This Gun Digest book has become a “go-to” resource for NRL22 and PRS Rimfire shooters. Key topics included in this 2021 Edition full-color Gun Digest book include: rimfire semi-autos and how they work; bolt-action accuracy; match shooting skills; DIY precision gunsmithing; hunting with rimfires; and the future of the rimfire market.
With the growth of rimfire tactical competition, the .22-Caliber rimfire rifle is more popular than ever. Every major gun manufacturer has brought at least one new .22 LR rimfire rifle to the market in the last two years. Gun Digest’s Rimfire Revolution has extensive coverage of new models from major manufacturers.
The .22 Long Rifle (.22 LR) is the planet’s most popular ammunition type and firearm chambering. The .22 LR is used in the Olympics by 3P marksmen, but it also serves benchrest competitors, NRL22 shooters, backyard plinkers, small-game hunters, and tactical trainers. With the expansion of NRL22 matches (and the PRS equivalent), the humble .22 LR is undergoing a major resurgence in the USA. And with centerfire reloading components being so costly and difficult to find, many folks are shooting less centerfire, but way more rimfire.
This 272-page book also covers .17-caliber rimfire cartridges: 17 HM2 (Mach 2), 17 HMR, and 17 WSM. These are all excellent varmint rounds, with the 17 WSM effective out to 250 yards. The 17 HM2 will run in a normal .22 LR action and feed from standard .22 LR magazines. So, for most rifles, all you need to do a .22 LR to 17 HM2 conversion is a barrel switch. That gives your rimfire rig twice the versatility. Shoot .22s and .17s with the same gun.
NRL22 — Challenging Practical Competition with .22 LR Rifles
The USA has seen a big growth in rimfire tactical matches over the last five years. Right now there are probably ten times as many rimfire tactical matches as sanctioned PRS and NRL centerfire matches. The reason is simple — rimfire ammo is much less costly, and clubs can run challenging rimfire tactical matches at nearly any outdoor gun range that allows shooting out to 200+ yards.
NRL22 Competition — Tactical Rimfire Matches
The NRL22 match format is a great shooting discipline. NRL22 offers a high fun factor at relatively low cost. You don’t have to reload match ammo. A couple of 50-round boxes of .22 LR ammo will get you through the match. While some people bring lots of gear to matches, that’s by choice and not by necessity. You can keep it simple and still be competitive (and win).
Tips for NRL22 Competitors by Jonathan Ocab
I am a match director at my gun club and run our local NRL22 matches. People often ask me for tips for competing in NRL22. First, I recommend getting the course of fire for the month in advance and practicing those stages at the range. Here are other specific tips that should help NRL22 competitors improve their gun-handling and match results.
1. Dry Fire Practice — If you are not able to do live fire practice at the range, I encourage shooters to practice their shooting positions at home via dry fire. Setup props or barricades with pasters or other faux targets on a wall in the garage or inside the house and run through each stage.
2. Scope Magnification Level — The most common issue I see with newer shooters in NRL22 is the tendency to maximize their scope magnification. The timer will start, and the shooter gets into position on a target, but the scope is set to 15x or higher and the shooter can’t find the target. The shooter lowers the magnification, locates the target, and then increases the magnification again, takes the shot, transitions to another target, and repeats the process of decreasing magnification, locating target, etc. Novice NRL22 shooters should try using the mid-range magnification. Try shooting 7x-12x and learn to balance field of view and target image.
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For centerfire ammo, you can choose from dozens of flip-top boxes, storage bins, or milsurp-style ammo cans. For rimfire ammo, there are not so many good choices. Our preferred rimfire ammo carrier is the MTM SB-200 Small-Bore Fitted Ammo Box. This flip-top plastic box holds 100 rimfire rounds in black grids on the left and right. Each side has five rows left to right, holding ten rounds per row front to back (for 50 rounds per side). In the center is a storage area that will hold another 100 rounds in factory boxes. Current price is $13.15 on Amazon.
Versatility for ALL Types of Rimfire Ammo
MTM’s SB-200 box is not just for .22 LR ammunition. This handy carrier will hold .17 HMR rounds, as well as .17 Mach 2, .22 Short, .22 Win Mag Rimfire, and of course .22 Long Rifle (.22 LR). This box is a winner — it has a low profile, holds rounds securely, and the center storage feature is smart.
MTM Case-Gard 200 Round Smallbore Box
This is really the only product of its kind on the market. It allows you to conveniently and securely hold 200 rimfire rounds, and also segregate your ammo by brand or bullet type. These boxes fit all types of popular rimfire ammunition. The vertical clearance of the lid is sufficient to hold the longer .22 WMR Rounds, and 17 HMR (as well as .22 LR naturally). The lid fits securely so you don’t have to worry about your rimfire ammo spilling out on the way to the range.
If you don’t have one of these boxes yet, we recommend you order one or two. They cost less than $15.00 and are available in Blue or “Rust” (a brick color).
AIM SMALL, MISS SMALL: At 25 yards, this is a fun rimfire plinking target. At longer distances it can be a great training target for precision centerfire shooters.
With NRL22 and the new PRS Rimfire Series, interest in rimfire tactical competition is growing fast. There is also great interest in .22 LR rimfire tactical cross-training. With a rimfire rig, you can practice regularly for a fraction of the cost of centerfire training. That way you can build your skill set without breaking the bank. Decent rimfire ammo can be had for five cents a round. Compare that to fifty cents (or more) for handloads and maybe $1.20 per round for factory ammo.
To help with rimfire cross-training, here are some of our favorite rimfire tactical targets, all in easy-to-print PDF format. Click each target image to download the FREE target. You’ll find more free targets for load development, precision practice, and fun shooting on our AccurateShooter FREE Targets Page
Targets for Rimfire Training and Fun Matches
Here’s a rimfire training target with “big to small” target circles. Start with the largest circles, then move to the smaller ones in sequence. This systematic drill provides increasing challenge shot-by-shot. Novices often are quite surprised to see their accuracy improve as they move from bigger to smaller aiming points. That provides positive feedback — always a good thing.
Right Click and “Save as” to download printable PDF versions of target.
Rimfire Practice Targets
SPECIAL BONUS–Rimfire Tactical Precision Targets
These FREE targets by DesertFrog are offered in Adobe Acrobat format for easy printing. CLICK HERE to download all six targets as a .ZIP archive.
More Free Targets…
These and many other free targets are available at MyTargets.com.
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Here’s something truly innovative — a 3D-printed metal rimfire receiver!
Forum member Marcos G. (aka MFP_BOP) has designed and created his own rimfire action. But it’s not machined or forged. This new action was created with a 3D sintered metal printer. A 3D modeler by profession, Marcos has the requisite skill set and access to a very high-tech (and expensive) metal printer. As printed, the actual receiver is shown below. It has just been sent out to be age-hardened to 40 HRC, after which final finish work (e.g. cleaning up tenon threads) will be done. To learn more about this 3D-printing project, read this FORUM Thread.
When most of us think of 3D printing, we think of small plastic parts — nothing as strong as steel. But there are 3D printers that employ sintered metal to build complex metal components. Marcus says the receiver he’s created should have “stated yield and tensile strength similar to investment casting.” The material used for the action is 15-5 PH® Stainless Steel (in sintered form).
The action was designed to use a PT&G 40X rimfire bolt. Marcos notes that “There is an extraction cam inside of the action, something that would be very hard or impossible to do by regular machining and/or EDM.”
Born in Brazil, Marcos now lives in New Zealand. He tell us that: “New Zealand is a very gun-friendly country. I just need my A-CAT license to make [a receiver.]” So there are no special legal restrictions (as might apply in the USA). The printer is EOS270 laser metal sintering machine. Marcos says: “The current price for one of those machines is in five figures, but I am 99.99% sure that in 5-7 years this technology will be readily available to anyone.”
As designed, the receiver was 1.4″ in diameter. Marcos reports it came out of the printer at 1.403″. The designed boltway is .690″ and it came out .687″. Marcos notes: “I haven’t noticed any warping. The threads are rough, really! Interior and exterior finishes are really good though, probably because of the way it’s been printed: upside down (must have gone through tumbling afterwards). I will have to run some taps and single-point-cut the tenon threads to clean them up.”
Marcos says the actual printing process took a lot of time: “I should have asked how long it took to be printed!” But consider this, the 7″-long receiver is created in layers only 20 microns thick, so you can understand why the process took so long.
Reasons to Print a Rimfire Receiver
Marcos 3D-printed his own action basically to save money: “Some may be asking why I printed this receiver. Here’s a little history… I tried different ways to bring a Stiller 2500X action into New Zealand. The final price to my door was NZ $3000.00 (about $2195.00 USD). Designing and making one would be way cheaper, but I felt nobody here could machine the internal abutments with precision. Also printing was still a little cheaper and printing offered the chance to put in it all details I wanted — such as M4 threads, internal cam, and fillets.”
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“22 Plinkster” is an avid shooter who has produced a number of entertaining videos for his YouTube Channel. In the video below, he tackles the question “Why Do Misfires Occur in .22 LR Rimfire Ammunition?” This is the most common question posed to 22 Plinkster by his many viewers. He identifies four main issues that can cause .22 LR misfires or faulty ignition:
1. Damaged Firing Pin — The dry firing process can actually blunt or shorten the firing pin, particularly with older rimfire firearms. Use of snap caps is recommended.
2. Poor Ammunition — Some cheap brands have poor quality control. 22 Plinkster recommends using ammo from a manufacturer with high quality control standards, such as CCI and Federal.
3. Age of Ammunition — Rimfire ammo can function well for a decade or more. However the “shelf life” of rimfire ammunition is not infinite. You ammo’s “lifespan” will be shortened by heat, moisture, and humidity. You should store your rimfire ammo in a cool, dry place.
4. Mishandling of Ammunition — Tossing around ammunition can cause problems. Rough handling can cause the priming compound to be dislodged from the rim. This causes misfires.
Preventing misfires is essential if you want to succeed in NRL22 competition and other rimfire competition disciplines run “on the clock”.
2021 has been a crazy year in our nation, with significant inflation and supply chain issues, along with continuing pandemic concerns. Because primers are so costly and good reloading powders are hard to find, many shooters are switching to .22 LR rimfire rifles for fun, training, and competition. But as the demand for .22 LR rimfire ammo rises, the good stuff sells out quickly, and prices edge upward. But thankfully, there’s a reliable online resource, Ammoseek.com, that can help you find quality rimfire ammo at good prices — all with just a couple clicks.
Back in the Good Old Days — When .22 LR ammo was plentiful and inexpensive!
Find All Types of Ammunition Fast with AmmoSeek.com
Here’s a great search service that can help you locate hard-to-find ammunition and reloading components — while saving money in the process. AmmoSeek.com monitors dozens of online vendors — checking current pricing and available inventory, for pistol, rifle, and shotgun ammunition. Looking for .22 LR ammo for your rimfire trainer or NRL 22 rig? Just select the cartridge type (.22LR) from AmmoSeek’s “Quick Seek” menu or CLICK HERE.
These results are from 11/9/2021 in the afternoon. CLICK HERE to get the latest updates.
.22 LR Rimfire Ammo in Stock Now at Midsouth, Brownells, Creedmoor Sports
We were pleased to see that Creedmoor Sports and Midsouth Shooters have some quality ELEY and SK ammo in stock. SK is a Nammo brand, like Lapua. It looks like Brownells has some .22 LR ammo also. We favor all these vendors. Brownells, Midsouth, and Creedmoor Sports have all been solid supporters of this site for many years. They all offer outstanding customer service and support.
And Now, to Go Shoot that Rimfire Ammo, Consider a New 22…
Looking for a great .22 LR rifle for NRL22 competition? Check out the CZ 457 Pursuit of Accuracy is an excellent YouTube channel that focuses on “practical precision” .22 LR rimfire shooting. Channel creator Joshua has tested a number of rifles with a variety of ammo types. While he loves top-end rigs like the Vudoo V22, Josh tells us that a CZ 457 with a trigger and barrel upgrade is hard to beat for the money. In this video Josh compares the CZ 457 with the much more expensive Vudoo V22. On his channel Josh tests a wide variety of .22 LR rimfire ammo from Aguila, CCI, ELEY, Lapua, SK and more. He also shows the result of lot testing and sorting.
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This article was originally written by noted rimfire gunsmith Bill Myers. Sadly, Bill passed away in May 2010, but his legacy lives on. He pioneered many advancements in rimfire gunsmithing and Myers-built guns still win matches in benchrest competition.
Crafting competitive rimfire benchrest rifles is considered an art as much as a science. The smith must understand subtle, yet critical aspects of vibration control, barrel tuning, and rifle balance. In the United States, only a handful of gunsmiths consistently turn out rimfire BR rifles that consistently run at the front of the pack at major matches. Bill Myers was one of those master craftsmen. In this article Bill discussed the process of building a winning rimfire BR rig. He reveals some interesting secrets, including his procedures for testing bedding performance and his barrel indexing system. Bill’s methods obviously work, as the Suhl-actioned rifle featured here won a truckload of trophies in its very first match.
Building a Match-Winning Rimfire Benchrest Rig
by Bill Myers
In my opinion, a winning rimfire benchrest rifle is probably twice as difficult to build as a competitive centerfire rifle. The relatively slow .22 LR bullets stay in the barrel much longer than centerfire bullets. This means that vibration control is critical. Likewise bedding is critical. Bore finish and lapping are very important. The amount of bore taper or “choke” can have a huge effect on accuracy. Ignition is also very important and above all, rimfire BR rifles need a very stable stock that tracks perfectly. A rimfire that shoots great is a complete marriage of all components and of the shooter’s need to be aware of everything possible.
Click Photo to Zoom
The rifle featured in this article was built from scratch with attention to all the details that go into accuracy. The goal was to build a gun that could win from the get-go. This would be a “Spec Gun”, meaning a rifle that was personally tested and tuned by me for optimum performance before it went out to the customer.
The Suhl trigger is as good as it gets so no change was needed. It easily adjusts down to about 2 ounces.
Baer Stock in Bubinga Wood
There are many choices when you start to build a complete rifle. It has to shoot well and it has to catch ones eye, or it’s just another rifle on the line. I prefer wood stocks on rimfires for two reasons: they are very stable if the right wood is used and they have a certain traditional appeal to many shooters. I chose Bubinga wood for this particular gun because it is very stable and heavy, it has a very dense grain and a very pronounced figure with a natural red color. The Bubinga is a very forgiving wood to work with.
Gerry and Bruce Baer in Pennsylvania do all my stock blanks. I do all my own inletting and bedding. The blank weighed 4.5 pounds when it came off of Bruce Baer’s duplicator. This Bubinga wood is so hard that it did not need pillars, but I put them in anyway. I bed all my stocks with Loctite Steel Bed liquid and add filler to desired thickness. The final bedding is done with an aircraft tooling epoxy that does not deteriorate over time. The stock has an ebony butt plate and six (6) coats of automotive clear, polished to a “high buff” finish.
Suhl 150-1 Action Accurized and BN-Nickel Plated
I used a new, unfired Suhl 150-1 action. As explained in the sidebar below, the Suhl 150 actions were originally crafted in East Germany for position rifles. They have a very fast lock-time and come with an outstanding trigger. However, they need some work when adapted to a modern BR gun. The action needed to be accurized and threaded. I have a special tool that I use to accurize actions. It uses two sets of spiders for dialing-in the bolt raceway. After the bolt raceway is running true, one can thread and true up all bearing surfaces so that everything is in perfect alignment with the action raceway bore.
BN-Nitride Plating on Action
I decided to plate the action and all bolt parts with Boron Nitride nickel plating. I bough the BN Electroless Nickel Kit from Caswell Plating and did the job myself. I started by bead-blasting the action so that it would end up with a “satin” finish. The plating material is then applied in a tank. The Boron Nitride goes directly into the plating solution, but you need to use a pump to keep the solution agitated so the BN distributes evenly.
Once the action is completely ready (the metal must be perfectly prepped, with no contaminants), the process goes easily and can be completed in about half an hour. The end result is a very slick, low-friction finish, that is .0002″ (two ten-thousandths) thick and hard as glass. The Boron Nitride makes everything very smooth. After the plating job, the action was noticeably slicker than before.
The cone breech (photo below) permits the barrel to be INDEXED (rotated around bore axis) to any position on the clockface. You then test various rotation settings to find the best accuracy. The system does work. Some barrels shoot best in a particular rotational setting. E.g. with index mark at 3 O’clock vs. 12 O’clock.
Fitting and Chambering the Barrel
As for a barrel, I had two good choices: one Shilen 1:16″-twist, 4-groove ratchet and one Benchmark 1:16″-twist, 3-groove. Both barrels were very accurate and at the end, I decided to leave the Shilen on the rifle because I wanted to put the Benchmark on another Suhl I’ve set aside for myself. I chambered the barrel for Eley flat nose EPS. We’ve found the gun also shoots the new Lapua X-ACT ammo very well.
The barrel finished at 25″ long and features a tuner by the Harrell brothers of Salem, Virginia. I use a flat 90° crown–it’s the most accurate and its gives a good seal against the tuner. I also use a 45°, 12-flute cutter that leaves no burr when cutting the crown. This chamfer protects the crown when cleaning the barrel. There is no sharp edge for the brush or jag to hit on the return stroke. The barrel was headspaced at .043″ and I use a tapered reamer ground by Dave Kiff of Pacific Tool & Gauge in Oregon. The chamber leade area is lightly polished to remove reamer burrs. The breech end of the barrel is machined with a 1/2″ ball end mill to produce what I call a “Myers cone breech.” Technically, it has a sloping radius as you can see, rather than a straight-sided cone. Finishing the breech in this fashion facilitates indexing the barrel, as the barrel can be rotated to any position (on the clockface), without requiring new extractor cuts.
Barrel Indexing — Finding the “Sweet Spot”
When indexing a barrel, one rotates it to different clockface positions relative to the action. Imagine marking a barrel at TDC or 12 o’clock, and then rotating it so the mark is at 3 O’clock, 6 )’clock, 9 O’clock and so on. At each position one shoots groups to determine at which index setting best accuracy is achieved.*
I know that barrel indexing is controversial. I don’t want to get into a lengthy debate other than to say that I believe that careful and thorough testing can reveal a “preferred” index position for a good barrel. With the barrel set in that particular position relative to the action I believe the barrel can yield optimal performance.
I perform the indexing tests indoors at 50 yards. I use a rail-gun with floating action. The barrel is held in place with a clamping fixture similar to an Anschutz 2000-series action. Basically, two vertically-stacked metal blocks clamp around the barrel. I can index the barrel this way simply by unclamping the barrel blocks, rotating the barrel and then re-clamping the system. I have a special system so the action can stay in the same position, even as the barrel is rotated.
It takes time and effort to get solid indexing results. Normally I shoot at least 400 rounds of ammo in 3-4 indexing sessions. Shooting a handful of groups is not enough. You may think you’ve identified the best index position, but you need to shoot many more rounds to verify that. Also, in a very good barrel, the effects of indexing may be subtle, so it will take many groups to confirm the optimal position. In my experience, really good “hummer” barrels do not benefit as much from indexing as an “average” barrel.
Accuracy Testing with Both Barrels
I tested the rifle indoors at 50 yards at the Piney Hill Benchrest Club range. There was no finish on the stock, but it shot well in my one-piece rest with the Benchmark 16-twist, 3-groove barrel and no added weight on the tuner. I shot 30 rounds of Eley Match EPS Black Box (1064 fps) and had 25 Xs and five 10s on the IR 50/50 style target. Not too shabby for a new barrel with no special break-in.
When the Shilen barrel arrived, I installed it on the rifle. By this time the stock had been clear-coated and finished, and the action had been polished and plated. I shot the Shilen barrel outside since it was too hot in the building. The first target was a 250-19X with a new lot of Eley Match EPS Black Box (1054 fps). The gun shot well. My friend Tony Blosser asked to shoot the gun, and he drilled a 250-20X in a steady wind using the same Eley ammo. See target at right.
Advanced Procedures — Vibration Control and Tuner Position
Barrel Tuning Using 2-Way Electronic Indicators
Before competing with this rifle, I put it in a firing fixture I use to tune the barrel. I employ a pair of very expensive Swiss 2-way electronic min/max hold indicators. These measure both up movement and down movement of the barrel as the gun is fired. I can measure the actual vertical travel of the barrel at any position from the front of the receiver to the tuner. I can also tell how long the barrel vibrates, time-wise. Using this fixture I found that the Shilen barrel was very consistent in readings and seemed to work well with no additional weight on the tuner. No barrel ever stops vibrating completely — but this was close, showing less than .002″ of total movement.
Bedding and Vibration Control
I have found that measuring the actual movement of the barrel during firing tells me a lot about the quality of the bedding. I have learned that if I see very big movements (e.g. .010″ up and .005″ down), then there may be a problem with the bedding. I saw this kind of big swing on a rifle with bedding that had not cured properly.
Another pattern I watch for is uneven vertical movement. For example, if the barrel vibrates .008″ up but only .002″ down, that tells me the bedding has issues. As noted above, I look for minimal vibration travel (after the tuner is fitted and optimized), and I also want that travel to be relatively equal both up and down. Good rimfire gunsmiths agree that proper bedding has an important influence on vibration control and tuning. By measuring actual barrel movement during firing, we can, to an extent, quantify how well the bedding is working. At a minimum, we can see if there’s a serious bedding problem.
Trial by Fire — Shooting the Gun in Competition
After semi-gluing in the action, the rifle was shooting great. So, I decided to take it to the Maryland State Unlimited Championship to see if it was truly competitive — whether it could “run with the big dogs”. As it turns out, the Bubinga Suhl was more than just competitive. The rifle won three of the six cards and won the meters championship. In the photo below you can see all the trophies the gun won in its very first match. One of the other competitors in Maryland, dazzled (and perhaps a bit daunted) by the Bubinga Suhl’s stellar performance, told me: “Sell that gun Bill. Whatever you do, just get that darn rifle out of here.” Confident that this was a rifle capable of winning major matches, I packed up the rifle and shipped it to Dan Killough in Texas. Killough has shot some impressive scores with the gun.
Suhl Target Rifles — East Germany’s Legacy
Suhl 150 rifles were manufactured in former East Germany (GDR) by the Haenel firearms factory in the town of Suhl. This region has a long history in arms production. In 1751, Sauer & Sohn founded the first German arms factory in Suhl. Following WWII, Suhl 150s were produced for Communist Bloc marksmen, including East German Olympic shooters. Prior to German unification, the East German national shooting arena was located at Suhl and hosted many top-level competitions including the 1986 ISSF World Championships.
Superb Rifles with Amazing Triggers
As a product of East Germany, the “mission” of the Suhl 150 was to rival the accuracy of the Anschütz, Walther and other premium match rifles built in the West. East German shooting teams wanted to finish on top of the podium, so they needed a rifle with superb inherent accuracy. The Suhl 150s have an outstanding trigger that can be adjusted down to about two ounces. The Suhl 150 action, like the Anschütz 54, boasts an extremely fast lock-time — an important factor in a position rifle. And Suhl barrels were legendary for accuracy.
Suhl 150 Benchrest Conversions
Many of the first used Suhl 150s that made it to America were converted to Benchrest rifles because the action/trigger/barrel combination was unbeatable for the price. Some of the barrels on these “surplus” Suhls were phenomenal — as good as any custom barrels available today. It was not unknown for a Suhl 150 barreled action, transplanted into a benchrest-style stock, to win BR matches with the original barrel. Today, however, most of the Suhl benchrest conversions end up with modern, American-made barrels. While some older Suhl barrels can “shoot with the best of ‘em”, new barrel designs optimized for use with tuners have an edge, at least in benchrest circles. That’s why builders such as Bill Myers swapped out the Suhl barrel with something like a Benchmark reverse-taper two-groove.
Today Suhl 150 rifles are very hard to find in North America. In 2006, a used Suhl 150, even without sights, might fetch $1200.00 or more. Then, in 2007 through early 2008, hundreds of Suhl match rifles were imported. This drove prices down, and those “in the know” snapped up complete Suhl 150s at prices ranging from $450 to $850 (see 2007 advert at right), depending on condition.
Many of these rifles were left “as built” and used successfully in prone competition. Others were converted into benchrest and silhouette rifles, “parted out” for the actions and triggers. If you were able to grab one of those imports at a good price–consider yourself lucky.
* Bill Myers actually created his own clamping rimfire action to facilitate barrel indexing. CLICK HERE for Myers Rimfire Action. To index the barrel, Myers simply loosened three clamping-bolts and rotated the barrel in the action. Because there is no thread to pull the barrel in or out, the headspace stays the same no matter how much the barrel is rotated. With a threaded action, you might have to use shims to test different rotational positions, or otherwise re-set the shoulder with each change.
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If you are shopping for a new rimfire rifle, particularly a .22 LR, you may want to pick up a copy of Small-Bore Rifles: A Guide for Rimfire Users by C. Rodney James. This provides a detailed history of rimfire cartridges and provides a look at a variety of rimfire rifles for various applications — target, plinking, varminting. SSUSA.org explains this book covers “every aspect of rimfire shooting, from a detailed history of its calibers and platforms, to a discussion of proper maintenance and expected accuracy[.]” American Rifleman Editor-in-Chief, Mark Keefe, writes: “This little book is the most useful treatment of the [.22 Long Rifle] I have read, and it is highly recommended for anyone serious about being a rimfire rifleman.”
You can view a 40-page sample of this book, including the index, on Amazon. CLICK HERE, then, when the page opens on Amazon.com, click the “LOOK INSIDE” link above the book cover image.
This book focuses primarily on the .22 LR (Long Rifle) cartridge. However, it does include extensive information on other rimfire chamberings, including .17 PMC/Aguila, .17 HMR, and .22 WMR. Here’s part of the 22 WMR section:
Here are reviews by recent verified purchases of the book:
“Everything you could ever want to know about the development of the .22 round, the ballistics of the same and the history of early bolt-action .22 rifles are presented in an easy-read style by a very knowledgeable author. There are plenty of color photographs and a lot of useful maintenance information throughout the book. I do have one complaint… the book has almost no information on semi-automatics.” — K. Greene
“A must-read book for the rimfire enthusiast. Much accurate information presented in an enjoyable format. From the earliest rimfire rounds to the latest 17s [are] all are covered in this book. Bolt actions, semi-autos and single-shot rifles are covered with the pros and cons of each. What makes for accuracy from the rifle to the cartridge is well covered.” — Ken Cook
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Everyone should own a nice .22 LR rimfire pistol. The Browning Buck Mark is a classic, and for good reason. These pistols are reliable, well-balanced, have a good trigger, and they are very accurate. We have nothing but praise for the bull-barreled Buck Marks. And now you can get one for a super-low price. Sportsman’s Guide has the Browning Buck Mark Camper UFX with 5.5″ Barrel on sale for $299.99 ($284.99 member price). But it gets even better — if you use Code “WARRIOR” during check-out, you save $20.00, putting your total price at just $279.99 (or $264.99 for SG members). That’s a great deal on a very solid rimfire pistol that can serve you well for decades.
The accurate and ergonomic Buck Mark Camper UFX was selected as an NRA Gun of the Week last year. This video explains the pistol’s features in detail.
This video shows how to Field Strip and disassemble the Buck Mark Camper UFX. To Field Strip the pistol, you need to remove three screws.
Browning Buck Mark Camper UFX Features:
• Blowback, Single Action Only
• Tapered 5.5″ Bull Barrel
• Alloy receiver w/matte black finish
• Overmolded Ultragrip FX ambidextrous grips
• Pro-Target™ adjustable sights with Fiber Optic
Caliber/Cartridge: .22 LR (22 Long Rifle)
Capacity: 10+1
Safety: Manual
Sights: Fiber Optic
Weight: 2.12 lbs
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Here’s a “must-read” article for .22 LR rimfire shooters. The recently-released October 2018 issue of Shooting Sports USA (SSUSA) includes a great article with data on thirty-one (31) different types of popular .22 LR rimfire ammunition. The line-up includes low-speed, standard, and Hi-Velocity types, plus choices for plinking, varminting, and target applications. Brands tested include: Aguila, American Eagle, CCI, Federal, Fiocchi, Lapua, Remington, and Winchester. The slowest ammo, CCI Quiet-22 Lead RN, clocked 727 FPS. The fastest ammo, CCI Short-Range Green Lead-Free HP, ran 1735 FPS, more than twice as fast as the Quiet-22.
For each ammo type, SSUSA lists the bullet weight, velocity (FPS), and average of two, 5-shot groups at fifty yards. The most accurate ammo was Lapua Center-X LRN, with a 0.37″ average 50-yard group size. Second best was Lapua X-ACT LRN at 0.42″. Ammo was tested from a bench with a Cooper Model 57-M rifle fitted with 3-9x33mm Leupold VX-2 scope. The ammo offerings were grouped into three categories: (1) Varmints/Small Game; (2) Target; and (3) Plinking. (See ammo tables below.)
Click for larger page-view.
Different types of .22 LR (Long Rifle) rimfire ammo have different applications. Subsonic ammo, typically, is best for 25m to 50m target work with precision rimfire rigs. Hi-Velocity .22 LR ammo provides a flatter trajectory for longer ranges. SSUSA explains: “The array of .22 LR loads… turns a person’s head every which way. Subsonic target loads are the key to decisive accuracy on targets, while hyper-velocity cartridges provide striking bullet expansion on small varmints. In between, standard and high-velocity .22 LRs are loadrf with a variety of bullet weights and styles for everything from small-game hunting to plinking[.]” READ Full SSUSA .22 LR Rimfire Ammo Story.
Rimfire Ammo Article tip from EdLongrange.
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So many options… How do you select the shooting discipline that’s best for you? Of course, “Fun is number one”. But you also need to consider cost — the “bang for the buck”. Or in more scientific parlance, the “Fun to Cost Ratio”. Yes, shooting a .50 BMG is fun, but you could be spending as much as $5.00 per round for factory loads! By contrast, your cost per shot in a rimfire fun match might be well under ten cents, as decent ammo can be easily found for under $5.00 per 50-count box. Five bucks per box (of fifty) sure beats five bucks per round!
We believe in the benefits of rimfire cross-training. With a rimfire rifle that has the same ergonomics and “feel” as your centerfire rig, you can practice more often and more affordably. You can get decent rimfire ammo now for as little as seven cents per round*. Compare that to centerfire factory ammo at $1.40/round or handloads for about $0.70 (bullet, primer, powder, and brass depreciation). So even your handloads could cost TEN times as much as pretty good rimfire ammo. That’s an order of magnitude boys and girls.
For a tactical cross-trainer, you want a rimfire rig that feels like your centerfire rifle. McMillan now offers a stock that fits the bill. McMillan’s new A5-22 stock shares the same look and feel as McMillan’s popular A5 centerfire stock. The A5-22 is able to accommodate 10/22 type actions including KIDD 10-22 models with rear tang attachments. McMillan says: “The A5-22 is dimensionally the same as our standard A5 with some minor changes in the tang and floor plate areas. It is available in a fixed comb configuration or with an adjustable saddle-type cheek piece.”
A used Biathlon trainer works great for rimfire practical matches. This is the Anschutz Model 64-R. Note magazine caddy on forearm. This rifle was a dream to shoot.
Targets for Rimfire Training and Fun Matches
Here’s a rimfire training target with “big to small” target circles. Start with the largest circles, then move to the smaller ones in sequence. This systematic drill provides increasing challenge shot-by-shot. Novices often are quite surprised to see their accuracy improve as they move from bigger to smaller aiming points. That provides positive feedback — always a good thing.
Right Click and “Save as” to download printable PDF versions of target.
Rimfire Practice Targets
SPECIAL BONUS–Rimfire Tactical Precision Targets
These FREE targets by DesertFrog are offered in Adobe Acrobat format for easy printing. CLICK HERE to download all six targets as a .ZIP archive.
Game Theme Commercial Targets — Fun and Colorful
Here are some colorful commercial fun targets, well-suited for rimfire practice. These game-theme targets from Champion should be very popular with kids. You can blast aerial drones, hunt dinosaurs, play a game of “H-O-R-S-E”, or shoot ducks in a Carnival Shooting Gallery. These targets, which cost $5.45-$5.95 per 12-pack, are ideal for younger shooters in your family (and fun for grown-ups too).
* We recently scored 1500 rounds of Norma Match-22 ammo for $99.99 from MidwayUSA. That’s 6.6 cents per round! That deal is gone, but there are other bargains to be found. Use WikiArms.com to find .22LR rimfire ammo bargains.
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Don’t own a quality .22 LR wheelgun yet? Well start saving those pennies. Every serious gun aficionado should have a quality rimfire revolver. A rimfire wheelgun is also very good choice for a first handgun. Indeed, a strong argument could be made that a .22 LR revolver is THE best choice for a new shooter’s first handgun. A .22 LR revolver is easy to shoot, easy to maintain, and will last a lifetime.
TOP FIVE Reasons to Own a Rimfire Revolver:
1. Rimfire .22 LR Ammunition is cheap, and now plentiful again.
2. A good, full-size .22 LR revolver will be MORE ACCURATE than the vast majority of semi-auto rimfire handguns. With no magazines to jam, a good wheelgun will also be more reliable than most self-loading rimfires.
3. A rimfire revolver can shoot tens of thousands of rounds, with just routine maintenance. This gun can last a lifetime and then you can pass it on to your kids.
4. On a S&W revolver, it is very easy to tune the pull weight. You can have a safe double-action pull with a very light, crisp single-action release.
5. It is easy to change grips and sights to suit your preference. You can also mount a scope on the top-strap.
TOP FIVE Rimfire Revolvers (Current Production)
1. Smith & Wesson Model 617, 6″ or 4″ BBL, $829.00 MSRP
10-Shot, Stainless Steel, 44.1 Oz. (6″ barrel), 39 Oz. (4″ barrel)
Smith & Wesson’s Model 617, offered with either 6″ or 4″ barrels, is extremely accurate, with a very crisp trigger, and good sights. You can learn all the fundamentals with this ultra-reliable K-Frame handgun, shooting inexpensive .22 LR ammo. The model 617 is rugged, durable, and can give you a lifetime of shooting fun. Your Editor has owned a 4″ ten-shot Model 617 for over 20 years, and it’s still going strong.
Once you have mastered the basics of shooting with a .22 LR, you can move on to larger caliber handguns suitable for self-defense. Below is a slide-show illustrating a S&W model 617 ten-shot, with 6″ barrel. S&W also makes a 4″-barrel version of this revolver. (See: 4″ 617 Demo Video.)
Ruger introduced the .22 LR GP100 two years ago. Since then, it has become a good seller. This 10-shot revolver with 5.5″ barrel has a comfortable grip and triple-locking cylinder (locked into the frame at the front, rear and bottom). Many shooters like the fact that the 5.5″-barrel GP100 carries its heft more to the rear than S&W’s 6″ 617. However, we’d give the edge to the 617’s trigger. NOTE: Davidson’s also has a limited edition GP100 with shorter 4″ barrel. This Davidson’s exclusive edition 4″ GP100 is handier to carry and balances better.
3. Smith & Wesson Model 17 Masterpiece, 6″ BBL, $989.00 MSRP
6-Shot, Carbon (Blued) Steel, 39.9 Oz., 6″ Barrel
Smith & Wesson recently re-introduced its Model 17 Masterpiece revolver. This Blued 6-shot classic has been “re-released” with a retro-style grip. It still offers outstanding accuracy and a sweet trigger pull. For those who like the look of the original K-22 revolvers this can fill the bill. With a non-underlug 6″ barrel, this is 4.2 ounces lighter than the 6″ Model 617. The price, $989.00 MSRP, is pretty steep. It you look around you may be able to find an original K-22 for a few hundred dollars less. We’ve seen some decent examples on Gunbroker in the $700 range, but pristine K-22s are selling for over $1000 now.
4. Smith & Wesson Model 63, 3″ BBL, $769.00 MSRP
8-Shot, Stainless Steel, 25.8 Oz., 3″ barrel
The 8-Shot Smith & Wesson Model 63 may be one of the most versatile revolvers on the market. With a 3″ barrel, it balances well and is easy to hold. This makes this a great training pistol for a new shooter, even a junior or a lady with small hands. The latest 8-shot version offers nice big sights with fiber-optic front insert. While we consider this a great training and plinking handgun, it can also do double-duty for concealed carry. No the .22 LR won’t match the stopping power of a .357 Magnum, but better armed than not.
The new Ruger LCRx Revolver combines traditional wheelgun features with modern composite construction. The 3″ barrel and cylinder are steel. The “frame” housing the barrel and cylinder are aerospace-grade aluminum. The rear/lower section of the pistol, what Ruger calls the “fire control housing”, is made of polymer. This cuts weight and tames felt reoil. That fire control housing holds the hammer/trigger assemblies and provides a mount for the interchangeable grips. This is really a very innovative pistol. Thanks to its weight-saving features, Ruger’s LCRx is 8.5 ounces lighter than S&W’s Model 63, though both have 3″-long barrels.
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Check out that group. That’s impressive accuracy at 50 yards. You’d expect to pay $10.00 or more per box for rimfire ammo that can shoot this well. But get this — you can now get the Norma Tac-22 for just $3.99 per box. That’s right, this is some of the lowest-priced “Big Name” rimfire ammo you can buy, yet it offers top-tier accuracy. Low cost with high performance — that’s hard to beat.
The target photos above come from Champion Shooters Supply, which may have gotten an exceptional lot. This vendor tells us: “We have found this to run very well in Ruger rifles, handguns, and target pistols. These are 5-shot groups at 50 yards with an Anschutz 1913 rifle. This is an incredible value.”
We agree. We just ordered some Norma Tac-22 ourselves. Grab it while you can at these rock-bottom prices. The best deal we found on Norma Tac-22 ammo was $3.99 per box at Midsouth (Click below).
Other vendors with this Norma Tac-22 .22 LR rimfire ammo:
You are looking at $20,100 of Competition Rifles here. (Click Image for full-screen version.)
Don’t inquire about the price of a Bleiker competition rifle. As the expression goes, “If you have to ask, you can’t afford it”. At the Pardini USA booth at SHOT Show we saw a pair of bodacious black beauties — two “full-race” Bleikers, one a smallbore match rifle (.22 LR) and the other a 300m position rifle chambered in 6mmBR Norma. The combined price for the two rifles was a jaw-dropping $20,100.00. Yep, over $20K for the two. The 6mmBR rig was $10,200 while the smallbore rifle was $9,900.00.
Bleikers command such high prices because they win. At recent ISSF 300m and Smallbore Championships, Bleikers have been used by many of the medal winners. A gun is worth $10K if it can really put you on the podium or, better yet, deliver a world championship.
Take a look at this slick feature on the 300m gun. The adjustable cheek-pad automatically tilts up (for clearance) when you retract the bolt. That’s clever Swiss Engineering.
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Here’s something truly innovative — a 3D-printed metal rimfire receiver!
Forum member Marcos G. (aka MFP_BOP) has designed and created his own rimfire action. But it’s not machined or forged. This new action was created with a 3D sintered metal printer. A 3D modeler by profession, Marcos has the requisite skill set and access to a very high-tech (and expensive) metal printer. As printed, the actual receiver is shown below. It has just been sent out to be age-hardened to 40 HRC, after which final finish work (e.g. cleaning up tenon threads) will be done. To learn more about this 3D-printing project, read this FORUM Thread.
When most of us think of 3D printing, we think of small plastic parts — nothing as strong as steel. But there are 3D printers that employ sintered metal to build complex metal components. Marcus says the receiver he’s created should have “stated yield and tensile strength similar to investment casting.” The material used for the action is 15-5 PH® Stainless Steel (in sintered form).
The action was designed to use a PT&G 40X rimfire bolt. Marcos notes that “There is an extraction cam inside of the action, something that would be very hard or impossible to do by regular machining and/or EDM.”
Born in Brazil, Marcos now lives in New Zealand. He tell us that: “New Zealand is a very gun-friendly country. I just need my A-CAT license to make [a receiver.]” So there are no special legal restrictions (as might apply in the USA). The printer is EOS270 laser metal sintering machine. Marcos says: “The current price for one of those machines is in five figures, but I am 99.99% sure that in 5-7 years this technology will be readily available to anyone.”
As designed, the receiver was 1.4″ in diameter. Marcos reports it came out of the printer at 1.403″. The designed boltway is .690″ and it came out .687″. Marcos notes: “I haven’t noticed any warping. The threads are rough, really! Interior and exterior finishes are really good though, probably because of the way it’s been printed: upside down (must have gone through tumbling afterwards). I will have to run some taps and single-point-cut the tenon threads to clean them up.”
Marcos says the actual printing process took a lot of time: “I should have asked how long it took to be printed!” But consider this, the 7″-long receiver is created in layers only 20 microns thick, so you can understand why the process took so long.
Reasons to Print a Rimfire Receiver
Marcos 3D-printed his own action basically to save money: “Some may be asking why I printed this receiver. Here’s a little history… I tried different ways to bring a Stiller 2500X action into New Zealand. The final price to my door was NZ $3000.00 (about $2195.00 USD). Designing and making one would be way cheaper, but I felt nobody here could machine the internal abutments with precision. Also printing was still a little cheaper and printing offered the chance to put in it all details I wanted — such as M4 threads, internal cam, and fillets.”
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Accurized and BN-Nickel Plated
BN-Nitride Plating on Action
Fitting and Chambering the Barrel
Accuracy Testing with Both Barrels
Today Suhl 150 rifles are very hard to find in North America. In 2006, a used Suhl 150, even without sights, might fetch $1200.00 or more. Then, in 2007 through early 2008, hundreds of Suhl match rifles were imported. This drove prices down, and those “in the know” snapped up complete Suhl 150s at prices ranging from $450 to $850 (see 2007 advert at right), depending on condition.
Smith & Wesson’s 
