E-Mail 'Start With A .22 Rifle- Part 2, by behind-the-counter' To A Friend

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1. EXCELLENT ARTICLE well thought out and researched. I am not a gun ehtnusiast, but I found a wealth of info = this gets my vote for first place

   1. Thanks! I was hoping to make the information useful for the person who is not yet a gun enthusiast but might become one or even the person who is aware that guns are just a tool. You don’t have to like them, but it helps if you know how to use them.

2. I appreciate the thought that went into this article. The ubiquitous 10-22 deserves a place in everyone’s safe in my opinion, mine have served me well. I have done the Appleseed upgrades, and also firing pin and extractor upgrades as well, and they made it a more useful and dependable tool. Nicely done, behind-the-counter!

   1. Sounds like you are ahead of the curve! You have already done the important upgrades for function and long-term reliability. About half of our customers walk out the door with a new gun complete with all the upgrades. The others come back over the next several years either to have us install them or buy the components so that they can do the work themselves.

3. Very nice article. I have shot a number of Appleseeds (no patch yet!) and learn something every time I go.

   Just a brief addition about a scope – the author mentions parallax. I will recommend looking at a mid-range air rifle scope. I use a fixed 4 power that I can turn parallax down as close as 3 meters and also allows me to adjust the focus. I also concur on the addition of the extended mag release and also charging handle. I only make the following suggestion because I have experience with them, and that is the trigger services of Brimstone Gunsmithing. Their basic service on the standard trigger makes for an even better shooting rifle and is easy on the wallet.

   Once you understand the process of the shot taught in Appleseed, you can become a hit-making machine. It is a very rewarding feeling to get into the shot cadence and see the hits you make.But as always, have fun.

   1. Many of the more expensive air rifle scopes you suggest have parallax adjustment but some are pre-adjusted at a range of 10 meters or sometimes 20 to 25 yards. This works well for Appleseed but may not be a good answer if that same rifle/scope combo is used for small game hunting at 50 or 75 yards.

      For the average big game hunter using a fixed power scope mounted with the proper eye relief and shooting at a range of 75 to 200 yards, parallax is not a big deal. Most hunting scopes have parallax pre-set at the factory for either 150 yards or maybe 100 yards. For the long range varmint hunter or sniper using a high magnification variable power scope, parallax can be the difference between a hit and a complete miss. And, it is also an important factor for precision shooting in the 25 to 50 yard range with a .22LR.

      Why is this such a big deal – Especially for an Appleseed event?

      First, let’s understand the difference between focus and parallax adjustment. Focus is the adjustment on the eyepiece at the ocular end of the scope, usually accomplished by rotating a ring at the end of the eyepiece. The correct focus brings the reticle in the scope into a crisp image for the individual user’s eyes at a given eye relief distance measured from the end of the scope to the shooter’s protective eye wear. The best way to achieve this focus is aiming against the sky or horizon so that the only image you can concentrate on is the reticle – not some object or background down range. One of the reasons why the exact same cheek weld is so important is that your cheek weld also controls the distance from your eye to the eyepiece. If that varies significantly when you are shooting in a prone position vs. off-hand from a standing position both focus and parallax will not be the same.

      The easiest way for me to define parallax when I teach a class is that focus is something you can see, but parallax is something you must experience. When the ocular lens is out of focus, the reticle is blurry whether your eye is 2″ away or 4″ and whether you are perfectly lined up with the scope or looking slightly up or down relative to the center plane of the scope. Very easy to see when the reticle edges come into crisp focus.

      Assuming the scope is mounted with the correct eye relief and that the scope is in focus for your eyes at the place where you normally rest your cheek, you probably cannot tell whether or not parallax is also in adjustment – as long as you hold your head still. To experience parallax, you must move your head several inches to each side as well as up and down while keeping the rifle completely stable and still looking through the scope. If the cross-hairs on the target appear to move even slightly as you move your head and eyes, then you have parallax that needs to be corrected. The definition of parallax is that the position of the object being viewed appears different when viewed from different positions.

      If you have carefully zeroed your scope from a stable, seated position on a bench at the range so that the bullet impacts exactly where the cross-hairs intersect and you don’t change either your position or the magnification of the scope and you always bring your cheek to the exact same place on the stock and your eyes are in exactly the same plane as when you zeroed the scope – NO PROBLEM. Change any one of those variables, and your zero may move 1″ to 2″ or more even at 25 yards.

      Now you understand why eliminating parallax is critical for the varmint hunters shooting prairie dogs at 600 yards or the thousand yard marksman.

      There are three important things to remember about a properly zeroed scope on any .22 LR being used whether for small game hunting or an Appleseed Project weekend.

      1. Because of its small size and the shape of the stock, getting the same cheek weld on a factory standard 10/22 is very, very important – especially if you have a tendency to hold your head in a slightly different (more comfortable?) position in standing vs. sitting vs. prone. Switching from the factory stock to an adult sized Magpul Hunter or a Hogue Overmolded stock can actually improve your accuracy because it increases your consistency.

      2. Although the Appleseed Qualifying Target is normally shot at a 25 meter distance, the target torsos are scaled to replicate distances out to 400 yards. The smaller targets for the simulated distances translate into a very small margin of error. Even if everything else is perfect (breath control, posture, heart rate, and trigger control), uncorrected parallax will give you the impression that you are holding the cross hairs in the right place but in reality, your rife is actually aimed an inch to the right or left – unless you make absolutely certain to keep your head in the same position as when the rifle was zeroed.

      3. An air rifle scope with parallax pre-set to 10 meters should be just fine for a well-placed shot on small game out to 25 or maybe 30 yards. At 75 yards, even if all the other variables are carefully controlled, parallax may be enough for either a miss or badly placed hit.

      The best solution is a scope with an adjustable objective that goes down to a minimum of 25 yards (or maybe 10 meters – the air rifle distance) or a high-end scope with side parallax adjustment. Even then, practice all the different positions maintaining a consistent check weld using a scope mounted to the correct eye relief.

      My apologies for a looong answer. Back when my eyesight was much better, I used to shoot prairie dogs at really long ranges. Bad parallax and not keeping a perfect cheek weld results in a miss every time.

      1. Thanks for the additional information. I checked my air rifle scope and parallax can be adjusted out to infinity, with markers at 50,75,and 100 yrds. FWIW, the scope is a UTG fixed 4-power, was about ~80, so it’s not bank breaker. It was what I had at the time and have never changed it out.

         And +1 about the cheek weld – reproducing the hold is everything! 🙂

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