Why I shoot rimfire

T

Tikka6xc

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Started with a rimfire naturally as a kid but as I got older and more in to shooting it was all center fire big cals and long range. The drive to have the skills and gun to dominate at distance.

My friends and I had spent quite a bit of $ making this happen in the forms of ammo, loading gear and custom built rifles. Not to menchon the $ in gas to find places with a 1000+ clear cut.

After shooting both competion and over a mile ya know what the difference between a .338lm 1800y and a 17hmr 300y shot is.... One involves a lot more walking and cost to see your group than the other.

I find a 17 @ 300 is just like a .308 at 1000


IMO, the ease of location and cost effectiveness to shoot rimfire, you can afford to become a good shooter.
 
I thought my buddy was up his arse when he told me that a 17hmr will have more kill shots that a ruger 10/22 anyday. Yesterday we were out all day. He was absolutely right!!!! When he would not just be killing gophers, he makes a point of taking their eye out. A 10/22, well....just a kill is a good thing. I wanted a 10/22 sooo bad till I shot his hmr!!!! Deadly accurate. Yes the ammo is way more expensive, but the kill ratio is much larger.
 
I had to spend some time thinking about this.
1) First obvious reason is cost. When I'm at the range, I like to shoot A LOT of rounds; easily go through 200-300 before lunch. I'm bound to hit something that way!
2) Purely a range shooter. Max distance at our range 300m; far exceeds my ability.
3) If I do hunt, it'll be small things 'cuz I'm too lazy to pack out anything big.
4) Love shooting silhouette. 100m hits/reactive targets are very satisfying.
5) I can afford to have several guns
6) I have a dream of a local rimfire Cowboy Action club.
7) Don't have to explain to the wife why I need a selection of reloading powers, equipment, etc taking over the workshop.

Drawback: I'm not recoil sensitive; in fact I like feeling recoil. 22 WMR can keep me happy for a while before I feel the need. SKS helps a bit, but that's pretty tame too.;)
 
BUT don't you miss the recoil. Haven't done much 17HMR; 22LR with CZ455 is sure fun but now and then have to bring out the 30 calibers.

With 17HMR price nearing reloading 223 for reloaders might as well go 223 (luv my T3 223 hunter).
 
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Just because it's one helluva shooting machine. :)
 
The older i get, the less I like recoil. I find a day with a big pounder of a rifle or shotgun results in all kinds of nasty physical repercussions. I can shoot .22 all day long, for damn near no cost at all, and come out of it just fine.

So much of good shooting is muscle memory and that comes from shooting lots. I can't afford to shoot my M14 lots. I can shoot my CIL/Anscutz until I've destroyed every dandelion stem, dirt clod, and mysterious light-coloured spot on the berms at the range and still buy root beer for me and my boy on the way home.

.22 at extended ranges is fun -
pop.... ting....
It's a challenge.

Doesn't beat my ears up.

The rifles are reasonably inexpensive.

It really is the best thing going. I love my .22s.
 
i like to shoot my rimfires because i can go out all day long and not be broke. i have have my girlfirend and little cousins come out and try out guns. show everyone they are not death machines. and the slug gun with hot handloads comes out when i get people saying the 22 is a pellet gun. that fixes it pretty fast.
 
I think you need to shoot .50 BMG instead of those lil .338LP and teenie weenie :stirthepot2: .17 rim-fires.
You shoot a big enough gun that leaves a big enuff hole you certainly will not have to walk very far at all to see the hole(s) in the target;):nest:
Tight Groups,
Rob
 
burnaby said:
BUT don't you miss the recoil. Haven't done much 17HMR; 22LR with CZ455 is sure fun but now and then have to bring out the 30 calibers.
Click to expand...

We shoot 22s more than everything else combined. Some people have littlegunitis, and feel if it isn't centerfire, it's not worth mentioning. They ridicule the toy gunz while shooting their 30 calibers.

I then bring out my 50bmg........;)
 
762Russian said:
Damn that thing is ugly.

I don't doubt you can knock the eye out of a fly's head at 25 at will but... damn ugly anyway. ;)
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And they don't make them like this anymore friend. This Swiss target pistol made of steel & walnut, is now made by an airgun manufacturer in Germany with lots of aluminum & plastic parts complete with ghey colors such as metallic red!

Yes, the newer ones are actually uglier.......believe it or not.
 
I like to shoot competition silhouette and find that I get a lot of enjoyment from my .22's. I shoot hight power once a month and it still cost nearly $125 even with hand loads. For this reason alone it's worth it to me to spend a huge amount of time on my with my .22. It seems to make me a better shooter all around. And I like it when the high power crowd stops to ask what I am using to hit the spinners at 200m. They never believe the a .22 can be acurate out to .200m.
Plus I love the fact that I can shoot a brick of ammo in an afternoon and still have some change in my pocket for a 6 pack.
I'm definately going to get my hands on another .17hmr to round out the fleet. That is one caliber I regret selling. Now I'm down to a few .22's .303, 12ga, 20ga, and a 7mm. For the exception of the .22's the rest of them have more dust on them than I care to clean.
 
I have, uh, let's say several .22's, a couple of .22 WMR's, and just bought a 17 HMR. I love shooting .22. I can bang away all day, and still keep my balance.

I love shooting shotguns and big rifles too, but .22's are growing ever more popular for me. Recoil is felt more as I get older, much as I hate to accept it.

Plus, I can buy a brand spankin' new .22 for $200+, and start shooting as soon as I get out to the country. I have a .338 WM BAR that I will be selling, and just looking at one the shells makes me flinch!:p
 
Cheap, accurate, fun, low recoil - all good reasons but reading through this thread I'm seeing a bunch of guys (myself included) who are recapturing the pure enjoyment of shooting that we had when we were kids. More than once I've left a shooting session with my .338 or 45-120 thinking "That was interesting - but it wasn't much fun". Can't say that about shooting .22's.

Like Polar Man, one of the greatest satisfactions I get from .22's is using them to introduce others to shooting. Took my daughter-in-law out at Christmas to introduce her to the family pastime. After a quick instructional session she was snuffing animal crackers at 30 yards or so with my Anschutz as fast as I could reload the clips. Had to wrestle it back from her. That's the greatest beauty of a .22.
 
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