Optic & Rings for 22 Rifle Long Range Silhouette Match Suggestions

[Ricnzak]

Pretty much what the title says. I've been following THIS thread and wanting to give silhouette shooting a try. I will be using a Savage Mark II BTV like below.

I have read good things about the Weaver T series. What other options from Vortex or Leupold should I be looking at? Matches at Riley reach out to 165 yards. So what would be a good combo?

Price range would be in the 4 to $700 range. Thanks

 

[Hawkeye7br]

Two common approaches, both require finger adjustable REPEATABLE turrets, preferably indexed for revolution count.

Method 1 is simply to run the knobs up & down for each distance, reticle doesn't matter.

Method 2 uses reticle with mildots or hash marks. Get dialed in at 75 or 110 and use holdover & hold-under for other distances.

10-15x is plenty. Eighth minute or tenth mil adjustment not needed. Easy to get lost on revolution count with 1-8 & 1-10 clicks.

I'm not well versed on rings & bases. You will probably need rings or shims that allow 20 minutes of adjustment from after getting a 75y zero.

Leupold, Vortex, Hawke, Weaver (i used a KT15 last time) are all good. Your glass budget is good, don't scrimp.

If using hash marks or mildot on variable scope, keep in mind the verticle spacing changes with magnification. I will sight in at 10x and leave it there.

 

[bwframe]

I leave my Wotac scope set at 10X although I hope to play with using it at 14X when I become more comfortable doing so. I shimmed my rear scope ring under the mount with milk jug plastic. Seems to have held up fine through hours of bagged vehicle rides and numerous turret adjustments.

I tried a 5X scope with a "dead hold" reticle. Might have made some hits, but 165 targets were very small. The reticle certainly was not up to par for this use. Maybe with twice the magnification and some creative zeroing?

Mildots or hash marks are very important. As is learning the nuances of ocular lens and parallax adjustment.

 

[patience0830]

Signature Z rings with the offset inserts will allow a bit more built in elevation without bending your tube as shims can do.

 

[singlesix]

Signature Z rings with the offset inserts will allow a bit more built in elevation without bending your tube as shims can do.

^^^^This, I use Burris offset inserts in all my 22s. Seems most shoot low and to the left and by the time you adjust to hit POA at 50 yards you used a lot of your adjustment range. I learned this tick from a old time shooter or the internet, set you scope at the lowest magnification, put a mirror to the against the front of the scope and look through your scope, you should be able to see the two reticles, the one in the center is optical center and the other is your adjusted. You can use this to also center your reticle before sighting in.

 

[bwframe]

Are we gonna see your names on a score sheet this year gents?

 

[Ricnzak]

That's my plan

Thanks for the good input so far guys!

 

[Ricnzak]

After meeting with Alan @ AA Optics I should be good to go. Alan stayed open late so I could get there after work. I got a re-furbished ViperPST 4-16 x 50ffp. That with a set of rings I was able to stay under budget.

Now to get it sighted in and figure out which ammo to use.

 

[singlesix]

Congrats, if this is your first ffp scope you may never go back to a sfp scope :-) . I got a refurb from Alan also, the scope looks like NIB, however I have it on my .308, might be a bit much for this game.

 

[bwframe]

Excellent! FYI - CCI standard velocity is a good place to start your ammo search. Always more testing to do, but that is my so far settled on match ammo in my Savage MKII FV-SR.

 

[singlesix]

CCI Standard the best "cheap" ammo imho. Are semi-auto rifles still handicapped to load only one rds?

 

[bwframe]

Nope, all 5 rounds can be fired from the magazine.

 

[Litlratt]

Buy all the points that you can afford and then practice to get the rest of them.

 

[natdscott]

Buy all the points that you can afford and then practice to get the rest of them.

Ooh. That's a good one. Applicable to a lot of these sports.

What I'll say about the scopes is that Alan did you a favor. He does know a thing or two about long range rimfire.

Provided you are in REASONABLY the center of the scope's range, you are in a situation where you don't have to d#$k with offset rings, holdovers, or any of that stuff. You have enough elevation north of center to make it to 165 with 5+ Mils to spare.

Be prepared on some of those targets at longer range to shade your hold slightly up or down to get centered hits. 1/10th Mil at 165 yards is still not a LOT--it comes out to about 5/8"--but with the precision capability of a lot of rimfire ammo at that range, you NEED to be centered.

Oh. About that ammo thing.

The Savage chamber likes Wolf ME and MT, and SK Rifle Match. I assume SK Standard+ would be good also, but I never ran any.

I had pretty close to 15,000 rounds through a Mark II BV, most of which was Wolf. Pretty good match to the rifle, because at 186 yards, that rifle held my PR long hit on a starling for a number of years. Starlings are lots smaller than these targets.

What Rat said above is true in spades for your match potential. Practice.

-Nate

 

[Ricnzak]

^^^^ Yeah I was glad to get Alan's advice on the setup. He uses this on a couple of his rifles. Thankfully he had a refurb.

Boy I am ready to get out and start practicing. This cold weather has been killing me. I have so much to learn.....

 

[TJ Kackowski]

Why aren't you practicing indoors? I thought taht dry fire and teaching your body how to be comfortable in the shooting positions is what the winter months are for.

 

[natdscott]

I thought taht dry fire and teaching your body how to be comfortable in the shooting positions is what the winter months are for.

Not with a rimfire.

 

[TJ Kackowski]

Yes, even with a rimfire. Use a dummy round (proving round) or even a #4/6 drywall anchor if you're worried about any damage.

 

[Ricnzak]

Why aren't you practicing indoors? I thought taht dry fire and teaching your body how to be comfortable in the shooting positions is what the winter months are for.

I had bought 22 snap caps and checked them out. I checked the position of the strike from the firing pin and was not sure if it was okay to continue. I have been using them to cycle the bolt and run the "rounds" through the magazine working just to get smoother overall in my movements.

The body position is a big thing for me. I have been practicing shooting position just to train my body to be able to stay in that position, period. A nice little plate in my neck makes it difficult. I know they will let you shoot from a bench for medical reasons, but i really don't want to do that.

 

[TJ Kackowski]

I had bought 22 snap caps and checked them out. I checked the position of the strike from the firing pin and was not sure if it was okay to continue. I have been using them to cycle the bolt and run the "rounds" through the magazine working just to get smoother overall in my movements.

The body position is a big thing for me. I have been practicing shooting position just to train my body to be able to stay in that position, period. A nice little plate in my neck makes it difficult. I know they will let you shoot from a bench for medical reasons, but i really don't want to do that.

I don't know what .22 LR snap caps you checked out, but you have many options for a functional .22 LR snap cap that will allow you to dry fire your rimfire firearm without damaging the firing pin or chamber.

Several were discussed in this INGO thread ... https://www.indianagunowners.com/forums/gunsmithing/346651-snap-caps-22-lr-pistols-rifles.html

There's also a product from Carlsons ... https://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-...rimfire-snap-caps-dummy-rounds-prod54831.aspx

And another from Pachmayr ... https://www.amazon.com/Pachmayr-03200-Plastic-Safety-Snap/dp/B0018DYGSA

There are other products to be sure, but this should give you plenty to mull over.

As to getting your body used to the positions ... yeah, that just takes time. I've found it helpful to have a buddy who knows the various positions give me feedback when I'm in position. I've also found that Yin Yoga is very helpful to keep my aging body limber.

Keep at it. It will all come together if you keep moving forward.