.22 Rimfire Long Range Silhouette--August 26

[obijohn]

I've talked to Rich about this, but would like input on gear. Rifle, glass, ammo, what is everyone intending to use?

 

[sht4brnz]

I've talked to Rich about this, but would like input on gear. Rifle, glass, ammo, what is everyone intending to use?

Repeatable is the name of the game.
Scope must be adjustable and return to zero or have mil dots or hash marks for hold over.
Ammo and rifle should hold a 3moa or less group.
If you have these items and practice with them you'll be fine.

 

[natdscott]

And the above recommendations should in no way be misinterpreted to mean "repeater". The two concepts are not the same.

The consensus in dedicated Silhouette rifles is a bolt action (often single shot, but repeaters are common as well) rifle of at most about 3/4 MOA precision, paired with moderately high magnification (20-30x) 40-50mm optics mounted as high over the bore as allowable.

That said, given that this game is just a casual one, and is prone, you won't gain a lot (or might lose) by going crazy with the rifle and optics. A good shooter with an El Paso 4X on a Winchester 69 could probably make a very good showing if their ammo was well matched to the chamber.

165 yards is "a long way" for a .22LR, but if guys took the time to shoot more at 2-300 yards with decent ammo, they would probably be damned surprised at how well their .22 will shoot beyond the 50 yard berm.



The idea for these matches was to "shoot what you have" and not make it a gamesmanship contest like "real" Silhouette, Highpower, IPSC, Benchrest, Smallbore, etc., ad nausem, have sometimes become. The other day, I shot what most would consider to be a "real" Silhouette rifle...simply because I shoot Silhouette a little, and that rifle IS what I have. I still missed targets, but I would have had just as much fun with a Remington 514. The crowd is easy going, and it was a nice break from the pressure of the other sport in my life.

-Nate

 

[Hawkeye7br]

I don't know the range as well as you guys do, but I don't see the issue here?

The 75y berm is on the far left side on our .22 cal range and is separated from the main range by a snow fence. We don't use it for this game because the existing 25 & 50y berms prevent prone shooters from seeing all the backstops from one place, or at least from not enough places to run 5 squads.

To make it official...we will allow shooting from a magazine.

About any 2 moa gun will get a lot of hits, at least enough for a good showing. A 3-9x or 4-12x BDC or mildot reticle is most useful, otherwise you need to shim the scope to reach 165y. The 75y target is the size of a golf ball and yet is deceptively difficult.

Mid range $ ammo is the norm. Geco from Rural King can shoot well, as does Norma Tac-22, Wolf Match Target, Sk Standard, or midrange Eley. Budget ammo won't live up to what your rifle is capable of.

 

[obijohn]

Thank you for the replies. I understand the terminology. I get the basic requirements.

Allow me to rephrase the question: What gear, specifically, are you using to play this game?

 

[natdscott]

What gear, specifically, are you using to play this game?

Very well, but I'm not discussing specifics of the rifle, because I don't.

The rifle: It's black. It's extremely precise. Not "internet" precise, not "armchair" precise...it has verified lead-on-paper match-lighting goodness. Also, that probably is not why I win or lose matches.

Scope: The scope is up to 16x, but I run it on 12x most of the time. It tracks, and has been proven and tested to track.

Ammo: The ammo is not high-grade ammo because this sport would be a waste of that, and I know it. It's decent. Not golden bullet, not Tenex, but somewhere in-between. It should be considered a best practice to always know what that is for YOUR rifle, and own as much of it as you can afford.

Rest: I used an Eagle AIII backpack with some towels stuffed in it, and no rear rest. That's it, and that's more than enough to clean this course of fire.

Timer: A watch. But a timer is not required either...you could just shoot fast. Slow is not really to your advantage.

A piece of paper and a pen are handy to record holds and/or zeroes.

-Nate

 

[bwframe]

Thank you for the replies. I understand the terminology. I get the basic requirements.

Allow me to rephrase the question: What gear, specifically, are you using to play this game?

Hogslayer done pretty well the first match with his 10/22 and what didn't look like expensive glass, leaving the caps off to adjust. The only thing that was in his way was himself. I shot Haweye7br's (8oz trigger) CZ with an inexpensive scope that tracked well. I started strong and went down hill with overconfidence and fatigue.

I missed a match, but made it to the last one with my Wotac scoped Savage MKII. I shot poorly from self induced issues. Regardless, I had a great time and learned a lot.

I shot Norma Tac22 because that's what was put in my hand the first time. I'm still shooting it as it seemed to do well enough in my Savage. I hope to be able to get in a little testing and practice before this match. I have a brick of CCI standard vel to test out also.

 

[obijohn]

Thanks Burl. Your post was helpful.

 

[obijohn]

Very well, but I'm not discussing specifics of the rifle, because I don't.

The rifle: It's black. It's extremely precise. Not "internet" precise, not "armchair" precise...it has verified lead-on-paper match-lighting goodness. Also, that probably is not why I win or lose matches.

Scope: The scope is up to 16x, but I run it on 12x most of the time. It tracks, and has been proven and tested to track.

Ammo: The ammo is not high-grade ammo because this sport would be a waste of that, and I know it. It's decent. Not golden bullet, not Tenex, but somewhere in-between. It should be considered a best practice to always know what that is for YOUR rifle, and own as much of it as you can afford.

Rest: I used an Eagle AIII backpack with some towels stuffed in it, and no rear rest. That's it, and that's more than enough to clean this course of fire.

Timer: A watch. But a timer is not required either...you could just shoot fast. Slow is not really to your advantage.

A piece of paper and a pen are handy to record holds and/or zeroes.

-Nate

Nice try at being offensive. I guess your definition of specifically is different than mine. But thank you for your reply nonetheless.

 

[natdscott]

Nice try at being offensive. I guess your definition of specifically is different than mine. But thank you for your reply nonetheless.

Sir, you and I don't know each other nearly enough to be offended at much of anything typed on the internet.

It's not like my equipment is anything from the super secret squirrel catalog. I simply do not like to post a lot on the internet about my specific firearms. I think it's a bad idea.

If you'd like, send me a PM, and I'd be happy to have a chat on the phone about specifics. You'd probably find I'm not nearly the type person you may think sitting there reading this.

-Nate

 

[blacknwhite]

I'll be attending my first match and will be bringing a couple more guys. We all use a cz455 except one guy running a 77/22. Mostly Athlon scopes. Bipods. Ammo around the wolf mt price.

 

[Hawkeye7br]

4-5 guys run a CZ 455 and have shot 30+. I shoot a Kimber 82G, but also shoot a Savage. At a practice last week, the Savage shot 31x40, better than I did with the 82. Only Hogslayer has used a 10/22, my 10/22's are factory heavy barrels and I think they would be competitive with the right scope. Already covered the ammo in prior post.

Optics run a wide path. Hawke scopes have a lot of hash marks, they get a 75y zero and then use holdover. Kimber has a 3-9x Nikon refurb with BDC reticle. Savage has cheap china scope I got at pawn shop for $100. We set up the Savage for the 4H kids and ALL of them hit the 165y targets within 2 shots with CCI SV. It will shoot better with Geco or Tac-22.

 

[obijohn]

Sir, you and I don't know each other nearly enough to be offended at much of anything typed on the internet.

It's not like my equipment is anything from the super secret squirrel catalog. I simply do not like to post a lot on the internet about my specific firearms. I think it's a bad idea.

If you'd like, send me a PM, and I'd be happy to have a chat on the phone about specifics. You'd probably find I'm not nearly the type person you may think sitting there reading this.

-Nate

I appreciate your position. I look forward to the conversation. I feel fairly well informed in a few facets of shooting endeavors, just looking for specifics of an activity I am interested in and know little about. AND no time to pursue. The opportunity to try this close to home with fellows I know is appealing.

 

[Twangbanger]

I appreciate your position. I look forward to the conversation. I feel fairly well informed in a few facets of shooting endeavors, just looking for specifics of an activity I am interested in and know little about. AND no time to pursue. The opportunity to try this close to home with fellows I know is appealing.

Obi,
I haven't shot this match before, but I worked up a gun for it on paper this weekend, on the actual distances at the actual range, and will be happy to share my specifics and sight elevation marks with you. I'm using a 2x7 with 1/2 minute clicks. It's nothing special or very precise, but it does have resettable target knobs & some kind of externally-marked knobs are indispensable for this type of shooting. I have tried Remington Target, CCI Standard Velocity, Federal 711B, and Eley Black and Orange boxes. The Remington and CCI SV did not quite measure up in my opinion, given the target sizes. The Federal 711B is actually not bad, fairly comparable actually and I would have no reservations using it (US manufacture, not the German RWS stuff). On Target gun shop in Greencastle has 3 more bricks of it at $39.89 per brick, if you'd like to send some sugar their way and give it a try. It was actually a pleasant surprise.

The rest is just a Harris bipod and a non-rifle shooter behind the trigger. As mentioned before, you need to be shooting subsonic ammo to have much chance with these targets and distances (ie, you don't want a HV bullet starting out supersonic & experiencing shock as it slows down across the sound barrier on its way to the target). My sight marks for 75, 110, and 165 yards were 8, 11, and 16 on the scope (remembering this scope is half-inch clicks at 100 instead of 1/4"), meaning there were 6 MOA separating the 75/110 settings ((11-8)x2), and an additional 10 Minutes up to get to 165 yards from 110 yds. ((16-11)x2)). So if you can establish a 75 yd. zero, that is a total of 16 Minutes of elevation needed to get from 75 yds. to 165 yds. Shooting subsonic 1070 or 1080 fps. ammo out of any typical rimfire sporter, your numbers should be in that ballpark. (These are empirical numbers, and were a bit less adjustment than what was predicted by online ballistic calculators using 22LR ballistic coefficients in the 0.1-ish range). I do not understand what people are talking about with all the shims and special bases, in this and the other threads about this competition. Every scope I own has well more than 16 minutes of internal adjustment capability in it .

I hope this can be useful to somebody, and hopefully get us all shooting competitive scores and keeping the field tight. Hope to see you there!

 

[Twangbanger]

Heya Rich...now that you've allowed magazines (thank you, thank you!)...howz about next time doing away with that special 75 yd. golf ball setup...and getting some 8" plates at 240 yds......i keed, I keed...but it would be darn fun (and whoever shows up with the heaviest gamer-gun, has to walk down and reset ).

Cheers...

 

[Bfish]

I had planned on coming to this match but I think I am going to miss it. Rich made it sound like a good time and I've talked to one or two other guys who have done it. I'm wanting to get out and shoot it I've just been having trouble finding the time here lately to do much!

 

[bwframe]

Sounds like a good turnout Hawkeye7br? Maybe we need to think about running these matches every month, year round?

 

[indyjohn]

The game is designed for scopes. A 5 inch target at 165 yards is pretty tough without crosshairs. There isn't much room for optical error. White targets are very hard to see with naked eyes.

I was all excited until I saw this.. I have a 1950's era 513T Matchmaster that I would love to shoot beyond 100 yds. My eyes aren't sharp enough for Highpower irons any more, so I don't think it would go well on white targets.

 

[bwframe]

...now that you've allowed magazines (thank you, thank you!)...

I think there was some misunderstanding on using magazines. If I'm correct, mags were allowed, you just had to insert and remove between shots.

 

[natdscott]

Repeater or not, all rounds were required to be loaded singly.

That is no longer true.