Practice Rifle

[jpr9954]

I want to get a bolt action practice rifle to use to tune up for a trip next year. This would be in addition to practicing with the rifle or rifles I plan to take with me. I want to get used to taking quick shots as well as working the bolt on and off sticks.

With the cost of ammo being what it is, I thought a bolt action .22 like the Ruger American Rimfire might work. The downside is that the bolt throw on it is very short as .22LR is a fairly short cartridge. The cost of this rifle would be in the $350-375 range new.

Then as an alternative, I thought about a bolt action rifle in either .223 or 7.62x39. It would have a bolt throw closer to the rifles I'm taking. Something like a Savage Axis in .223 probably wouldn't cost much more than the Ruger Rimfire rifle. It could even be less if I could find a cheap used rifle.

I have a ton of .223 and 7.62x39 ammo put away as I do with the .22LR. I had the advantage of buying before the run on ammo when it was cheap and just setting it aside.

I am open to suggestions as well as thoughts on the .223 vs the .22LR.

Thanks for the help.

 

[R.M.C.]

I did a lot of practicing from my old marlin bolt action .22 getting ready for my first safari, I think it worked great for "muscle memory" or whatever you wanna call it. It definitely has a shorter throw than the Tikka 30.06 I used but still lots of cheap practice on the sticks. I like the .22 because its far cheaper than any centerfire, although I think something like a .223 in a bolt action would be excellent for practice too. Just my two cents lol

 

[BeeMaa]

Wife and I do a lot of dry fire with our rifles and use the range for 5-10 shots a week to verify our habits are good. We also shoot the Blaser R8 platform and have a 22lr kit that makes for cheap practice as well. I know a few other members who use a 223REM barrel on the R8 for the same purpose.

A 223REM or 22lr in the identical rifle you have would be ideal. The added benefit is the reduction in varmints around the house. Don't skimp on this. Spend the money and get the same rifle with the same LOP, weight, fit and feel. It makes a difference.

 

[Inline6]

What are you calling short range for a 22lr? Have had mine beyond 300 yards multiple times. If you can hit smaller targets (2moa) at 200 yards and in, a center fire rifle will be a cake walk.

I should say 2moa with match grade ammo, bulk ammo will be a lot more difficult. Pay the little extra so you know why you missed a target, meaning was it you or the rifle.

 

[F. Vaccaro]

A person will never go wrong with a good 22lr, they are usually accurate, fun, & will allow focus on the basic.
A .223 will allow the same, but when you have to buy ammo it’s more expensive. The .223 will allow hunting larger varmint, it’s a trade off.
Good luck with your decision.

 

[shootist~]

You need a .22 and a decent enty level or slightly better centerfire, IMO.
My 22 is a Tikka T1X 20" with 25 MOA rail so I can dial and shoot my or the clubs steel at 50, 100, 165 & 225 yards.

My practice rifle is a 308 because I bought a lifetime supply (for an oldish guy), of surplus Aussie 7.62X51 when the price was right.

 

[jpr9954]

A person will never go wrong with a good 22lr, they are usually accurate, fun, & will allow focus on the basic.
A .223 will allow the same, but when you have to buy ammo it’s more expensive. The .223 will allow hunting larger varmint, it’s a trade off.
Good luck with your decision.

It is not like I don't have .22 rifles. I do. Unfortunately, they are either semi-auto or have toggle bolts instead of the more normal bolts.

 

[F. Vaccaro]

It is not like I don't have .22 rifles. I do. Unfortunately, they are either semi-auto or have toggle bolts instead of the more normal bolts.

Any chance for a trade?

 

[Inline6]

It is not like I don't have .22 rifles. I do. Unfortunately, they are either semi-auto or have toggle bolts instead of the more normal bolts.

You first shot is your most important. I would not let that cause me to not try. The biggest thing with 22 is how slow they are. If your follow through is not good you will miss. A bullet doesn't care what sends it, if a good deal pops up buy one. Otherwise run what you brung.

One of my most accurate 22s was a ruger 10/22. It would hold under 2" at 200 yards. The trick with 22s is ammo, how deep down that rabbit hole do you want to get is up to you.

This was with an Anschutz 64 MPR. All box were test lots they were not cherry picked. Top L SK standard plus, Top R Center X, Bottom L SK long range, Bottom R Wolk, Bottom Center Center X again. The difference...I weight sort my 22 ammo, the large group Top R was not. These are not the best groups, I won't complain they were taken in a 17mph full value wind (hints why all of them a on the left side of Center.

 

[ActionBob]

Ruger made a M77 African in 223. I have a couple. They have sights just like the big brothers The idea supposedly was that they wee made just for this purpose. Unfortunately they did not manufacture very many and they are now collectable so pretty expensive.

An African in 6.5 swede would serve well also.

Or a 77/22

 

[Tintin]

The Ruger Precision Rimfire, whilst not a timber stocked classic rifle, does have an adjustable bolt that can be set to match the cycling length of a centrefire.

"Big-Gun bolt throw adjustment enables shooters to change from a rimfire 1-1/2" bolt throw to a short-action centerfire 3" bolt throw"

https://ruger.com/products/precisionRimfire/models.html

They are plenty accurate, I shoot mine out to 300m with CCI Std

For practicing off sticks I use a timber stocked CZ 452 with a varmint weight barrel that more closely approximates the weight of a centrefire, on a ~200mm steel plate at 150m.

There is an equivalent model in the current CZ457 range.

The 77/22 is very nice as well.

 

[mdwest]

I tend to “practice” year round with a variety of rifles and calibers… for me, the fundamentals are what’s most important… I don’t get too wrapped around different bolt throws, different trigger weights, different LOP, etc… stay focused on mount, stance, sight picture, trigger squeeze, etc and you’ll be absolutely fine no matter what you’re hunting outside of DG… if you’re hunting DG, then nothing replaces practice with the actual weapon you will be hunting with… fundamentals remain paramount… but the nuances become much more important as well… you’re only going to get better doing things like a rapid reload, quickly removing an optic to move to irons, rapidly disengaging the safety, etc by doing it on the actual platform you’ll be using…

All that said… we’re it me…I see more practical value in a 223 or x39 bolt gun if you already have a .22 in the arsenal…

The cost difference for an entry level centerfire bolt isn’t that much greater… you already have a lot of ammo on hand in those calibers… and they are going to be substantially more versatile in terms of what you can hunt and/or do with them outside of practicing for your safari…

 

[ZG47]

What @mdwest said! You need to get your head into it, after ensuring that you are keeping up on basic fitness and flexibility. Good luck with your hunt.

 

[grand veneur]

It all depends on what you want to practice.

We are here on the Africa Hunting Forum, and immediately one think of a hunt in Africa. To practice shooting with a suitable rifle for this purpose, you should do it with a different caliber than with an 22LR, 223 or 7,62x39 cartridge.

 

[Philip Glass]

I want to get a bolt action practice rifle to use to tune up for a trip next year. This would be in addition to practicing with the rifle or rifles I plan to take with me. I want to get used to taking quick shots as well as working the bolt on and off sticks.

With the cost of ammo being what it is, I thought a bolt action .22 like the Ruger American Rimfire might work. The downside is that the bolt throw on it is very short as .22LR is a fairly short cartridge. The cost of this rifle would be in the $350-375 range new.

Then as an alternative, I thought about a bolt action rifle in either .223 or 7.62x39. It would have a bolt throw closer to the rifles I'm taking. Something like a Savage Axis in .223 probably wouldn't cost much more than the Ruger Rimfire rifle. It could even be less if I could find a cheap used rifle.

I have a ton of .223 and 7.62x39 ammo put away as I do with the .22LR. I had the advantage of buying before the run on ammo when it was cheap and just setting it aside.

I am open to suggestions as well as thoughts on the .223 vs the .22LR.

Thanks for the help.

When I was at SAAM on the safari course they had some specially made Ruger .223's that were heavy like a .375 for practice. That would be a nice option if you could find one or have one built.

 

[grand veneur]

I don't know how you can control the recoil of a weapon by training with a weapon that hardly has one.

 

[Mark Biggerstaff]

I very seldom practice anymore before a trip. I make sure my rifles are sighted and ready to go is all. I get my practice in this time of year riding with farmers doing hog control at night. I fired over 60 rounds last night alone off shooting sticks using thermals on AR15. Makes for fun practice.[emoji6]

 

[SFRanger7GP]

I like the 22 rimfire or even air rifle options for low-cost practice. You can get in a lot of practice without getting beat up by a big rifle or needing a lot of space. Me and the wife use several options.

We have a target air rifle that we fire in the house using a 22 cal steel backstop and we use the Laserlyte target system with a full-size rifle. Great for indoor practice. With both you can use the sticks and practice various firing positions with no distractions and instant feedback. We also have a Ruger American bolt 22 WMR that has different stock lengths and combs that can easily be installed for different size shooters or practicing using scope vs irons. We use it a lot on the range when getting ready for hunting season or hunting trips.

There are a lot of tools such as these that allow practice with minimal cost, space needed and distractions. They are great coaching/training tools and build confidence, especially for new shooters. They can also make transitioning to a full size or harder recoiling rifle easier.

Safe shooting

 

[Mark A Ouellette]

One can become very proficient in shooting by simply dry firing. In fact for precision pistol the High Masters will tell you that they dry fire 100 times for every shot fired in competition. Long ago I did the same amount of dry firing for High Power Rifle competition while others went on liberty. As a tyro (new competitor) I out shot most of them including guys who were "harder than woodpecker lips".

For DG hunting dry fire practice, I make dummy (inert) cartridges. For those I load whatever bullets I plan to use on DG, add a fair amount of BBs into the case so that they rattle, or drill holes in case to mark as inert, and fill the primer pocket using a hot glue gun. If the glue gets warn, I simply add more hot glue.

I now dry fire much like I would at 10 years old with an old Daisy BB gun minus the BB firing mechanism. Then, I would craw to near a small flock of black birds and get into a good prone position. I would then squeeze the trigger so that the perfectly aligned iron sights would remain aligned and on target. Now I do the same for pistol and rifle practice. For DG practice, I fill the rifle's magazine, shoulder the rifle, get the cross hairs, red dot or irons on target, squeeze the trigger ensuring the sights remain on target, work the bolt (or finger to the back trigger for a double) and repeat.

My .22 rifles for practice are a couple Winchester M52B magazine fed rifles. Their weight is over 10 pounds much like my DG rifles.

 

[Mark A Ouellette]

One more thing about DG dry fire practice. I do a lot of in in my basement about 10 feet from my gun safe. There are a few inches of snow outside now. Not only is it cold, finding my inert cartridges in the snow can be difficult!

Anyway, when I pull out a rifle to fondle its magnificence... I dry fire a few magazines of dummy rounds! This is one thing I do to endure the many months between African safaris!

Warning:. Do not have any live ammo anywhere near your dry fire practice!!!