Why would anyone want to shoot a diminutive .22 LR bullet 400 yards or more? For the very same reason shooters push centerfire rounds to the 2,000-yard mark and beyond.
Extreme long range (ELR) .22 is a burgeoning rimfire discipline popping up at shooting hotspots around the country. It’s an ideal new pursuit for ranges and shooting centers that want to get in on the trend in extreme long-range precision shooting, but don’t have a couple thousand yards’ worth of shooting lanes available.
For long-range junkies, it’s an ideal way to get their fix using relatively cheap ammunition, while still honing the necessary skills for long-range centerfire shooting. But you won’t just be selling them bricks of .22 ammo. The best part of the deal for today’s retailers capitalizing on this trend is that shooters participating in ELR .22 will have to buy an ELR-optimized rimfire rifle and all the appropriate accessories.
HOW ELR .22 Works
With ELR .22, a 500-yard range feels like 2,000, and 1,000 yards feels something like setting a new King of 2 Miles record. How is this possible? Let’s take a look at the math.
Take a diminutive 40-grain match .22 LR load with a velocity of 1050 fps traveling through a 90-degree 10 mph wind. At 100 yards, that wind pushes this little bullet 3.8 inches.
Now, consider a modern precision centerfire cartridge, like the 6mm Creedmoor cartridge du jour with a 103-grain pill and a 3000 fps muzzle velocity. That sleek bullet won’t drift 3.8 inches in a 10 mph crosswind until the 250-yard mark. Stretch the shot farther, and that same rough 2.5x multiplier for wind generally holds true. At 400 yards, the .22 drifts 52 inches, whereas it takes 850 yards to move the 6mm that much.
Trajectory comparisons yield similar results. With a .22 zeroed at 100 yards, the shooter needs to spin 7 mils of come-ups to connect at 225 yards. With the 6mm, 7 mils of adjustment puts the bullet on target at 950 yards. If we push the .22 to 400 yards—a very attainable long rimfire shot—the shooter needs to adjust by 19.3 mils. To work a scope turret that much with a 6mm Creedmoor build, the shooter would need a range of at least 1,560 yards.
For the vast majority of recreational U.S. shooters, finding a 1,500-yard range is almost impossible. But 400 yards? Not so much.
The Setup for ELR .22 Success
Any sub-MOA rimfire rifle can be made to shoot long, but shooting a group inside an inch with a .22 LR at 100 yards is a tall order. However, it’s very achievable with a flat wind, a quality rifle, and good ammunition.
Beyond 100 yards—and definitely beyond 200 yards—ammunition becomes the key factor in accuracy success. I’ve shot ammo that printed one-hole groups at 50 yards and quarter-size groups at 100, but then went to hell at 150, and missed the target completely at 200. The bullets simply went wild after 100 yards.
The only way to know if a rifle-and-ammo combination will keep cool on a long flight is to shoot it. Thankfully, for both your salespeople and your customers, there are a few rifles, ammo brands, and optics that make ELR .22 distances attainable for most shooters. The following products, all of which have been tested firsthand, will get you and your customers shooting in the right direction.
RAILS AND RINGS
Depending on the optic and goals, buyers are going to need a 20- to 60-MOA rail to connect long with a .22 LR. With a 20- to 30-MOA rail, most good scopes can be zeroed at 50 yards. This gives you dead-on holds from 10 to 60 yards for NRL22-style shooting and plenty of come-ups to about 400 yards. (NRL22 is the .22 LR division of the National Rifle League shooting organization, something you’ll want to tell your customers about; nrl22.org.)
For dedicated ELR shooting at 100 yards and beyond, a 60-MOA rail with a 100-yard zero is the way to go. Burris Extreme Tactical Rings, which come with plastic MOA shims, are another way to add more elevation to a customer’s rig. These rings paired with a 20-MOA rail is probably the most flexible setup.
The Burris rings with a 60-MOA rail will let your customer shoot the farthest. If that’s not enough elevation, consider a prism device like the Charlie TARAC, which mounts in front of a scope and acts like a periscope for the optic, adding up to 250 mils to a rig (depending on the model) without changing the rails, scope rings, cheekpiece, or the customer’s 100-yard zero.
AMMUNITION
CCI Clean-22 High Velocity
CCI Clean 22 ammo is like the ever-popular CCI Mini Mags, but poly-coated for reduced fouling.
You wouldn’t peg these as long-range loads, as they start around 1200 fps and very quickly drop below the speed of sound, but I’ve made consistent hits with them at 460 yards, and regularly connect on steel with them at 300. (SRP: $11)
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Get Customers Hooked on ELR 22 Shooting
Why would anyone want to shoot a diminutive .22 LR bullet 400 yards or more? For the very same reason shooters push centerfire rounds to the 2,000-yard mark and beyond.
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