August Rimfire Match:

[Centurian22]

Two things I noticed and I'm sure maverick can clarify for us: first it's a different target for irons / red dot at 25 yards, it only has 6 bulls (larger) and one "freebie". And in your scoring it's supposed to be 1-5 points for the "outer rings" so for example your first target 'discards' would be scored 5(upper) and 3(lower) respectively. Hope this helps and hope I'm not wrong making a fool of myself. Lol either way nice shooting and glad the project rifle performed so well, and all the extra's fit nicely and didn't add much weight.

 

[Mr.Revolverguy]

CZ452 Varmint 3 tries today

Shot 3 times today at 50 Yards outdoors.
80 degrees shifting winds left to right -- right to left 1 to 3mph.

CZ452 Varmint only 158 rounds through it so far.
Weaver Classic 3-9x32 A/O

Shot from Bench with Bipod

First try was scored by the range master at 95-5x
Second try was scored by range master at 96-5x
Official Submission and 3rd try for the target below scored by range master at 98-5x

Ammo used was Federal Gold Match. First 100 rounds was Wolf Match but which seems to shoot a bit better but I am waiting for my bulk order to come in.

 

[KSCCHTrainer]

Two things I noticed and I'm sure maverick can clarify for us: first it's a different target for irons / red dot at 25 yards, it only has 6 bulls (larger) and one "freebie". And in your scoring it's supposed to be 1-5 points for the "outer rings" so for example your first target 'discards' would be scored 5(upper) and 3(lower) respectively. Hope this helps and hope I'm not wrong making a fool of myself. Lol either way nice shooting and glad the project rifle performed so well, and all the extra's fit nicely and didn't add much weight.

I had forgotten about the different target for irons. Both my target rifles have high power optics on them and I had not intended shooting irons or red dot so I never printed any of the 6X targets. The bulls would have been bigger too. No biggie, I'll re-shoot it next time I'm at the range which will be early next week anyway. I do have 10 of the 6 bull targets in the bag now, thanks for reminding me. BTW that package went out last night as our local grocery store has a branch PO and wife wanted some munchies so I got there before the last pickup of the day. You ought to have it probably Tuesday.

Mr.Revolverguy, them CZ's shoot pretty doggone good, don't they? Nice shooting! My 10-22 likes the Wolf much better than anything by Federal. It doesn't like Aguila Gold Medal Match Rifle either, but the little Crickett loves the stuff. I've got 5K of the Wolf and 1K of the Aguila, plus a couple K of Federal bulk pack stuff and some Armscor. Don't think I'm gonna run out of .22 for a while -

 

[Centurian22]

Mr. Revolverguy, nice work. I really eagerly await the day I have a rifle accurate enough to participate/compete in the 'unlimited/target' category.

Jim, Thanks a Bunch! And good luck with the targets next week, I'll be watching for them.

 

[Maverick223]

Two things I noticed and I'm sure maverick can clarify for us: first it's a different target for irons / red dot at 25 yards, it only has 6 bulls (larger) and one "freebie". And in your scoring it's supposed to be 1-5 points for the "outer rings" so for example your first target 'discards' would be scored 5(upper) and 3(lower) respectively. Hope this helps and hope I'm not wrong making a fool of myself. Lol either way nice shooting and glad the project rifle performed so well, and all the extra's fit nicely and didn't add much weight.

You got it right. Hope I didn't make it too terribly confusing. BTW, that is some great shooting with irons, Jim. I'm sure you'll have no problem doing very well with the irons target.

 

[KSCCHTrainer]

You got it right. Hope I didn't make it too terribly confusing. BTW, that is some great shooting with irons, Jim. I'm sure you'll have no problem doing very well with the irons target.

Thanks Mav,
Like I said earlier, that darn little Cricket really amazed me. Mind you, I was using match grade ammo and have not shot any of the cheap stuff in it yet, but for a little 2 pound single shot, it falls into the same category as that Romanian trainer I used to have, pretty doggone accurate for a cheaply made rifle. Whatever they did, I hope they keep it up.

My grandkids are all old enough to buy their own guns so the Crickett will either get used by me as a survival rifle or passed along to a great grandkid assuming I live long enough to have any

 

[KSCCHTrainer]

Taking the Crickett back to the range in about an hour (with the right targets this time) and I'll give it another go with the 6 bull target to see what kind of score I can really get with the Irons and then again with the red-dot.

It's light enough that using my elbow on the counter with the sling for tension is dang near as good as using the Caldwell shooting bag. Wish I could have been that steady with my M1 Garand's sling back in the day!
EDIT:
Targets below for this morning's session.

25 yards, Crickett single shot .22LR, sitting with elbows on the counter and the sling for tension. Ammo Aguila Golden Eagle match 40 grain .22LR.
Scores: Iron sights 36 with possibly 1 X it's pretty close to call, Vortex unmagnified red-dot, 41.

 

[Slapshot]

I sanded out the barrel channel because the barrel was touching in one place. I shot two targets today and the second one was 100-10 X scored with a Huges Precision 22 pin and a 4X magnifier. used 10/22 with Feddersen 18" blue bull barrel, Jewel trigger set to 6.5 ounces, bolt reworked by Que, and a HS Precision stock that I free floated. Hart rest and bald eagle rear bag. The scope is a Mueller 8-32X44 target on Leupold base and 30 mm medium rings. Ammo is wolf match extra.
Unlimited class 100 - 10 X

Elmo

 

[Maverick223]

Excellent shooting, Slapshot!

 

[Slapshot]

Thanks Maverick.
Elmo

 

[Centurian22]

Yes very nice work indeed slapshot! I can't even imagine a 6.5oz trigger as I have never owned or handled any such bench rest beauty. Sounds (and looks) like a great rig you've got.

 

[KSCCHTrainer]

bolt reworked by Que.
Elmo

Hey Elmo,
I've read a lot of good things about what Que can do with 10-22 parts but please enlighten me on how to get in touch with him and what exactly he does to the bolt.

I've polished mine and made sure there are no burrs or rough surfaces on it anywhere, but I'm sure there are more things that can be done to improve it.

Even if I can get mine shooting as good as yours, I can't beat that score, only tie it -- Damn good shooting!

Jim

 

[Slapshot]

This is Que's url. https://sites.google.com/site/quesplace/
He sets the headspace, pins the firing pin and shapes the fp if it is a stock one and he contours the bolt so that it works smoother and seems to help with subsonic round cycling. My rifle was throwing an unexplained flyer every now and then. After he did mine the rifle grouped better. Send him an email, he is good about getting back to you.
Thanks for the kind words. That was really neat what you did with the Crickett. I bought one for my only grandson and he loves it and is learning to shoot pretty good also. Six years old, start them early!
Elmo

 

[KSCCHTrainer]

This is Que's url. https://sites.google.com/site/quesplace/
He sets the headspace, pins the firing pin and shapes the fp if it is a stock one. My rifle was throwing an unexplained flyer every now and then. After he did mine the rifle grouped better. Send him an email, he is good about getting back to you.
Thanks for the kind words. That was really neat what you did with the Crickett. I bought one for my only grandson and he loves it and is learning to shoot pretty good also. Six years old, start them early!
Elmo

Thanks for the info. Re. the Crickett, it's not a complete project yet, but it's close. For myself, with my tired old vision, I prefer V notch rear sights to peeps and I've ordered an aperture from Keystone's spare parts department. I'll take a triangular file to that one and make myself a V out of it but keep the original peep in the off chance that I wind up selling it somewhere down the line.

As I said in an earlier post, I'm frankly very pleased with the inherent accuracy of the little bugger. The barrel IS free-floated as it comes from the factory and the synthetic stock is sturdy with no side play or weak points like some other brands. My arms are just short enough that I can shoulder the youth stock though it is right on the edge of being too short. I'm working on shaping an inch thick extension to the butt plate that will take care of that problem without looking out of place. More pix later when I get that accomplished. Heck, I might even put a 4 power scope on it and shoot it in the sporting "Optics" class.

Jim

 

[Centurian22]

Hey Jim,

What are you making the extension out of? Also you going to hollow out that inch long extension so you have just a little more storage space?!? Lol I bet it would do just fine in the optics with that 4x, let's see it.

 

[KSCCHTrainer]

Hey Jim,

What are you making the extension out of? Also you going to hollow out that inch long extension so you have just a little more storage space?!? Lol I bet it would do just fine in the optics with that 4x, let's see it.

I've got a block of what I think is Delrin that I picked up from the local aircraft surplus store in Wichita. I'm going to try to shape that and yes, I plan on hollowing it out to the point I can store some more ammo or something in it. Pix if/when I make it work.

 

[Wildcat_Charlie]

Well I don't know why I bother posting this but here goes. I shot a 10 - 5X (I think anyway - I'm not sure how to score some of my shots so any guidance would be appreciated - possibly I might have a 6X but it don't matter anyway since it ain't a 10X that's for sure). I used a CZ 453 with Federal Premium Gold Medal UltraMatch (dang stuff is too expensive).

 

[Wildcat_Charlie]

I looked back at Jim's 10 - 5X target and saw he was a lot more stringent on his scoring than I was. I was going by what happened last month when people were taking into account grease rings etc.. So I don't really know what to think. I believe Jim's target is better than mine for sure.

BTW my target does fall into the unlimited category.

 

[KSCCHTrainer]

Had to try one more time with the Vortex red/green dot before I took it off and put it on the Remington 7615P .223 pump. I did manage to better my score by using shooting stix instead of the sling. Got just a bit more stability.

Position seated, with crossed shooting stix, at 25 yards

Rifle Crickett .22LR 16" barrel using Aguila Golden Eagle match ammo.
Optic: Unmagnified Vortex StrikeFire red/green dot. Dot is supposed to be 4 MOA but if you set it to green and the dimmest it will go it appears less than that and just covers the red portion of the bull @ 25 yards. Any brighter and it blooms much bigger.

Score 47-1X with 1 of the 8's as a throwaway.

I put the Vortex on the .223 and sighted it in. Final group was quarter sized for 3 shots at 50 yards so will leave it along. I'm going to put the 4X tactical scope that was on the .223 on the Crickett as soon as I find a heavy enough "see-through" ring so I can mount it using only the front ring like is done with the Vortex. The BSA 4X tactical is lighter so it should work just fine.

The Crickett probably will never be good enough for even the sporting optics division so it's competition days are probably over and once I get the stock extension finished it will get a coat of Break Free collector's preservative and put in the closet with the back-pack and bug-out bag.

Midway had a sale on tactical rifle cases - 42" AR style (works for the 7615P pump and the "mini-Dragunov" 10-22) so I ordered 2 of them for $19.95 apiece. You can get them in black or OD and being retired Army, I got the OD ones, naturally.

 

[Maverick223]

Excellent shooting, Jim!

In response to those MidwayUSA rifle cases. I don't recall the size (I think it was one of the 46" ones), but I have one in OD and the plastic D-ring securing the shoulder strap broke under the stress of a heavy precision rifle (figure about 17lbs of rifle), dropping said rifle (fortunately on the butt rather than the muzzle). Other than that they are a pretty decent case, but I wouldn't use one for anything heavy or particularly valuable.

 

[KSCCHTrainer]

Excellent shooting, Jim!

In response to those MidwayUSA rifle cases. I don't recall the size (I think it was one of the 46" ones), but I have one in OD and the plastic D-ring securing the shoulder strap broke under the stress of a heavy precision rifle (figure about 17lbs of rifle), dropping said rifle (fortunately on the butt rather than the muzzle). Other than that they are a pretty decent case, but I wouldn't use one for anything heavy or particularly valuable.

The strap is sewn to the case at the muzzle end using a parachute rigger's square/cross pattern. There were plastic D rings and buckles like on some slings at the back end, but I replaced the D rings with metal ones so there shouldn't be a problem with these. I've never had a problem with Midway's but have had them break on some obtained from other sources, so I usually replace them with some I bend up from 3/16 steel rod from the hardware store.

Thanks for the heads-up anyway and you're right, you have to watch some of that kind of stuff.

 

[Centurian22]

Well congrats Jim, ya bested me for this month in sporting irons and I don't have a chance to get out again and give it another go. Nice shooting! I'm curious as to why you think the cricket wouldn't perform / place well in the optics?

 

[KSCCHTrainer]

The groups are dime to nickel size at 25 yards, but they open up to 50 cent piece size beyond that. I haven't found the ammo it totally likes yet so decided to quit messing with the thing for the time being. After shooting it yesterday, I've even decided not to go with the 1" stock extension. I don't want to get it beyond the "It ain't broke, don't fix it" stage which is where it's at right now -

The project's idea was to make a perfectly acceptable survival rifle out of the Crickett that would be easily duplicatable by anyone that wanted to do so. I believe I've done that, and any further refinements might be counterproductive considering what I've achieved so far with it.

I did get another one of those little $60 BSA tactical scopes in from Optics Planet yesterday evening (UPS keeps delivering later and later! 8:30 p.m. for this one).

I ordered one before I decided to swap out the one on the .223 pump and I've decided to keep that one as-is so if I ever need to I can drop it back on the .223 without having to re-zero it other than fine tuning. I put it in a small, foam lined hard case that fits a pocket on the Midway tac rifle case for the pump. The other 4 pockets are full of 30 round mags.

I'll mount the new one on the Crickett sometime today after I hit the local Walmart and get another set of the Weaver strap mount "see-through" rings. One of those ought to be heavy enough to use for mounting that light 4X scope if I put it up against the turrets on the front part of the tube - should help balance it and with roughly zilch recoil on the .22 I doubt I'll have much of a problem. Should be able to use the irons as well without having to remove the scope. There WILL be one more range session to zero the scope after mounting and I'll try and remember to take along a couple of the 12X targets for a 50 yard try from my Caldwell bag rest. I'll be using the rest to zero the scope anyway.

If that works, it's what I'll recommend for the S/R conversion. The other solution for those with good eyes would be the $60 Millett red dot. It's precision enough and not too pricey. Stay away from anything made by NC Star though, even .22 recoil tends to shred them!

Jim

 

[Maverick223]

The strap is sewn to the case at the muzzle end using a parachute rigger's square/cross pattern. There were plastic D rings and buckles like on some slings at the back end, but I replaced the D rings with metal ones so there shouldn't be a problem with these. I've never had a problem with Midway's but have had them break on some obtained from other sources, so I usually replace them with some I bend up from 3/16 steel rod from the hardware store.

Thanks for the heads-up anyway and you're right, you have to watch some of that kind of stuff.

I might have just gotten a bad one (Midway doesn't make them, and by all appearances works hard to ensure that they put their name on quality gear), and it was under a fair bit of weight, so that has to be factored in. Other than that issue, I'm pretty happy with mine and like you have since replaced the D-ring with steel.

 

[MrBorland]

Been meaning to take a whack at THR's rimfire match someday, so I warmed up my range session today with one of your targets. Tough challenge! Thanks.

Rifle: CZ452 Lux, with BRNO aperture sights (puts me in Unlimited, no?).
Ammo: CCI SV
Distance: 25 yards
Position: prone, with sling.
Score = 47-1x