Newbie checking in

[ColdEgg]

Hey all,

I hope all had a great Labor Day weekend. I have been wanting to get into long range marksmanship for a while now and just pulled the trigger on it (I'm regretting that pun already).

Anyways, I have a bit of money to spend... But I don't really want to jump into an expensive rig where I have to limit my shooting due to bullet cost(or teach myself to reload before I start shooting). My goal is to focus on the fundamentals and put a lot of lead down range... And then when I've developed core skills necessary to move to higher cost equipment (and larger caliber) I will proceed with upgrading systems then.

In the short term, what I am looking at for equipment is (waiting on my FOId card to finalize the rifle):

1. CZ 455 in .22LR - I've heard positive things about their quality.
2. Tacticool Stock from Boyd - hoping this helps me w/ cheek weld, etc. Purchased separately due to supply.
3. Millett 4-16x50 scope - read positive reviews on it, and I wanted mil-dot.
4. Harris Bipod - thought about the Atlas, but recoil isn't an issue with this and my next gun I'll upgrade.
5. Trying to find a good 30mm dovetail scope mount, any suggestions for a quality (quickly removable) one would be appreciated.

I have to get a few more small items, but that's the equipment I'll be dealing with.

More importantly probably, the training I'm looking at:

1. I signed up for the training vids on Snipers Hide.
2. Magpull Art of Precision DVD set.
3. Saw an interesting guy with a YouTube series on precision shooting (dinosaur flavored name) that I will watch.
4. Once the system is all set up, I'll spend a bit of time each day dry firing while I'm not at the range. Will extended dry firing be negative for my rifle? If so/or regardless of which, is there a benefit to using dummies?
5. Range time once a week - I have a 600 yard range within an hour so I have room for growth... But short term a few thousand rounds on 100yrd is likely more practical.
6. Any books / training materials you recommend would be appreciated (I've looked around here and elsewhere so will find some additional content over time). I do plan on live coursework starting next year, perhaps a course to two a year on site.

If you've actually read this far, I appreciate your patience. Any feedback specific to things that I can modify in my plan of action (or if a piece of equipment would assist my learning experience) would be much appreciated. My long term goal is to be able to shoot km+, but I'm looking for baby steps to help me accomplish that multi-year goal.

Thanks all,

J

 

[sled_mack]

Welcome!

Some thoughts on your equipment-
Try the CZ stock before getting the Boyd's. You might like it/it might fit you.
Think hard about the scope choice. I'm not saying you need high dollar. But think about features - if you are going to get a FFP scope for your centerfire, then get a FFP for your trainer. If your centerfire scope is going to be a variation of mildot (there are tons of choices besides dots) consider something similar for your trainer. Do you want the knobs to match the reticle?
If you get the Atlas with the PIC rail mount, it swaps easily from rifle to rifle. Again, keeping things the same from trainer to centerfire.
If you want to shoot your 22 at distance, consider a 20 or 30 MOA sloped, one piece base. Shooting 22 out to 200 or 300 yards is very humbling and makes you learn about very subtle wind changes.

I'm not saying there is only one right set of parts to build a 22 trainer. But, if you know now what your centerfire is going to look like, start building your trainer to be as similar as possible (without going over board).

Hope that helps.

 

[ShtrRdy]

If you don't know how to shoot from the prone position, I highly recommend the first DVD from Rifles Only. Jacob goes into detail on how to put it all together. It has helped me tremendously.

 

[ColdEgg]

Welcome!

Some thoughts on your equipment-
Try the CZ stock before getting the Boyd's. You might like it/it might fit you.
Think hard about the scope choice. I'm not saying you need high dollar. But think about features - if you are going to get a FFP scope for your centerfire, then get a FFP for your trainer. If your centerfire scope is going to be a variation of mildot (there are tons of choices besides dots) consider something similar for your trainer. Do you want the knobs to match the reticle?
If you get the Atlas with the PIC rail mount, it swaps easily from rifle to rifle. Again, keeping things the same from trainer to centerfire.
If you want to shoot your 22 at distance, consider a 20 or 30 MOA sloped, one piece base. Shooting 22 out to 200 or 300 yards is very humbling and makes you learn about very subtle wind changes.

I'm not saying there is only one right set of parts to build a 22 trainer. But, if you know now what your centerfire is going to look like, start building your trainer to be as similar as possible (without going over board).

Hope that helps.

Thanks for the response Mack!

Good call on the stocks. As I already have the tacticool on order I'll compare both and decide if its worth keeping that stock.

Ahh, there are a lot of choices on the scope from the sound of it. To be honest, I'm not sure how to make an intelligent choice in that area without trying a bunch of scopes out over time and figuring it out. I just don't have the skill set currently to make an informed decision - but I appreciate the information so I can try and feel it out as I progress and move to eventually making a choice that will stick with me.

Good call not the Atlas. I might ship the Harris back and just go atlas from the beginning for consistency. The bipod is twice as much (even with pod-loc) so it was a little bitter pill to swallow. Shoot it was almost as much as the rifle, haha. Regardless of which, if I'm going to be consistent I will be using that system further on down the road (from the info I've read here and elsewhere it's performance is superior).

I was hoping to learn wind and drop really well with the .22 platform so i can extrapolate that over longer distances with higher calipers in the long run. I'll check out the sloped base for longer distance shooting.

Thanks again for the information Mack!

 

[ColdEgg]

If you don't know how to shoot from the prone position, I highly recommend the first DVD from Rifles Only. Jacob goes into detail on how to put it all together. It has helped me tremendously.

Thanks for the heads up on that Shtr. I checked out the site and will order the DVD. I would like to focus on prone shooting rather than bench... So this looks like it will have some great content. Appreciate the assistance!

 

[randy geneske]

4. Once the system is all set up, I'll spend a bit of time each day dry firing while I'm not at the range. Will extended dry firing be negative for my rifle? If so/or regardless of which, is there a benefit to using dummies?
5,

J

I believe dry fireing a center fire is ok, but rim fire is not. Will someone with knowledge of accuracy of this statement and an explanation of why/why not please chime in before this "eager to dry fire every day" shooter assumes it ok?

 

[ColdEgg]

I believe dry fireing a center fire is ok, but rim fire is not. Will someone with knowledge of accuracy of this statement and an explanation of why/why not please chime in before this "eager to dry fire every day" shooter assumes it ok?

Thanks Randy. If somebody does provide feedback (in the negative), if there is a solution such as dummy cartridges that I can use to facilitate please let me know. From what I've read, extensive time dry firing can be a benefit for working out kinks so I'd like to be able to do it if possible.

 

[damoncali]

It depends on the gun. Some rimfires are ok to dry fire. With others the firing pin can peen the edge of the chamber. I don't know which is the case with the CZ, but I'm sure a little searching will turn something up.

By the way, your approach is incredibly smart - starting with a rimfire and reading up on the basics.

 

[ColdEgg]

It depends on the gun. Some rimfires are ok to dry fire. With others the firing pin can peen the edge of the chamber. I don't know which is the case with the CZ, but I'm sure a little searching will turn something up.

By the way, your approach is incredibly smart - starting with a rimfire and reading up on the basics.

Thanks for the information. I'll give CZ a call and see if I can get some advice on it.

I appreciate the response!

 

[ivans]

Dry firing a CZ 455 is fine. The firing pin stop does not allow the firing pin to contact the chamber. Should be about 10 thou. clearance if memory serves me correctly.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

[ColdEgg]

Dry firing a CZ 455 is fine. The firing pin stop does not allow the firing pin to contact the chamber. Should be about 10 thou. clearance if memory serves me correctly.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

Thanks for that info Ivans.