do you use a practice rifle

[willfrye027]

I’m gonna get a tikka rimfire for this purpose... 22lr or 17hmr?? Thought about .223 but I wanna be able to do pest control around the house

 

[KNASH]

I considered the Tikka 6.5 Creedmore at Locked & Loaded as a low cost practice rifle, but decided 140 grain bullets are hardly practice. Plan to go with a .223 based on ammo cost and low recoil as a practice gun. I think the goal is to shoot enough per year with the .223 that the ammo cost difference vs 300 WM (and/or 6.5) pays for the practice gun. What do you guys think?

 

[AZ_Hunter_2000]

I’m gonna get a tikka rimfire for this purpose... 22lr or 17hmr?? Thought about .223 but I wanna be able to do pest control around the house

I picked up one in 17 HMR. First, it is awesome and accurate as hell. Second, it is great practice for dialing for distance and wind. I regularly take mine to 300 yards.

 

[wyosam]

I decided on a practice rifle this winter to get more trigger time- bought a T1x in 22lr. Love it-feels just like my hunting rifle. Taking rimfires out to long range will teach you a bunch about developing accurate dope and calling wind. Then I decided I wanted something with a little more oomph to make use of the rest of the range available, so I picked up a .223. Shooting rim fire to 400, and 223 at tiny targets to 600 all winter has made any range I will shoot big game at feel like a chip shot.


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[Werty]

Nope

 

[Formidilosus]

dang. Ok so that being said why not a 22? just lack of range?

I shoot tons of .22 at range. It is great for mechanics and practicing wind calls for proficient people. However for most people there is a disconnect between hitting a 12” plate at 200 yards with a .22 and hitting a 12” plate at 600 yards with a centerfire. The .22 can do it, but it is seamless to go from a 223 at 600yds, to a 300WSM at 600yds. Not so for a .22 to 300WSM/etc.

 

[KNASH]

I shoot tons of .22 at range. It is great for mechanics and practicing wind calls for proficient people. However for most people there is a disconnect between hitting a 12” plate at 200 yards with a .22 and hitting a 12” plate at 600 yards with a centerfire. The .22 can do it, but it is seamless to go from a 223 at 600yds, to a 300WSM at 600yds. Not so for a .22 to 300WSM/etc.

OK, I'm sold, and in on the Form Practice Special: Tikka T3X lite in .223, SWFA scope, lots of practice and a few 300 WM shots thrown in. I feel like my wife at the shoe store... "Honey, I'm buying another rifle and scope so I can save some money"

 

[koppertop]

Lots of good info/discussion. So what’s the best bang for your buck 75/77 grain 223 ammo for bulk practice?

 

[Blaw]

Lots of good info/discussion. So what’s the best bang for your buck 75/77 grain 223 ammo for bulk practice?

The best favor one could do themselves for their hitting ability with any bolt gun is a 1-8” twist Tikka 223 with a reliable scope, multiple cases 75/77gr match ammo, and actually learning how to shoot not on a bench.

 

[koppertop]

I guess maybe my question wasn't clear. I'm not questioning if 223 with 75/77 grain is the way to go. My question is, what brand/load of 223 75/77 grain ammo strikes the best balance of cost per round and quality for lots of practice? What has worked well for others? Steel case wolf, hornady match, or something in between?

 

[Formidilosus]

Hornady steel match 75gr, Hornady Frontier 68gr and 75gr, IMI Razoercore 77gr, and Blackhills 77gr SMK and TMK generally do well. Though TMK is really for hunting.

 

[Terrapin]

I use a heavy barrel 223 in a chassis. It allows me to shoot a bunch of precision rifle shots at more moderate ranges

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[Ndbowhunter]

Hornady steel match 75gr, Hornady Frontier 68gr and 75gr, IMI Razoercore 77gr, and Blackhills 77gr SMK and TMK generally do well. Though TMK is really for hunting.

where you getting 75gr steel?

Its been discontinued for a few years now.

frontier 75gr bullet is good stuff for sure. Pretty hot.

the 75gr steel stuff was 2575 FPS from an 18” barrel. Seeing plus side of 2750 on the fr 320. Es of about 35 if memory serves. I’m only able to just barely beat that with handloads velocity wise. At 40cents a pop it’s good value and doesn’t pay pulling a lever.


ppu 75gr does well as well. Slow but should hold sub moa 10 shots or there abouts. Es wasn’t bad.. Some lot to lot changes so buy a case, but a lot cleaner then Hornady steel, and less of a risk with pressures then fr320 in a 223 chamber.

the fiocchi Vmax is excellent fodder for practicing the wobble at closer ranges. Same with the black hills 52gr reman.

 

[Formidilosus]

where you getting 75gr steel?

Its been discontinued for a few years now.

frontier 75gr bullet is good stuff for sure. Pretty hot.

It is discontinued commercially. I like the Frontier 75gr and in a bolt gun I’m not worried about pressure.

 

[Varminterror]

I shoot a ton of 22LR for practice, as well as a lot through a couple 223/5.56’s. I crank out a bunch of 50 vmax’s, 77SMK’s, and 73 ELD’s on a cheap Lee progressive I leave set up just for that purpose, just for practice. The only bulk factory ammo I have used which I like are the Rem UMC 50grn JHP’s, which I used to buy 2500 at a time.

 

[Blaw]

I shoot a ton of 22LR for practice, as well as a lot through a couple 223/5.56’s. I crank out a bunch of 50 vmax’s, 77SMK’s, and 73 ELD’s on a cheap Lee progressive I leave set up just for that purpose, just for practice. The only bulk factory ammo I have used which I like are the Rem UMC 50grn JHP’s, which I used to buy 2500 at a time.

how did you find that bulk ammo for long range practice? decent? or all over the place?

 

[Varminterror]

how did you find that bulk ammo for long range practice? decent? or all over the place?

One of my rifles REALLY like it, a handful of others were just sub-MOA. My Savage 12BVSS would regularly put it into 1/4-1/2” at 100, absolutely no idea why it shot that load so well, and I wouldn’t begin to pretend that’s typical - but that rifle shoots it exceptionally well. I probably never would have bough. Other of my rifles would hold about MOA with it. I frequently shot it out to 600-800yrds. The downside, of course, was the bullet weight. The little 50grn pills ran out of steam, so stuff got hairy around 800.

Alternatively, I’ve shot a bunch of the Rem UMC 55grn ball loads, and I’m lucky to see it below 1.5moa.

A lot of my time with “practice rifles” is spent practicing building position and working transitions, so it’s not really about raw precision or about the smallest aggregate group size. Just a matter of challenging myself enough to build position and make shots on targets small enough and far enough to require SOME wind hold. Every round has a unique trajectory, so I don’t bother much trying to emulate my match loads. When I want dope and match rifle practice, I shoot my match loads. When I want to build skills, I practice with 22LR, 223, 6.5 Grendel, or 243LBC.

 

[DB Cooper]

Shooting a light, semi auto (.22LR or .223 or even 6.5) or a light caliber bolt gun (.223) really helps develop solid shooting fundamentals that carry over to the big gun

The real key with the big gun is dry fire 15X for every actual fire. Know the trigger's breaking point, and make a perfects shot every time! Dry fire is the best (and cheapest) way to get better on the big gun