I shoot lots of 22 LR and I normally shoot 4 different Centerfire rifles. All of my target shooting is ammo testing except for one match that is purely marksmanship maintenance.
My ammo testing is much more difficult than bench rest ammo testing because for my purpose, I must use expanding bullets in both rimfire and centerfire. Imagine chasing match accuracy and consistency with expanding bullets only. Ride that Unicorn 😀

Your experience is spot on. The endeavor is much easier with centerfire and the availability of match quality expanding bullets in centerfire is about 50 times better than with rimfire.

All that being true, small game hunting with 22 LR remains a joy. But even more so if you DON'T do it the way your grandfather did it. We have access to a better way today.

 

I progressed through the ranks of rim-fires Ruger 10/22, CZ452, Bergara B14R, KIDD Supergrade (which I still own) and finally built a RIMX with a Krieger barrel built by Modacon. Personally I feel I have reached my pinnacle regarding custom .22 rimfire rifles. BTW, I have a number of custom built center-fire rifles I reload/shot, but still enjoy the thrill of pulling the trigger on my RIMX build. It's a hammer!

 

Do you think your RimX shoots smaller 5 shot groups at 50 yards than your best centerfire load out/rifle does at 100 yards?

 

Living where I do there aren't many centerfire matches and not a lot of longer distances to shoot at. For rimfire, there both PRS and NRL monthly, so that's where I can get the competition fun in.

 

I enjoy both rimfire and centerfire.
Rimfire is my go to, for small game.
I work on windage and offhand skills with rimfire.
I warm up with rimfire, before setting up my F-Class 223.
Rimfire is less expensive than my handloads.
Work out the yips and remember what I forgot during the last week.
Same skills used/applied but rimfire costs less to do so.
I spend more time at the range working on the basics with rimfire,
than I do competing with centerfire.
I'm much more accurate at extended range with centerfire,
but at short range and offhand, my results are similar.

On those days when I can't get to the range,
I have air rifles and pistols to enjoy.
Minimal noise and the neighbors don't mind.

 

A lot of what we discuss on this forum comes down to OCD...
Sorry to say it, but it's true.

Speaking strictly for myself, I only suffer from a mild case of OCD. Therefore my life is a lot
easier than others whose posts I read with alarm.

I love to shoot. It's that simple. I do indulge my OCD to a "reasonable" level, which sounds like
a contradiction in terms does it not? *laughs.... I'll fuss about this or that to a "reasonable" level
and then say, "nah... that's enough." Lucky me...

So I shoot .22s for practical reasons... During the great ammo scare of 2020-21, I bought enough .22
ammo to allow me to go to the range and do some "careful" shooting. After I had bought up a few hundred
rounds, it all disappeared. Centerfire ammo disappeared also, or else was priced at Pirate prices.

I had sold almost all my weapons and ammunition (and reloading gear) in 2019 due to medical crisis not
my own. So going into the craziness of 2020-21, I owned almost NO firearms or ammo. Weird eh?
Strange how these things work out. Who woulda thunk it...

If I remember right, the first weapon I bought in 2020-21 was a bolt action 5.56mm. Gotta have something
that will shoot that round... even if we cain't find any to buy. The second weapon I bought was my 1022.
I missed mine, after selling it. Don't ever sell yer 1022, cowboy... or yer saddle.

I shoot .22s because it's practical and affordable. I don't care about the limitations of this caliber...
Some of that is due to changes in the supply chain. Remington and Winchester are kaput. Corporate
shenanigans have sunk their boat. I don't know about Federal... all we have left is CCI. Oh and we have
Aguila... I've bought this ammo because it was available... and my 1022 likes it fine. I would never buy
fancy foreign made ammo because it wouldn't take much to cut off the supply. A few hostile submarines
in the Atlantic could do it... it's happened before.

Mexican made Aguila ammo might be considered foreign made, but might not. Mexico is a neighbor.
My 1022 shoots Aguila Super Extra just fine, so I'll buy more when I see it. (if I ever do).
Anyway, I have managed to acquire about 3000 rounds of .22 (various) by now. That huge quantity makes me
uncomfortable and it's time to go shoot some of it up. I'll shoot up a lot of the odd brands I bought when
they were all that was on the shelves. My 1022 likes CCI SV very well, so that's what I'll keep for a rainy
day. And I'll buy more now that I know how well it works for me.

When shooting up odd brands of .22., I won't fuss about group size or the odd flier. I'll shoot at a steel gong
setup I bought, and not worry much if I hit the target or don't. I just like to shoot. I do like to hit the target
when I shoot, but if I don't, I'll shoot some more. *shrugs

When it comes to Centerfire, my preferred round is the 5.56mm. From a bolt action rifle, this is one of the best
centerfire rounds there is. That's why our government selected it for military use. NONE of the other centerfire
rounds in this category can check all the boxes that the 5.56mm can. .223 can do it all. Guys who favor some
other round might dispute this statement, but to no avail.

My second favorite round in centerfire is the 7x51mm. I bought a bolt action rifle in this caliber in 2021.
Before that my deer rifle was a bolt action .308. No flies on that caliber, but my old shoulder likes the 7x51mm
much better. It doesn't kick me as hard and is a dependable killer way out yonder. Hard to beat.
AND very practical. What isn't practical about the 7x51mm is that it's metric. Americans (dim) don't like to
think metric. I learned it when I was 14... eighth grade science. I've had no problems with the metric system
ever since. But for the rest of us?

Anyway, the reason I haven't been shooting Centerfire is because of the ammo shortage, and the pirate prices
and the shortage of components for reloading. I bought myself a new reloading outfit, but haven't put it to work
yet. I've been assembling the components I need... and it's been difficult. I'll boast that I own 100 large rifle primers...
That's all I've been able to score. They will reload my 7x51mm cartridges, and in a deer caliber I won't be shooting
hundreds of rounds off like I do with .22s. It grinds me to pay exorbitant prices for things like that.

So I like shooting .22s. I simply like to shoot. .22s are practical and affordable and I need shooting practice.
There it is.

 

I'm sure someone will come along shortly with a 22 LR group like this at 300 yards. But it sure is easier with a 6.5 Creedmoor

 

I see that and all I can think is "There's $5 that's never coming back." And that's why I shoot rimfire. Or when I'm really feeling cheap, air rifles.

 

Interesting question, and an evolving answer for me.

In the past I have shot a lot of CF rifle competition, mainly Score benchrest, but some longer distance group/score as well. Probably 97% of my shooting and 100% of competition was CF. I shot/shoot and reload for 22BR’s, 6BR’s, 30BR, 22-250 and 22-250AI, .223 Wylde, .21 Fireball, 224Valkyrie, 6PPC, 6.5x55Swede, 6.5CM, .308, and 6.5x300WWH. Although I had both a rimfire pistol and rifles these were rarely shot for decades. My foray into RF has only been the last few years, since retiring.😁

There were two main reasons for my foray into RF:
1) There are numerous local area RF competitions at multiple clubs within 2 hours drive (PRS/TBR, Silhouette, Steel Challenge, Benchrest etc.). Lots of venues and different disciplines to shoot. (I no longer hunt.)
2) The price and poor availability of high quality CF bullets (Berger Hybrids etc.), the high price and unavailability of Hodgdon Extreme powders (Varget, H4350 and H4895 etc.) and the high cost and unavailability of primers was driving up the cost of reloading high quality precision and tuned ammo. I don’t do “blasting ammo”.

The good news for me is that, perhaps with my age, my former strong drive to WIN (I used to be pretty competitive back in the day) has lessened, and I now shoot primarily to challenge myself and have fun. If I consider I’ve shot well, I drive home happy, regardless of placing. It’s also why that, although I could afford to have a BR stocked, 2500X actioned, .900” SS match barrel with a tuner and bloop tube built, I will continue to campaign my 1965 factory barreled and factory walnut stocked 40XB in ARA UL. It’s just what I want to shoot. And I campaign two different 10/22’s in both Steel, NRL22/PRS/TBR and Silhouette that were built decades prior to using them in RF competition. (I did pick up a 1979 Marlin 39A for Silhouette as well.)

I will continue to enjoy RF shooting and competitions, BUT, especially with benchrest, the cost of RF ammo is now approaching both ridiculous, and as pricey as CF handloads. This is when one considers not just the cost of purchasing good stuff like Lapua Midas+, but having to purchase and test multiple lots of different brands and types to find a competitive brand/type/lot, and then running through it and having to start over. Again, often combined with unavailability and high cost. It's dissappointing to drive hours to a RF BR match and feel you scored poorly partly because you have run out of your good ammo and are shooting so-so stuff. So for me it’s back to some CF shooting and competitions. I recently won a local yokel military rifle CF competition by a large margin and when a shooter commented to me that I was a good shooter I told him "NO, I'm just an okay shooter, but I'm a really good reloader". Can't do that in RF!

 

Time and space have dictated a concentration on rimfire, 6cm and 6.5 cm rifles are the most accurate and proven capable of sub MOA to 1,000 yards at VIR, but it's an expensive game to play and access to such ranges is difficult in my area. Access to land to hunt bigger game is hard to come by as well, so the rimfires keep me shooting much more often.

 

Those of you who focused on rimfire, moved to Centerfire and then BACK to rimfire...did the move back to .22lr leave you wanting? Or did you think to yourself...why did I every leave?

I started shooting in 1971 in the basement of a National Guard armory in Ohio. The Master Sargent in charge of the armory ran an NRA 3P smallbore program in the Armory's basement range. We competed in several State and Regional matches. I've been shooting .22 ever since. I've shot in competitions spanning rifle, pistol, and shotgun over the years. I was better at pistol than rifle, at least competition-wise. Brother, as much as I love laying down on a 1,000 yard target with a 6mm dasher, I love .22 more. I love them both, but .22s never get old, or too expensive, or less than challenging. And the .22LR is where I started. If it's where I end, I like the symmetry in that.

 

Our range has an awesome non-magnum range out to 50 yards for rimfire and non-magnum handguns with dozens of fun steel targets. They also have steel targets on the rifle range out to 1000 yards along with the standard 100, 200, 300 paper targets. I'll spend a full day on the range shooting one, two or several rifles on paper and steel, then swing over to the rimfire steel range and blast a few hundred rounds there. Both are fun as heck, but the rifle sessions are more about chasing perfection and rimfire for just plain fun.

 

I started with centerfires and two rimfires....a old marlin rifle and a single six revolver.
Now I have a couple centerfire rifles left and a whole bunch of handguns.......but a whole lot of rimfire rifles. The centerfire rifles will be used just for hunting.
The centerfire handguns I will never give up and shoot them all the time. The rimfire rifles I will keep and they are my go to rifles for enjoyment.
I don't ever see myself going to a range and shooting centerfire rifles for hours at a time again. If I shoot 10 rounds in each of them in a year....that's enough.

We are all different in what we like. A great day relaxing for me is spending 4 or 5 hours at a range with a .22 rifle with my wife or a good friend. It's all I need and want.

 

Rimfire is cheaper even with good ammo, and I enjoy it. Hardly ever shoot center fire rifles anymore. I do like to grab a 9mm or 40 cal, and put it through its paces every now and then. Even with my lack of practice I surprise myself with pistols sometimes.

 

After I got back into shooting around 2001-2002,,,
I started out with a nice single-shot-22.

Then I went through a few more rimfires,,,
Bolt and semi-auto's.

After a while I decided to go the centerfire route,,,
I bought a nice Savage chambered in .223.

I also started shooting my K98 Mauser,,,
I bought 240 rounds of mil-surp,,,
And put all of it downrange.

Honestly, I got no more satisfaction/thrill out of centerfire,,,
Than I did out of shooting rimfire.

So I started shooting my rimfires again,,,
Almost exclusively until I ran out of ammunition for the centerfires.

I cleaned and moth-balled the Mauser,,,
Cleaned and sold the Savage,,,
And never looked back.

I started going for more precision in my rimfire shooting,,,
Foregoing the mere plinking I had done before.

There is as much satisfaction to me in hitting a 2" gong at 100 yards,,,
As there was doing the same with the centerfire rifles.

I drag the Mauser out once or twice a year,,,
But it hurts me that every trigger pull is a buck or more.

I still have my plinker rimfires,,,
As well as two much better shooting target rifles,,,
And the best thing about them is that I can shoot all day for $25.00 or less.

So for me it's rimfire all the way,,,
Except for my handguns,,,
Then it's about 50-50.

Aarond

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