Ruger Precision .22 LR

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taylorce1

New member
Anyone handled the Ruger Precision .22 LR? My daughter has expressed an interest in learning to shoot long range and I'm thinking it might be a great teaching tool. We have a local 300 yard range, we can shoot at within five miles. Because of terrain, buildings, and neighbors I'm only good to 200 yards on my little 11 acre property.

The major issue is it is a full day to drive, set up, and shoot anything past 300 yards. I work pretty much on call and can't be more than 1.5-2 hours away from work unless I'm taking vacation or an unpaid personal day, and if I'm on call I'd be rushing everything to make shooting past 300 yards happen if I was near the top of the call roster. I have plenty of rifles that'll I could teach her with, but shooting mainly 300 yards or less with a .204, .223, .243, or one of my 6mm wildcat rounds isn't going to teach her any real long range skills.

I'm just thinking that this rifle with a fixed 6X or 10X scope with a MIL or MOA reticle with matching adjustments might be the trick for some down and dirty LR .22 LR practice. The other plus is even good target ammo for a .22 LR is cheap practice compared to the time it takes me to develop a load, then load enough for her to shoot enough to learn the basics of LR shooting. I was lucky the military paid for most of my ammunition most of my adult life for me to learn the basics. Then when I do have vacation or take an unpaid day we can go put her practice to the test with some larger calibers out to 600 and beyond on some AR500 plates.
 
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Pathfinder45

New member
It looks futuristic and downright ugly to me. But I suppose, in this era, no one would buy a Walnut stocked target rifle, like the Winchester 52 or Remington 541T, etc. But if you like it, enjoy....
 
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T. O'Heir

New member
"...my little 11 acre property..." Really isn't big enough for range of any kind except air guns. Unless you're waaay out on the Santa Fe Trail. You need several klicks with nothing on it for a fall zone even with a .22.
In any case, a .22 LR isn't a long range cartridge. 125 yards max in reality. And you'd need to consider the wind. Moreso using a rifle with a folding stock.
Real long range skills are mostly about reading the mirage and wind(range flags). That can be done with a .22 at 200. Mind you, .22's get boring in a hurry.
"...time it takes me..." Her. Not you. Changes one's attitude towards shooting when there's a bit of work involved.
"...work pretty much on call..." 24/7?
 
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jmr40

New member
I may well buy one even though I've not even seen one yet. My local range only goes to 300 but I've been shooting at 200-250 yards for a couple of years with a Ruger 10/22 LVT and a Leupold 3-9X, VX-2 with dials. I've seen people shoot 22's well past 300 yards.

Yea, after a while a 22 at 50-100 yards does get boring, but I've been placing clay targets on the ground at various ranges between 200-250 yards and that is both challenging and fun.

I zero'd at 50 then by trial and error figured out where to twist the dials for 100 and 200 yards. When I get time I'm going to see what I can do at 300, but may not have enough adjustment to go that far.

I've been using CCI-Mini Mags 36 gr HP bullets. I'm good for 1 MOA consistently at 50 and 100 yards. I've shot a few 2" groups at 200, but those are less common. Around 2.5-3" are more common at 200. It doesn't take much wind to open things up.

I get SLIGHTLY better accuracy at 50 and 100 with slower match grade ammo but with considerably more drop at 100. The faster ammo has been good enough and I've just not taken the time to figure out the drops with the match ammo at longer ranges yet.

I think you and your daughter will really enjoy the challenge.
 
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mikejonestkd

New member
We regularly shoot 22LR out to 250 yards. Its a fun process to learn to dial in the drop and read the wind.
You don't need a fancy new rifle to do it, any 22 that can consistently shoot less than 1" groups at 50 yards will still get you in the game at longer ranges.
Quality optics will make it easier for her.
 
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taylorce1

New member
Pathfinder45 said:
It looks futuristic and downright ugly to me. But I suppose, in this era, no one would buy a Walnut stocked target rifle, like the Winchester 52 or Remington 541T, etc. But if you like it, enjoy....
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Won't argue with you on how it looks, but for the price of a good Remington 541T I can buy the rifle and scope it. For the price of a god Winchester 52 I can buy two Rugers with optics. Plus the Ruger has an adjustable stock which makes it easy to fit to my daughter.

T. O'Heir said:
"...my little 11 acre property..." Really isn't big enough for range of any kind except air guns. Unless you're waaay out on the Santa Fe Trail. You need several klicks with nothing on it for a fall zone even with a .22.
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First off I wouldn't shoot on my property if it wasn't safe to do so, I also bought acerage so I don't have people telling me what I can and can't do on it.

T. O'Heir said:
In any case, a .22 LR isn't a long range cartridge. 125 yards max in reality. And you'd need to consider the wind. Moreso using a rifle with a folding stock.
Real long range skills are mostly about reading the mirage and wind(range flags). That can be done with a .22 at 200. Mind you, .22's get boring in a hurry.
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I don't know how you keep coming up with arbitrary numbers like 125 yards, as long as you're hitting the target the .22 LR can be used way beyond 125 yards. We aren't hunting, I'm using the .22 as a teaching tool do read wind, mirage, and calculate shooting solutions. I realize that .22's on paper get boring real quick, However, reactive targets don't get as boring, and as long as I keep it competitive I think she'll be alright.

T. O'Heir said:
"...time it takes me..." Her. Not you. Changes one's attitude towards shooting when there's a bit of work involved.
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She's 14 and I'm not turning her loose at the bench to load her own ammunition, when she shows no interest in doing so. I've tried teaching her in the past but she gets bored with it quickly, so she'll be a factory ammunition shooter when I'm gone. What I'm trying to foster is a love for shooting and hunting in my daughter as that is what she seems to be interested in.

T. O'Heir said:
"...work pretty much on call..." 24/7?
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Yes, I'm on call 24/7 365 days a year. I have no scheduled time off like weekends or holidays. I'm handsomely compensated for this but it makes it very hard to plan things at times. Some days I can predict when I'm going to work to within an hour or two, and some days it's a mystery. There are a couple of jobs that have scheduled weekend days, but either I don't have the seniority to hold it, or I'm working 150 miles away from home and living in a hotel paid by the company all week.
 
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Scorch

New member
I haven't seen any of these yet, but I hope Ruger does a better job with the barrels than they did on the 77/22 Target Grey. Not that my 77/22 TG shoots bad, but it doesn't shoot good, either. My 541T will out-shoot it, and my Ruger with a Lilja barrel shot so much better that I considered buying another Lilja barrel and put it on the 77/22 TG.
 
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taylorce1

New member
Well I missed the boat on that rifle, went to order it and CDNN was out of stock. I've looked around and haven't found one for $399 again yet. Guess I'll have to wait until more become available.

Scorch said:
I haven't seen any of these yet, but I hope Ruger does a better job with the barrels than they did on the 77/22 Target Grey. Not that my 77/22 TG shoots bad, but it doesn't shoot good, either. My 541T will out-shoot it, and my Ruger with a Lilja barrel shot so much better that I considered buying another Lilja barrel and put it on the 77/22 TG.
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Nice thing is if I need to change a barrel it can be done with simple AR15 tools.
 
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zukiphile

New member
The barrel on this rifle is made from 1137 alloy. I don't know what this means or how it related to 4140 or 4150 barrels, but a quick search found it commonly used in muzzle loaded barrels.

Is this a cause for concern?
 
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taylorce1

New member
zukiphile said:
The barrel on this rifle is made from 1137 alloy. I don't know what this means or how it related to 4140 or 4150 barrels, but a quick search found it commonly used in muzzle loaded barrels.

Is this a cause for concern?
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I doubt it, there isn't enough pressure from a .22 LR cartridge no need more durable steels.
 
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zukiphile

New member
I doubt it, there isn't enough pressure from a .22 LR cartridge no need more durable steels.
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My anxiety would be that more durable steels reduce barrel deterioration from powder abrasion and cleaning.
 
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Mobuck

Moderator
Just my opinion: "long range" with a 22 LR can be a very frustrating experience.
I've shot a 22LR out to approx 400 yards and found that the tiniest amount of wind will vary POI several feet w/o any warning. Nearly any sort of environmental variance will grossly affect the POI. Literally, even the sun going behind a cloud can have an effect.
At that point, you're not making progress with shooter skill but playing a gambling game with external factors.
 
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hooligan1

New member
Im wondering, Taylorce1, does any rifle she hunts with need turret adjusting before shot is taken, or is scope set to take anything from close to 400 or so yds?
 
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RC20

New member
I do like the idea and the use of scope adjustments as part of the learning process.

You don't have to go long range to get a 22 to shoot.

You just get the right size targets that simulate long range.

50 or 75 yards keep the wind factor out of it pretty much (short of a real windy day)

You can range targets from 25 yards on out to 75 with the right size to get the distance adjustment.

22 has enough drop to make it real.

As there will usually be difference in trajectory of center fire, moving from one to another is going to be different but the concept is the same.

I found that if I had the concept right I could usually work the specific problem.
 
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taylorce1

New member
Im wondering, Taylorce1, does any rifle she hunts with need turret adjusting before shot is taken, or is scope set to take anything from close to 400 or so yds?
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Her .300 Savage that she hunts with is zeroed at 300 yards, I doubt I'll change that anytime soon. We discuss some things about shooting animas at longer ranges, but mostly it's about how to get closer when possible. When we can't get closer we talk about how to make the shot or if we should pass, so far she's always passed on the shot that she thought was beyond her capabilities. She's used remarkable judgement for a 15 year old

She was watching a video with me on some long range shooting and that's when she asked if she could learn to shoot long range. Then she started asking me questions about shooting beyond the normal ranges she hunts at. She realizes that this isn't about shooting game at long range but learning a new skill.
 
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taylorce1

New member
Well changed directions on the rifle a bit. I pre-ordered a Tikka T1x .22 LR instead of the Ruger Precision .22 LR. I'm hoping it shoots as good as their centerfire rifles and I'll be very happy with it.
 
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