Anschutz Match (54 and 64), Brno No. 4, Walther KKJ, Winchester Model 52 (I Believe it's 52) to name a few.
What scope, and what to shoot at?
- Thread starter K1LLswitch
- Start date
Anschutz Match (54 and 64), Brno No. 4, Walther KKJ, Winchester Model 52 (I Believe it's 52) to name a few.
You just make them. They don't have to be round or made with the fance surface treated steel we use. I'd just go to the scrap yard and get some metal plates, drill them and hang them. Even with softer steel, if you keep them painted, you can see the hits. And if its just you using them, they should last a long time. Some of our gongs are just hangning on old swing set frames.
It doesn't need to be expensive in any way...
Mystic Precision
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Summerland, BC
Talk to metal fabricators. They have cut outs in circles, squares, etc. Some use pretty heavy steel too. This is all scrap so may not cost anything. I find the scrap yards not so good unless they just got a bunch of these cut outs.
I have limited metal working tools so prefer my gongs come pre made.
As for a frame, if you can't make it from steel, make it from lumber. A few 2x4's tacked up will make a durable frame that is easily recycled.
Jerry
I have limited metal working tools so prefer my gongs come pre made.
As for a frame, if you can't make it from steel, make it from lumber. A few 2x4's tacked up will make a durable frame that is easily recycled.
Jerry
As for reasonably priced scopes, google Vortex Optics. Look in the "riflescopes" section- I have the 6.5-20X44PA. I've been shooting my .308 at 300m, but I wanted something that'll get me out to 1000yds, and this will do fine for that too.
Unlimited lifetime warranty, and I got mine for $509.00.
X2 on the reloading gear.
Unlimited lifetime warranty, and I got mine for $509.00.
X2 on the reloading gear.
What SigWig said.
Savage makes several .22's that could be called "precision" that can be had for a few hundred bux. And of course the CZ'z.
Buy the same scope you'd buy for the centerfire rifle. The big savings will be in ammo costs and maintanence.
Savage makes several .22's that could be called "precision" that can be had for a few hundred bux. And of course the CZ'z.
Buy the same scope you'd buy for the centerfire rifle. The big savings will be in ammo costs and maintanence.
Just for interest, here is a pic of a group another member shot during the summer on our 24" 1000 yard gong.
He loads 155 Scenars to around 2850 fps with Varget for his 308 Win (Savage). He buys 24 lbs of it at a time (same lot) to get around the lot-to-lot variation. The ES in his charges with each new lot has been 0.5 gr. to maintain that velocity.
Me... I attribute his success to the beautifully painted gong. You just can't help yourself, but to focus on it.
He loads 155 Scenars to around 2850 fps with Varget for his 308 Win (Savage). He buys 24 lbs of it at a time (same lot) to get around the lot-to-lot variation. The ES in his charges with each new lot has been 0.5 gr. to maintain that velocity.
Me... I attribute his success to the beautifully painted gong. You just can't help yourself, but to focus on it.
True it won't teach him about reloading; but it's his first gun, and shooting .22LR at 200m will teach him about wind doping.
A good .22 will be something that he can get tonnes more trigger time with than even a .223, and it will last a lifetime, or 2.
K1LLswitch
CGN Regular
- Location
- Calgary, Alberta
I'm sure starting to come around on a 22lr - as much as I'd love to be a one rifle guy, maybe starting small is a better plan. Plus when I do upgrade, I can try to get a buddy to shoot with me.
I'm super pumped about my course tomorrow, and feel a lot better going in to look at scopes etc. after all the info provided here.
Thx all!
I'm super pumped about my course tomorrow, and feel a lot better going in to look at scopes etc. after all the info provided here.
Thx all!
The last time I bought .22 ammo I paid $50 for 500 rounds of CCI Quik-Shok (quite accurate and devastating on gophers), the time before that I picked-up 5000 rounds of Federal Gold Medal ammo (my BRNO and my daughter's Savage both love it) for $350.
Figure the barrel life of a good .22 to be about 100,000 rounds, if you keep it properly cleaned (which means, not much!)
You'll be able to shoot the .22 when you are too poor to even think about a .308 or a .223.
You'll be able to shoot the .22 in places where the centerfire guns are too loud or too powerful.
And if you save your spent cases, you could even use them to make jacketed bullets for the .223 you'll eventually get.
Everyone needs a good .22, or several good .22's.
Figure the barrel life of a good .22 to be about 100,000 rounds, if you keep it properly cleaned (which means, not much!)
You'll be able to shoot the .22 when you are too poor to even think about a .308 or a .223.
You'll be able to shoot the .22 in places where the centerfire guns are too loud or too powerful.
And if you save your spent cases, you could even use them to make jacketed bullets for the .223 you'll eventually get.
Everyone needs a good .22, or several good .22's.
But do spend the money on a decent scope for that good .22
Don't be afraid to go to a higher magnification too, because you'll be shooting at smaller targets.
I'd say you should be looking for a variable with an upper power of at least 14x, Personally I find a 4x-16x to be my personal minimum for a precision .22, and a 6x-24x to be about right. I had an 8x-32x mounted for a while and found it just a bit too much.
Don't be afraid to go to a higher magnification too, because you'll be shooting at smaller targets.
I'd say you should be looking for a variable with an upper power of at least 14x, Personally I find a 4x-16x to be my personal minimum for a precision .22, and a 6x-24x to be about right. I had an 8x-32x mounted for a while and found it just a bit too much.
A good thing about a variable scope is, well, its variable. If you find 32X to be too much, back it down. But if you don't have the 32X when you want to see the details turning it up harder won't help.
I use 2 N/F 42X scopes and when that is too much Mag. then I dial it down.
"Aim small, shoot small"
M.
I use 2 N/F 42X scopes and when that is too much Mag. then I dial it down.
"Aim small, shoot small"
M.
If you want to be a one-rifle guy, you may be on the wrong forum . . . well, maybe one rifle (at a time), but you'll need one or two or three handguns, a couple or six shotguns . . . several assorted rimfire because of the low cost to shoot 'em and get the practice . . . once you start, especially with the bad influences on here . . . You've already rationalized -- all by yourself! -- having more than one rifle at a time so that "you can get a buddy to shoot with you!" Only a matter of time, now. You've already justified spending the money!
Welcome to the addiction!
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K1LLswitch
CGN Regular
- Location
- Calgary, Alberta
Crap. So, the course was awesome (aside from some of the stupid stuff the gov't makes you learn) and I think I might be addicted.
I also made the mistake of looking at a bunch of scopes, and I kinda fell in love with a Leupold Mark 4 6.5-20x50 with illuminated reticle. Sadly, it was so easy to justify too (oh, well, if I spend more on my 1st scope, I'll be able to spend more on the next rifle without wanting to upgrade the scope too :-(
Sigh, my wife is going to hate all of you.
I also made the mistake of looking at a bunch of scopes, and I kinda fell in love with a Leupold Mark 4 6.5-20x50 with illuminated reticle. Sadly, it was so easy to justify too (oh, well, if I spend more on my 1st scope, I'll be able to spend more on the next rifle without wanting to upgrade the scope too :-(
Sigh, my wife is going to hate all of you.
- Location
- Somewhere on the Hudson Bay Coast
K1LLswitch,
Handloading has only been touched on, but it is an important part of the package. The end product depends on the effort and attention to detail the handloader puts into his craft. There is no magic or voodoo, it is simply working out a repeatable system that will give you consistent results. Consistency produces accuracy. You control each and every element of the cartridge you assemble, with the exception of the explosive charge in the primer, and your ammunition is more accurate in your rifle because it is made to match the internal dimensions of your chamber, not for the generic average rifle. You control the accuracy of the powder charge, pick the powder burn rate, determine how much runout each cartridge has, and how much jump the bullet makes before it engages the rifling.
Handloading is an enjoyable part of shooting, particularly when your handloads are really good. It reduces the cost per round so that you can shoot more, and you can make ammo not available across the counter for any price.
It sounds like you want to put together a quality smoke stick, but you will be disappointed if the quality of the ammunition you shoot does not match the quality of your rifle.
Handloading has only been touched on, but it is an important part of the package. The end product depends on the effort and attention to detail the handloader puts into his craft. There is no magic or voodoo, it is simply working out a repeatable system that will give you consistent results. Consistency produces accuracy. You control each and every element of the cartridge you assemble, with the exception of the explosive charge in the primer, and your ammunition is more accurate in your rifle because it is made to match the internal dimensions of your chamber, not for the generic average rifle. You control the accuracy of the powder charge, pick the powder burn rate, determine how much runout each cartridge has, and how much jump the bullet makes before it engages the rifling.
Handloading is an enjoyable part of shooting, particularly when your handloads are really good. It reduces the cost per round so that you can shoot more, and you can make ammo not available across the counter for any price.
It sounds like you want to put together a quality smoke stick, but you will be disappointed if the quality of the ammunition you shoot does not match the quality of your rifle.
