Beginner .22

[StPatrick]

Somewhat OT, as this is about Ruger pistols, but the local Wally World has been selling Win "333" cheap, and it has cycled reliably in my MKIII...it's my limited understanding that the MK pistols and 10/22 share very similar actions. I can't say much for accuracy, since I have yet to be better than any pistol I've owned, but these seem decent. I'm not anything approaching a good shot, but I can get 20 shot strings that can be covered with my (smallish) hand at 15 yards. I do appreciate the fact that they're jacketed, B/C as you all know, taking a tight MK pistol apart for cleaning can range from easy to awful. Mine wasn't shot too much before I got it, so it's more on the awful side. At the rate I'm going, it should be easy soon enough.

/back to original thread

Thanks to everyone who posted info on bolt-action .22lr rifles - my next goal is to learn how to shoot a rifle well, and .22lr is where I intend to start. Your feedback has been very helpful.

Edited July 15, 2010 by StPatrick
I managed to use the word "very" three times in the first sentence. Sorry if you read it before I made repairs.

[MCSCOTT]

 
As long as each hole touches @ 50 yards then I consider it close enough as far as bulk ammo goes. 
[/PHP]

you are the best shot I have ever heard of. I would love to shoot with you and see these results. I can no way in any shape, manner, or form get those results from bulk ammo.

You are my new hero.

I would think anyone should be able to do this or close to it at 50 yards from a good rest Mike. By touching all I mean is being able to put each shot right next to the other one. My targets are usually thumb tacks and .22lr brass, so if I can't at least get close to that size at that distance then whatever particular brand ammo I'm shooting is pretty much a waste of time. So I guess I need to narrow my comment down more and say that the Federal and Remington bulk is accurate enough that I seem to hit those thumb tacks with a large enough portion of the rounds that make it so I don't feel like I'm wasting my time. For me that doesn't even have to mean 100% of the shots hitting a thumb tack, but if I can't hit 5 out of 10 then what's the point in using something that small as a target. I don't know about the general population of rimfire shooters, but personally I don't see this as anything special.

Again though I will go back and point out the fact that I don't shoot bulk ammo anymore, but the only reason I stopped using it was because of the failures because the accuracy on the ones that didn't fail was close enough for me.

[Mike.357]

MC, I appreciate that post, I do not feel so worthless after reading it. I can sort of do what you described. And I am going to use a thumbtack as my next target.

What type of rest are you using? I pretty much shoot from a bipod and my shoulder or a bag on top of an ammo box and my shoulder. If I keep the barrel from getting hot I can get ten shots into a quarter ( coin) sized target. No way can I get ten shots of bulk ammo to do that. I can generally make three shots into one hole using good ammo though. Again barrel heat screws the whole process.

After reading your post I think my standards were too high.

Do you clean the bore at all while shooting?

[MCSCOTT]

MC, I appreciate that post, I do not feel so worthless after reading it. I can sort of do what you described. And I am going to use a thumbtack as my next target.

What type of rest are you using? I pretty much shoot from a bipod and my shoulder or a bag on top of an ammo box and my shoulder. If I keep the barrel from getting hot I can get ten shots into a quarter ( coin) sized target. No way can I get ten shots of bulk ammo to do that. I can generally make three shots into one hole using good ammo though. Again barrel heat screws the whole process.

After reading your post I think my standards were too high.

Do you clean the bore at all while shooting?

Most of the time I'm using a sandbag in the front and my shoulder in the rear. If I'm doing a good bit of shooting and want to do it accurately I usually clean the bore after every 20-30 rounds or at the very least after every 50. Accuracy goes out the window with a hot barrel, but it also goes out the window in mine if the bore isn't cleaned. My main 10/22 gets used alot, and for me it's to the point where I can watch the rounds be off 1" and then moving on to as much as 2" as the barrel heats up or the bore needs cleaning. I'm nowhere near being a competition shooter, but I've shot enough that I can pretty much tell you with every shot whether it's me not doing my part, the bore needing to be cleaned, or bad ammo. As I mentioned I usually switch rifles around when I'm shooting so the barrel heat doesn't come into play as much for me.

[mikegideon]

Most of the time I'm using a sandbag in the front and my shoulder in the rear. If I'm doing a good bit of shooting and want to do it accurately I usually clean the bore after every 20-30 rounds or at the very least after every 50. Accuracy goes out the window with a hot barrel, but it also goes out the window in mine if the bore isn't cleaned. My main 10/22 gets used alot, and for me it's to the point where I can watch the rounds be off 1" and then moving on to as much as 2" as the barrel heats up or the bore needs cleaning. I'm nowhere near being a competition shooter, but I've shot enough that I can pretty much tell you with every shot whether it's me not doing my part, the bore needing to be cleaned, or bad ammo. As I mentioned I usually switch rifles around when I'm shooting so the barrel heat doesn't come into play as much for me.

Cryo treating is supposed to cure the barrel heating problem. I'm getting ready to do my Mini 14. It's 35 bucks.

[Mike.357]

Cryo treating

explain

[monkeylizard]

What do you fill the sandbags with (and don't say "sand")? I mean, does it matter what kind of sand is used? Is there some particular grade that needs to be used? I've seen some sites say kitty litter works, which would suggest a very coarse sand and not a fine powder sand. Does it matter?

[mikegideon]

explain

Cryopro Cryogenic Tempering Processing Center

It's a tempering process where they freeze the barrel (-300 deg F). From what I understand, they have been using the process for years in industrial tooling and stuff like that. Then, they discovered it works for accurizing gun barrels. I've read a lot about it. There are a lot of cryo tempering companies out there. Cryo Pro is just one of the favorites of the gun community.

My Mini is down for a trigger job right now, so I'm going to send the barreled action (stripped) to Mr. Freeze.

[mikegideon]

What do you fill the sandbags with (and don't say "sand")? I mean, does it matter what kind of sand is used? Is there some particular grade that needs to be used? I've seen some sites say kitty litter works, which would suggest a very coarse sand and not a fine powder sand. Does it matter?

I just washed some play sand and used it in my rear bag. I think my prefilled bags (on my rests) came with ground walnut shells. I'm not real happy with the play sand, but it's only a rear bag. I always use some kind of front rest.

[MCSCOTT]

Cryopro Cryogenic Tempering Processing Center

It's a tempering process where they freeze the barrel (-300 deg F). From what I understand, they have been using the process for years in industrial tooling and stuff like that. Then, they discovered it works for accurizing gun barrels. I've read a lot about it. There are a lot of cryo tempering companies out there. Cryo Pro is just one of the favorites of the gun community.

My Mini is down for a trigger job right now, so I'm going to send the barreled action (stripped) to Mr. Freeze.

Any ideas on what the limitations on types of barrels he can do this to? Stainless, Chrome moly lined aluminum?

That's not a bad price for having something like that done if it works. Like I said though I rarely shoot even the 10/22's to a point where the barrels heat up very much, so my issue is mainly in keeping the bore clean. I usually take plenty of time between shots, and switch between several different rifles when I'm shooting.

As far as sand in the bags, right now I'm just using play sand like Mike said in mine, and that is in the front bag. I also agree that I'm not particularly happy with it though, and really should look into either filling it with something else like walnut shells or maybe just buying a new bag that's filled with something else. My rear bag is filled with the same play sand, but I've only ever used it a couple of times. I too always use some kind of front rest when target shooting. My thinking on that is that if I can be accurate enough to shoot something as small as .22 brass at 50 yards from a fairly good front rest, then when I'm in the woods I should be accurate enough to hit a squirrel's head from just about any kind of position. Not always true of course, but so far I usually don't miss.

[mikegideon]

Any ideas on what the limitations on types of barrels he can do this to? Stainless, Chrome moly lined aluminum?

That's not a bad price for having something like that done if it works. Like I said though I rarely shoot even the 10/22's to a point where the barrels heat up very much, so my issue is mainly in keeping the bore clean. I usually take plenty of time between shots, and switch between several different rifles when I'm shooting.

As far as sand in the bags, right now I'm just using play sand like Mike said in mine, and that is in the front bag. I also agree that I'm not particularly happy with it though, and really should look into either filling it with something else like walnut shells or maybe just buying a new bag that's filled with something else. My rear bag is filled with the same play sand, but I've only ever used it a couple of times. I too always use some kind of front rest when target shooting. My thinking on that is that if I can be accurate enough to shoot something as small as .22 brass at 50 yards from a fairly good front rest, then when I'm in the woods I should be accurate enough to hit a squirrel's head from just about any kind of position. Not always true of course, but so far I usually don't miss.

I haven't noticed a stringing problem (heat) on my 10/22. I see it on my center fire rifles. My 10/22 is a carbine, and the problem seems to get worse with longer barrels. My Browning X Bolt .243 is probably my worst one, but my Mini is the one that gets hot every time I take it out.

Doubt that it works on aluminum, but I think it works on stainless.

[MCSCOTT]

I haven't noticed a stringing problem (heat) on my 10/22. I see it on my center fire rifles. My 10/22 is a carbine, and the problem seems to get worse with longer barrels. My Browning X Bolt .243 is probably my worst one, but my Mini is the one that gets hot every time I take it out.

Doubt that it works on aluminum, but I think it works on stainless.

The stainless would be the main rifle I would be interested in. That particular rifle has the longest barrel (my other 10/22's are carbines) and would be the one that would come closest to get hot because it usually sees more use than the others.