10/22 for marksmanship

[Tacit Blue]

I recently attended a Appleseed shoot. I brought my AR15, wish I had a .22 rifle of sorts.


I'm looking for a .22 setup for target shooting. Question is do I buy a plane jane 10/22 modify it myself or go with a factory made target version?

[NordicDave]

Like anything else, a person can go crazy chasing diminishing rates of return.

If you want the Ruger 10/22, get their heavy barrel target rifle. It's good advice that when you out shoot the rifle, it's time to upgrade to chase the remaining 3%.

I'll never forget the day I was "schooled" on this at a shooting event. I had a brand new base Springfield 1911 against a bunch of race guns. A pistol master friend of mine borrowed this base 1911 and cleaned the course with the top score.

[Mayor McRifle]

You could just wait a couple of months for the release of the Ruger "Appleseed" 10/22:

http://bearingarms.com/first-look-at-the-appleseed-ruger/

[Tacit Blue]

^

Absolutely, I had a guy next to me on the firing line with a AR15 with a eotech. I had a iron sights and he was frustrated with the way his rifle was performing. He explained " I took the rifle to a gunsmith, he said he zero'd it with a laser boresight". I told him you gotta do live fire to confirm.

So, it's not always the equipment that makes a good shooter. But the fundamentals.

[Paseclipse]

Are you're thinking about buying a Ruger 10/22 Target model just for shooting Appleseeds? Or do you want to buy a 10/22 Target model for accurate shooting?

Getting a 10/22 target model just for Appleseeds is total overkill, they're significantly heavier than the regular model and the weight alone would make Appleseed shoots more challenging.

If you're looking for a 10/22 for shooting Appleseeds, get a bare bone stock model and build a LTR- http://rwva.info/rwva%20pages/libertytrainingrifle.html

For parts, check out Tech-Sights website- http://www.tech-sights.com/

Buying a bone stock 10/22 then building a LTR will be cheaper than buying a 10/22 target model.

[Tacit Blue]

Yes more a less a .22 to relearn the fundamentals of shooting again. Since the targets are at 25 meters with a max distance for 400 yards.

Alot of people had .22's, I was one of the fews that had a .223 rifle. So more or less, I was asking should I buy a target rifle or just a regular 10/22. Sounds like you answered my question.

[NordicDave]

The Tacticool Appleseed rifle is a marketing scheme, making a new rifleman believe his/her equipment is a hinderance to success. A more basic rifle with a sling as suggested earlier is best. This is seen time and again in all shooting sports, the compelling reason to buy more and again. Golf is the other sport plagued by this disease.

Get the factory rifle which best fits your needs and later get a Boyd stock, Lijhi barrel, premium site after mastering what you have. Enjoy the journey!

[Tacit Blue]

^

Roger that

[sholling]

If it's just for Appleseed then put Tech-Sights and a trigger in a wood stocked factory sporter and you're good to go. Put the savings into extra mags and ammo.

On the other hand if you really want a super accurate target rifle then it just depends on how far off the deep end you want to go with your rifle - but avoid the Ruger factory target rifle. DYI accurizing a 10/22 is a lot of fun but can be frustrating and time consuming. That said you can transform an existing 10/22 into a decently accurate scoped target rifle for around $500 and several hours of labor getting it all dialed in.

• Volquartsen target hammer (trigger job in a box) kit $50
• Green Mountain .920 target barrel $150
• Laminated (for rigidity) target stock $100-200
• Stock bedding supplies $20-50
• Scope and rings $150-500

Or you can go off the deep-deep end drop $1000 or more and hours of labor into building a pretty competitive scoped match rifle out of an existing 10/22.

• Kidd 2-Stage Trigger $300
• Kidd or Volquartsen .920 barrel $250
• Laminated (for rigidity) target stock $100-200
• Stock bedding supplies $20-50
• Scope and rings $150-500

Either way you'll have to spend time and money testing match ammo to see which your rifle likes best. Using anything but match ammo makes the whole project moot because bulk ammo isn't all that accurate. You'll also want to budget $50-100 for a good quality inch-pound torque wrench to ensure consistency everytime you reassemble.

If you were going to buy a top notch pre-built like a Kidd then I'd research their products to see if you are just buying preassembled, or preassembled, bedded, and tuned for accuracy.

[Paseclipse]

Most Appleseeds are shot at 25 meters. They do have known distance shoots for the more advanced shooters, but I'm not sure if they have any that go up to 500 meters in California (yet). When I did known distance, we shot 22's at 100 meters.

The cheapest route to go is starting off by building an LTR. Here's a pic of everything that went into my LTR-



The one thing you'll learn shooting Appleseeds, is that equipment doesn't make somebody a better shooter. Good shooting is all about applying the fundamentals of Rifle Marksmanship which you'll learn at Appleseeds.

[Tacit Blue]

^

I'll prob go with the Liberty training rifle setup. I'll worry about optics when I learn the fundamentals first. When I said 400 yards, it's the simulated red coat or AQT's at 25 meters.

The USGI sling was such a awkward concept to use for stabilizing the rifle. I was under the impression that they were only used for carrying or putting the rifle in a position to switch to a secondary weapon ( pistol).

[zhyla]

A base model 10/22 with tech sights and sling swivels is perfectly adequate for Appleseed.

For "off the deep end" target use you're better off with a bolt gun. I'd rather have a low end 10/22 and a decent bolt gun than a 10/22 with $500 (or more) into it. Also it's worth witnessing the incredible sadness of trying to sell a customized 10/22 in the classified - you won't get your money out of it if you decide to get rid of it down the road.

[Noraku81]

I'll never forget the day I was "schooled" on this at a shooting event. I had a brand new base Springfield 1911 against a bunch of race guns. A pistol master friend of mine borrowed this base 1911 and cleaned the course with the top score.

Very true. I was also schooled on this by a buddy of mine who was shooting a $200 stevens bolt action rifle (Bush was still in office) with quarter groupings using WWB ammo at 100 yards. What made it funny was some guy gave him the "wtf?" look when my buddy showed him it was a cheapo gun rather than a really expensive $5000 shooter.

Bottom line: 99% of accuracy is on the shooter.

[Fishslayer]

Also it's worth witnessing the incredible sadness of trying to sell a customized 10/22 in the classified - you won't get your money out of it if you decide to get rid of it down the road.

That's how it is with most anything "custom."

All I've done to my 10/22 was float the stock, ditch the barrel band, mod the bolt release & drop in a VQ hammer. Amazing difference for around $50-ish.

[Paseclipse]

^
The USGI sling was such a awkward concept to use for stabilizing the rifle. I was under the impression that they were only used for carrying or putting the rifle in a position to switch to a secondary weapon ( pistol).

Hahaha... Yep, that's one of the first things you learn, and learning is what Appleseed's are all about.

You'll get used to the sling and everything else eventually. Once you find you're sweet spots in all the shooting positions you're shooting will improve tremendously.

Good luck on you're journey in pursuing a Riflemans patch. Persist, apply the techniques, and practice. You'll earn you're patches, and when you do you'll be glad you spent the time doing it.