Rimfire

Hello and welcome back to another edition of The Rimfire Report! In this ongoing series, we cover anything and everything rimfire, including ammo, history, and, of course, new guns. While it may be “new” for the reorienting USA division of Heckler & Koch, today’s rifle has garnered a lot of recent interest from the wider community, so I secured a T&E copy for a full review here on TFB. Today, we’ll start at the beginning and take a closer look at this “new” rifle, its brief history so far, and what the rifle has to offer just on the surface. In subsequent articles, we’ll also test it for reliability, accuracy, and all that other good stuff. For now, let's take a look at the HK G36 22LR rifle’s humble beginnings - from the German airgun company Umarex.

Hello and welcome back to another edition of The Rimfire Report! This ongoing series is all about the world of rimfire and its many interesting guns, history, ammo, and more. In this continuing series where I test as many .22LR offerings as I can get my hands on, we’ve covered everything from CCI’s Standard Velocity to European budget picks like S&B Club. This week, I’m taking a look at a classic American staple—Federal Lightning 40-grain 22LR, marketed as an affordable, all-purpose round for plinking and small game. I dug up a roughly 30-year-old box of the stuff when doing some spring cleaning in the shop and thought I’d run it through our series of tests to see how it’s held up over all these years.

Hello and welcome back to another edition of The Rimfire Report! In this ongoing series all about rimfire firearms, ammo and history, we’ve been covering a lot of different types of 22LR ammo. I thought we’d take a break from that this week to check out a recent Gunbroker auction of an extremely rare rimfire firearm that was sent over to me by fellow writer Sam S. This week, we’re talking about a gun that’s a bit of a curveball: the Daisy 2202 .22 LR rifle, a bolt-action with a 19-inch octagonal barrel from a company most well known for producing BB guns. The Daisy Manufacturing Company traded pellets for rimfire rounds in the case of the model 2202 and model 2012 22LR bolt-action rifles, so let’s unpack this BB-to-rimfire detour and see what the 2202’s all about and where you might be able to find one of these rare rifles today.

Heckler & Koch USA has released a new rifle that everyone should be able to afford without a sweat. With an MSRP of just $679, and chambered in one of the cheapest calibers available, the new G36 .22LR offers an affordable way to experience the iconic HK design, making it perfect for budget-conscious shooters, trainers, and plinkers alike.

Hello and welcome back to another edition of The Rimfire Report! This ongoing series is all about one of my favorite subjects - anything and everything rimfire! While doing some early spring cleaning in my garage, I came across some old boxes of Federal Classic 40 grain high velocity 22LR. Seeing the box reminded me that I had not seen Federal “Classic” on the shelves for quite some time, and as it turns out, it doesn’t exist anymore. Since we’ve already tested out some other types of Federal high-velocity ammunition, I thought it might be cool to check what 50 rounds of the classic stuff will do in our regular series of tests.

Guess what happened 250 years ago? A United States Marine Corps veteran will tell you—back in 1775, the USMC was founded. Now, Henry Repeating Arms is honoring those two-and-a-half centuries of service around the world with the Spirit of the Corps Tribute Edition rifle.

Welcome back to another edition of The Rimfire Report! In this ongoing series, we’ve explored a wide range of topics, from the history of ancient rimfire firearms to reviews of modern guns and ammunition. Today, we’re diving back into ammunition testing with a cartridge that’s earned a strong reputation among varmint hunters: CCI’s Stinger 32-grain Copper Plated Hollow Point.

At IWA 2025, we got the inside scoop from Czech Small Arms on their .22LR Skorpion—and it's more modular than you'd think. Not only can you swap out the AR-style stock for the classic wire stock, but you can also change barrel lengths and even calibers, with options in .380, .32 ACP, and 9mm Makarov. Threaded barrel, suppressor-ready models? Yep, they’ve got those too. Check out what makes this Skorpion lineup a must-see.

Hello and welcome back to another edition of The Rimfire Report. This week we’re taking a quick break from our ongoing set of rimfire ammunition tests to check out another probably-forgotten historical piece - the Wildcat 500. Another single-shot .22 rifle with an unusual design and a brief but interesting history, the Rau Wildcat is one that I only learned existed just a few weeks ago courtesy of fellow writer Sam S. Today I’ll take you through what I’ve learned about the old rimfire rifle. Most of this information was gleaned from a combination of auction sites and various online forums as there is little official information on the Wildcat 500, let alone its manufacturing company, Rau Arms Corp of Kansas. Let's take a look at this nearly forgotten rimfire rifle.

Hello and welcome back to another edition of The Rimfire Report! In this ongoing series, we’ve been covering a lot of different ammunition brands, types, and styles - especially when it comes to all the different flavors of .22LR. One thing that I always have to keep in mind as I’m testing a lot of this ammunition is that in the end, it’s still just .22LR. By that, I mean that the cartridge's main strong point is that it's the least expensive ammunition out there, and for a lot of people in the 21st century that makes it the supreme champion of plinking ammunition. Today in a departure from our more boutique offerings, we’re testing out one of the least expensive ammunitions I could find that comes in a variety of bulk offerings - Federal Champion 36gr. Today we’ll be testing it along with my SIG Sauer Comp pistol which in addition to being a great entry-level competition gun, is probably one of the more “fun” 22LR pistols I own - perfect for an afternoon of plinking and testing out ammo.

Most of you here know I’ve had a longstanding obsession not with just rimfire firearms, but specifically the rimfire Steel Challenge competition. Today I have the pleasure of bringing on the man who currently holds the record for fastest time in the Steel Challenge competition, Mr. Steve Foster. In addition to his impressive accomplishments in the competitive shooting world, Steve also runs a business through Creekside Custom where he’s also had the good fortune of being able to continue the business and legacy of Karl Van Keuren and his Crazy Ivan brand.

Hello and welcome back to another edition of The Rimfire Report! In this ongoing series, we cover everything from some of the oldest examples of rimfire guns and ammo up to the latest releases that we’ve seen at places like SHOT Show 2025 and more. A few weeks ago we took a look at CCI’s Clean-22 Steel Challenge 40 grain ammunition. To sum that article up briefly, the ammo performed exceptionally well in the consistency and cleanliness departments. When it came to accuracy, however, I found the CCI Clean to be lacking and as I mentioned a few weeks ago - this is probably because the ammo isn’t intended to be a precise target ammunition. To further demonstrate this, I took my remaining CCI Clean-22 40gr out to the range along with my freshly cleaned SIG Sauer P322 COMP pistol, to see how well the ammo does out of a more practical Steel Challenge gun.

Hello and welcome back to another edition of The Rimfire Report! This ongoing series is all about the rimfire firearm world and all of the different types of guns, gear, ammo, and accessories that come out of it! If you’re a rimfire junkie like myself, SHOT 2025 seemed to be full of plenty of new offerings as well as improvements to old ones. As someone who straddles both the written world of the blog here, as well as TFBTV and TFBTV Showtime, I typically don’t get as much time to wander the floor as I have in years past. I did however get to see a whole bunch of new Rifmire stuff just doing our show interviews, and I thought it might be cool today to give you some of my thoughts on some of the stuff I saw, where I think it’ll take us, and what reviews you might be able to expect from me throughout 2025 and beyond.

The all-new ADX (Advantage X) ambidextrous 10/22 receiver from TANDEMKROSS is equal parts pure function and pure fun. With a reversible and lockable charging handle, the ADX gives the shooter better reload characteristics during competition and also provides the user with a 10/22 platform that is ready to accept optics and off-the-shelf 10/22 accessories right out of the box. With an MSRP of under $300 and a release date slated for Q2 of 2025, the ADX is sure to be a favorite with the Rimfire Steel Challenge crowd.

Hello and welcome back to another edition of The Rimfire Report! This ongoing series is all about the rimfire firearm world and all of its cool guns, inexpensive ammo, and rich history. Getting back to our series of 22LR ammunition tests I’ve selected a more specialized offering from CCI in the form of their Clean-22 Steel Challenge 40-grain high-velocity ammo. Clean-22’s main claim to fame is that the round incorporates a red exterior polymer coating which is intended to decrease lead exposure and barrel fouling.

Over the last few years, Bergara has moved from being an unknown company in the United States to being a staple on gun store shelves. Their lineup is expansive and includes all sorts of rifles. The newest models are optimized for precision rimfire shooters.

@BallisticAviation is at the Ruger booth at Shot Show 2025 to check out Ruger's new line of refreshed and updated 10/22 rifles and carbines. In addition to some new stock offerings, Ruger is also putting some more effort into their Custom Shop 10/22s with new lightweight carbon fiber barrels, machined aluminum receivers, and new collaborations with rimfire-centric companies like Grey Birch to produce 10/22s suitable for precision rifle work and beyond.

At SHOT Show 2025, FightLite released a line of monolithic uppers called Hypnos designed for rimfire Ruger pistols. These are drop-in uppers using FightLite’s patented Drop-On system. There will be two versions available: an upper with a threaded barrel and a monolithic integrally suppressed one. In 2016, the company announced a suppressed pistol named STEP-22LS which had uppers very similar to the integrally suppressed Hypnos. Let’s take a closer look.

Hello and welcome back to another edition of The Rimfire Report! This ongoing series is all about the rimfire firearm world and all of its rich history, cool stories, unique firearms, and of course its many different varieties of ammunition. This week we’re back again with another ammunition test featuring Winchester’s Super-X Power Point 40 grain Round Nose Copper Plated Hollow Points (what a mouthful). Today we’ll go through my standard set of tests using my Bergara B14R as the test platform, and my Garmin Xero C1 Pro Chronograph as our velocity testing equipment. Let’s see what this ammo can do!

Hello and welcome back to another edition of The Rimfire Report! This ongoing series is all about the world of rimfire firearms, covering everything from guns and shooting sports to history and technology. Last week, we took a look at the rimfire Browning BPR rifle. This week, we’re shifting gears to honor a man whose work has had a lasting impact on the world of rimfire firearms—Karl VanKeuren, the founder of Crazy Ivan LLC.

Hello and welcome back to another edition of The Rimfire Report. This week, we’re checking out another discontinued rifle (or rifles) - the Browning BPR (Browning Pump Rifle). In my opinion, the BPR was probably the best example of a pump-action rimfire from the 1970s that was chambered not only in .22 LR and .22 WMR but also a select handful of centerfire cartridges. While this rifle was discontinued decades ago, its unique design and practical performance have made me dream of this rifle coming back into the market. So today I’ll give you guys a brief overview of the rifle, where you can find them today, and of course my reasons for wanting to bring it back.

Hello and welcome back to another edition of The Rimfire Report! As part of this ongoing series of entirely rimfire-focused topics, I’ve been going through as many different types of .22LR ammunition as I can get my hands on, and running them through a series of standardized accuracy and velocity tests using a Bergara B14R rifle and Garmin’s extremely handy Xero C1 Pro chronograph. In the past, we’ve had the opportunity to check out everything from CCI’s very much loved Standard Velocity ammo, to some of Europe’s best budget offerings like last week’s S&B Club 40 grain. This week we’re checking out another rather odd ammo I picked up while browsing a local outfitter - Browning PRO-22 40 grain. This ammo is marketed as a varmint hunting/recreational shooting cartridge and today we’ll run it through our normal series of tests so I can give you my thoughts on the ammo.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. is proud to announce the release of a new lightweight 10/22 rifle, chambered in .22 LR. This rifle is the lightest in Ruger’s 10/22 lineup, weighing only 3.5 lbs. It features a 16.1" cold hammer-forged barrel with a carbon fiber sleeve. The tensioned stainless steel barrel is designed to reduce weight and vibration while providing increased rigidity. The barrel is threaded 1/2"-28 to accommodate muzzle devices - great for suppressors, you know!

Hello and welcome back to another edition of The Rimfire Report! I’ve been getting some fresh new batches of different ammo for testing, so this week we’ll be checking out a rarity over here in the States - Sellier & Bellot Club 40 Grain 22LR.

Rimfire shooting has always been the go-to starting point for anyone curious about marksmanship. Whether you’re plinking cans in the backyard, working on precision shots at the range, or dipping your toes into competition shooting, the long-lived and affordable .22LR is easy to shoot, and just plain fun. Now, the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP), in partnership with Lake Erie Arms in Ohio, is looking to bring that same energy indoors with their new CMP Rimfire Rifle League. From what I can gather from the press release below, the new CMP Rimfire League will be perfect for beginners looking for a no-pressure way to try competitive shooting, or seasoned shooters itching for some winter practice. In that case, this new league might just hit the mark for you, and it's one that I hope we get to see spread rapidly to more shooting clubs across the nation.

Hello and welcome back to another edition of The Rimfire Report! We’ve been talking a lot about firearms and trends from the past lately and today I thought it might be fun to talk about something a bit more modern and a bit more fun in my opinion - precision rimfire competitions. The National Rimfire League or NRL22 is one of the fastest-growing competitions out there. I recently had a chance to chat with a few friends who’ve been competing in NRL22, and after listening to their stories, I thought it might be good to condense and break down some of that info with you here in the hopes that some of you might take up the sport yourself. Whether you’re looking to take the leap from casual backyard plinking or just want a fresh challenge that won’t blow through your wallet, NRL22 might be exactly what you’re looking for.

Hello and welcome back to another edition of The Rimfire Report! This ongoing series is all about the rimfire firearm world and all of its different types of shooting sports, guns, ammunition, and history! This week we’re talking about a subject that I think we’ll be hearing a lot more about in the coming weeks and months in the lead-up to SHOT Show 2025. I’m of course talking about the new .21 Sharp rimfire cartridge.

Hello and welcome back to another edition of The Rimfire Report! This ongoing series is all about the rimfire firearm world and all of the different types of ammo, firearms, shooting sports, and history that it involves. Last week we talked about the extremely antique Hamilton Model 11 rifle often referred to as the “boy’s rifle.” Boy’s rifles were a subcategory of firearms back in the late 1800s and early 1900s that were intended to be extremely lightweight and inexpensive to serve as introductory firearms for youngsters - something I think we should bring back into vogue in today’s modern firearm industry. Throughout the years of writing this series on really old firearms like the Model 11, I’ve come to realize that boy’s rifles were far more prominent than I’d ever imagined during their height. In addition to the Hamilton rifle we talked about last week, companies like Stevens, Winchester, Marlin, and even Remington all made boy's rifles virtually all single-shot and all chambered in rimfire cartridges. This week we’re going to check out the last of Henry M. Quackenbush’s designs, the single shot Bicycle Rifle.

Hello and welcome back to another edition of The Rimfire Report! This ongoing series is all about the rimfire firearm world. Most of us remember shooting a gun for the first time. As I’ve talked about a bunch of times before, mine was the Ruger 10/22 and for a lot of other shooters my age it was their first gun too. One gun I’ve come across recently on Gunbroker might just be the early 1900s equivalent of that - The Hamilton Model 11 otherwise fondly known as the “Boys Rifle.” Simple, rugged, safe, and affordable, the Model 11 was probably the first rifle many boys shot throughout the first half of the 20th century, and today I wanted to take a closer look at this strange collection of tubes to see what it offered the back yard plinkers of the early 1900s.

Hello and welcome back to another edition of The Rimfire Report! This ongoing series is all about the rimfire firearm world and all of its different types of guns, ammo, shooting sports, and history! Over the last 5 years working with TFB I’ve had the honor and privilege to be able to review some of the latest products that come out in both the broader firearm world, as well as the niche market of rimfire firearms. I was recently invited to test out one of the new TANDEMKROSS “Spitfire” Lightweight 10/22 barrels that were just released less than two weeks ago. One thing I’ve been struggling with when it comes to my ragged assortment of 10/22 pattern parts is that most of the parts from my original 10/22s have been sacrificed for various other rimfire projects. To that end, I just decided to go ahead and use as few of my factory Ruger parts as possible and go all in on a new build to see what a full aftermarket 10/22 build can do. So today on The Rimfire Report, I’m going to give you guys an overview of what I’ve been up to with this almost 100% aftermarket part 10/22 build.