RFD or Private purchase?

[Topic22]

I'm very new to the sport but joined a club and completed the training course, became a full member and recently applied for a FAC.

Training involved handling and shooting a number of rifles but mainly .22lr, specifically bolt action Rugers and CZ's.

The advice I'm getting once the FAC is through is to buy a "decent" bolt action .22lr, put enough ammunition of different brands through it to see what works best and focus on improving my technique over 25 and 50 metres.

Having read endless reviews and forum threads about different rifles it's less the make of rifle I'm concerned about (preference at present is a CZ 452, 453 or 455) but where I buy it.

Would I do better to purchase from a RFD on the basis I may be paying more but am likely to get better advice regarding, say, appropriate scopes and are there particular problems I should be aware of in buying privately?

As you might expect, a couple of club members have rifles they would be happy to sell but I'm not convinced a .22lr Tactical is the best place for me to start!

Any pointers much appreciated.

[Rockhopper]

What discipline do you want to shoot? I'm guessing bench rest given the rifles you are talking about? Do you want to be competitive or to just plink?
Does bunny bashing figure in your plans?

[Ovenpaa]

RFD or private, I would not overly worry about either as a source and having recently seen some hideously overpriced and shot out dogs that came from 'Knowledgeable gunshops' my preference as a first rifle buyer would be to take someone you trust who genuinely knows about such things with you to look at the rifle and do check the bolt face and bolt as well as the external condition. If you can test fire it even better and the plus side of the private sale is the rifle will probably come with a scope and sound moderator and the owner will be able to tell you what it shoots best with.

[Blackstuff]

As above, you've got next to no chance of getting an unbiased/relevant option in a gun shop, more likely you'll end up with whatever stock the RFD has had trouble shifting.

Get opinions from people doing the same sort of shooting as you and make your own choice

[WelshShooter]

The CZ's certainly are nice rifles, doesn't matter whether you buy new or used they are good value for money. I picked my CZ 452 ZKM around 4 years ago brand new. I say brand new, it was originally made in the 90's but never used, I was the first owner! There has been no difference to the rifle after putting 2,000 rounds down the barrel. If I gave the rifle a bit of a clean (.22lr is not a clean calibre!) the rifle would look as good as new.

Have a budget in mind and do a bit of shopping. I would consider used rifles too, so long as they are in good condition. They will still shoot well. In terms of knowledge from gunshops/RFD's, I can't speak for your local area but some "well known sporting outlets" don't give too good advice and just push whatever items they may be trying to get rid of. If the RFD in question is a shooter themselves, then obviously they can give some good advice regarding the rifle and the scope. Until we know what discipline you intend to shoot, or what budget you have then we cannot recommend too much right now.

PS - If you do have your mind set on the CZ, there are two things to consider when scope mounting.

(1) make sure the rings are high enough so that the bolt does not scratch the underside of the scope eye piece. The bolts are made in such a way that the bolt handle protrudes perpendicular from the bolt body before bending, it is this protrusion which can impact the scope eyepiece which may block the bolt from moving when cycling a round (see attached picture below).

(2) make sure that you use some form of cheek riser to get a proper cheek weld. The wooden stocks on CZ 452's have a lower comb, so when you scope mount it you may find you need to use a "chin weld" to get your head in the correct place.

[Ovenpaa]

As above, you've got next to no chance of getting an unbiased/relevant option in a gun shop, more likely you'll end up with whatever stock the RFD has had trouble shifting.

Get opinions from people doing the same sort of shooting as you and make your own choice

Agreed

I am still seething on behalf of a customer who purchased a Winchester M77 in .243Win, it cost him a cool GBP500 and has virtually no bore left, what is not fire cracked is worn belief. It would not shoot accurately and the first Gunshop he took it to suggested chopping a couple of inches off and crowning so he came to me for the work. A couple of minutes with the Hawkeye and I had to give him the bad news, yes I could shorten and crown the barrel however it would just mean he was further out of pocket with a rifle that still would not shoot and should never have been sold. Someone somewhere knew exactly how bad this rifle was yet it still ended up being punted out to an unsuspecting new shooter.

[dromia]

When buying from an RFD always check their terms of sale and see what that it says about returns, it can be a good indication of the type of company you would be dealing with. There are decent RFD's out there as well as the shysters, like private sellers they are people at the end of the day and that means very good to very bad and all points inbetween.

However at the end of the day with second hand especially it is caveat emptor, so take a trusted person along with you to inspect any gun if you do not feel confident in what to look for your self.

[Topic22]

What discipline do you want to shoot? I'm guessing bench rest given the rifles you are talking about?

Certainly at the moment I guess bench rest as well, though that may have something to do with the absolutely lovely guy with whom I did most of the training sessions not being keen on showing me much about any other discipline as he told me he was too old to be "jumping up and down"!

Do you want to be competitive or to just plink? Does bunny bashing figure in your plans?

No thoughts of hunting, purely range shooting as I see it at the moment. It's too early for me to think about competing but what has surprised me is the satisfaction I get from very gradually improving the groups I can shoot and if plinking is the right name for that, fair enough!

Much appreciate the thoughts on private .v. RFD, all of which makes perfect sense. There's no way I will be able to gather sufficient experience to reliably judge a potential purchase on my own so I'll do some asking around at the club to see whether anyone might be able to help either with looking at potential private sales or recommending RFD's with whom they've dealt.

Again, thanks for the pointers.......I'm sure it's good for my soul to be starting on something from scratch but there's a lot to absorb!

[dromia]

There can't be that much to shooting, just look at the lot on here and they manage it, if they can even the dead could.

[20series]

There can't be that much to shooting, just look at the lot on here and they manage it, if they can even the dead could.