Cheap Practice Rifle?

Great thread. I'm looking for a good plinking rifle to shoot between strings of my fullbore target rifle. The two options that I came up with are:

Savage Mark II TR in .22LR

Savage 93R17 TR in .17 HMR

Mostly this will be for plinking/training 50/100/200. At this point in my life I don't see it as a varmint type gun, but I wouldn't rule it out in the future. I want a rimfire because I don't want to reload another cartridge right now. Currently reloading 308/30.06/ Rem 260 / 300WSM and 338 LM.

Which would be better?? Rifles are a similar price and I have a NF SHV 4-14x56mm to put on top for now.

Thanks and Merry Christmas
 
bsand said:
I have been looking into getting another rifle, just to shoot between strings to let barrel cool.
I was thinking of getting a 22lr at first, but then realized bulk ammo would be horrible accuracy. Reloading rimfire seems extremely painful and not worthwhile, match ammo is pretty expensive.
I was thinking of getting a bolt action in something cheap to shoot, and reload for. I have been thinking about getting a rifle in 22 hornet, it's good out to 200 yards and 13 gr powder charges will make almost 4x as much ammo per pound of powder than my 308 loads.

Not sure what rifle to go for as I'm still new to bolt actions. I'd prefer left handed, detachable mag would be nice but not required. Budget would be under 1000 for rifle.

Any suggestions for rifles or other calibers that are economical to shoot to 300 yard max?
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.22lr is still great. Tougher to shoot that long with subsonic match ammo. Faster ammo like CCI velocitors are good for that range. Well, I shoot them to 200 and ring steel. And that's if you can find them on the shelves. Still way cheaper than .223 american eagle. Although, .223 american eagle would be my next suggestion. Or even vmax .223. But then you're at $1 per shot.
 
Bird Blaster said:
Great thread. I'm looking for a good plinking rifle to shoot between strings of my fullbore target rifle. The two options that I came up with are:

Savage Mark II TR in .22LR

Savage 93R17 TR in .17 HMR

Mostly this will be for plinking/training 50/100/200. At this point in my life I don't see it as a varmint type gun, but I wouldn't rule it out in the future. I want a rimfire because I don't want to reload another cartridge right now. Currently reloading 308/30.06/ Rem 260 / 300WSM and 338 LM.

Which would be better?? Rifles are a similar price and I have a NF SHV 4-14x56mm to put on top for now.

Thanks and Merry Christmas
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Love my HMR but for purely training purposes, 22lr for the cost and less distance needed to see the effects of wind.
 
You cannot beat a 22lr for training,
If you spend the time to find the ammo your gun likes you can get amazing results. I would recommend a CZ or savage(with upgraded stock)
Even good quality match grade 22 ammo is cheaper to shoot than bulk centre fire with so much better results
Low noise makes shooting it in places other than a gun range less annoying on the neighbours
And if you practice the 200-300 yard shots you will find it is a lot more doable than you might hear
 
I picked up a savage 93 left hand in .17hmr last year from wholesale sports for $250 and its a great little shooter for between strings, I put a Bushnell 3-9x40 that came with another rifle on to it and find it shoots about 1 1/4'' at a 100 yards
 
kombayotch said:
The cheap FFP scopes will survive on a 22LR since there isn't any recoil.
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His primary scope is a S&B... practising is supposed to be a positive and enjoyable experience. Using a cheap/poor glass scope will be torture and likely a way to deter practise

:)

The Sightron SIH family is an inexpensive scope line with surprisingly good optics.... and that is compared to scopes costing WAY more money.

Can't say about the mechanicals yet but they should hold up just fine on a rimfire.

Jerry

PS... shooting a match ammo 22LR at 200 and 300yds is typically easier then a 308/light bullets at 1000yds
 
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