H&R m12 22LR training rifle. Tell me about these

I've got an H&R 22 mag single-shot and it's one hell of a tack-driver. I think you made a good choice for a match rifle.

M12's are nice (mid range priced) target rifles. Always thought the stocks were a little thick and chunky, but good shooters.

I have a couple that I got from CMP back in the day and I think you could do a lot worse. They both shoot way better than I can, but one of them seems to shoot the cheap ammo quite a bit better than the other. I have tried some Eley Target in them, but I can't imagine what they'd do with real match ammo.

Good for you!! Well done.

Very well done!

I got one from the CMP a while back. They were a copy of the H&R Model 5200 made for the government, and are marked U.S. Property. I think I paid $300. The first ones they sold were fitted with very nice Redfield Palma rear and Olympic front sights. I found a no-drill scope mount that fits on the rear scope block holes so mine can be brought back to as-issued condition.

I’ve tried over a dozen different ammo’s in mine and haven’t found anything that would shoot competitively in even a 50 yard rimfire match ... I had it professionally drilled & tapped, first I put a older Weaver 4x then a 3-9x40 Redfield ... it would keep up with a 10-22 but I bought hoping for better ... I’ve shot it bagged up front & rear and had 2 other guys shoot it with no better results.
I also bought it from the CMP, once it was scoped I sold the sights for nearly 2x what I gave for the rifle ... so I have less than nothing in it ... so it still sits in the safe, perhaps when I retire in a couple years I’ll tinker with it some more ...

A carpenter I work with and talk guns with was just talking about the M12 .22lr rifle the other day and he was surprised I'd never heard of one. He said something about it being a military .22lr. I had no idea the military ever had a .22lr in its arsenal, at any time. How did the military use these?

DustyGmt said:

How did the military use these?

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Training, or so it would seem. Realistically military pork barrel spending. The CMP also had Government Remington 541's, Mossbergs, and Kimbers. Not to mention white box Remington .22 ammo marked as "match" but was more like hi-vel. I think that most of the Kimbers were packed in grease and never shot. I was lucky to get a case of the .22 ammo for about $90 as that sold out really fast. Its not bad stuff if you can tolerate the typical Remington occasional FTF.

Those were some of the best deals in firearm history. I also bought a heavy barrel 541 for $250 if I recall. The Mossbergs were dirt cheap, the Kimbers a little more expensive.

kimberkid said:

I’ve tried over a dozen different ammo’s in mine and haven’t found anything that would shoot competitively in even a 50 yard rimfire match

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Mine shoots Ely Club best and does pretty well with CCI Standard Vel. too. Well enough that a good shooter could clean both the 50 and 100 yd. small bore targets with the Ely. I think post #5 shows what is possible. It's not an Anschutz so you have to temper your expectations a little bit.

I still have a couple of bricks of the 22 ammo; correction it is marked "standard vel" but hotter than CCI. Maybe the government code can be deciphered. 1995 manufacture date?

kimberkid said:

I’ve tried over a dozen different ammo’s in mine and haven’t found anything that would shoot competitively in even a 50 yard rimfire match ... I had it professionally drilled & tapped, first I put a older Weaver 4x then a 3-9x40 Redfield ... it would keep up with a 10-22 but I bought hoping for better ... I’ve shot it bagged up front & rear and had 2 other guys shoot it with no better results.
I also bought it from the CMP, once it was scoped I sold the sights for nearly 2x what I gave for the rifle ... so I have less than nothing in it ... so it still sits in the safe, perhaps when I retire in a couple years I’ll tinker with it some more ...

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Try cleaning it. I don't routinely clean my .22's but mine benefited greatly accuracy wise when I did.

I found a M12 this morning cheap.
It is missing the front sight block. Has the scope mounting blocks and still has the rear sight mounting. The receiver has Weaver mounts added.

Now to see how it shoots.

R.W.Dale said:

All good replies fellas. I shot mine for the first time yesterday and despite having fairly unfavorable winds it belted out some astonishing groups using SK standard plus.

so much so I shot it in today’s match where I was able to finally be competitive. So much so in fact I placed second in the unlimited class. It fired several 1 hole groups today.

all through a 3x9x40 non AO hunting scope (albeit a good one)

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Excellent scoring! I did a lot of Rimfire Benchrest shooting and ran matches years ago. I started the program in Maine and it's still going.

Need to lean it up against the side of the Truck and take a few steps back for a photo.