22LR Rifle and Scope Options

[Fury_Whip]

Hi all,
Just wondering if anyone can offer some advice?
Looking at a couple of options for a target/ benchrest combo.
Never really done any benchrest except for recent visits over the last 6mths. Ive only ever shot 22s and 223s on friends farms so my knowledge for benchrest is non existent.
Main use will be 50m for comps at local smallbore club and 100m for fun at the local ssaa range


Options for combo are:
CZ457 Varmint 22LR
CZ457 Varmint LRP 22LR
ZeroTech Trace 4.5-27x50 R3 MOA
Athlon Argos BTR Gen 2 10-40×56 BLR SFP MOA

Keen to hear your advise and/or if you have any other suggestions. Thanks

[No1_49er]

I indulged, briefly, in RF benchrest, wanting to know how well some of my RF rifles performed.
Best of the bunch was a combination of an old BSA Martini International Mk2 fitted with a Lyman 'Target Spot' 20 power scope (one of the type with sliding recoil, spring buffered, mounts) and bettered all my other rifles with a 0.12" "bug hole". Good (expensive) ammo needs to be factored into your equation.
BTW, I had picked up the Martini for a couple of hundred bucks - the Lyman scope was a lot more expensive, being something of a "collectable".
If it's just BR that you're thinking about, a fixed 36x Leupold (if you can find one) or one of the newer fixed 45x would be the ticket.
Just my opinion. YMMV.

49er

[Fury_Whip]

I indulged, briefly, in RF benchrest, wanting to know how well some of my RF rifles performed.
Best of the bunch was a combination of an old BSA Martini International Mk2 fitted with a Lyman 'Target Spot' 20 power scope (one of the type with sliding recoil, spring buffered, mounts) and bettered all my other rifles with a 0.12" "bug hole". Good (expensive) ammo needs to be factored into your equation.
BTW, I had picked up the Martini for a couple of hundred bucks - the Lyman scope was a lot more expensive, being something of a "collectable".
If it's just BR that you're thinking about, a fixed 36x Leupold (if you can find one) or one of the newer fixed 45x would be the ticket.
Just my opinion. YMMV.

49er

Thanks for your reply. 49er.
Couple of the range guns i used had fixed mag.
Only thing is, a fixed mag locks me into the “heavy rifle” class only. The rest of the classes ie, hunter & sporter ect have low mag restrictions.

[allan]

For casual BR and a bit of an "all purpose" range rifle, I think you're on the right track.

The CZ 457 is arguably one of the better entry level actions out there at the moment. There are a huge range of after market options available - i.e. barrels, triggers, stocks etc and the options are there to build these things to compete with Vudoo etc.

The Zero Tech you listed would be OK for RF BR too.

I have an Anschutz 1761 here fitted with a Meopta Optika 6 in 4.5-27X50 with the BDC3 reticle. This rifle was a decent performer as delivered in factory form but with a few up-grades, it will compete with just about anything out there.

Before you go parting with your hard earned, try to chat with some of the experienced BR guys at your club for hands on advice.

The biggest handicap with RF BR these days is the availability of quality ammunition. Sourcing good lot numbers of Lapua/RWS etc in any quantity is virtually impossible. No matter what the quality or price of a 22LR, it's only as good as the ammo you feed it.

[jakethompson]

You’re on the right track with the CZ 457—it’s a solid platform with tons of aftermarket support, and both the Varmint and LRP models will serve you well for benchrest. Between the two, the LRP might give you a slight edge with its factory upgrades, but both are excellent choices.

For optics, both scopes you listed will do the job, but the Athlon’s higher magnification (40x) might give you an advantage for precise shot placement at 50m. That said, a good fixed 36x or 45x (like a Leupold) is often preferred for serious benchrest.

As others have mentioned, ammo will be the biggest factor. Even the best rifle and scope won’t perform without quality, consistent ammunition. Lapua Center-X, RWS R50, or Eley Tenex are worth considering if you can get them in good lot numbers.

If possible, chat with experienced BR shooters at your club before making a final decision—hands-on advice is invaluable.

[mchughcb]

Just get a picatinny rail and qrw mounts.

I used a 36x weaver T36 in my sako quad.

[Wapiti]

A question, doe any of you guys place much importance in parallax adjustability in your rimfire scopes?

[allan]

I do...A rim fire range scope needs parallax adjustment down to 10-15 yards and IMO, glass quality is more important to me than outright power.

[bladeracer]

A question, doe any of you guys place much importance in parallax adjustability in your rimfire scopes?

Yep, definitely prefer to be able to adjust it.

[Wm.Traynor]

My 2 cents where scopes are concerned is that the Warranty is the most important part. That is, if it can't be fixed when it breaks down, or if it takes forever being fixed, then your recreation is spoiled and suspended.
To my knowledge, Leupold still has a repair shop in Brisbane...................................................

[bladeracer]

My 2 cents where scopes are concerned is that the Warranty is the most important part. That is, if it can't be fixed when it breaks down, or if it takes forever being fixed, then your recreation is spoiled and suspended.
To my knowledge, Leupold still has a repair shop in Brisbane...................................................

Warranty is irrelevant to me, we have consumer laws so if it doesn't work it goes back for a refund or repair. If it does work but breaks after a few years then I'll fix it myself or consider that I got my money's worth out of it. I've only ever returned one scope and it came back weeks later no better than it was. That was a Redfield Revolution, made by Leupold.

[Wm.Traynor]

My 2 cents where scopes are concerned is that the Warranty is the most important part. That is, if it can't be fixed when it breaks down, or if it takes forever being fixed, then your recreation is spoiled and suspended.
To my knowledge, Leupold still has a repair shop in Brisbane...................................................

Warranty is irrelevant to me, we have consumer laws so if it doesn't work it goes back for a refund or repair. If it does work but breaks after a few years then I'll fix it myself or consider that I got my money's worth out of it. I've only ever returned one scope and it came back weeks later no better than it was. That was a Redfield Revolution, made by Leupold.

You fix them yourself!?
That is astounding news to me bladeracer
How did you ever learn how to do that? What do you do when you need parts? Can you fix reticles when they stop responding accurately to inputs from the adjustment knobs?
I'd love to know

[Wapiti]

I do...A rim fire range scope needs parallax adjustment down to 10-15 yards and IMO, glass quality is more important to me than outright power.

Yeah, I was wondering what you guys think that might shoot your files for scores.
I learnt earlier in the piece when playing with centrefires over long ranges (not hunting ranges) was that if the scope didn't have the adjustment for parallax it was a waste of time.
I never had big scopes on rimfires (2-7x rimfire scopes that dont need parallax) because I shoot in the paddocks and 22LR is short range, but I saw people chasing their tails with centrefire scopes on rimfires that didn't have parallax adjustment and within rimfire ranges it was easy for me to outshoot them with a smaller scope with great glass meant for short distances.

[bladeracer]

You fix them yourself!?
That is astounding news to me bladeracer
How did you ever learn how to do that? What do you do when you need parts? Can you fix reticles when they stop responding accurately to inputs from the adjustment knobs?
I'd love to know

Yes, they're not especially complicated. Only thing you probably won't be able to do yourself is purge them of air. Reticles are usually etched on one of the lens nowadays, though I do have an old scope with a wire reticle. The turrets are just screws with indents and a spring to hold the erector tube up. If you need replacement parts it's probably time to chuck it in your own spares box
There should be plenty of videos on Youtube of people stripping and repairing their scopes.

[straightshooter]

A few assorted comments.
In my opinion scope power for hunting purposes of 2.5x is ideal although a wide angle 4x is acceptable.

Parallax can be a problem, even if it is adjustable, if you don't position your eye in exactly the same same spot in relation to the scope every time you shoot.
A simple trick is to have the scope somewhat forward of ideal so one can see some vignetting when aiming and are able to position one's eye so the vignette is fairly symmetrical. A little understood advantage of FFP scopes is due to the increased distance from the eye to the reticle the variation of parallax error due to variation in positioning of the eye is reduced.

Many modern scopes, in a practical sense, are not truly repairable due to internal elements being glued in place.
If you do attempt to repair a scope and don't have access to dry nitrogen purging then another method is to suspend the partially assembled scope and parts over a quantity of silica gel in a 20 liter pail with a closeable lid for a couple of days and close the scope as quickly as possible.
If you are buying a scope with a euro style quick adjust ocular assembly try moving it side to side. If one can feel it wobbling that is evidence of generous dimensional tolerances in manufacture and that management of tolerances probably extend to the rest of the scope. Try some other model or brand.

[Wapiti]

I remember never thinking about how the short ranges of rimfires necessitated either a special short range parallax scope, or an adjustable parallax one.
It was I think, in the '90's, from Andy Montgomery's awesome tech articles in Guns'nGame magazine.
I remember buying a Leupold rimfire scope, a Vari-x 1 2-7x33 Rimfire and how my groups when testing hunting ammo shrunk by 3x over the centrefire 4-12x scope I'd put on there.
Solely from parallax error, I could see it and how bad it was, and how it was impossible to negate it.
Even if these scopes are on centrefires, I can't believe people still don't know how imprecise their finer shooting is with a 4-12 or 4-16x scope that doesn't have that feature. As soon as the power is wound up, parallax is opening your groups by inches.

[Fester]

I have shot a couple of their BR targets and done well with my CZ452 sporter despite the small rounded for stock shape not being that suitable.

I just use SK ammo and wind the Vixen 4-16 up to just under max as it has a pretty fine reticle lol.

They do use pretty big scopes but I wouldn't buy anything before looking through one to be sure you like the reticle.
Should be lots of scopes out there that will do as it's only got to be clear at 50m with a fine target reticle.
If I set up a rifle, I would do a build to shoot longer range like the 200 fly type of thing as well.
I have a brick or more of the SK long-range ammo saved for 200yd plinking, as I will never buy a $60 pack of RWS 22 ammo like those fly shooters do.

[Wapiti]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pxpu01FKwy0&t=179s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meUIi40OAp8