My next rimfire? Fun shooter for friendly competition.

sphen

sphen

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Howdy guys, starting to look for my next rimfire .22lr. I already have a cz452 and a couple of cooeys. I'm looking for a fun to shoot and friendly competitive rimfire for backyard and club competitions (still waiting to get in). It would be my designated scoped rifle and would be out to 200 yards but mostly around 100. I enjoy offhand shooting so that would be significant amount of what I'm doing on my own. Money isn't a big issue, I've been saving for a while, am over $2000 right now and am not in a hurry to buy. I can easily toss another $1000 at it. I believe in buy once, cry once. This would probably be my most shot rifle.

I plan on keeping my 452 as my iron sights .22 so not looking to sell it. With all this said, I'm confident that I'll be limiting factor on this rife at this point. However, I do plan to shoot it a lot and start growing into it.

So a couple of questions,

1. I've been eyeing up the anschutz 1712 Sihouette, what do you guys think? Additional suggestions?

2. I have a nikon buckmaster 6-18x40 and am just wondering if I should stick with that or sell it and get something different. What do you guys think?

Thanks!
 
That or a 1907 small bore target. It has the 5018 trigger and you can buy the wedge for benchrest work. What ever scope you want something light for off hand work. Leupold has one that's popular for silhouette shooting.
 
With your budget, Anschutz is the answer. If you are shooting off-hand, the 1712 is a great choice. If you are shooting 100 yards, you'll want to be off a bench (it's difficult to shoot a scoped rifle well off-hand at 100 yards) and the 1712 is a less desirable choice because its narrow fore arm is not as stable as other shapes off a rest. Shooting both off-hand and from the bench is a challenging combination. Perhaps a 1710 D HB might be better, but it's a compromise because of the two very different needs of off-hand and bench shooting. As savagecanuck suggests, an Anschutz 1907 is worth serious consideration.

Regarding a scope, you would find a variable power scope to be a good choice, something with an adjustable objective, and relatively fine crosshairs so that the bull is not obscured by thick reticles.
 
The 64 MSR (Match Silhouette Repeater) is great for offhand shooting, I'm not sure if they have an equivalent in the 54 action? The stock is also very suitable to bench shooting.

grauhanen, in Silhouette competition the rams are located on the 100m line and shot offhand ;) Obviously we're not trying to punch bugholes being up off the bench, but there is a practical application to offhand shooting at that range.
 
you looking for a repeater? Single shot?

You won't be disappointed with an Anschutz, but picking the right one might be tricky. 1907 or 1903 would both be good, but I'd get the 1907 if money wasn't a factor.
 
RabidM4U5 said:
The 64 MSR (Match Silhouette Repeater) is great for offhand shooting, I'm not sure if they have an equivalent in the 54 action? The stock is also very suitable to bench shooting.

grauhanen, in Silhouette competition the rams are located on the 100m line and shot offhand ;) Obviously we're not trying to punch bugholes being up off the bench, but there is a practical application to offhand shooting at that range.
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Yes, of course. One would shoot Silhouette only off-hand. I overlooked Silhouette shooting as it was not clear as to the purpose or use of the rifle.

sphen said:
I'm looking for a fun to shoot and friendly competitive rimfire for backyard and club competitions (still waiting to get in). It would be my designated scoped rifle and would be out to 200 yards but mostly around 100. I enjoy offhand shooting so that would be significant amount of what I'm doing on my own.
Click to expand...
 
Not easy to find, but a used 54 MS-R is a great choice.I found one in excellent condition for about the same price as the 64 MS-R rifles that were available reently.
 
grauhanen said:
it was not clear as to the purpose or use of the rifle.
Click to expand...

Sounds to me like he want to do casual offhand shooting for the most part, fun with friends in the backyard, and then get into club competitions. Yes, what kind of shooting at the club is not specified and it can be reasonable to assume that would likely be from a bench. I take away he mainly wants something geared towards offhand shooting.

The 1712 rifle is made to enter "Hunter" class in Silhouette at a weight limit of 8.5 lbs, though many shooters will use that rifle to also compete in Standard class (weight up to 10lbs 2oz) as it simplifies ammo selection and knowing scope settings for one rifle vs two. I use my Weatherby XXII for Hunter class and my 64 MSR for Standard class. A heavier rifle such as the MSR adds stability while in the offhand position, something that those using a 1712 for both classes compromise on. Since budget isn't much of a limiting factor, certainly going with a 54 action would be my suggestion. The 1907 sure looks like a good fit to your needs. A barreled action with a McMillan Anschütz Silhouette stock would be one of my top picks.

https://mcmillanusa.com/mcmillan-rifle-stocks/competition-stocks-anschutz-silhouette/
 
In no specific order

Anschutz 1727.
1206122.jpg


Cooper JSR
JSR-On-Stump3-e1456085151314.jpg
 
RabidM4U5 said:
Sounds to me like he want to do casual offhand shooting for the most part, fun with friends in the backyard, and then get into club competitions. Yes, what kind of shooting at the club is not specified and it can be reasonable to assume that would likely be from a bench. I take away he mainly wants something geared towards offhand shooting.

The 1712 rifle is made to enter "Hunter" class in Silhouette at a weight limit of 8.5 lbs, though many shooters will use that rifle to also compete in Standard class (weight up to 10lbs 2oz) as it simplifies ammo selection and knowing scope settings for one rifle vs two. I use my Weatherby XXII for Hunter class and my 64 MSR for Standard class. A heavier rifle such as the MSR adds stability while in the offhand position, something that those using a 1712 for both classes compromise on. Since budget isn't much of a limiting factor, certainly going with a 54 action would be my suggestion. The 1907 sure looks like a good fit to your needs. A barreled action with a McMillan Anschütz Silhouette stock would be one of my top picks.

https://mcmillanusa.com/mcmillan-rifle-stocks/competition-stocks-anschutz-silhouette/
Click to expand...

Thanks for all the replies guys, I appreciate the shared wisdom and experience!

RabidM4U5 is pretty bang on. I'm not looking for a serious competitor, in that the "competition" shooting is casual at the club (mostly bench) and then for beers in the backyard with the buddies. Now don't get me wrong, I take my backyard shooting with the buddies pretty seriously (actually I care more about the backyard stuff than the club stuff). It's not just the free beer but the bragging rights! There is no rhyme or reason to what we do: bench, kneeling, offhand, prone, it's totally spur of the moment and pretty much just to say who's top shot. We don't have many shooting options around (noise issues) so we do almost exclusively .22 shooting. None of us are pros but we're getting into it more and more every year and are now actually putting some time, money and effort into making a proper range on the property. Essentially this is one of those cases of a bunch of guys who don't want to appear like their trying really hard but really each one of us is really taking it pretty serious! For my own personal shooting it's mostly offhand fun stuff, just shooting anything I can find or setup between 25-100 yards. It's casual and fun, but again, who says I can't be accurate with my fun stuff!

For some reason it never dawned on me to clarify single vs repeater, thanks! Because we do a fair amount of "speed" shooting I'm going to pass on single shot options. A couple of the guys have semis so I'm already at a speed disadvantage with a bolt.

The Match 54 Barrelled Action, as suggested by easyrider604 is tempting, those marbled stocks by mcmillanusa are nice, I really wish I could see one in person. With that said, I've always been a big fan of wood stocks, I love a nicely grained piece of wood.
 
If the relatively plain wood of the 64 MPR doesn't do it for you, the 1416 D HB Beavertail might be just the ticket, add a good scope and you are more or less on budget.

20170311_140902_zpswzy09j0d.jpg
 
Thanks hoytcanon, that's an interesting options, leaves me lots of $$$ for nice glass. I do like that stock, I just wish there was a way to handle these in person rather than trying to guess off the web pics. So I guess my question would be what's the big difference between this and the 1712, for the extra $1000. Obviously a different stock, 64 instead of 54 action, single vs double action trigger, anything else? Am I, as an a novice to intermediate shooter who really only competes in "friendly" competitions going to be able to take advantage of these upgrades? Again, I don't mind spending the extra $1000 if the benefit is real...I don't want to sell a couple years down the road just to upgrade again. Just my thoughts.
 
That 1416 looks really good!

@sphen. I've owned the 1710, 1712 and new 64 action rifle. If you want to buy once cry once I would definitely say go 1712 or 1710 depending on whether you want the lighter barrel or heavier barrel. I never handled them before ordering. I know this rough to send that kind of cash away without holding it first. The 64 action is closer to yiur everyday savage or marlin action while the 1712 has a more beefy design and looks a lot better too action wise. If looks are a thing to you :)
 
Mike112288 said:
The 64 action is closer to yiur everyday savage or marlin action while the 1712 has a more beefy design and looks a lot better too action wise. If looks are a thing to you :)
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Respectfully, I have to disagree that a 64 action is comparable to a Savage action... A CZ 455 action is a step above Savage and the 64 is yet another level above the CZ. I haven't handled a 54 action to give an opinion on it, but anecdotal research suggests accuracy between 64 and 54 models comes down to individual variance. They get the same barrels.

When you are shooting offhand, you won't notice any subtle difference in accuracy between the models. When you get to some bench shooting, it doesn't sound like you're into serious enough competition that the fractions of an inch something like a BR-50 would give you would really matter. That 1416 Beavertail also looks like it would serve you quite well. An after market spring can get those triggers down to about 10 oz.
 
Having a T Bolt, 4 CZ 452's and two 64 action Anschutz in my safe, my last purchase was a 1710 DKL. Save the best for last I guess. Hard to call it a sporter bbl, it's fairly substantial. If you have the means, go for the 1710 or 1712, might as well get it right. Have only shot inside for now, using a narrow Protektor ft bag. It'll be in the gopher patch in the next few days. The gopher thread has me chompin' at the bit.
 
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