Hi all,
With my safety course recently completed I am now thinking about my first firearm purchase.
The decision has already been made to get a .22LR and to get into shooting, acquiring the reflexes and learning the craft.
Looking at the EE section of the forum, online stores and in stores, there are way too many options.
So far i am leaning towards a B22 FV-SR but they are impossible to find used...
I am not rich but can probably afford $6-900 CAD for a rifle and scope
What would be a reasonable choice for me? I am looking at getting into longer distances shooting and I don't mind used equipment in good condition.
Thanks in advance for the help
Hey jucam~welcome to the sport and more specifically...to rimfires!
I just read the whole thread, and if I compare the advice so far to what my experience has been...I'd say your focus ought to be on practice @ 50-75 yards, and a whole lot of it. Not only is this important if you have competition in mind down the road, but it's a heck of allot of fun too!
@ closer ranges, things like high magnification scopes, canted scope bases are not required...nor are scopes with tons of elevation/windage adjustment. YES, Jerry @ Mystic is 100% right about everything he posted (he's probably forgotten more than I've ever known about scopes!
) but I shot 22LR at 50-100 yards for a decade and a half before it even occurred to me to push it past that. Long range is fun too, but you can learn ALLOT about what you're doing right/wrong @ 50 yards.
As for a rifle/scope package in your price range~lots of good advice already. I once owned a Mark II FV-SR and it was not an accurate rifle, I have no experience with the B-series guns though. I DO like the look of them. I think as others have stated, a Mark II FV (heavy barrel) would be a good choice, and the Savage "Accutrigger" they're equipped with is very decent. The biggest issue with the Mark II has to be the plastic stock but more importantly, cheek weld. Those stocks are not well-suited to scope use (your eye sits too low=fine for iron sights) but Savage chucked them on all their entry-level rimfires. I corrected for that using one of these, which not only improved cheek weld...but looked like it came that way from the factory. Comfortable too! https://www.accu-riser.com/accu-riser-cp-4000p-monte-carlo-comb-raiser/
Scopes~now there is a slippery slope. I think the toughest less I learned as a cash-strapped shooter is this~if you shoot allot, if you want good results, if you want to really enjoy the shooting experience...you have to spend a bit. It's not uncommon to hear experienced shooters say they spend as much, if not more on the scope. (vs the gun) I'd say, do the best you can...but (new) scopes in the $200 class and under have proven to all be problematic in my experience. And believe me, I've tried. lol YES, if you pick a hunter-grade, 3-9X it'll probably do the job, but most of those are set-up for ranges of 100 yards or more. You want a scope that'll work well under that for a rimfire. If in doubt, look into the "parallax" setting for the scope you're considering...or...choose an AO (adjustable objective) or SF (side focus) model. Rimfire-specific scopes (Nikon, Leupold, etc) usually have parallax settings of 50-60 yards. Refers to how close it'll function properly, greater distances not an issue.
My 2 most recent new scope purchases for rimfires were; Sightron S1 4-12 AO (HHR reticle) and a Leupold VX-Freedom Rimfire 3-9. I like both, paid about $300 for each of them.
Out of time to talk about scope rings, spare mags, the importance of trying lots of ammo types (guns are more moody than you'd think)...but lots of guys on here can expand on that.
Good luck, be safe, and have fun!
