22LR competition rifle for 200 yard Varminter and 1/5 Silhouette?

[KonoctisWigwam]

One firearm I'm considering purchasing is a 22LR that would be able to shoot 200 Yard Varmenter Silhouette and 1/5 Silhouette.

Do any of you shoot those competitions? I have shot a nice Anschutz rifle to 100, but not 200. Most of the 22LR lever actions I see have iron sights on them, so that may be more difficult to add a scope.

What I primarily want to do is participate in local competitions, and 22LR seems to be that sweet spot. I'm curious if a lever action Rossi in 22LR, with a scope mounted on it, could even be competitive at 200 yards? On my club's webpage, it says:

"200 yards with a front rest sounds easy, but, those jack rabbits are really small. When they are painted
to match the background (like the real things) then you add the variable wind, it’s IMPOSSIBLE to hit all
10 of them. (one person did hit all ten of one animal in 2016). The coyotes are small but do-able,
almost. The crows……… just when you have them figured out, the wind changes. Ground squirrels seem
to be a bullet magnet, but you still can’t hit 10 of 10. Come out and see if you can do better. The 7UP
can is full size. These varmints are small. Carl Hoke has the course record with 23/40. 1 hour to get sight
settings and then we try to shoot them down. ANY rim fire. FRONT rest only from the bench. Come and
try it. You too can be humbled."

Primarily I want something that I can train for that would improve or keep me on my toes with my centerfire hunting rifles, so think of a Manners carbon stock with a 6.5 PRC, or 300 WSM. We don't have high powered NRA, which uses centerfire, my local club is mostly rimfire for the NRA events.

In that regard, I'm thinking the Ruger Carbon Fiber 22LR with 16.5" barrel is a better direction than the lever action, but can a lever action with a scope even be competitive? These sell for $489.

I think, but not sure that a picatinny and a scope could be added to these Henry Golden Boys, this has a barrel that is 16.25", so almost the same length.

These are on sale for $499 right now. Both barrels are about the same length. The bolt action above is more similar to my hunting rifles. Price is very similar. Anyone have experience with either?

 

[Steve Hendry]

This is my 10/22. The breach is Ruger, that's about all. Most simi auto 22's are very picky. This will shoot anything subsonic, which is the choice if shooting long. It has a light-weight recoil spring, and anything zippy will put it in the hospital. Norma Match is it bestie. At 100 yards, friends and I'll shoot a clay pigeon. Bam, it shatters. Now we call the shards. I have a CZ bolt 17ca, I think it was in the 6 hunded dollar range, it shoots flatter and straighter than the 22. I may not be a good role model. I know I've spent almost three times that on the 22.
To shoot in your 200-yard com would be so cool. Wow, this will be a schooling.
I was in Montana 8 years ago, stopped to get some ammo for a friend. Talking to locals who shoot 22s 300 yards.

 

[KonoctisWigwam]

Wow, that's nice Steve, did you add that Carbon Barrel, or was that a part of it when you bought the Ruger?

I see Bergara models and Tikka 3 models in 22LR with a Carbon Barrel. The Ruger seems to be in widespread use.

I have a 2.5-10 scope I think I'll put on it. I have a couple LPVOs also, 1-4 and 1-8. Either of those would work for 200 yards, easy, but I think the 2.5-10 will be more comfortable.

With a 22LR, I think the main test will be if I can even hit some of those targets.

 

[xchecker]

I admitedly have no expertise in this conversation. Wouldn't .22WMR be a better choice for long range shooting? Higher velocity=slightly better wind resistance? And still being .22 rim-fire would qualify for competition?

 

[Steve Hendry]

The 22WMR would be better, as would the 17 rimfire. In a 22LR contest, flags will go up.
I shoot once or twice a week. Usually, 200 rounds a visit. Mostly 22 LR for the cost. Punching holes in paper is almost the same as a 6.5 Creedmore. Minus the cost. 22LR bullets vary from 32 gr to 50gr. Powered from 600 fps to 1,600. With this knowledge, I know nothing.
I put the 10 22 together 15 years ago or more. I didn't know about carbon barrels. So no, it's not carbon. They are lighter, do they claim better accuracy?
At the time Kidd made a 10/22 that was all Kidd for 1,200 bucks. Or you can Frankenstein one for 2 grand. I chose Frank.

 

[KonoctisWigwam]

I admitedly have no expertise in this conversation. Wouldn't .22WMR be a better choice for long range shooting? Higher velocity=slightly better wind resistance? And still being .22 rim-fire would qualify for competition?

Yes, and that was my thinking, but a number of the NRA competitions only allow 22LR, so that's the safest.

The 17 HMR (Hornady) is also allowed and they sell those leverrevelution bullets, but that stuff is not cheap.

Essentially, rimfire needs to buy ammo. This idea of getting a 22LR was to keep my aim up for hunting. Maybe I should just load centerfire and go to the range...???

One plus with lever action is that one could participate in lever action events. My club has one of those every Wednesday. Every 4th Saturday is 200 yard varminter silhouettes. The lever action will allow 22s to participate, but not be rated, and that might be ok with me, I primarily want to keep my aim up. Lever action needs a 22LR, no 22 WMR, and it's 100 yards, no 200 yard silhouettes.

 

[KonoctisWigwam]

And you can use a centerfire cartridge that was traditionally used on a lever action, such as 357 mag, 44 mag, etc...but that is only 100 yards, as I understand it. This would be a quite different rifle than what I use for hunting.

I haven't completely decided what I'll do yet, but want to get something that makes the most sense for me.

I went to look at hunting property today, but it was a mess, and needs a lot of cleanup. Lots of burn through the Upper Lake area of Lake County...probably more cleanup than I want to do. I looked at a place about 5 miles from the range in Highland Springs, and I thought it was better properly.

 

[KonoctisWigwam]

Steve,

I found out that you can get high velocity and hyper velocity 22LR that will get 1700 fps (Aquila). That would be quite a bit more speed than the 22LR standard loads, which is around 1000-1100 fps.

 

[KonoctisWigwam]

Ok, I found out an interesting piece of info, where one of the directors of our club was telling me not to get a 22 WMR or 17 HMR. Although it looks better on paper, he said it's harder to keep them on target at 200, much more so than the 22LR, and said Lapua 40 grain is about the best, at 1100 fps. For some reason, it's much harder to keep those higher velocity loads on target. He has several riffles for competition, and said the Bergara was a huge disappointment for him.

He also mentioned that it's really hard to find Lapua ammo, so if I do see it, stock up!

He let me shoot his Kidd rifle, it was sure light, but looking online those are pretty pricey. He recommended a Ruger, and said there are a couple of the carbon models like I pictured and he said those shoot real well. He said he would recommend a tactical AR style 22LR as the first 22LR, but I'd like a bolt.