Cowgirl Corner: 22mag excellence

[North Country Gal]

Have owned a number of 22 mag rifles over the years, enough to know that when you find one that is really accurate, you better keep it. Have had my share of 22 mag rifles that weren't. In fact, just bought a new CZ 455 Varmint in 22 mag that is not shooting the way I had hoped. Will be doing some more work on it, however. Sometimes a new rifle requires a little tuning and patience.

Our lovely Winchester/Miroku 1885 Low Wall Hunter in 22 mag, though, has been superb, right out of the box. Nothing else needed or added other than the Leupold 4-12x scope.


Here's a couple I shot off the bag at 50 yards, this week.

6 shots (one I pulled and called) with 5 in one hole. This was with CCI V-max 30 grain ammo.


Also likes the Winchester Varmint 30 grain loads.


Bill did very well with the Winchester Low Wall 22 mag, too. Here's his ten shot at 50 yards.


Getting to the end of the session, so had to finish with a little offhand work. First four in the black at 50 yards with the scope set at 12x. Fifth shot just tickled the black. Fatigue had set in by this time, so called it quits with a nice 5 shot group.


Not an ugly gun, either.

[North Country Gal]

A word on these Winchester/Miroku rimfires. We have several. Yes, no doubt about it, they are CRAZY expensive. Not everyone is going too want to spend so much for a rimfire single shot rifle. I understand that.

However, if you value superb fit and finish and unmatched construction quality and consistency, you get your money's worth. On our three Hunter models, the actions and triggers and finish are so consistent, that I actually have to look at the barrel for the stamping to see which cartridge I'm shooting. This kind of consistency, one gun to the next, right out of the box is so refreshing, these days. For us, it was money well spent, but, as I said, I don't expect everyone is going to want to spend so much for a rimfire.

[Mgderf]

Years ago I had an older 1885 Low-Wall fall into my lap.
This is not a collector grade rifle, in fact, it has been modified, but nicely done.
I gave $200 for mine.

My Low-Wall started life as a .22short only.
At some point long ago, someone replaced the barrel with a Winchester model 52 barrel chambered for .22Lr.
The stock was replaced with a match style stock with a high cheek weld and a very thick and heavy fore-end.

This little .22 is MUCH more accurate than I will ever be.
Shooting small steel targets at 100 yards is just SOoooo much fun.

[RanchRoper]

Great shooting. I always enjoy your reports.

[Sir Henry]

That is a great picture and the first picture makes it even better.

I've found I have the abilities to shoot almost as good as you but loose my concentration fast. I'm a three-shot wonder but you seem to be able to keep shooting. What is your secret?

[North Country Gal]

Gene, I don't know that I'm any better than most, but what you do see in my shooting is the result of two things, though I know that you already know this and are nudging me to post my thoughts on shooting for the benefits of others. So be it. Here's my two cents on my two things.

The first is a lot of shooting. Shooting is a both a physical and mental exercise in concentration. The flip side of that is fatigue, as you've mentioned. You need to shoot a lot to stay in good shooting shape, just as you need to run a lot or bicycle a lot to stay in shape those activities, but, as with those activities, you need to build up your stamina and strength, slowly. I don't lay off my bicycling for six months, then decide to do a 100 mile ride in one day. I build up to it.

Don't underestimate the negative effects of shooting when you are fatigued. Opens the door to so many bad habits. I'm very careful in my shooting to watch when my shooting begins to fall off due to fatigue, as in the offhand target I shot, above. I know when to call it quits. Even after all these years and even though I am in good shooting shape, I'm still amazed at just how drained and tired I feel after a long shooting session. Probably didn't burn many calories, but it sure feels like I did.

Second is dry fire practice. To me, this one is essential. I rarely go a day without. There are SO many subtilties to grip, stance, trigger technique and so on. Every model and type of gun is a world of its own, in this respect. I explore and fine tune those things with my dry fire work. When I get to the range, though, I stick rigidly to what I've developed with my dry fire work, sometimes even to following a checklist that I've written during my dry fire work. When switching back and forth between various guns at the range - something I do a lot - I often do a little dry fire work, first, before loading up and shooting.

If all this sounds a bit daunting to a newbie or an occasional shooter, let me say that the whole point of shooting is about having fun. That's still number one. If you're getting stressed from lack of progress, back off and relax. Set a reasonable goal for yourself, based on the available time you can devote to your shooting, then go out and have fun. If it stops being fun, you made a wrong turn, somewhere.

Compete against yourself. Don't worry about how others shoot. If you've shot a target that you are pleased with, no matter how it compares to my targets or other shooter's targets, don't be afraid to post it. It's a good target if you're happy with it and I'll be the first to congratulate you. I mean that. We're here to support each other.

[Sir Henry]

I think my biggest problem now is I'm being pulled in too many directions. I'm landscaping, remodeling the interior, hiking, climbing, and I'm wanting to go camping in my Raindrop when its done.

Having the home air-gun range helps. I can shoot for 15 minutes and it only takes 20 minutes of my time. Compare that to four hours getting ready to go to the range, the drive time both ways and only getting 90 minutes of shooting. Then of course a good range report with pictures takes at least an hour. So I'm shooting but not posting about it because its not anything grand.

Sorry to have stolen your thread.

[RanchRoper]

Gene, I don't know that I'm any better than most, but what you do see in my shooting is the result of two things, though I know that you already know this and are nudging me to post my thoughts on shooting for the benefits of others. So be it. Here's my two cents on my two things.

The first is a lot of shooting. Shooting is a both a physical and mental exercise in concentration. The flip side of that is fatigue, as you've mentioned. You need to shoot a lot to stay in good shooting shape, just as you need to run a lot or bicycle a lot to stay in shape those activities, but, as with those activities, you need to build up your stamina and strength, slowly. I don't lay off my bicycling for six months, then decide to do a 100 mile ride in one day. I build up to it.

Don't underestimate the negative effects of shooting when you are fatigued. Opens the door to so many bad habits. I'm very careful in my shooting to watch when my shooting begins to fall off due to fatigue, as in the offhand target I shot, above. I know when to call it quits. Even after all these years and even though I am in good shooting shape, I'm still amazed at just how drained and tired I feel after a long shooting session. Probably didn't burn many calories, but it sure feels like I did.

Second is dry fire practice. To me, this one is essential. I rarely go a day without. There are SO many subtilties to grip, stance, trigger technique and so on. Every model and type of gun is a world of its own, in this respect. I explore and fine tune those things with my dry fire work. When I get to the range, though, I stick rigidly to what I've developed with my dry fire work, sometimes even to following a checklist that I've written during my dry fire work. When switching back and forth between various guns at the range - something I do a lot - I often do a little dry fire work, first, before loading up and shooting.

If all this sounds a bit daunting to a newbie or an occasional shooter, let me say that the whole point of shooting is about having fun. That's still number one. If you're getting stressed from lack of progress, back off and relax. Set a reasonable goal for yourself, based on the available time you can devote to your shooting, then go out and have fun. If it stops being fun, you made a wrong turn, somewhere.

Compete against yourself. Don't worry about how others shoot. If you've shot a target that you are pleased with, no matter how it compares to my targets or other shooter's targets, don't be afraid to post it. It's a good target if you're happy with it and I'll be the first to congratulate you. I mean that. We're here to support each other.

Good info. Thanks.

[North Country Gal]

You're welcome, RR.

Gene, steal away. I do understand about too many irons in the fire. I tend to be that way, myself. In terms of actual hours, per week, shooting is actually not my main interest. I spend more hours mountain biking and working on my mountain bike trails than I do shooting. I ride for at least one hour, every day, seven days a week. Keeping my system of trails up on our property eats up just as many hours - downed branches/trees to move and so on.

We do try to make one range trip, per week. A lot of that is the Contenders, though, which are so specialized that I don't post about them much. I try to post about guns more in the Henry style of things.

[RanchRoper]

As far as the dry firing, although I don't actually dry fire my guns, I do handle them LOTS when not shooting. I am always shouldering my rifle, aiming it, etc. It does work, and helps me develop muscle memory for the range. I shoot off hand standing 99% of the time, so the dry work at home pays off. The rifle starts to feel very natural. Same with the revolver.

[Sir Henry]

As far as the dry firing, although I don't actually dry fire my guns, I do handle them LOTS when not shooting. I am always shouldering my rifle, aiming it, etc. It does work, and helps me develop muscle memory for the range. I shoot off hand standing 99% of the time, so the dry work at home pays off. The rifle starts to feel very natural. Same with the revolver.

I do the same thing. Mainly because you shouldn't dry fire rimfire. In basic training we would dry fire the M14 with a penny on the front sight. If it fell off you were jerking the trigger or flinching.

[North Country Gal]

You can safely dry fire some rimfire rifles. Depends on the design. On CZs, for instance, if the firing pin is within specs, it will never touch the breech. Same with our Winchester/Miroku single shots. The breech face actually has a cutout so the pin never hits it. A lot of modern rimfires are made this way, intentionally. Not sure about Henrys. When in doubt, check with the manufacturer.

On rifles with a hammer, such as my lever guns, I can test the trigger, safely, by just placing a rag between the hammer and the firing pin so that the hammer never touches the firing pin. Lever guns, though, even our center fires, I don't actually sit and dry fire practice. I do that mostly for testing triggers.

My original Contenders, though, are wonderful in their design. They can by dry fired without ever cocking the hammer. No movement of the firing pin at all. Opening the gun sets the sear and gives you the exact same trigger pull when you pull the trigger as when you actually cock the hammer.

[Sir Henry]

I know the Ruger 10/22 is that way and you can see the cutout. Henry rimfires can not be dry fired. My Uberti, Bond, and most others can not be dry fired either. I didn't know that CZ's could be. thanks

[dave77]

Is dry firing not OK if you use .22 snap caps? I always use them in my 9mm's and I picked up some .357 snap caps for my BBB.

[Sir Henry]

Is dry firing not OK if you use .22 snap caps? I always use them in my 9mm's and I picked up some .357 snap caps for my BBB.

Snap caps are specifically made so you can dry fire. They work great in a Henry where you have an exposed hammer. But they don't cycle all that well in semi-autos.

[RanchRoper]

45 Colt ones are hard to find around here.

[dave77]

Is dry firing not OK if you use .22 snap caps? I always use them in my 9mm's and I picked up some .357 snap caps for my BBB.

Snap caps are specifically made so you can dry fire. They work great in a Henry where you have an exposed hammer. But they don't cycle all that well in semi-autos.

Both of my 9mm semi-autos are Beretta DA/SA so I don't have to rack the slide to dry fire, I can either dry fire double action or cock the hammer for single action. I do have a striker fired XDs but it's for sale. If it sells I'll use the proceeds toward a Ruger single action 357 to go with my 357 BBB.

[Sir Henry]

I have an XDs also and love it. When I carry it is what I carry.

[dave77]

I have an XDs also and love it. When I carry it is what I carry.

The XDs is very comfortable to carry and I've seen on different forums that it's pretty accurate but not for me. I practiced quite a bit with it but never was very accurate. I'm no expert marksman with a pistol but I'm OK with my PX4 and even better with my M9A3. Here's a 10 yd. target with my A3, grid lines are 1", I'd be lucky to stay on the paper with my XDs.

[The Wiz]

I too handle and carry my .357 and my LCR(unloaded) around the house. I practice scenarios using key words when watching TV. When someone says a key word say like " love" I immediately get a sight picture on a prearrange target and go "bang". Right now I am shooting the bulbs off the Christmas tree. My sweetie thinks I am crazy but no crazier then her using it as a weight for her rehab. Doing curls, etc.

It really does help, especially when I got the Henry. I felt so natural the first time I went to the range as there was a week before I could go. Carried in around the house and shot numerous geese out the window ( I hate geese) I did get a chance at a turkey but I just could not pull the imaginary trigger. He was magnificent.