mniels Posted February 17, 2021 Share Posted February 17, 2021 So, I shoot only Steel Challenge. I have a bad knee and determined a while ago that I just cannot be even close to competitive shooting anything that requires a ton of movement. I am only 45 but have had three knee replacements on my right knee due to an old baseball injury. I cannot kneel on that knee or bend it past 90 degrees. If I am required to shoot from a knee it has to be from my left one. Shooting prone is barely an option unless they change the rules and someone can help me up! However, in SC I can be competitive, and I enjoy it immensely. Outer Limits is not an issue with my movement, so I can shoot it well. So what is the issue? Ammo. Or the lack of it. Right now I am shooting CO and RFPO. I still have primers but they are dwindling down. I can probably load enough 9mm for eight or nine more matches, plus some for live fire training. .22 is scarce but I can at least buy it, and I have no plans to pay 30 to 40 cents per primer. It just doesn't make sense. I have been following a lot of industry news, and it feels like this problem is not going away any time soon. There have always been ebbs and flows to ammo and primers, but I have never seen it this bad. I think primers are not going to be normally available for a VERY long time. Think is the operative word, but it certainly feels that way. The question I have right now is, do I sell my CO pistol? I would love to build something for RFRO, and I have this fantastic custom CZ sitting here that in a few months is going to be gathering dust. The money I make from the sale of it would finance a fantastic rifle build and a good deal of ammo to boot. But man, I love my Shadow 2. I mean I love it, it is the favorite out of any of the pistols I have ever owned, and I put a lot of money and time into it. From the upgraded internals to the Primary Machine work on the slide, it is a fantastic CO pistol. But it is replicable down the line. I can always buy another one in two years and have the work done again. Of course, if I sold it I would lose money on it, that is just the market. But it is another down side. For those who would suggest just building the rifle and keeping the CZ, that is not an option at the moment. Or at least it would be a very hard to make the sale to my wife. I am also a "buy once, cry once" kind of guy, so if I build a rifle, I want to be able to build a damn nice one. I know that if I pick up something less expensive, the urge to start tinkering and upgrading is just too strong, so better to start off that way (at least for me.) So, is this a good idea or a bad one? I am honestly not sure if I am trying to get someone to talk me into it or out of it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillChunn Posted February 17, 2021 Share Posted February 17, 2021 Keep the pistol. Every gun that I really liked and sold, I ended up buying back. (Talk about lost money..... I don't even want to think about it...) As far as building a RFRO carbine, take it slow. Buy the pieces over time. Start with the bolt and chassis and work up from there. You can save money by waiting for sales like Black Friday or whatever. What you end up with is really YOUR gun because you built it. There is a certain amount of pride that comes from building a gun that runs (key word runs). People are a bit astonished when they ask "Where did you buy that?" and the reply is "I built it". BC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mniels Posted February 17, 2021 Author Share Posted February 17, 2021 1 minute ago, BillChunn said: Keep the pistol. Every gun that I really liked and sold, I ended up buying back. (Talk about lost money..... I don't even want to think about it...) As far as building a RFRO carbine, take it slow. Buy the pieces over time. Start with the bolt and chassis and work up from there. You can save money by waiting for sales like Black Friday or whatever. What you end up with is really YOUR gun because you built it. There is a certain amount of pride that comes from building a gun that runs (key word runs). People are a bit astonished when they ask "Where did you buy that?" and the reply is "I built it". BC Oh yes, I will definitely be building the rifle I want. I have been obsessing over individual parts for about 3 weeks now...just trying figure out what chassis I want to use (leaning towards the Wiland.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillChunn Posted February 17, 2021 Share Posted February 17, 2021 It took me 4 months of research to decide what I wanted and then another 3 months to collect all the parts. The rifle went together over two weekends. Fitting the Volquartsen barrel to the receiver was the most difficult part. They oversize their barrel fitment by .001 so you have to freeze it and heat up the receiver. Pounding on a very expensive carbon fiber barrel was interesting, to say the least. There's a picture of the silver carbine here on Enos that is based on the ModShot chassis. Best of luck on the journey. BC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrdoran Posted February 17, 2021 Share Posted February 17, 2021 (edited) Given your constraints, buy a stock ruger 10/22 and slap a red dot on it and start shooting. You can upgrade it over time. The only stock part on my RFRO is the original ruger receiver at this point. Life is short. Get in the game, have fun and shoot. Add a Kidd trigger if you want. At that point you are 80% of the way and should have no trouble shooting with the best of them. The ruger black plastic stock is within 1oz of my modshot chassis despite several hundred dollars of my go fast bling . Edited February 17, 2021 by jrdoran Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregg K Posted February 17, 2021 Share Posted February 17, 2021 Use your Covid check to buy your rifle parts. Nothing feels better than to use the check for guns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xpierrat Posted February 17, 2021 Share Posted February 17, 2021 I like Greggs train of thought on Covid ck usage I normally was the never sell a gun type but I have started letting go over the last couple of years of competition pistols that were not and would not be used and have no regrets... OK maybe one firearm I have had second thoughts on... the CZ would be replaceable and who knows what the hot CO gun will be in a year or two when/if ammo/primers become reasonably available... I see shooting my PCCO in 4 to 5 major matches this year then I will be in the same boat as far as primers go.... but it is a custom so it will just get some safe queen treatment until things are better.... RFRO for now as I have a reasonable amount of 22 for major matches but have cut back on local matches and live fire practice for now BTW you will love that wiland if you go that route.... here is mine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mniels Posted February 17, 2021 Author Share Posted February 17, 2021 29 minutes ago, xpierrat said: I like Greggs train of thought on Covid ck usage I normally was the never sell a gun type but I have started letting go over the last couple of years of competition pistols that were not and would not be used and have no regrets... OK maybe one firearm I have had second thoughts on... the CZ would be replaceable and who knows what the hot CO gun will be in a year or two when/if ammo/primers become reasonably available... I see shooting my PCCO in 4 to 5 major matches this year then I will be in the same boat as far as primers go.... but it is a custom so it will just get some safe queen treatment until things are better.... RFRO for now as I have a reasonable amount of 22 for major matches but have cut back on local matches and live fire practice for now BTW you will love that wiland if you go that route.... here is mine Is that the Wiland cheek riser? For some reason a lot of the listings on their site do not have pictures right now, and the cheek riser is on of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EarlKeese Posted February 17, 2021 Share Posted February 17, 2021 I would keep the S2. Here's why. . . If you put all your eggs in the rimfire basket, what happens when/if that runs out? Much of the .22 we shoot comes from the U.K. and Mexico. If imports are restricted or banned as has been threatened, then at a minimum .22 will be even more scarce and very expensive. I only shoot S.C. as well(RFPO, PCCO, CO). If I cutback on live fire practice I have enough primers and .22 to keep myself and my daughter shooting 2 matches per month for this season. As a fallback, I'll focus only on centerfire and leave the .22 for her. Once I run out of small primers, I have a couple thousand LPP's and can shoot limited as a last resort. Seems like keeping caliber/ammo options open makes the most sense right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mniels Posted February 17, 2021 Author Share Posted February 17, 2021 20 minutes ago, EarlKeese said: I would keep the S2. Here's why. . . If you put all your eggs in the rimfire basket, what happens when/if that runs out? Much of the .22 we shoot comes from the U.K. and Mexico. If imports are restricted or banned as has been threatened, then at a minimum .22 will be even more scarce and very expensive. I only shoot S.C. as well(RFPO, PCCO, CO). If I cutback on live fire practice I have enough primers and .22 to keep myself and my daughter shooting 2 matches per month for this season. As a fallback, I'll focus only on centerfire and leave the .22 for her. Once I run out of small primers, I have a couple thousand LPP's and can shoot limited as a last resort. Seems like keeping caliber/ammo options open makes the most sense right now. That is good info, thank you. I did not realize how much .22 was actually imported. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xpierrat Posted February 17, 2021 Share Posted February 17, 2021 46 minutes ago, mniels said: Is that the Wiland cheek riser? For some reason a lot of the listings on their site do not have pictures right now, and the cheek riser is on of them. Yes that is a 3D printed prototype.... the actual production ones are aluminum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zzt Posted February 17, 2021 Share Posted February 17, 2021 (edited) m, for the most part you don't 'build' a 10/22, you assemble it. There may be some gunsmithing if you choose components that need it. Bill mentioned Volquartson. I bought a Tactical Innovations Receiver and bolt, knowing they undersized the bore by .001". I removed .001" from the barrel tenon and got a push fit. If you don't require left hand charging, I'd just go with a Kidd Super Grade and be done with it. Guns are scarce right now. I think you would get good money for your CZ if you decided to sell. What I would worry about is a high replacement cost when I decided to replace it. It really may be some time before gun prices come back to 'normal'. If I were in your shoes, here is what I would do. I'd keep the CZ. I'd shoot CO until I ran out of ammo , or primers to load more. In the mean time I'd buy a cheap 10/22, mount an optic and go shoot RFRO now. You can buy this 10/22 new for under $200. https://blog.cheaperthandirt.com/review-new-ruger-10-22/ Add an optic and have fun. When you are more flush, build your custom 10/22, move the optic over from the old one and keep the plastic 10/22 as a backup. Heck, your out of pocket is $200, because you will reuse the optic later. Or you could do what @jrdoran did. Keep the Ruger receiver, polish the heck out of it and add goodies. You could even keep the bolt and replace parts with Kidd or Tandemkross. You are only in a pickle if you refuse to temporarily shoot an inexpensive rifle. The way I look at it is shooting beats tiddlywinks Edited February 17, 2021 by zzt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mniels Posted February 18, 2021 Author Share Posted February 18, 2021 6 hours ago, xpierrat said: I like Greggs train of thought on Covid ck usage I normally was the never sell a gun type but I have started letting go over the last couple of years of competition pistols that were not and would not be used and have no regrets... OK maybe one firearm I have had second thoughts on... the CZ would be replaceable and who knows what the hot CO gun will be in a year or two when/if ammo/primers become reasonably available... I see shooting my PCCO in 4 to 5 major matches this year then I will be in the same boat as far as primers go.... but it is a custom so it will just get some safe queen treatment until things are better.... RFRO for now as I have a reasonable amount of 22 for major matches but have cut back on local matches and live fire practice for now BTW you will love that wiland if you go that route.... here is mine Meant to ask you, what are you using as the riser for your C-More in this photo? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tampa-XD45 Posted February 18, 2021 Share Posted February 18, 2021 19 hours ago, jrdoran said: Given your constraints, buy a stock ruger 10/22 and slap a red dot on it and start shooting. You can upgrade it over time. The only stock part on my RFRO is the original ruger receiver at this point. Life is short. Get in the game, have fun and shoot. Add a Kidd trigger if you want. At that point you are 80% of the way and should have no trouble shooting with the best of them. The ruger black plastic stock is within 1oz of my modshot chassis despite several hundred dollars of my go fast bling . Agree 100% with this route. Buy a new or used 10/22, buy five or six 10 round mags and start competing in RFRO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xpierrat Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 20 hours ago, mniels said: Meant to ask you, what are you using as the riser for your C-More in this photo? They are E bay Items... might not be available any longer since E bay went anti gun Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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