For a great variety of accurate easy to shoot 22's it is hard to beat Small Bore Silhouette.

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More cool guns from a club match

Since all the shooting is done "off-hand" ("shoot the way you Pee") most of the guns are in a shape form that lends itself fairly slosely to hunting configuration.

Pretty cheap to get into. My youngest shoots a CZ 452 w/Bushnell Trophy 6-18X and does a good job of it. Basically just about any 22 will work for starting with decent target like scope.

Pete A.

Pete, you are correct smallbore silhouette is a great sport. Like everything else American it can become a money game, but you can get into sporter class pretty cheaply (I used an Anschutz 1416D I believe) or in the heavier gun Anschutz used to build a silhouette single shot that was designed to shoot offhand with a scope. Great sport.
Peter.

Gotta think the Anschutz MS rifle with the 5018 trigger would be one tough competitor.

to take it another step. 22 silhouettes are relatively cheap to buy & setting them up for a fun plinking range is not only great practice, but a helluvalot of fun

As I recollect Anschutz had two MS models based on the action, the model 64 (which I have) and the model 54, much more expensive.
Peter.

There's an indoor silhouette game that handgunners can try. Get a box of animal crackers and do some 'big game hunting'. An excellent challenge !!

Hey Pete, Just curious if they have "outlawed" the 17Rimfires, let them compete, or have a separate Shoot for them?

I remember a post a long time ago on Small Bores by Alberta Canuck where he mentioned the inexpensive Marlins and Savages in the 17Rimfires were making the guys with the $$$HIGH$$$ 22Rimfires a lot where he shoots.

Hmmm! Don't know. I can check we shoot it my club. I haven't shot in a few years.
Peter.

The NRA rules are 22 long rifle only. They alos do not allow 22WMR, 20 Rem rimfire mag, 22 Win auto, etc.

The 17's are not "outlawed" but never included in the rules. They are also not included in the 3 position rimfire competition. Again "not included" is not the same as "outlawed". NRA rules committees is darn slow to change.

I hear "plinkers" bring this discussion up quite often but not from competitors. Also to be fair the only comparison could be the 22lr case based 17 ammo. How could the 17's be allowed a larger capacity case than the 22lr? So any comprison of 22lr vs 17HMR IMHO is invalid at it's inception.

Yea yea I've shot the 17'a but few I've seen will run in all winds with a good 22 with equal priced ammo.

For an unbiased reference please refer to pages 228 through 237 of Steve Boelter's "Rifleman's Guide to Rimfire Ammunition". Here he tests the .17 Mach2 (not fair to compare to rounds based on 22WMR case). Their groups though good aren't any better than groups of equal priced Eley or Lapua. Eley EPS betters (page 88 & 89) all of these and though it is expensive so is the 17mach 2 ammo. Bear in mind he didn't use a marlin or savage for the tests of either round.

Talk to the NRA if you want a rules change but there is no 'great conspiracy' to keep 17's out of competition. I know many top shooters and if they felt that there would be tangible advantages rest assured they would have already been pressing for rules changes.

These is also concern from 22WMR as well as the 17HMR's as far as target damage. We use & reuse these targets all the time. many clubs 9though not by NRA rules) won't allow High Velocity 22 ammo for this reason. Those little Cast iron target as pricey. We need 'em to llast 7 last!

You may be able to compete in the pistol competion matches but then the issue is with Ftlb's as the animal has to fall down to be scored. Pistol cartidge though also uses a much larger heavier target too. so the lack of bullet weight again could be a real "non-selling" point of 17's.

Guns are cool so "live & let live". But the 17's just don't add up for me. If I want more power (along with the greater cost & noise as the 17 HMR is noticably lounder than 22Hv ammo) I'll jump to centerfires such as 221, 222, 223.

Pete A.

I may have to look around and see if there are any matchs in my area. I had great fun when I was stationed on Adak using my old BSA model 12 in Silhouette shoots. Most folks were using Ruger 77/22's or Anshutz bolt guns with $500+ scopes. I won many a match with the iron micrometer peep sites on that almost 100 year old BSA. Funny part was it shot better with Winchester Lightnings than Eley match. With a 29" 1" barrel it is a bit heavy for hunting, but in Silhouette with the shotgun style beaver tail forearm it really is steady. As long as the wind was reasonable if I could see it I could hit it.

Hey Pete, I think you misunderstood my post. I no longer shoot in Competition because I can't shoot as well as I used to. It wouldn't matter to me what the Rules & Regs were if I did want to shoot, I'd just abide by whatever they happen to be.

Just curious if you all had seen what Alberta Canuck saw at his Club.

I just found it interesting about how accurate the 17 Rimfires were in the "relatively" inexpensive rifles. But when I see the cost of the ammo to feed them, then I'm still happy with my old 22Rimfires. And that is not intended as a slam at the really fine looking $$$HIGH$$$ rifles in your flick.

I've been considering getting a bit higher grade 22LR for myself, but so far I don't see one that has all the things I want, Bolt Action, Stainless, Synthetic, light weight, adjustable Trigger, balances well with a 20"-22" barrel, drilled and tapped, and Williams Fire Sights would be a nice final touch. If Weatherby had their Anschutz made Mark XXII in S&S, it might be close enough toget me interested.

Hot Core;

I may have over reacted for sure. However scan all the posts on the link you listed and see how the 17' lovers can spin out of control.

Not saying the first post about the amazing score is not valid but I shoot a lot of small bore matches and talk to beau coup competitors. Have yet heard of similar matchs or results.

Note too they are comparing a 17HMR with 22lr. 2600fps vs 1080fps. 6mmPPC outshoots the 17 HMR at 100m & 6.5/284 outshoots all of them at even farther. So not the proverbial "apples to apples" comparison.

If you aren't going to spend over $1K for rifle the I suggest the CZ line. Some are match grade shooters with most as darn fine shooters. None are stainless but they have a nice nickel plated bolt gun in well shaped plastic stock. Triggers aren't perfect but lots of tweaks/replacement available for improvements.

IMHO the whole 'stainless" deal is a bit inflated. Many many records are held in rimfire with carbon steel barrels with many with SS barrels. A bit of care & blued sttel is no problem. But's that totally personal preference.

For best accuracy it's hard to beat fine scopes. I buy Leupold when I can afford 'em. My 2 hunting 22's have Leupold 4xRF SP & 3-9xAO Compact with no regrets or thoughts of any changes. Our competion guns have either leupold 36x or Weaver T-24.

But if on a budget there are some nice scope at 1/2 the price, I like the Bushnell 4-12xAO Trophy as good all-rounder. You can get more knobs, dots & power for less money but you'll also get less qquality in optics. "You don't get what you don't pay for".

Pete A.

Hey Pete, Excellent point about the Velocity difference. And I agree that threads tend to change course as they develop.

Back when Kimber originally made 22LRs, I had a week moment and bought one. Sure was a "looker" with a beautiful Termite Food stock and Blueing that looked so deep it appeared you could reach into it. Had a great Trigger which was adjustable, but I never did move it. Shot real well and I had a Compact 3-9x Leupold on it.

Had it for a few years and I never could take it into the woods/swamps. I was always concerned about a drop of water or sweat getting between the Wood and the Blue, or me pulling one of my Klutz moves and getting a HUGE ding in the stock. When I took it to the Range, it was either being shot or "laying" on a blanket - looking good.

Since I buy rifles to Hunt with, I realized I'd be better off with something else. Traded it in and got two Stainless and Synthetic rifles, neither of which was a 22LR.

Won a Basketball Pool at work one year by getting Duke as the last name in the sack. Took the money and bought a Marlin Bolt Action in Bolue & Wood which was all they made back then. When the M880SS (Stainless and Synthetic) appeared, I swapped my old Marlin for one of them and still have it. That is what I've been messing with in a thread on here ablut Weight and Rim Sorting. Having a lot of fun and it has always been able to go Hunting with me.

Now, here is the kicker, our old buddy Bartsche went out and bought a HEAVY barrel Savage 22LR and is getting some excellent groups with it. Mine might do as well with some 22Rimfire, but his seems to do well with most all 22Rimfire ammo. I was flipping through a Savage catalog and they do have some that come real close to meeting my specs, but it does not mention them having an Adjustable Trigger, or I didn't notice it. Well, neither does my Marlin, but I adjusted it myself with aBall Point pen Spring and a stone.
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Everyone that has a CZ speaks well of them. Seems like a lot of value for the money. I need to go handle one.

I had to carry Blue and Wood in the woods/swamps so long and had to put up with the constant "immediate" care when I'd get back inside. S&S just gives me a few hours to get the Game processed, eat something and then take care of the firearm. I'm really spoiled on the S&S and do not want B&W if there is a good way around getting another one.
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I used Leupold on nearly everything I had for 40+ years and still have a whole bunch of them. Back when they came out with their first Illuminated Scope, I contacted them about "Retrofitting" some of my scopes to the Illuminated feature. I had previously done that on a bunch of them by changing to a HEAVY Duplex Reticle. I believed(and still do believe) it would primerily be a simple swap of the Eye Piece to the Illuminated style, but that could be wrong. Whoever I spoke to at Leupold gave me a suggestion to simply sell my Non-Illuminated Leupolds and just buy new ones. Also included a bit of the old "Nose in the air" attitude. Thought about that for awhile and quit buying Leupolds completely.

What I have discovered is there are a lot of excellent scopes on the market today which are much less expensive than my Leupolds while the clarity and ruggedness seems to be just fine. Plus I've been buying Illuminated Scopes which suit my needs inside a woods or on the edge of a field at twilight. Occasionally one of the inexpensive scopes needs a bit of Customer Service, but so did some of my Leupolds.

I surveyed 26 nearby Gun Shops about 5 years ago and every one of them had nothing "bad" to say about Bushnell(which you mentioned). It was the "only" scope manufacturer to get a "None have come back" rating from all 26 stores. Speaks well for Bushnell and at a great price.