Precise Plinkers – The Best Precision Rimfire Rifles to Compete With
1. Savage Arms B22 Precision Lite
Accuracy, performance, and balance. Three ingredients for the perfect rimfire rifle to ring steel at challenging distances. The bolt action B-Series Precision Lite models are feature-rich with performance upgrades to create a perfectly balanced rifle for target shooting. These rifles feature an exclusive Modular Driven Technologies (MDT) one-piece aluminum chassis with an adjustable cheek riser and length-of-pull spacers for the perfect fit. The already accurate, Savage precision button-rifled barrel is upgraded with a carbon fiber wrap for optimum balance and heat dissipation. The carbon fiber heavy barrel profile and aluminum stock allow for a perfectly center-balanced rimfire rifle. Paired with the user-adjustable AccuTrigger, this rifle is ready to compete right out of the box.
2. Tikka T1X Trainer
The Tikka T1x rimfire rifle is designed to handle a wide range of shooting tasks. Its unique barrel has a crossover profile which offers you the benefits and stability of a heavier barrel without noticeably increasing the overall weight. The action shares the same bedding surfaces and inlay footprint with the centerfire T3x rifles while a modular synthetic stock that has interchangeable pistol grips making it possible to modify the angle of the grip and has an additional attachment point which allows you to change the width of the stocks foreend.
3. Bergara B-14 R Trainer
This rifle is designed as a true rimfire “trainer” is that it works within the dimensions of a REM700 platform, allowing shooters to have a similar size and feel to their centerfire rifle, or even set up as a clone to their centerfire to train with. It, therefore, fits REM700 compatible stocks, bases, and triggers. With the growing popularity of long-range shooting, this gun allows shooters to practice their disciplines at a more affordable price and in areas where longer ranges may not be available.
4. Ruger Precision Rimfire Rifle
The Ruger Precision Rimfire Rifle is my favorite precision rimfire platform. The Ruger Precision Rimfire isn’t a high-end rifle. While the MSRP price may look intimidating you often don’t find these rifles out in the wild for sale at those prices. The Ruger Precision Rimfire Rifle definitely qualifies as an entry-level PRS rifle and I think it excels at this task as well as a few others. During matches, magazine changes are often required and the Ruger Precision Rimfire already includes an easily worked paddle release and has generous space for re-seating a magazine. Its trigger is simple to adjust and very consistent and predictable while its bolt throw is short and acceptably smooth. I think if you have the time and the gumption to make a few minor improvements to the Ruger Precision Rimfire rifle, there would be little reason to pick a higher-end rifle unless you were a hard-core competitor (or just had the money).
5. CZ-457 Precision Varmint Trainer
Without getting into very expensive specialized rifles, the CZ-457 platform as a whole makes for a great varmint shooter. While the whole package will set you back about a rack and a half, the Varmint Precision Trainer was designed to provide the same look and feel as a full-size tactical rifle while allowing for more economical training. The CZ 457 VPT gets a boost in the accuracy department with the addition of a barrel borrowed from the Match Target Rifle. With a Match chamber and a stiff 16.2 heavy barrel, its threaded 1/228 to allow easy installation of a suppressor or muzzle device. New for 2022 the Manners carbon fiber stock now features an adjustable cheekpiece. The forend is recessed, drilled, and threaded for use with an Arca rail.
What is considered "long range" for 22LR?
Long-range can mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people. However, for 22lr it is widely considered that anything 100 yards and in should be easily accomplished and things beyond 200 yards start becoming more of a game of chance rather than a repeatable feat. Most Precision Rimfire shooting events don’t often feature targets out past 200-yards (with the rare exception of ELR competitions). Any rifle on this list is entirely capable of hitting a 3″ square target consistently without breaking a sweat.
Should I use a stock or a chassis for a precision rifle competition
I’ve seen it done both ways, however, there are a couple of considerations to take into account about chassis’ that make them an arguably better choice for competition shooting and in some cases, for hunting. While stocks are great for carrying around, they aren’t often weighted properly for competition shooting. Most chassis’ will be heavily weighted towards the rear to offset the length of the longer barrel found in precision rifles. In addition, chassis offer more attachment points for things like bipods, additional optics, and other shooting accessories. My best advice would be to try one competition out with a stock and then borrow a friend’s rifle that has a chassis and see if the difference is enough for you to spend the extra money on a rimfire precision rifle chassis.
I want to get into a precision rimfire match. Where do I find them?
The best place to find a rimfire precision rifle series (rimfire PRS) match is practiscore.com. This is basically the one and only site that most of the competition world uses to allow people to sign up for and keep track of matches. Here you can search local and nearby gun ranges for all sorts of gun competitions you can get into including rimfire PRS matches.
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