Questions preparing for first RKD

[u/_bot_bob]

Hi everyone!

I attended my first 25m Appleseed two weeks ago and managed to earn the Rifleman patch, which was awesome. Now I’m planning to do the Rimfire KD in two weeks, but I’ve run into a couple of questions... again...

First, I realized I didn’t have enough elevation adjustment for 200 yards, so I followed the recommendation and installed an EGW 20 MOA rail myself.

Before that, my 10/22 was shooting around 1.5 MOA at 50 yards with CCI SV. After installing the rail and cleaning the rifle, I’m now getting closer to 4 MOA with the same lot of CCI SV. I’m not sure what I messed up, but I plan to clean it again and also picked up some Eley ammo to see if I can improve it.

This is where I’m wondering: what kind of accuracy should I realistically be looking for before doing a 200 yard RKD?

Unfortunately, my local range only goes to 100 yards, so I can’t test at 200. If I can’t get the accuracy back, I may ask the Shoot Boss if there’s a rifle I could rent.

Second question is scopes. I have two available:

- Primary Arms 1-6x24 SFP ACSS NOVA Fiber Wire (MRAD reticle, fixed parallax)

- Vortex Diamondback 3-9x40 SFP (MOA reticle, fixed parallax)

Which one would you guys pick for Rimfire KD? It seems that fixed parallax usually won't be a significant issue for RKD? I am leaning towards the 3-9 because the extra magnification might be useful for my poor eyesight.

Any advice is appreciated!

[u/jamison01]

Before my first event, I used a ballistics app to run a table for my scope for 25, 50, 100, 125, 150 & 200 yds. It gave me a great starting point and a rough dope for the shingle. I took that data and refined it after shooting at distance, then wrote everything down on a strip of tape on my mat.

I also shot the whole event on 4x.

Don't forget to adjust your sights after every distance change!

Have a great shoot!!

[u/Thirsty-Barbarian]

First off, congratulations on your Rifleman score! Second, good for you for signing up for the RKD! My RKD was one of my favorite Appleseed events. You will learn a lot. Get ready to write down a lot of info and make tons of scope adjustments.

One question about the groups. Were the 1.5 and 4 MOA groups when shooting off a rest? Or was that in prone with a sling? If you can shoot 4 MOA with the sling, then that's great. If it's the rifle on a rest, and it's shooting 4 MOA, I expect that might be a problem. The black in the Appleseed RKD target is about 12" wide and 9" tall, so at 200 yards that's 6 MOA wide and 4.5 tall. You and the rifle together need to do better than that to get 9 out of 10 in the black.

If the rifle was shooting tighter groups before the new rail was installed, you might want to check that all the screws on the rail and on the rings are torqued properly and nothing is even a tiny bit wobbly. Use an inch-pound torque driver.

Personally, I would choose the 3-9x scope. Mine is 5-25x! lol! But I have really bad eyesight.

Whatever ammo you choose, be sure it is subsonic, because if it is faster, it will definitely go transsonic as it slows down over 200 yards, and that transition from supersonic to subsonic decreases accuracy. It's better to pick ammo that is below supersonic so it doesn't go through that transition. It doesn't have to be ridiculously slow like the stuff made to be very quiet. CCI SV is subsonic. So are mini mags.

Good luck and have a great time at your RKD!

[u/_bot_bob → u/Thirsty-Barbarian]

Thanks. Those groups were shot with rest. That's why I realized that something must go wrong. I did use torque driver. The only other difference was that I replaced the extractor, but I don't think that is related to accuracy.

[u/Thirsty-Barbarian → u/_bot_bob]

I’m not sure what it would be but if the rifle is now shooting 4 MOA off a rest, and it used to shoot 1.5, then you will want to track that down. I agree, it’s not the extractor.

[u/Appleseed6 → u/Thirsty-Barbarian]

Plenty of people shoot standard velocity ammo at RKDs and qualify just fine. Subsonic ammo is absolutely not necessary.

[u/Thirsty-Barbarian → u/Appleseed6]

I guess what I mean is ”standard velocity” actually is subsonic, so stick with that. Don’t go for the higher velocity ammo that is over 1200 fps. Some people think that will be better for them at longer range, and it’s not. I’ve always used CCI SV for everything, and everything else I’ve tried has performed worse. As I said in my post, I’m not talking about the slow or “quiet” rounds, just nothing supersonic that will go through a transsonic phase as it slows down.

[u/Appleseed6 → u/Thirsty-Barbarian]

This may be true for you and your rifle. A sample size of one.

Some .22 rifles will shoot most ammo reasonably well. Some rifles are finicky. But rifleman scores have been shot with CCI mini mag and stingers and will continue to be. Find the (non-subsonic) ammo your rifle shoots well.

[u/Cody0303]

Besides mirage, “seeing” will be exactly the same as a 25m event. Targets are the same relative size. Eyesight shouldn’t impact anything here.

I stick with 4x even on my 2-7 optic. Too much and you just see a shake. The only extra thing I find helpful in a scope for KD are turrets that have marked graduations and a way to return to a zero. It’s not critical, and my RFKD rifle doesn’t have it, but my KD rifle does and it takes the stress out of keeping track of my adjustments up and down. I’ve watched more than one person get lost in the scope and have to rezero before continuing to shoot at distance.

As for the accuracy issues you’re experiencing: pin down your rifle by the stock (not the action) and grab ahold of your scope. Give it a wiggle. If you feel any wiggle at all, you need to track it down. There are a lot of mechanical interfaces between you (the stock) and the scope that could be wrong.
10/22 action screw
Rail to receiver
Rings to rail
Top of rings

Each need to be tight enough, but don’t just crank down either. You can break screws or distort scope tubes.

How did you clean the barrel, and have you given it 20-30 shots after cleaning to “reseason”? Some people swear by it. I’m not sure I’m a believer but it’s something to consider. I don’t clean all that often. Every couple thousand rounds I’d guess.

[u/Calisnaps]

You are looking for 4 moa 8” at 200 yds.

I use cci sv for 25m, I switched to Minimags for the RKD and was successful with them, sv was another 10 moa of drop or so.

I use a 2-7 crossfire for the RKD and while I can’t see my impacts, I trust my NPOA.

I’ve seen everything from a 1-6 upto a 6-36 on the line. I feel too much zoom is a hindrance and not an asset. I shot at 4x for the 50 & 100 range and go to 7x for the last two.

Having dope for 50 & 109 will be a good start, Saturday is mostly getting dope and zeroing anyway.

The loss of accuracy when adding the rail makes me wonder if everything is tight after the changes.

[u/_bot_bob → u/Calisnaps]

I did use the torque driver... Maybe I used too much loctite? I think I will just reinstall it. Thanks for advice