22lr accuracy at distances beyond 50 yards, and fun shooting

Beautiful ^

More than a decade ago now, a friend of mine and I spent a year playing with different .22’s out to 300 yards. That’s in the 156” of drop range for most .22 ammunition (13 feet of drop). I don’t know how many thousands of rounds or even the number of rifles we went through but it was a lot. We bought every brand and type of .22 ammunition we could find.

Any wind at all and things get out of shape quickly. If I were to exaggerate slightly I would say it needs to be so calm, if someone farts, you should smell it a half hour later. Cigarette smoke should go straight up like you were indoors.

I kept these 2 “golden BB” targets from back then. These are not something that I can go out and repeat, rather two that were phenomenal after months of shooting and perfect conditions.

The shocker was how well the Winchester dynapoint shot, the 10-22 had a stock receiver, that’s about it, the 4th shot went high right and didn’t make the cut.

The left target was federal gold match with my 25.5” bolt action Walther, 10 shots with my friends signature on the back, because he said “I’ve got to sign that or no ones gonna believe you.” Some still don’t.

I don't think I have a target small enough for this "+1 guy" match! - haha.

With the premise being the accuracy of cherrypicked long distance rimfire groups under ideal conditions, literally anything is possible. It's sometimes difficult to believe just anything posted in a forum. I don't really care for most targets that are cut down to postage stamp size, or anything on the target that might cover a flyer. Some people even shoot groups at 25 yards and post them as 100 yard groups. It's the internet. Who is going to fact check posted groups? That said, I don't doubt that someone could shoot small groups at significant distance. It's the one data point principle where the stars aligned for five shots..... or at least the five that hit the target - haha.

Candidly, after reading through the posts, the detail that I find the most amazing is the ammo used. I'm not saying that anyone didn't do what they posted that they did. It's just that ammos like Aguila, Remington, and "the blessed" CCI aren't made with the most consistent bullets and they don't typically have low ES's. To shoot small groups with 100+fps ES ammo at distance is commendable.

Additionally, there is no rule written in the heavens that in order to be a great shooter you must compete formally. Competition gives opportunity to play a specific game, under time pressure and whatever conditions your time slot falls. It is true that under time pressure and less than ideal conditions, a person typically won't see the type of groups that for fun shooter can get. The fun shooter can know the elevation drop, which is the easy part and wait for the wind to die down, which is the difficult part.

Not trying to one-up anyone here, (because I really can't) but the .22 is capable of much more than most believe. A couple years ago, a friend and I would shoot our .22's every weekend at my house. I have a 50 yard "range" in the back yard, and behind that is my hayfield. Plenty of space to stretch a gun out. Well, we got bored one day (as you do) shooting 50 yard groups. So, we started shooting at a small pile of house bricks in the bottom corner of the field. About 125 yards away from us and we were using scoped rifles. I had my 10/22 and his was a Marlin 60. Once we had the range, we could reliably hit and break the bricks with every shot. So to make it more interesting, I went and got my old Henry carbine and a box of .22 shorts. The hold-over was unbelievable, but we still managed to hit the bricks and the broken pieces at 125 yards. To say that made us stop and think would be an understatement. Ever since that day, I've made it a point to learn how each of my rimfires shoots at 100 yards. I may never need it at that distance, but by George, I'll know where it hits if do.

Of course having said all this, there are caveats. I'm sure the stars were aligned and the weather was just right that day. And we used CCI ammo, a little better quality than some others. But I'll be the first to tell you that I'm no rifleman, and neither is my friend. Being super-accurate is also something that has never really concerned me. If my .22 will shoot inside a half-dollar at 50 yards, I'm well pleased. My guns are all meat-getters, not target rifles. I work in terms of minute-of-squirrel head and that's good enough. Competitions aren't my thing either. I can shoot good enough to get meat and don't feel the need to brag about it. Just isn't my way.

To you guys that can shoot those long distances with a .22, I applaud you. I don't think that I could manage that even with my best rifle and ammo. Heck, I don't think I could do that with my 25-06! Shooting past ~250 is beyond my level of ability, but I have the utmost respect for those of you that can and do. You guys that shoot antelope and deer at 400, 500, and even 600 yards are truly amazing to me. Hell, we can't see that far around here, much less shoot that far! Guess I'm easily amused...

Mac

fpgt72 said:

Taking a new person out and shooting subsonic from 1-200 yards....it takes that bullet a bit to get there.....wait for it....ding. So many people even gun people that never shoot at real distance that takes them a minute to process.

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Agreed - it’s an unexpected consequence for most folks. About the 3rd match of each spring, we notice the new shooters gaining confidence, so they’ll be standing in their spotters and calling impacts for the first time. Never fails, when we get to an 800-1200 yard stage, one of them is going to call a “Miss” right after the because they didn’t see the impact immediately following the report... and then “oh, wait, that was an Impact!” a split second later. Gotta wait for the bullet to get there, fellas!

At 300+ with a 22lr, I usually have time to get out of the pistol and into a spotting scope before it gets there. Kinda odd to think that’s possible at such a short range.

MacAR said:

To you guys that can shoot those long distances with a .22, I applaud you. I don't think that I could manage that even with my best rifle and ammo.

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“Nuthin’ to it, but to do it!”

Distance shooting is only a few clicks away.

Varminterror said:

“Nuthin’ to it, but to do it!”

Distance shooting is only a few clicks away.

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Well, I reckon you're right. Maybe I need to give it a go sometime just for the fun of it. Rimfire shooting has always been one of my passions, I guess. There is just something satisfying about making those little bullets do what you want. And, there's no recoil, little noise, and (the best part) little money spent.

Varminterror said:

Gotta wait for the bullet to get there, fellas!

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I used to run into that a lot when I had my Sharps 50. Used to like to see if I could get my head off the rifle and on to my spotting scope so I could see the impacts! I had a lot of fun with that old rifle.

Mac

I was getting bored shooting 22's at 50 yards and the only place where I can shoot farther than 300 yards with center fires is a 2 hour drive. I'm relatively new to longish range shooting with a 22, but it is challenging and can be fun. Plus shooting a 22 at 200+ yards is cheaper than center fire rounds at 600. And with a little practice isn't rocket science. You just have to put in a little time figuring out what works. I'm still working on it, but am happy with my results so far.

Guys seem to think that if the bullet drops more than a few inches, a hit is nearly impossible.

Guys back in black powder days held over in feet. Think “Quigley Down Under”

xphunter and varminterror, any special way to shoot 22lr off a bipod? preload? surface material? do you two preload the bipod when shooting hipower rifles?

murf

xphunter said:

Forgot to add, that in all of this shooting, we were using a Harris BR bi-pod and a small field bag under the pistol grip.
I have access to very nice shooting rests or bi-pods (SEB Rests: NEO, MINI, and JOY-POD), but this is what I use in the field the majority of the time.

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When shooting .22LR over 200 yards, you may want to wait a few minutes before going downrange, just to make sure all the rounds have landed. Ha ha!

Those are some nice 22LR guns and rifles pictured here. I don't own a 22LR pistol or rifle that cost me more than $250 so all that long range stuff is out for me. Guess I'll just keep plinking at 25-50 yds. I have lots of fun doing that.

murf said:

xphunter and varminterror, any special way to shoot 22lr off a bipod? preload? surface material? do you two preload the bipod when shooting hipower rifles?

murf

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I typically don’t preload in any conventional sense. For notch/detent leg pods, I’ll “lean” the pistol into the pod just enough to feel it stop against the notch, but not “lean into it.” I just want the pod touching itself the same way each time. For anything spring loaded, I don’t preload.

I occasionally hang my support hand over the scope to dampen scope hop/muzzle jump so I can see my impacts, but it’s certainly not the most precise means (not as pertinent if I have a proper rear bag and a glider on the grip). I let the pistol sit on the pod and rear bag.

Can't find my "Prove-It" target and the results have been dropped from the Internet. My best 10-22 target that had 10 consecutive 5-shot groups averaged .47" at 50 yards. Best was under 0.2", which is rediculous, but the rifle had a Shilen bull-barrel and a lot of action work and bedding. Only a couple of non-factory parts besides the barrel. I did all the work myself and wrote some "Do it yourself information" on the 'net, but it's been long enough that I can't find much.

Jack B. said:

Those are some nice 22LR guns and rifles pictured here. I don't own a 22LR pistol or rifle that cost me more than $250 so all that long range stuff is out for me. Guess I'll just keep plinking at 25-50 yds. I have lots of fun doing that.

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Don’t sell you or your gear short with an imaginary glass ceiling. Inexpensive rimfire rifles will shoot long too.

For my 3yr old son, now 6, I put a $230 Savage Mark II FSS, rebated to $180 into a $93 Boyd’s Pro-Varmint stock, such it could be cut down to 8.5” LOP, and slapped on top a $100 Bushnell Trophy 3-9x which cost me $53 after tax and discount through Bushnell. He shoots right along side me with it. Whenever I take newbies out, I usually end up shooting his rifle and putting them on mine, and have no trouble making impacts at range with it.

I’d be lying if I said I hit more or smaller targets at 200-300 yards with my more expensive $550 Savage Mark II BSEV in a $150 adjustable Boyd’s Pro-Varmint stock, wearing a $1400 Bushnell LRHS. It’s not as smooth and stable for positional shooting, as the extra barrel weight of the BSEV helps, but the bullets are passing through bores cut by the same company on the same gear.

Picher said:

Can't find my "Prove-It" target and the results have been dropped from the Internet. My best 10-22 target that had 10 consecutive 5-shot groups averaged .47" at 50 yards. Best was under 0.2", which is rediculous, but the rifle had a Shilen bull-barrel and a lot of action work and bedding. Only a couple of non-factory parts besides the barrel. I did all the work myself and wrote some "Do it yourself information" on the 'net, but it's been long enough that I can't find much.

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It’s kind of hard to find the “Rimfire Prove It” thread - our forum software must not search thread titles. I have to search for “BSEV,” posted by my user name to find the thread - BSEV is the model of my rifle I used, and I don’t post that combination often.

Here’s @picher’s post from the Prove It thread.

Picher said:

Went to the range this morning and tried three different rifles, but the old Rem 581 was the Star! Ammo was RWS 50, left over lots of okay ammo, but not as good as the match-winning lots of yesteryear. Anyway, I'm very pleased with the results. The rifle has a Lilja take-off/turned-down Lilja barrel and it's in a bedded, Fajen Thumbhole stock. Factory trigger, was modified to 1.5 lbs. Wind was variable 2-7 mph switching from 3-9 o'clock.

It's been about 5 years or so since I've shot rimfire benchrest and my technique is rusty. I never shot this rifle in benchrest competition, but used it to win my share of turkeys at 50 yards offhand.


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Varminterror said:

It’s kind of hard to find the “Rimfire Prove It” thread - our forum software must not search thread titles. I have to search for “BSEV,” posted by my user name to find the thread - BSEV is the model of my rifle I used, and I don’t post that combination often.

Here’s @picher’s post from the Prove It thread.

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Sorry. I wasn't talking about this Prove It thread, but an entirely different competition held several years ago where 10 bulls were on one sheet of paper and there were a couple of sighter-bulls in the center box. Some day I might run across the photo of the target I posted there.

Picher said:

Can't find my "Prove-It" target

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This thread reminds me why I started our previous "Prove It" thread.
Most people didn't shoot as well as they thought they would and some didn't even show up. For those who remember it was for SCORE, not hits or groups. Really messed with some people.
I shoot a lot of Rifle competitions and I have to recalibrate myself when going to a score competition.

This thread has me moving forward with plans to shoot rimfire at longer distances next year. I've never been a rifle guy but this year started shooting scoped rimfire rifles off of a bench at 25 and 50 yards. It's an entirely new skillset for me.