Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters .22RF question

Thread is not a waste, the responses are interesting. Pics, too.

But this geezer wondered about the same things as Robert: budget, expectations, purpose.

Expectations drive budget. There is a law of diminishing returns.

Have a 1712 that shoots right along with an older 52C heavy. 1" for 10 at 100 yds in calm is very doable. That's CCI SV, no less. But neither gets used much b/c my purposes are informal paper punching, youth training, and killing.

Doesn't take much $. Have a couple Americans. Groups are within a 1/2"-7/8" range at 50 yds for 5 SV. I use a Waltz die to make HPs out of SV because they seem a bit more accurate than factory CCI sub-HPs. This range is plenty good enough for rats and pigeons. These two rifles get bounced around inside a side by side, or might bump or get dropped in barns at night. Synthetic stocks and $400 price tags make sense. One is for rats, wears a thermal, and eats CCI Quiet segmented HPs. Other is for pigeons, wears a 10x MQ.

Also have a couple 64 Ans sporters. They're more in the 3/8"-3/4" range at 50 for 5 CCI SV. One kills crows inside the ranged backyard. Has a SWFA and 110 yds is the long so far.

I’ve never seen a gun of any kind that’s too nice for me to use.

Weatherby Mk XXII was one of those grail guns when I was a kid, but not my thing now. A girlfriend’s father had one. He had half a dozen guns, all sporterized SMLE’s (he was Canadian) except that one Weatherby.22.

You make a lot of sense.

Earlier this year I converted my CZ MTR to a sporter configuration so I could actually carry it around and maybe even hunt with it. It’s still a bit heavy, even with a tiny 6x Burris scope, but handles well, and shooting it offhand is a pleasure, not a test of strength and endurance. I got bored and a little frustrated with shooting groups with mid-grade ammo and its inevitable flyers, so mostly now I shoot offhand at reactive targets and also from the seated position I usually shoot from while hunting; not the classic sitting, but mostly from a chair or stool, like sitting on a log or rock as often is the case afield. I also use a stick of some sort at times. Gotta work out a method with my new trekking poles, which I’m finding very helpful in keeping Grandpa out and about and upright.

There are a lot of great older rifles out there to be had, but anyone who’s spent much time here knows that getting and keeping them running can be challenging at times as parts and especially magazines can be elusive, so it’s not a bad idea to have something more current on hand as a practical matter.

Pappy348. Give these a look for your trekking poles

https://www.wiserprecision.com/products/quick-stix

yeah. that....