TargetTalk

My girlfriend has asked me for a target rifle for a graduation gift this spring. I have a Savage Mark II that I've fitted for aperture sights. It works well enough for prone, but I know it's not ideal for actual competition. I'm still fairly new on the target rifle scene, so I could use some guidance on what to look for in a proper target rifle, as well as where to buy one. I'd like to keep the budget to about $650 or below if possible. A rusty Kimber from the CMP is definitely a possibility, but I'm wondering what other options are out there, too. Any and all input is appreciated. Thanks!

PS--Whatever rifle she winds up with will be transfered properly through an FFL. Prison jumpsuit orange really isn't my thing.

The obvious choices for a smallbore target rifle would be Anschutz, Walther, or Feinwerkbau, but I suspect that these would be out of reach of your budget.

What to look for? The rifle needs a good barrel, this should be free of rust internally, have no bulges or rings (where an underpowered bullet has stuck halfway down, and been knocked free by the next shot). The trigger needs to breaks cleanly, predictably, and be light enough not to disturb your aim.
The stock is where proper target rifles really differ from sporting rifles. A good target stock fits much better, and allows a more conisistent and repeatable hold. It's also useful if the cheekpiece and butt can be adjusted to fit the shooter. The rifle also needs sights, these are comparatively expensive to buy separately. For prone you need an accessory rail in the foreend and a swivel/handstop designed to fit that rail. Screw-in sling swivels were abandonded in the 1950s.

You might look around for one of the Russian CM2 or Ural rifles. These are considerably cheaper than an Anschut; Russian rifles aren't lookers, and the external finish is rather agricultural, but most seem to shoot well enough, and these are designed for target shooting.

Is your girlfriend already a competetive shooter, or just a starter? If she doesn't already have these, have you thought of getting her the other bits like the shooting jacket, sling, and glove instead of a rifle? These should come in under budget, and make it much easier to shoot comfortably (and consistently).

Tim

The Russian Izhmash CM-2 is a good entry level target rifle. The great thing about it is it comes with sights and a sling. While the sling looks cheap, I used mine for over a year. It is completely functional.
About $600 from MT Guns. You can start doing mods to the gun at any point but I'd personally start with replacing the rail to accept a decent handstop. I'd suggest getting the CM-2 adult and not the Cadet. The Adult weighs about 10 1/2 lbs. The stocks are pretty much the same the only real differences are barrel length and diameter and the adult receiver is grooved only on the rear half, while the cadet is grooved fore and aft.
Send me a pm and I'll tell you what I did with mine and it shoots as well as I could possibly hope for.

I'll echo Charlotte about the CM-2 .... although I'm partial to the Cadets (slightly smaller & lighter).

We knock off the front sights, put extension tubes on them.

While inexpensive they can be wicked accurate.

The only downside is the trigger is not an olympic rifle trigger. It can be worked on some. If you want a good rifle to take out to 100 yds and not break the bank, these are great. We got ours thru MT Guns

Thanks, everyone. I'll give the guys at MT Guns a call on Monday and see what they have in stock these days; I've seen them mentioned in several places, and they seem to be a good place to start looking for a target rifle that is somewhat more affordable than a new Anschutz.

Actually, your initial thought might be the best of all to start with. If you can qualify for the purchase, get a rusty 82Kimber from the CMP for $423.00 and never look back.

Drawbacks would be that it's a heavy (10lb'ish) gun with not many stock adjustments other than pull length, but it has a pretty good adj. trigger and a front rail for other attachments. In general, the accuracy is more than adequate. Even the rusty's have never been used and still come in their original boxes.

While I love the Kimber 82G's .... they are more like 12-13lbs with sights.
I had to hack a lot of the stock and take off the sight mount hardware just to get one down to 10lb-2oz for silhouette.

jhmartin wrote:While I love the Kimber 82G's .... they are more like 12-13lbs with sights.
I had to hack a lot of the stock and take off the sight mount hardware just to get one down to 10lb-2oz for silhouette.

I take it that your 12-13lb weight included a scope? Mine comes in at around 10.8lbs. with the Kimber apertures installed. I wish I could remove enough weight to install a scope and still meet the 10 1/2lb weight limit for silhouette, as this gun is a lazer. Can you give me more details on how you got there?

Barry, before you look at the link and have a heart attack, realize that we got this 82G for $250 I think when CMP sold the turned in JROTC smallbore rifles. I kick myself for not purchasing more of these.

This rifle has shot 0.86" at 100yds (in a windless tunnel) with STD+ ammo.
When the girl don't knock one over, she knows it's not the rifle.

http://www.vc4hss.com/_Coaches/images/K82G.pdf

For those that are used to the weight of a precision smallbore or air rifle this works out well.

BarryB wrote:Actually, your initial thought might be the best of all to start with. If you can qualify for the purchase, get a rusty 82Kimber from the CMP for $423.00 and never look back.

Drawbacks would be that it's a heavy (10lb'ish) gun with not many stock adjustments other than pull length, but it has a pretty good adj. trigger and a front rail for other attachments. In general, the accuracy is more than adequate. Even the rusty's have never been used and still come in their original boxes.

10lb is really not heavy for a position target rifle. That's the weight of the old UIT standard rifles that women shooters used pre-'97; think Anschutz 1407, or even the CM2s. Heavy is a 15lb Supermatch.

jhmartin wrote:Barry, before you look at the link and have a heart attack, realize that we got this 82G for $250 I think when CMP sold the turned in JROTC smallbore rifles. I kick myself for not purchasing more of these.

This rifle has shot 0.86" at 100yds (in a windless tunnel) with STD+ ammo.
When the girl don't knock one over, she knows it's not the rifle.

http://www.vc4hss.com/_Coaches/images/K82G.pdf

For those that are used to the weight of a precision smallbore or air rifle this works out well.

Thanks for the details. I was convinced that I'd have to loose a couple of inched of the barrel at a minimum, but hadn't though of re-shaping the stock to the extent you show. Not sure that my wood-working skills are up to the challenge, but I just might order another rusty to give it a try. I think they still have some left.

PS: didn't have any heart attacks with your link either. Form follows function, etc. in my book.

BarryB wrote: Not sure that my wood-working skills are up to the challenge, but I just might order another rusty to give it a try. I think they still have some left.

PS: didn't have any heart attacks with your link either. Form follows function, etc. in my book.

Tools needed:
1) Table saw
2) Hand drill w/ a 3/4" bit

I've shot the Kimber and it feels heavier than the CM-2. Regardless of what the scales read, if it feels heavier it might as well be heavier. Another thing I don't like about the kimber is that the rear sight has the windage knob on the left side. I think the kimber 82 g is a great gun and very accurate and I'd love to have one but the stock is more of a sporter stock.
I had my barrel drilled and tapped for a dovetail base to use an Anschutz front globe and it wound up raising the front sight so I went back to the original russian globe and my plastic inserts from champchoice. My rifle with Lapua CenterX is remarkable. My 9's are mine.

The Kimber is interesting, however IMHO was designed with a 5'10", 180+ American male in mind. As you see, with some significant work the weight and pull can be reduced. Somehow I am assuming your GF wants to shoot 3P in which case things like adjustable butt and fore end rail are pretty imperitive. CM-2 is gaining some popularity, another to look for might be an Anschutz 1903 or older 1403 (based on Match 64 action). These are pretty solid out to 50y/50m and also a little lighter and smaller so fit more easily to a person of smaller frame.

Not sure if you can stay below $650, it would likely be kind of tight.

'Dude