I am looking for a full size .22 LR for off-seasn practice; essentially, a gun that duplicates the weight and feel of a big-game rifle. I currently have a .22, but it is trimmer than what I am after. What are you shooting, and what are it's good and bad points. I am especially interested in guns such as the CZ452 American, Ruger 77/22 with the heavy barrel, Cooper, Kimber, and if there are others I am missing, let me know.

Dave

If you are looking to simulate your regular rifle wouldn't it make sense to buy that same brand and have weight added to the stock (or restock) to match the weight of your regular hunting rifle?

Greg:

Your advise is good, but unfortunately, the few big-game rifles I own are custom jobs, so unless I build a custom .22, which I have considered, I can not simply duplicate one of my big-game rifles. Having in the past had a closet full of factory rifles that I did not have time to shoot, my philosophy has become that I would rather have a few really nice rifles that I shoot a lot.

Dave

Dave,
I would then spend some time looking around for a "hunting" 22 that feels good to you.
I have an older Tradewinds that is a nice rifle. I have looked at several "production" 22's lately while in gun shops looking at 17HMR's and I wasn't real impressed with what I found.
I didn't get to look at the CZ452 American, Cooper or Kimber's but the Rugers I saw didn't impress me in 22. (Some of there centerfires looked ok and some didn't)

Good Luck!

Loud-n-boomer,

In a previous life I did some work with military training using simulations, and used the results of quite a few perceptual psychologists to get "enough" fidelity into the simulation so that the training transferred to the real thing. It surprised me how "rinky dink" a simulation could be, yet still have training value.

You don't need a .22 LR that has the same size, weight and feel as your regular hunting arm. The .22 only needs to task your capabilities enough so that you benefit from the training. You could even use an air rifle at 10 meters (garage range as it were), something I have done. I have also used dry practice to good effect.

Jeff Cooper teaches the use of your rifle in dry practice mode with your TV -- you engage every numerial zero or letter "oh" that appears on the screen from a ready position.

But if you really want a big, heavy .22 LR I have a Springfield M2 I could sell you.

jim dodd

[ 11-01-2002, 21:12: Message edited by: HunterJim ]

Dave,
My vote would be for a Remington 541T. They are on the lightweight side, but they have an adjustable trigger that can be tuned to match your big rifle and are very accurate.
Mike

Any .22 rifle is great practice for sharpening your shooting skills, so long as it is reasonably accurate.

I keep one handy in the house for those out the back door shots on piney squirrels, crows, cats, or whatever varmit dares show its face around the yard. Saw my neighbor whack a cat at 80 yards awhile back with his .22. I was quite impressed.

Dave,
I think any off season shooting will improve your hunting accuracy and a good .22 is just plain fun. Don't have a CZ but had heard a lot of good things about them.