first (short) range trip with my new MR plinker (mlr22at)

Wow. Nothing much in this sub-forum. So here goes.

Made it out w/ the new MLR22AT today. Gotta say, probably biggest grin I've had in awhile w/ a gun. It was a bit chilly so all I took the time to do was get the scope onto steel. Then stuck up a reactive target and tuned a little but the sun started to go behind the hill and had I stayed I think I could have gone thru 1000 rounds before bed. Dude the thing is FUN FUN FUN. Yea, it's just a 10/22, but the grip is dreamy and the weight is just nuts. Wishing I had gone w/ the 3-9x40, or even bigger, but the 2-7 will do for now. It's crazy accurate, just need to get the scope dialed in next time and I have every reason to believe I'll be able to put one round right on top of the prior up to 50 yards at least.

Will have to post more after the weather warms up or we get a day above 60 when I can stand to stay longer.

http://www.kahrtalk.com/picture.php?...&pictureid=687

Nice write-up. Definitely one of the biggest overlooked 10/22 builds out there!

I agree, its definitely overlooked. You couldn't build this, particularly at today's prices on stock 10/22s, for any less and it might cost you more. I've been shopping for a 22 rifle for awhile (previous thread on this) and if you take the price of a regular 10/22, add a barrel, this stock (or any other stock really), you'd easily be at the price of this gun...today or pre-frenzy. This gun was selling mid-500 to 600 before the frenzy. I paid just under $700. Basically about the same markup thta's on a 10/22 right now. I probably overpaid a tad, but I'm OK w/ that.

I was also considering a 15-22, but boy I'm glad I went this route. The weight alone (or lack thereof) really makes this a better choice unless you are really looking for an AR training platform.

Strange as it sounds, this is my first rifle. I have always shot other folks stuff when the opportunity presented itself, but never had much of a desire to own one of any flavor. Always been a handgun guy and after years of working through the 'cross dominant' thing I also never wanted one because using my right eye is just a royal pain. I pick up a rifle and just have a really hard time w/ it. I'm right handed, left eye dominant. I feel completely incompetent w/ a rifle in my hands.

After this short outing today, I think I'm going to work on shouldering the rifle on my left and just learn to shoot it left handed (Inigo Montoya..."I'm going to do him left handed"). I can already tell if I keep trying to shoot it right handed I'm going to screw up years of work learning to shoot my pistols with both eyes open, head turned to the right to force my left eye to do the work.

Now I just have to find more 22lr ammo. I've still got 1000 rounds or so left over from my short ownership of a Walther P22. But I can tell that isn't going to last long. Hopefully prices and availability on 22lr will correct itself before I run out.

And that is why I suggested one back in your searching thread....

I feel your pain on the .22 ammo....eventually it will be ok/cheap again. Having the one 10 round mag will help a bit with keeping your ammo in check. BTW, I tried out a Butler Creek Hot Lips (plastic lips) 25 round mag.....JUNK. In one mag of 25 rounds i think I had 8 or 10 mis-feeds. I could have shot and loaded the ten round 3 times as quickly as I got that 25 rounder to feed 25 bullets...so stay away from those. Not sure on their metal lip ones, plus I've heard some negatives on the ruger 25 rounders, but who knows. I still want to at least try one....the only bad thing is the 25 rounders really stick down a lot. I want to stock up on the 10 rounders.

Congratulations. What a fun rifle! Have a great time with it.

Yes, THANKS for that suggestion by the way! I had seen them quite awhile back and really wasn't even considering them b/c of the cost of the older models (composite stock). Those ran near 800 if memory serves, back before all this junk and quite frankly hadn't even given them a thought when I was looking in that other thread. So, definitely THANKS! The cost shaved off by the polymer stock on the MLR22AT model makes it well worth the lower cost IMO.

Alfonse, its definitely fun. Can't wait to get back to the range.

I should also add, pretty pleased w/ the Hawke scope. From the reviews/comments I've run across, they aren't by any means a high end scope, but on a 10/22 I have to say I'm pretty impressed. I actually ended up using the backlit reticle as the sun went down over the hill and was actually impressed. So many 'cheap' optics that I've seen on peoples firearms over the years that claimed to have a lit reticle only to see it wash out or overtake the crosshairs. The Hawke really did not. I was pleased. Will definitely be looking at them should I decide to go to a 3-9. I had earlier pretty much decided on a $300 Burris 3-9 backlit, but I'm glad I skipped that and spent 1/3 of that. For $100, it's more than effective for my shooting ability. I would definitely recommend giving them a look if you need a low-end to mid-range scope. You get a lit reticle w/ off + 5 steps of both red and green (or blue depending on the model you get), and adjustable objective for parallax correction on certain models. Again, all new to me, but I put each feature to use tonight and they all made a difference.

For a hand-gun guy, I've found more crap to research, study and absorb my time. Great! Good thing I was already 'on the couch' due to some back issues and a twisted ankle!

Great post Chrish. I'm always glad to see someone happy with a purchase. I know how it feels! Sometimes, you don't quite get what you want!

The 2x by 7x scope I got has red and green illumination of the reticule and mil-dots, etc... nice, but the illumination is too bright... kind of overwhelming, but I knew it wasn't a .22 scope, either. I don't know that I'll ever get to do a real workup/out with it and see what it can do outside 15 yards!

Wynn:)

I know I am responding to an old thread but had to chime in. I bought two of these MLR22 rifles. One for the son for Birthday/Christmas present and one for the wife. She looked at the son's when it arrived and said she also wanted one. I got the two wiith identical Black Pepper thumbhole stocks. Both guns are shooting sub minute of angle at 100 yards. They are incredibally impressive! My son has a 4.5X14X40mm Meuller Optics APV scope on his and I have a 4X16X50mm Pentax on the wife's gun. Both scopes work great. I really like the 50mm objective on the Pentax, but this scope does not have a sunshade and the objective is not adjustable. The Meuller scope is better. It has an adjustable objective and you can get a sunshade for it. Both scopes are reasonably priced. I am going to try a 4.5X14X50mm AO Tactical Mueller scope next.

Definitely recommend the MLR22 though. It is a great package with that graphite barrel. :)

Hi All,

I just picked up a Magnum Research MLR22 Switchbolt, and have to say I love plinking with this thing. So light and fun to shoot. I put the Primary Arms ACSS 22LR scope on it and had it zeroed in in about 15 rounds. Using both BX-25 and BX-1 magazines mostly with CCI ammo. The only thing that I want to change so far is the magazine release. It's a bit had to get the magazine out sometimes, as I guess I'm not pressing the release far enough. Are there any extended mag release arms that will work on the SwitchBolt?