Long Range .22 Long Rifle

Firecat

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Jan 10, 2010
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So. Utah
Simple questions. I know that some of you are rolling your eyes. That's okay, perhaps this thread is not for you ;) For all the rest, some thoughts have been rolling around in my mind.

We all know that "long range" is a relative term. To many it means different things. Probably based mainly on both skill and equipment limitations. We all know that caliber can limit distance to a degree. Especially when hunting. Thus my thinking. How many of you practice some form of long range shooting with a 22lr? If you do what is your setup? To me it would seem anything over 150 yard would begin to approach long range with a .22lr. The thoughts that I have been having come from a few theories shared with me by different accomplished shooters that I know. One theory is that it is good practice to find a .22 rifle that matches your hunting setup as closely as possible to do large amounts of practice with. Others have told me that no matter how well you handle recoil, that after a few shots with a hard hitter will deliver a degree of anticipation and flinch. To solve this one can alternate between large calibers and small calibers to rest the mind/nerves.

Another thought is this. All of my observations are that .22 sized and shaped bullets are more dramatically affected by outside conditions than are larger and faster bullets/calibers. Therefore even though you may only be shooting 300 yards, the effects on your bullet trajectory may be more dramatic than a faster bullet at much farther ranges. Correctly assessing outside conditions would be ever bit as critical as shots at much farther ranges..

A 40 grain .22 caliber bullet traveling 1500 fps from the muzzle and being zeroed at 50 yards will drop 101.2 inches or 32.2 moa at 300 yards. the same bullet will drift 46.2 inches or 14.7 moa at the same range.

To some this may seem to lack luster, but isn't there something that could be learned relevant to long range shooting from the little .22 at much closer ranges and for much cheaper? Or, am I alone on this one. Perhaps the ship has already sailed on this one and I have missed the boat let me know your thoughts. There are no right or wrong answers here, unless they are tasteless.

Thanks
 
You are correct in your thinking!! It is good practice shooting a 22lr especially at longer ranges it forces you to pay attention to the wind, witch we all know is the biggest factor in making hits at long distances. There is a gentleman on here that uses a 22lr and shoots to 500 yards on a reagular basis. He has posted several videos on here. You can use the search feature on the upper right hand corner of the page to find them, or he may chime in. I think that you would be surprised at the number of people that shoot the good ole 22lr for inexpensive practice. I'm in the process of getting one put together just for that purpose. I hope I was a little bit of help for ya!!
 
That's impressive! What is the setup that you are putting together? I have a couple in mind. One being a savage mark II bv. Another I have thought serious about is the Ruger bolt action. It has the ability to swap barrels or upgrade.

I am glad that I am not way out in left field on this one. I appreciate the replies.
 
That's impressive! What is the setup that you are putting together? I have a couple in mind. One being a savage mark II bv. Another I have thought serious about is the Ruger bolt action. It has the ability to swap barrels or upgrade.

I am glad that I am not way out in left field on this one. I appreciate the replies.

I have a set up using my Savage Mark II BVSS in 22LR. I use Burris insert rings with a 20 MOA offset and a Leupold 6.5x20 target turret VX3. I easily get out to 250 yards and can consistently hit clay pigeon sized targets or a little better at 200 yards. My FTE Ballistic program on my I phone works great for elevation and wind adjustments. I tested over a dozen different loads and interestingly found Remington 36 gr hollow point Golden Bullets gave the best accuracy and consistency. Bought a thousand rounds of this promo ammo for less than $40. I practice year round on my 13 acre farmland type property that is infested with red squirrels, chipmunks, and the occasional groundhog. I can get shots out to 150 yards, and to me shooting these pests is a pretty fair simulation and practice for my high power shooting at longer ranges.
 
There's a thread on here called Finding the perfect bolt action 22. After reading it i bought a 452 left 22 and i have a 452 17 hmr left varmint coming next week. Matt
 
Firecat I'm probably going to draw a lot of flack on this one. but it is not uncommon for me and the guys to set aside the big toys while having a fun shoot and grab the 22 LR. and blast away at downhill targets as far as 400 yds. away. 400 yds. may not be considered long range but for the 22 Lr it is and is very fun and can be quite surprising as to the results that can be achieved - Playing with the wind! and any 22 bolt rifle that shoots decently.
 
on winter time I used my 17HMR for practice to 460yrds on clay targets.

setup 10-20 clay targets at different distances and try to make first shot hits with 20gr CCI on 17 hmr caliber.
wind will be your enemy, but you will learn fast and because is no recoil at all you can see the bullet flying path changing when wind is pushing the bullet. it is a very fun and good learning technique to practice for long shots with inexpensive cartridges.
I agreed 22 lr or 17hmr, are good practicing rounds at low cost ammo.
 
The only problem that is experienced is the ammunition. I let the kids and first time shooters use the cheap promotional Junk. It's a shame that so many of the good shooting once respected packages of 22 LR ammunition have turned into garbage
 
The 452 Is a CZ it is a very good inexpensive 22LR. Havent seen the 453 at a couple of hundred dollars more shoot any better
 
Again, thanks all for your comments. I too was thinking of the Burris signature rings with MOA inserts.

My brother and I were on the mountain goofing around one day with our stock 10/22's. Both were scoped. we were shooting apple sized white rocks at around 200 yards. We were likely angling down around 15 degrees downhill. It was as fun of a time shooting as I can remember. Cheap too.

I will look into the CZ 452. I thought it might have been a CZ after I posted.
 
That post about finding the perfect bolt action 22 is on page 9 on this forum. Also on rimfire central there is a section on czs. Lots of good info. Matt
 
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