Tell me about .22 Bullseye

[Keystone]

So, there's a bunch of clubs in my area that do a .22 bullseye league (Littleton, Westford, etc). What sort of courses of fire do these matches do? I've looked around, most of the bullseye info I can find online is for .45/.22/othercenterfire.

What sort of skill level do they expect at these matches, for your teammates not to try and stick you down range for target practice?

I'm hoping to get a red dot and some VQ internals on my Ruger this summer/fall, and get a lot more shooting in, and think it might be fun to give it a go.

Thanks!

 

[eisenhow]

So, there's a bunch of clubs in my area that do a .22 bullseye league (Littleton, Westford, etc). What sort of courses of fire do these matches do? I've looked around, most of the bullseye info I can find online is for .45/.22/othercenterfire.

What sort of skill level do they expect at these matches, for your teammates not to try and stick you down range for target practice?

I'm hoping to get a red dot and some VQ internals on my Ruger this summer/fall, and get a lot more shooting in, and think it might be fun to give it a go.

Thanks!

The Westford team is a very friendly bunch. Only the top 5 scores count towards the team score so nobody cares if you do bad (unlike trap). It's a 30 shot event. Slow fire: 10 shots in 10 minutes. Two strings of timed fired: 5 shots in 20 seconds. Two strings of rapid fire: 5 shots in 10 seconds. Last year we started started some informal team practices in the late summer to keep the skills sharp. Newcomers are always welcome.

 

[Keystone]

The Westford team is a very friendly bunch. Only the top 5 scores count towards the team score so nobody cares if you do bad (unlike trap). It's a 30 shot event. Slow fire: 10 shots in 10 minutes. Two strings of time fired: 5 shots in 20 seconds. Two strings of rapid fire 5 shots in 10 seconds. Last year we started started some informal team practices in the late summer to keep the skills sharp. Newcomers are always welcome.

Thanks for the info! I'm assuming these are at 25 yards?

Also - what time are the matches, usually? I may have to slide my Wednesday work schedule a bit earlier to get out to the further ones.

I meant to check this out this past winter, but remembered that I meant to do it sometime in February

 

[eisenhow]

Thanks for the info! I'm assuming these are at 25 yards?

Also - what time are the matches, usually? I may have to slide my Wednesday work schedule a bit earlier to get out to the further ones.

I meant to check this out this past winter, but remembered that I meant to do it sometime in February

The NVPL (Nashoba Valley Pistol League) is shot indoors at 50'. The nominal start time is between 7 to 7:30PM. However, you can show up as late as ~8:30PM and still shoot. Half of the matches are shot at home and the other half is shot at other clubs. If you know you can't make a match you are allowed to shoot ahead up to two matches ahead.

 

[Keystone]

The NVPL (Nashoba Valley Pistol League) is shot indoors at 50'. The nominal start time is between 7 to 7:30PM. However, you can show up as late as ~8:30PM and still shoot. Half of the matches are shot at home and the other half is shot at other clubs. If you know you can't make a match you are allowed to shoot ahead up to two matches ahead.

Awesome. Sounds like I should get shopping and practicing. Thanks!

 

[eisenhow]

Awesome. Sounds like I should get shopping and practicing. Thanks!

I shoot a Ruger MkIII. It's only got a VQ sear & grips and an old Aimpoint dot on it. You're welcome to try it someone. Are you a lefty? I can always throw the original grips on it, if I can find them. I checked my old e-mail and last year we practiced every other Wed night starting in May. We may/may not start something up after the banquet that we're hosting this Saturday. I'll let you know.

 

[Keystone]

I shoot a Ruger MkIII. It's only got a VQ sear & grips and an old Aimpoint dot on it. You're welcome to try it someone. Are you a lefty? I can always throw the original grips on it, if I can find them. I checked my old e-mail and last year we practiced every other Wed night starting in May. We may/may not start something up after the banquet that we're hosting this Saturday. I'll let you know.

Thanks, Mike! I have a MkIII, it's bone stock, save for the red paint on the front sight. I've been planning on dropping at least a MkII bushing to get rid of the stupid mag disconnect, and maybe some trigger giblets. I am a lefty, if you can't find the original stocks, that's fine, I'm sure that for now the gun isn't going to be my limitation

Let me know about the practices, I have a pretty boring life, so I'm generally free if I'm not working

 

[jar]

We'd love to have you on the Westford team. We'll probably talk about having practices at the league banquet on Saturday.

IMO the most important upgrade is a red dot, followed by trigger and grips. I have the basic 1" Ultradot and I'm happy with it.

 

[Keystone]

We'd love to have you on the Westford team. We'll probably talk about having practices at the league banquet on Saturday.

IMO the most important upgrade is a red dot, followed by trigger and grips. I have the basic 1" Ultradot and I'm happy with it.

I'd love to hit up the practices. I'll look into a red dot over the course of the summer, and evaluate what I need as I get more acquainted with the courses of fire. I still have never detail stripped my MkIII...it's scary enough to field strip, I'm expecting to end up with a half dozen extra parts when I finally get around to tearing it all down

 

[jefftk]

I'll be joining the Westford club soon and am considering taking part in the .22 Bullseye league as well. I don't have a .22 yet but I plan on getting a Mark III within the next month or so if I can find a decently priced one.

 

[eisenhow]

I'll be joining the Westford club soon and am considering taking part in the .22 Bullseye league as well. I don't have a .22 yet but I plan on getting a Mark III within the next month or so if I can find a decently priced one.

Great, the more the merrier. Keep an eye out for updates in the newsletter or at a general meeting.

 

[Dan R]

Tewksbury Summer League

Tewksbury R&G has a summer league that is open to the public. You can shoot center fire or rim fire, or both. It's a handicap league so you shoot against your own average. At the end of the summer there is a banquet and trophies to the top shooters.

First match is tonight.

See here: *http://www.tewksburyrodandgun.org/programs/Summer Pistol League.htm

 

[Keystone]

I'll be joining the Westford club soon and am considering taking part in the .22 Bullseye league as well. I don't have a .22 yet but I plan on getting a Mark III within the next month or so if I can find a decently priced one.

I got a blued MkIII with the bull barrel for a little over $300 at Blue Northern, in Ayer. Great store.

Hope to see you at the range (I need to get there more, myself)

Tewksbury R&G has a summer league that is open to the public. You can shoot center fire or rim fire, or both. It's a handicap league so you shoot against your own average. At the end of the summer there is a banquet and trophies to the top shooters.

First match is tonight.

See here: *http://www.tewksburyrodandgun.org/programs/Summer Pistol League.htm

Looks like that's only about 20-25 from me, not too bad. Maybe I'll get down there on occasion if I need the extra practice. Thanks!

 

[jar]

Thanks for the info Dan. I'll try to make a few of these matches.

 

[George D]

I shoot 22 bullseye and its a lot of fun. As mentioned, no matter how bad you shoot, you can't hurt the team. Surrounding yourself with better shooters will help you learn as well. This is the info for the league I shoot in. Its a travel league so you alternate shooting at home and then away.
http://www.maspenockhgl.com/

 

[jefftk]

I might head over to four seasons later today to look at .22's, is there anything to keep in mind about .22 bullseye when selecting the right model? I assume a longer barrel is better, and get a red dot sight.
I'm looking in to the Ruger MKIII or 22/45 MKIII.

Also, are >10 round magazines easy to come by? 10 rounds for a .22 just seems silly.

 

[Emoto]

I might head over to four seasons later today to look at .22's, is there anything to keep in mind about .22 bullseye when selecting the right model? I assume a longer barrel is better, and get a red dot sight.
I'm looking in to the Ruger MKIII or 22/45 MKIII.

Also, are >10 round magazines easy to come by? 10 rounds for a .22 just seems silly.

In .22 bullseye competition, you load 5 rounds in each magazine, so standard mags are fine. I run 6 mags, but you could use the same 2 over and over.

I am not so sure about the MkIII. Some may be fine, but the two of them used by people on my bullseye team have been nothing but trouble. I bought one for my (now ex) girlfriend to use and it stovepiped or misfired all the time with a wide variety of ammo. I ended up having to put a bunch of Volquartsen parts into it and I *think* it was running well by the time we broke up, but am not sure. And I kept it very clean, so it wasn't that. The other one on my team has been to a good gun smith more times than I can recall, which took months and basically ruined that shooter's season. So, although lots of shooters use a MkI or MkII, I think anyone buying a MkIII is taking a big chance and might want to get something else.

I run a Browning Buckmark 5.5 target, and it has been terrific. Of course, you can only find them used.

 

[jefftk]

Ok, thanks for the info.
I'm getting a .22 just to have fun and practice also, so I would like more than a 10 round capacity mag.

 

[jefftk]

I am not so sure about the MkIII. Some may be fine, but the two of them used by people on my bullseye team have been nothing but trouble. I bought one for my (now ex) girlfriend to use and it stovepiped or misfired all the time with a wide variety of ammo.

Has anyone else had/seen similar experiences with the Ruger Mark series?

 

[jar]

I've had no problems with my Mk3.

Regarding which Mk3 to pick, I think the regular mk3 is the way to go over the 22/45. The problem with the 22/45 is you can't change the grips, unless the new one that takes 1911 grip panels is available in MA by now. Also, I hated the balance of the 22/45 because the grip frame is so light. Adding the weight of a red dot on top would make that even worse.

Re: barrel length: If you wanted to shoot irons, the longer sight radius of a longer barrel would definitely be better. With a red dot, it doesn't really matter. I don't think it has that much affect on accuracy. Longer barrels add weight and change the balance of the gun, whether this is good or bad is up to you. I have the 5.5" bull barrel stainless model and I'm happy with that choice. The fluted barrel models definitely look cool though.

Don't buy whatever crappy red dot a store will try to sell you. Ultradot is the way to go.

 

[Keystone]

Has anyone else had/seen similar experiences with the Ruger Mark series?

If mine gets super dirty, and I shoot one particular brand of super cheap ammo (can't remember which...I don't really care for plinking), I'll get FTE's one out of every few dozen. Other than that, it just keeps running. Most people here on the forum have no issues running them, either. Maybe the people above were unlucky, or found a particular brand of ammo that the gun hated, or maybe everyone on the forum is lucky, or maybe they were smithing it too much and caused issues - who knows. .22's are notoriously finicky, and ammo is not known for it's reliability.

 

[eisenhow]

My regular MkIII has been trouble free since day one. My 22/45 wouldn't make it through an entire magazine until I replaced the extractor with the Volquartsen one. After that it's been fine. I agree with everything Jeff said above about barrel length, model selection and balance. The only MkIII that I knew that ran unreliably had a lot of amateur gunsmithing done to it. One thing to note, the slide stop is just that, a slide stop. If you use it as a slide release it will wear down in a very short period of time and no longer hold the bolt open. As for hi-cap .22 pistols I think you'll be S.O.L., especially in MA. About the only .22 I know that has pre-ban hi-caps is the Model 41 with 12 round magazines.

 

[jar]

Even in free states, hi-cap 22 pistols are pretty rare. Rimmed ammo + double-stack mags == serious challenge to make reliable. I can't think of a 22LR doublestack off the top of my head.

 

[TBalls]

Has anyone else had/seen similar experiences with the Ruger Mark series?

Regarding which Mk3 to pick, I think the regular mk3 is the way to go over the 22/45. The problem with the 22/45 is you can't change the grips, unless the new one that takes 1911 grip panels is available in MA by now. Also, I hated the balance of the 22/45 because the grip frame is so light. Adding the weight of a red dot on top would make that even worse.

Re: barrel length: If you wanted to shoot irons, the longer sight radius of a longer barrel would definitely be better. With a red dot, it doesn't really matter. I don't think it has that much affect on accuracy. Longer barrels add weight and change the balance of the gun, whether this is good or bad is up to you. I have the 5.5" bull barrel stainless model and I'm happy with that choice. The fluted barrel models definitely look cool though.

Don't buy whatever crappy red dot a store will try to sell you. Ultradot is the way to go.

I've had no problems with my 22/45 at all. The only internal change has been a VQ sear, and I've yet to clean it. As far as the grips are concerned, if you're handy with a Dremel or router, you can pretty easily grind down the grips and install 1911 bushings. It can be a bit scary, but it worked out for me.

One thing I will definitely agree with is the awkward balance of the 22/45 due to the polymer frame. I'll have to find some beefy grips to help counterbalance.

 

[Emoto]

I am glad you guys have been lucky with your MkIIIs. Unless I miscounted, the score in this thread is 2 bad and 2 good. If you google ruger mkIII jamming you will get more hits than you can shake a stick at. Plus, they are a real pain to field strip for cleaning. I really, really wanted to like the MkIII I bought, but it was a P.O.S. that constantly frustrated. I would never buy another one.

A S&W Model 41 would be a great choice if it is within the budget.

 

[eisenhow]

I am glad you guys have been lucky with your MkIIIs. Unless I miscounted, the score in this thread is 2 bad and 2 good. If you google ruger mkIII jamming you will get more hits than you can shake a stick at. Plus, they are a real pain to field strip for cleaning. I really, really wanted to like the MkIII I bought, but it was a P.O.S. that constantly frustrated. I would never buy another one.

A S&W Model 41 would be a great choice if it is within the budget.

Emoto, the majority of ruger (MkIII or 10/22's) stove piping and feeding issues are fixed with the VQ extractor. Ruger should just use it in all their pistols & rifles. The 41 is a great gun and I would love to own one someday. You can get 2 or 3 rugers for the price of one though. The biggest thing Ruger has going for it is the price point and the aftermarket accessory support. The pistol is definitely more difficult than others to disassemble. However, after doing it two or three times it's really not that hard to do and it doesn't need to be done that often. If/when the time comes where the gun becomes my limiting factor (271 avg, 281 4x high this season) I may pickup a Walther, Pardini, or a S&W 41.

 

[Emoto]

Emoto, the majority of ruger (MkIII or 10/22's) stove piping and feeding issues are fixed with the VQ extractor. Ruger should just use it in all their pistols & rifles. The 41 is a great gun and I would love to own one someday. You can get 2 or 3 rugers for the price of one though. The biggest thing Ruger has going for it is the price point and the aftermarket accessory support. The pistol is definitely more difficult than others to disassemble. However, after doing it two or three times it's really not that hard to do and it doesn't need to be done that often. If/when the time comes where the gun becomes my limiting factor (271 avg, 281 4x high this season) I may pickup a Walther, Pardini, or a S&W 41.

The VQ extractor did not solve the issues on the 2 guns that I am personally familiar with. It did reduce the problems, but they did not go away.

Adding a VQ firing pin and associated bits in combination with the extractor may have done the trick, but like I said, that gun is now out of my life, so I am not sure.

I agree that the Ruger's chief attraction is the price.

Yes, it is possible to live with the Ruger field stripping process, but it remains a pain for the life of the gun even after you get good at it. Plus, the way the inside of the gun is machined, it is like they wanted to catch and trap as much dirt as possible. So, to really clean it well takes some time.

In that price range, I think the S&W 22A is a better bet, although I don't think they have the greatest trigger right out of the box.

 

[Keystone]

Can't always believe what you've read on the internet. I've seen threads online bashing the M41 as a glorified plinker.

Here's an NES thread on the 22A vs MkIII
http://www.northeastshooters.com/vb...lseye-.22Ruger-Mark-III-or-S-amp-W-Model-.22?

I'm sure the 22A is a great gun, and people probably have a lot of good luck with them. I've had no experience with one. It's always looked, to me, to be the high side of the plinker guns like the Sig Mosquito and Walther P22. I went with the MkIII due to it's reputation for being pretty reliable, not all that picky on ammo, and something that I can upgrade slowly over time. It's also grossly more accurate than I am, but that's not saying much.

Find any thread here on NES where someone asks for a recommendation of a .22. The Ruger MkIII (or, MkII) will be the dominant name. Granted, some of that might just be a feedback loop of our little closed environment that is gun owners in MA, but they seem to be pretty popular on rimfirecentral, too.

Bottom line..if both the 22A and the MkIII fit your budget, and your hand, and are accurate enough for you, pick whichever you like better. Personally, my next semiauto .22 is either going to be another Ruger, or something fancy-like, such as Pardini or M41. I don't regret the purchase, in the slightest.

 

[Emoto]

Can't always believe what you've read on the internet. I've seen threads online bashing the M41 as a glorified plinker.

Here's an NES thread on the 22A vs MkIII
http://www.northeastshooters.com/vb...lseye-.22Ruger-Mark-III-or-S-amp-W-Model-.22?

I'm sure the 22A is a great gun, and people probably have a lot of good luck with them. I've had no experience with one. It's always looked, to me, to be the high side of the plinker guns like the Sig Mosquito and Walther P22. I went with the MkIII due to it's reputation for being pretty reliable, not all that picky on ammo, and something that I can upgrade slowly over time. It's also grossly more accurate than I am, but that's not saying much.

Find any thread here on NES where someone asks for a recommendation of a .22. The Ruger MkIII (or, MkII) will be the dominant name. Granted, some of that might just be a feedback loop of our little closed environment that is gun owners in MA, but they seem to be pretty popular on rimfirecentral, too.

Bottom line..if both the 22A and the MkIII fit your budget, and your hand, and are accurate enough for you, pick whichever you like better. Personally, my next semiauto .22 is either going to be another Ruger, or something fancy-like, such as Pardini or M41. I don't regret the purchase, in the slightest.

Well, you bought a MkIII and I wish you all the best possible luck with it. Fingers crossed for you.

The MkI and MkII have a well-deserved reputation as a great starter gun for bullseye shooters. I know plenty of folks who still use them in matches. I think, though, that something happened with the MkIII that makes it much less of a sure bet. It is trading on the reputation of the I and II. I restricted my earlier remarks to the 2 guns that I have the closest experience with, but when the MkIII first came out, there were other folks in the league I shoot in who tried them and found them to be problematic and moved on to other guns. I am just trying to help anyone else who has not yet voted with their wallet to avoid the frustration that my GF and another team mate faced week after week with MkIIIs. It really took all the fun out of the matches for them.

 

[jar]

I wonder if any of the big bullseye matches do equipment surveys. USPSA does an equipment survey at Nationals every year and publishes the results. It's pretty interesting to watch the trends of what nationals competitors are using.