Sold my last Rimfire Benchrest rifle

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Picher

New member
After about 20 years in the rimfire benchrest game that started with improving older target rifles, to buying a very nice, used Rem 40X heavy bench .22LR that shot two 250s and a 249 in one IR 50 Unlimited match, it's all over!

The Rimfire Benchrest game is not only the most difficult of benchrest games to master, but it's also a very costly, intense, equipment race. People with the best equipment and the best ammo tend to win more than the average Joe who might be just as good a shooter. Ammo procurement and testing is paramount to winning.

But at this stage, many of my old friends have either passed away, or decided they didn't want to, or couldn't afford to play the game. The current rimfire ammo shortage doesn't help either.

Anyway, I tried to keep it as simple as possible for folks to get into the game in a friendly, lower cost atmosphere, but even at our simple range, it's gone big-time.

Now, I need to focus on getting another hunting/shooting centerfire that will impress me. I'm still thinking about what I "need". LOL
 
I enjoy target shooting, but that level of necessary attention to equipment and ammo would drive me nuts. I started shooting a service rifle in High Power matches, and it's just the right balance of equipment, ammo and shooter. In fact, the rifles and ammo are pretty standard, so IME to date, the best shooter wins.

Sorry to hear you're leaving something you enjoy. Hopefully, you'll find something more approachable and just as enjoyable to replace it.
 
Picher, I understand your feelings. It's really a lot of fun to hang out and compete with your buddies, and when the day arrives that it's just you, most of the fun goes out of it. Yep, I've been there. Good luck in finding something fun and interesting to keep your interest.
 
I know what you mean Picher, I built a 10/22 to get into rimfire benchrest as a starting out gun and all the guys that where doing started getting out of it due to cost. I didn't win much but really enjoyed it.
 
My Dad had a Rem 40 22LR that he used to tie for first place in the state in the early 60's

He "loaned" it to one of my uncles, and we never saw it again
 
i can relate to your angst. i'm into it deep. a cooper and an anschutz with a custom stock and barrel. sometimes i question my sanity.
 
The rifle I just sold was a Rem 40X with a Harrell tuner, Jewel 2 oz trigger, Lilja heavy barrel, and McMillan BR stock. It weighed 14 lbs, so was only good for Unlimited or ARA competitions. It was made by a gunsmith in MO, for his own use, who had done other work for me. He used to be one of the top gunsmiths, but took sick and had to leave both completion and work.

After I stopped running the matches, the new match director introduced 3 gun matches, plus Unlimited on a separate day. That wasn't expected and I was not going to buy two new rifles, etc. to be able to keep up. Just didn't have my heart in it. Quality ammo at half-decent price is also very difficult, if not impossible to obtain.

Today, I ordered a Rem. 700 CDL Stainless Fluted, .270 Win. They're pretty rifles and the one's I've seen seem to be just what I'm looking for in a hunting rifle.
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BTW, as part of the sale of the 40X, I got a Kelbly BR stock for a Anschutz 54 round-bottomed action that I'd sell for about half the original price. It's extremely light and stiff.
 
I live in the country so the range I go to is my own. I Love the .22 target shooting but I only compete with my self. I have a Remington 540X that is a almost one hole shooter. Non-Ruger 10/22 that I had built that is also a one hole almost shooter.
I just like punching paper in a quite setting. Very inexpensive after the guns were bought.
 
When it came out, I thought the .17 HM2 was going to mop up at rimfire target shooting but I've never heard of it used for that. I think it would have been a great improvement for a Biathlon rifle.

Tony
 
Picher, sorry you finally got fed up with the competition arms race. I did too, about 7 years ago. I got tired of everybody bragging about the latest and greatest whatever they had just bought that was going to revolutionize their shooting. It didn't make a tremendous difference in their personal scores, but at a certain level even a 5 point improvement is significant. Most of all I got tired of being sneered at for not having the latest and greatest. Sold my across-the-course rifle and my rimfire 3-position rifle. Now I just shoot for fun. Still build rifles, just don't shoot competitively any more.

And FWIW, the rimfire .17s did revolutionize rimfire match, so much so that they got their own class and don't compete against 22LR in most cases.
 
Funny that the 10-22 was mentioned for benchrest. When we started, I had a "Plinker" division that was mainly for non-benchrest built sporters and semi-autos. We gave separate ribbons for that category and if anyone shot two 240s, that rifle was banned from the class and had to shoot with the big boys.

I never shot in the plinker class, since it was intended for beginning shooters or folks who didn't want to spend a lot of money for a really expensive rifle. However, they were considered official, should someone beat the Unlimited shooters (it happened a few times).

Funny story: One day, a guy I knew showed up with a 10-22 and did poorly with it. I told him he should get it bedded, etc. We took it apart and I put electrical tape on each side of the receiver and a few other places and he re-entered (allowed). He then out-shot everyone else in Plinker!! The funny part is that he never did bed the rifle, but kept winning with the tape in place!

The first few years, we couldn't have had official matches without the Plinkers to make the required number of shooters.
 
Maybe you should have kept it and just changed games.
Like rimfire silhouette, for example.
If there's none in your area, it's easy to start one.
Every club around here that did found it got quite popular.
 
There's no way I'd be able to shoot a 13lb benchrest rifle offhand for silhouette.

I'd like to try silhouette, but don't want to run any more matches. I've had it!!! Started with turkey shoots, then NRA Police Combat, and finally, IR 50/50 (17 years).
 
One silhouette group that I used to shoot with was mostly old farts, who made up their own rules.
Like shooting prone and from the bench, as well as standing.
Only the showoffs did it standing, though.
To avoid having to go downrange all the time, they used swinging targets, instead of the official knock downs.
Quite a few had older bench and Olympic guns, both rifle and pistols.
It was great fun and got us all back to the range at least once a month.
 
I have a bunch of .22 silhouette targets from back in the '70s, when we shot handgun silhouette, and a few other sizes from my brother-in-law. We love to shoot them at the range, with either handgun or rifle. The grandkids especially love shooting steel.
 
A couple of pictures of some of the rimfire benchrest rifles I've owned are attached.
 

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I've often wondered if a 'claimer' competition would work. I think they do it with cars and horses. At the end of the match you could buy the winning gun for X dollars. Obviously you wouldn't enter an Anschutz in a $300 claimer competition but a Remington 597 would be fine unless it had some sentimental value to it.

I kind of think it's a little sad you left because of the reasons you listed. Hope you stick around to give advice to those who want it.
 
John,

As you know life happens in phases, sounds like you're just entering a new one.

I still have, and share with new folks starting out with the 10-22, copies of "John Picher's 10-22 Bedding and Accurizing Techniques 1/1/99" along with "John Picher's 10-22 Metalwork Improvements 1/1/99".

You've helped a bunch of folks you'll probably never meet.

Thanks.
 
9X19 : Thanks for the kind words.

I can't believe how many people have seen those articles on RimfireCentral.com's Tips and Tricks Forum. Before that, they were on another board that has since ended.

A person asked me last week if I could send them my tips on Remington 581 accurizing and though I have some pictures, the text is gone from my files and removed from RimfireCentral as well.

If anyone has a copy, I'd like to be able to send it to that person.
 
Picher,

I don't know if High Power is an option for you where you live, but I've found that it's a great way to spend a day. If you compete in service rifle class, there really isn't any equipment race, just different preferrences between shooters.

Good luck in your next hobby, whatever it ends up being.

Jimro
 
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