Rimfire Takes Center Stage

Once relegated to plinking and small-game hunting, rimfire platforms are becoming increasing popular in competitive target shooting. Far-sighted manufacturers are meeting the needs of this emerging market, and far-sighted retailers are reaping the benefits.

A World Of Its Own

Manufacturers have long offered high-quality rimfire rifles, mostly in .22 LR, but also in .22 WMR and .17 WMR. Weatherby, Ruger, Anschütz, CZ, Remington, Winchester and Browning have made collector-grade .22 rimfire rifles. Remington’s dedicated target models, the Model 540X, 541X and the Model 37 Rangemaster were decades ahead of their time and hinted at what was coming.

In the early 1990s, Ruger’s highly adaptable 10/22 platform captured the fancy of the customization crowd. The 10/22 is accurate out of the box, but aftermarket barrels and stocks make it a legitimate target rifle.

Ultimately, this led to an entire industry of rifles, barrels and accessories like stocks, suppressors and a host of accuracy-enhancing accessories like gear bags and rests. In the silhouette of the more elite centerfire market, the rimfire market has largely stayed in the shadows, but it’s a long shadow.

John Childs is a manufacturing sales representative for H&G Outdoors, serving north Texas and western Oklahoma. He shoots competitive rimfire events, giving him a front row seat to this unique culture and market. He says it has created brisk demand for an entire universe of specialty products.

“Demand is definitely growing,” Childs said. “It’s on an uphill turn, but a lot of retailers haven’t figured out that long-range rimfire has got legs. Ken Wheeler says rimfire is the biggest growth segment. I was kind of blown away when I heard him talking numbers. The products I’ve seen come around are amazing.”

Wheeler is the director and owner of the Precision Rifle Series (PRS). He said in a podcast it’s a popular perception people enter the PRS world through rimfire and advance to centerfire. In reality, he acknowledged, rimfire is actually a world of its own.

“The more I’ve gotten to know the rimfire community, it seems like guys started in rimfire, and they stayed in rimfire,” Wheeler said. “It’s wildly entertaining, and it’s really similar to centerfire stuff where you need a lot of the same fundamentals. Being a father of two young kids, that’s how I’m going to get them in PRS. One hundred percent, I’m going to teach them how to shoot a .22.” 

When Childs shot his first PRS match with .22 rimfire, he shot at 35 yards.

“I realized how much fun that was,” Childs said. “Now I’m shooting monthly rimfire matches where I shoot out to 400 yards.”

Down The Rabbit Hole …

Accu-Tac is on the front lines of this market with its high-quality bipods and scope rings, according to Childs. Custom barrels and rifles from Bartlein and PROOF Research are in high demand. High-quality chassis are available from XLR Industries and MDT for long-range rimfire. Armageddon Gear’s shooting bags are in high demand. Cole-TAC is known for its run-and-gun tripods, and also for its specialty holsters for suppressed .22 rimfire handguns.

“You can go down this rabbit hole as far as you want,” Childs said. “All this gear we use is fairly specialized. If you’re already shooting centerfire, a lot of gear transfers over, but if you go to one of these matches, you’re going to see that there’s a fair amount of gear that you’re going to need if you want to play.”

“Everybody shares,” Childs continued. “Walk into one of these matches, and anybody will let you use their gear. Eventually, you’re going to want to buy it.”

Rimfire-Specific Gun Care

Even the gun-cleaning segment has a seat in the rimfire arena. 

Jesse Rambo, co-owner of Bore Tech Inc., maker of custom quality cleaning products in Quakerstown, Pa., says rimfire has a major presence in his product lineup.

“Man, oh man, bolt-action rimfire long range! Holy cow! That has picked up dramatically the past two years,” Rambo stated.

Rambo said rising rimfire popularity derives partly from the cost of centerfire ammunition and shooters not having access to extreme long-range facilities. If you don’t have access to a 1,000-yard range to shoot your Creedmoor, you probably do have access to a 300-yard range to shoot your rimfire.

“We’re actually one of the only companies targeting that weapons system, the rimfire,” Rambo said. “There are some specific things you need when it comes to rimfire. You really need to focus on the fouling type. The fouling type you see in rimfire is nothing compared to centerfire.”

Rimfire fouling has different characteristics from centerfire fouling, Rambo explains.

“With centerfire, you’re trying to clean copper fouling and carbon fouling,” he said. “With rimfire you’re cleaning lead fouling and some kind of wax. It’s a completely different type of powder fouling. Lube over wax creates different fouling material-wise.”

Bore Tech’s Eliminator Bore Cleaner is an effective solution to clean rimfire barrels. It’s not a solvent, Rambo said. It’s a dedicated cleaner.

Also, cleaning precision rimfires requires different hardware than what’s available in generic box store cleaning kits, Rambo said.

“You’ve got these rimfire rifles that have big ejectors that hang out right into the bore line,” Rambo said. “Other manufacturers say you just need .22-caliber rods. But it doesn’t fit. That big ejector hits the rods, and some companies choke their barrels to create a more consistent seal. With those, .22-caliber rods don’t even fit down a .22-caliber barrel. They say to use a .17 or .20, but then you have to drop down a thread size with jags and everything else. So then they say buy an adapter to go from a bigger to smaller thread, but that’s the biggest weak point. They snap.”

The obvious solution, according to Rambo, is to build rods that are small enough fit through slightly under-bore barrels but that still have the proper threads for brushes, jags and mops.

“We have a rimfire cleaning rod that can pass those ejectors,” he noted.

Bore guides are another stepchild in the rimfire world. Rambo said Bore Tech offers a rimfire-correct bore guide to fit multiple rifle brands.

“Rimfire bore guides have to be make and model specific,” he explained. “They all have specific action designs. You can’t take one for a CZ and stick it in a Tikka, so of course we have rimfire bore guides for the top 10 most popular models. CZ, Tikka, Ruger, Voodoo. You name it. We’re the only company with a rimfire rod, and we’re one of only a few that make rimfire bore guides.”

Endless Customization

Aaron Michaud, owner of A&J Sporting, said the rising popularity of precision rimfire has turbocharged his business. He offers a full line of precision rimfire products, including chassis from a host of manufacturers. A&J’s catalog demonstrates the sheer number of rimfire specific and rimfire compatible products that are available. 

“When I got into the rimfire side, that’s when business really started taking off,” Michaud said. “We rode that wave. Some guys have as much in rimfire as they do in centerfire.”

Some equipment is compatible for centerfire and rimfire, but the firearms industry does not accentuate the crossover capabilities of scopes and other equipment. That’s a mistake, Michaud contends.

“If you shoot a rimfire at 300 yards, you’re still working with the same elevations, drops and dialing of scopes as you would with a centerfire at 1,000 yards and beyond,” he informed. “That allows them to work on a discipline they can’t do with centerfire because they don’t have those ranges (1,000 yards and more) nearby.”

Again, the rimfire product roster is extensive.

“Shooting bags!” Michaud said. “I sell a lot of magazines and magazine extensions. Magazines. Bolt handles. Upgrades. There’s a ton of products that are just small upgrades.”

“People are running out of money for luxuries, and what we sell is luxury,” Michaud elaborates. “We’re getting a lot of small orders. A $60 bolt handle, a $40 bolt knob. They can get those accessories and feel like they’re doing a lot here and there to their rifle without spending a lot of money.”

Don’t Limit Sales Potential

While there is a lot of rimfire-specific gear, only a few manufacturers make it, John Childs said. Aggressive retailers can corner the market in their areas by simply grabbing it. This requires networking.

“Go to shoots,” Childs recommends. “Tell people at those shoots that you carry the stuff. Participate in the space. Give a gift certificate to a prize table. Carry inventory the accessories that support the game. They will come, but people have to know you’ve got the goods.”

It’s really helpful to have someone on staff who speaks the rimfire language, he said.

“Guys behind the counter don’t necessarily know how to talk to consumers about the game,” Childs observes, “and a lot of times there’s not somebody in the store who can help a consumer pick the right product. I’ve taken some of the kids behind the counter to shoots. They’re all about it. It’s quite addictive.”

Michaud agrees, and said retailers who don’t supply dedicated rimfire products are limiting their own sales potential.

“A lot of retailers don’t understand it, and without understanding it and having the right products, they might struggle a little,” Michaud said. “Rimfire is a huge trend. NRL22 (National Rimfire League) is bringing a lot of new shooters to the sport, and those shooters are not scared to spend money.”

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