The joys of bolt actioned riflery

[stubbicatt]

Today went out to a friend's place. Really a beautiful location, met him there.

Took my CZ 550 in 308 and my CZ 452 in 22 long rifle. We shot at some steel at 200 yards or so. The 22 long rifles we were popping old plastic soda bottles. It sure takes a while for the bullet to travel that distance, but it knocked the soda bottles over once it hit them.

Maybe I shot 15 shots of the 22, and maybe 10 or 15 shots of 308, and that was good. A nice relaxing, pleasant shooting session.

With ammo prices as they are, shooting this way keeps the edge keen, without breaking the bank. It is quite enjoyable besides.

 

[P.B.Walsh]

Bolt-actions are the absolute best!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[panrobercik]

I once got me the 10/22 with 30 round mags because I thought this would relieve some of my everyday stress. Shot it a few times (after spending a bunch of money on customizing) , left it in the safe for a several months and than traded it for a bolty. Never looked back or missed the semi...

 

[WNTFW]

Stubbicatt,
I have been on range trips when 3 of us were at the range for 4 hours & I only shot 34 rounds of centerfire. Only 15 rounds of .22lr is kind of hard to explain though.

 

[P.B.Walsh]

I think they (bolt-actions) make you take your time more, espesially when you load 1 at a time, now that's ALOT of fun.

 

[skeet king]

It's just classy and so much more elegant than semi

 

[Maverick223]

15 rounds of .22lr is kind of hard to explain though.

+1, I think you went too far...I mean with the exorbitant price of ammo nowdays...I wish I could afford to waste 15 rounds of .22lr

 

[WNTFW]

I have some shooting aquaintances locally that will go through 500 rounds bumpfiring AK's. At least they used to.

I'm kind of a late comer to bolt actions. My brother was smart enough to get my dads Rem 700. I don't have a lot of guns, but I don't have any I don't really like. There are a couple of things about bolt guns that are just great. I loved how the guy in "Cool Hand Luke" kept his bolt on his belt and the prisoners could handle his rifle. As a reloader I like the fact I don't lose any brass. There are other good points but the choir doesn't need me to preach them.

The only semi auto rifle I've shot in a while is my .22.

 

[FlyinBryan]

i need more b.a. rifles.

i only have 2. a 100 year old springfield 22, and a 70 year old mosin nagant.

i need a good modern one.

 

[stubbicatt]

Part of the issue with the 22 is that there were so many others who wanted to shoot it. Consequently, I didn't get much trigger time.

It was fun shooting it at 200. Sure takes a long time for the bullet to arrive on target, but when shooting at the armor plate it still rang out quite loudly to signal a hit from that diminutive bullet.

The ballistic plex reticle on the Burris scope never really worked well for me on my prairie dog rifle. Now that it is on the 22, it is pretty useful. 200 yards is the next to bottom hash mark, when set at 6x. Pretty simple. 'Course when you dial up or down on the magnification, things change, which is a drawback to SFP scopes anyways.

I can see some changes in my firearms inventory coming soon.

 

[jpwilly]

For precision work I use to pick up a bolt action. Now with a couple of very accurate semi autos. I don't bother. But I do tend to shoot more ammo than I use to. Reloading makes that much more affordable.

 

[BunnyPuncher]

There are a lot of new shooters at the ranges I frequent that would be well served to spend some time with a bolt action rifle due to the patience it demands.

 

[stubbicatt]

Sorta like 50 rounds through my free pistol takes a whole lot of concentration. Each shot is a universe of variables.

Less expensive to shoot this way.

 

[TeamRush]

When in competition in the military, we used to go shoot .22 LR rifles between rounds...
Kept us from flinching, let us wind down but still keep things together.

I still have the most fun with rimfires...
.22 LR is still the all time favorite, but right now I'm having love affairs with a .17 HMR and .17 Mach 2 rifles!

Ammo is HATEFUL expensive for the little .17 bullets, but they are great fun to shoot!

 

[benzy2]

Bolt rifles are fun and can keep cost down. I love my .22lr bolt rifles for inexpensive fun. They all shoot good enough with even cheap ammo and it lets you work on all the fundamentals. I will say though of all the bolt rifles I have, none give me the enjoyment as my M1 Garand does. That rifle is bar none my favorite and the way things are going it looks like it will be my favorite for a long time to come.

 

[tjj]

I grew up shooting .22 autos and never even considered a bolt gun for that caliber. Couldn't understand why people bothered with them because follow up shots were so slow.
Fast forward about 40 years I got interested in a CZ 452 and thought it might be fun to play with. It was. Now after collecting seven 452's I realize the fun is in the accuracy. It's more fun to hit what your aiming at. What use to take 4-5 shots with my Nylon 66 I can bust with the first shot out of my CZ's. I haven't fired my Nylon 66 in years.

 

[Smith357]

I love a nice bolt rifle, I went through the semi-auto spray and pray thing, but was drawn to the accuracy and reliability of a bolt gun. I sold my BAR MK II and 10/22 and don't even look at semi auto's though I do have a hankering for a falling block.

 

[Maverick223]

though I do have a hankering for a falling block.

It is the best action created IMHO. Like a sliding wedge action of a howitzer, and if it's good nuff for that it might be good nuff for me. Purdy isn't she?