 semi auto with a cheap 4x scope was loads of fun and not hard to get hits on when I was a teenager.
That's a good idea and IIRC the 100 yard range at the club has a 10" or 12" plate for more reactive fun.

[awp_101]

Bi-pod, rear bag or front rest with rear bag?

It occurred to me this morning I don't have a "good" bipod. I've got a cheapie McCheaperson pic rail mount NC Star and an old Harris that mounts on a sling stud that I've had 15 years or so. Both came on other rifles I bought and they're more helpful when taking pictures than what they were actually designed to do. I hit Amazon and ordered the M-LOK mount version (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DMBXB9X/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) this morning and it was waiting for me when I got home. I'll give it a whirl and if I like it, I'll get a second so I can have one for both the 10/22 and RPRR.

[Borderland]

I can hit an 8" plate at 200 yds with my CZ 455 but I have no idea how I do that. If I had a mil dot scope it would be a lot easier. It's a challenge for sure but with the right gear I don't see why one couldn't expect 2 MOA with no wind. I'm considering a better scope for my 455 so I can replicate long range precision shooting with bigger bore rifles. My range is limited to 200 yds. It's a lot of fun and ammo cost is doable.

[SD]

Mostly 100 yards or less shooting with my .22's. For shooting with consistency out too 200 yards my reproduction 52B (Miroku) from the mid 90's with CCI Green-Tag and Standard get the job done. My Buckmark rifle becomes inconsistent past 125+ yards regardless of ammo but the glass is 4X Weaver Grand Slam scope (possible factor), this setup is great for tree rats. Because of the expense with CCI Green-Tag these days i tend to stay with the Standard.

[Duelist]

.22 rifle shooting will probably be the bulk of my shooting this year. I have a Savage MKII heavy barrel. The factory plastic stock sucks, but I added a pound of lead to the hollow butt which helps balance the long heavy barrel better, as well as making it settle and hold stable on target much better. I also fitted 1” rings to it, and a cheek riser. So it sucks less, but I will probably upgrade the scope and stock in the next year or so. I can stack Blazer .22 or better (wolf, sk, lapua, CCI Standard, eley) in one hole out to 50 yards, and hit steel out past 100 with it.

There are several other .22 rifles that live here. LOL. But that one is the longer range, more precision oriented stick.

[Borderland]

I think the heavy barrels really help with precision shooting, especially with high velocity cartridges that heat your barrel up with just a few shots. Barrel heat destroys repeatable POI pretty fast. I've proven that to myself with two Howa rifles. One has a heavy barrel and one a light barrel. Both are .223. The HB hardly ever heats up enough to change POI while the LB is only good for about 10 rds or less. I see the same thing with my Ruger Mini. Barrel heats up PDQ.

I know I'm not telling precision shooters anything here but many are getting 22 rifles for the first time to try the 200 yd game. If you want the most precision think about a heavy barrel.

[awp_101]

I finally got a chance to hit the range yesterday, yay me! Thanks to the wind and competitions on the 50 and 100 yard range I spent my time getting things dialed in at 25. Plus the rimfire only range was empty and I’m never unhappy about having a section of range to myself.

This was the last group from each rifle using CCI MiniMags.

69499

69498

Stock Ruger Precision Rimfire
69500

10/22 in KRG Bravo w/VQ trigger kit (HP10?)
69501

Observations - the Magpul bipods are light years ahead of the craptastic bipods I’ve used in the past. I’m having to restrain myself from ordering one for every rifle (and some pistols) I own.

I need to figure out how to keep my ear pro from interfering with my cheekweld. I’m running Howard Leight noise canceling and I almost have to lay my head sideways to get a solid weld.

I need to get a longer mount for the 10/22, not enough eye relief as it sits.

A better front rest and bags are moving up the want list as well.

Question - if you’re bench shooting for groups at a fixed distance, do you run your scopes at full power or just find a comfortable setting and accept not seeing your hits until the end of the string?