[Lovesbeer99]

Other than biathilon, is there any need to have a repeater for small bore comp? I don't see any small bore guns other than single shots.

What gives?

[Jim Watson]

I believe the NRA and ISU smallbore matches are now all slow fire and only a single shot is needed. So why complicate the machinery and risk dinging up bullets with a magazine?

The CMP supports Rimfire Sporter which has rapid fire stages and requires a repeater.

[Soupy44]

Jim is correct, the only smallbore rifle competition I know of that requires a magazine is CMP Rimfire Sporter, and even then there are a number of bolt actions. All NRA Smallbore Rifle competitions are slow fire as said with the time limit being 1min per record shot, so 20min for 20 shots and sighters.

[Bart B.]

There's four reasons why rimfire 22's used in competition are single shot bolt action (except for 25 metre rapid fire pistols and biathlon repeaters).

First, there's the trigger. No way will a semiauto or repeater be able to have the extremely repeatable few-ounce trigger needed for precision shooting.

Second, lock time with any other action won't be as short as a single shot bolt action. This is important for position shooting, especially in the least stable positions such as standing and kneeling.

Third, is a single-shot receiver is much stiffer than a repeater as there's no magazine cutout needed. Rimfire rifles are much more suseptable to barreled action's whipping when fired to cause poor accuracy than centerfire rifles.

Fourth, fewer moving parts are needed in single-shot bolt actions. Which means it's easier to get all of them back to the same position with the same tension for each shot so the barreled action will vibrate the same for each shot.

When one's looking for sub 1/2 MOA accuracy, at worst, at 50 meters or yards, every little bit helps.

[Justin]

Sportsman's Team Challenge also uses semi-auto .22's. Most competitors are shooting Ruger 10/22's.

[scythefwd]

This is just from my experience with my competition level firearms, not actual comp. experience.

My anschutz will mar the tip of a bullet if it is not partially seated into the chamber (the extractor pushes it in slightly askew, creating a deformity on the bullet and leaving lead shavings). My annie is single shot only.

The winchester 52 I shot had the same problem, again it was the extractors fault.

The mossberg 144 will put a very slight flat spot on the tip of the bullet when using the mag if you aren't careful.

What does this mean to the competition shooter? Less consistency. Accuracy is not much in the game really. If you consistently hit the same spot you are aiming at, you can move the group. If you can't group very tightly, you scores will suffer no matter where your center of group is. There is a difference between a 100 score with 10 x and a 100 with 8x from what I have been told.

[Lovesbeer99]

After doing some research it also looks like none of the small bore comps have a rapid fire string. It's all single shot with at least 1 minute per shot and sometimes 1.5 minutes per shot.

So there is no reason for a mag, and even if you have one you have to single feed.

Thanks

[Hoser]

Hunter Division Silhouette requires the gun to have a mag. You dont have to use it, but it has to be able to take a mag.

[jnyork]

.22 Lever Action Silhouette requires loading from the mag.