Good entry level smallbore rifles for a club

[Dwayne JRA]

Greetings, I am seeking some guidance as to what rifle options are there for entry level competitions that my club could look at purchasing to introduce new shooters to the sport and replace our remington 40x. Off hand I have the 1903 and 1907 as possible options (hoping someone with a bit more info could outline a few pros and cons of each).

We are also no opposed to the option of very good condition pre owned rifles. Just want to know what the best options are in detail.

[Tim S]

Dwayne,

the 1903 and 1907 both make good club rifles. For beginner and intermediate level shooters you don't need fancy fully adjustable stocks, in fact these can get in the way, and if the rifles are shared between shooters re-setting the adjustments takes up valuable shooting time. So long as the stock can be adjusted for butt length, and height, you're good to go.

The difference between the 1903 and 1907 is principally the action and trigger. The 1903 is a Match 64, the 1907 is a Match 54. The 1903 is a lb or so lighter, and has a less sophisticated (but perfectly good for club use) trigger. The 1907 is more expensive, but is maybe more durable in the long term.

Buying second hand is a good way to stretch your budget. If looking at Anschutz rifles any Standard Model (1407, 1607, 1807, as well as 1907) will be fine, so long as the bore/action/bedding are in good condition. The 1411/1811/1911 Prone-only rifles would be good too for larger adults, but may be a little heavy for juniors/smaller women, and obviously won't suit 3-P shooting.

[Shooterer]

CMP Kimber 84 governments would be your best bang for the buck, but they are heavy for juniors

[PaulB]

Remington 540XR or 540XRJR
IZH CM-2, adult or youth

are ideal guns, if you can find them.

[conradin]

Second hand rifles that dates back to the 60s and 70s will be more than enough. The only thing I would say is to purchase ONE modern rifle that are exclusively for leftie (left bolt) but with an ambidextrous stock. In this case you teach the leftie to shoot both.

[Tim S]

The only thing I would say is to purchase ONE modern rifle that are exclusively for leftie (left bolt) but with an ambidextrous stock. In this case you teach the leftie to shoot both.

Having a left hand rifle is very sensible for a club. However I see no benefit from having a left hand barrel/action in an ambidextrous stock. If you want to shoot left handed, use a left handed rifle; if you want to shoot right handed, use a right handed rifle. If you can't find a true left-handed rifle, then look an RH barrel-action with a bolt adaptor in a LH stock.

The closest you will find to an ambidextrous rifle is a BSA 12/15, unless you can afford to buy nearly new (Anschutz 1907 club, or 1903 Jr). The 12/15 has an ambidextrous action, and the stock can be held left handed.

[conradin]

The only thing I would say is to purchase ONE modern rifle that are exclusively for leftie (left bolt) but with an ambidextrous stock. In this case you teach the leftie to shoot both.

Having a left hand rifle is very sensible for a club. However I see no benefit from having a left hand barrel/action in an ambidextrous stock. If you want to shoot left handed, use a left handed rifle; if you want to shoot right handed, use a right handed rifle. If you can't find a true left-handed rifle, then look an RH barrel-action with a bolt adaptor in a LH stock.

The closest you will find to an ambidextrous rifle is a BSA 12/15, unless you can afford to buy nearly new (Anschutz 1907 club, or 1903 Jr). The 12/15 has an ambidextrous action, and the stock can be held left handed.

The ambidextrous stock with a left bolt is that you can change it to right bolt if you really need it. An emergency extra right

[Tim S]

The ambidextrous stock with a left bolt is that you can change it to right bolt if you really need it. An emergency extra right

What! If you have a spare RH barrel/action, put it into an RH stock in the first place.

You do know that you can't swap the bolt from right to left on a .22 don't you? It's not like swapping over the cocking lever on a 10m air rifle.

[Jimro]

I know the Savage Mk1's don't get a lot of love, but they are affordable and are made for entry level smallbore.

The 1903 is a much better rifle, but it is also $1,515 through the CMP. For $1,506 you can get 6 Savage Mk1 FVTs through the CMP.

The only real complaint I had with the Mk1 I owned was the plastic stock felt like plastic. So I upgraded it with Boyd's varmint laminate stock (92 dollars). I didn't add cheek adjustment or LOP adjustment or an accessory rail, but there is enough meat on the stock add those if necessary. It didn't make the rifle shoot any better, but it felt better to me.

Jimro

[Bob Smalser]

Our club hasn't found a modern junior rifle we like. The Kimbers are ambi but are way too muzzle heavy, requiring major surgery to fit kids properly. The Savages lack useful buttplates and forearm rails, and the Williams aluminum sight with screw lock is quickly stripped out by kids. The new 1903's are too expensive. And anything much over 8lbs like 10+lb Standard Rifles by Anschutz, Walther or Remington are fine in prone, but are problematic in positions for the average-sized 12-14 year old.

So we buy older Match 64's and Achievers in the 6-8lb range and update them for anywhere from $3-600. Haven't found one that cleaning and tuning didn't make shoot into one hole yet.