I started the TLD 10 years ago now, and the more the years go by, the more the TLD becomes popular in France, to my great pleasure!
From a “sectarian” sport in some CSA to a democratized sport, it only took about twenty years to demonstrate the strong growth of this practice.
But there is one practice that has literally exploded in recent years, and that is long-distance shooting with the 22LR (22 long rifle).
Affordable, simple, fun, much less dangerous and noisy, this practice has everything to please! But you still need to have the right equipment, because let's not hide it, a large part of the performance comes from the weapon ammunition couple.
But among all the weapons on the market, which one to choose?
I propose to bring you my experience and analysis on 5 of the weapons that I think are the most adapted to the practice of TLD 22LR as practiced in France.
In any case, let's be clear from the start, "low-end" weapons don't really have their place in this practice, you will have to immediately turn to mid/high-end or risk being disappointed...
Our selection of weapons meeting the needs of long-distance shooting:
- CZ 457
- Bergara B14R
- Ruger RPR rimfire
- Tikka T1X
Let’s go into detail:
CZ 457: The most popular!
Coming from a long heritage of successful weapons, the 457 model is of the same lineage as its ancestors… a wave of popularity on the French and European market!
This rifle is a true reference in the world of shooting and particularly TLD,
Why? It is a balanced rifle, which does not have any major defects, and it is rare enough to be highlighted!
Today there are dozens of versions of the CZ 457, varying barrel lengths, stock types, in short, there is something for everyone.
There are even some models directly tailored for the TLD which have all the attributes of a TLD stock (CZ457 MDT / CZ457 LRP / CZ 457 RANGE / CZ457 MTR)
Remember to check if your barrel is threaded, in fact many shooting ranges require the use of sound reducers to practice!
You can also start from a “basic” version and change a number of elements.
Barrel, triggers, stocks, everything is available in spare parts
For example MDT offers stocks and chassis for CZ 457
The barrels are easily changeable if necessary, even if the original barrel is already very good, resulting from a cold hammering process it will simply be indestructible!
In short, a very versatile, high-performance weapon.
We could criticize it for its popularity... We simply come across it everywhere, if you want to differentiate yourself from others, this is not the right model!
Find our CZ457 slide case here:
CZ457 BREECH CASEThe Bergara B14R: A big caliber in a 22LR body
The Bergara B14R is the first rifle to have a particular philosophy:
The 22 LR can be a stepping stone to big caliber as well as a practice in its own right.
So they decided to have a Remington 700 standard body and that's just incredible on a 22 LR...
In fact, this allows you to be compatible with all the accessories of the large caliber Remington 700!
Remington 700 compatible trigger
R700 compatible sloped rails
R700 compatible chassis and stocks
Allowing you to make a weapon in your image: Unique
In addition, Bergara now offers B14Rs in the form of barreled actions, the objective being to have a very high-performance barrel and not to “waste” money on a stock that you will most certainly change for another model.
This will therefore allow you to have a high-performance weapon for practicing TLD 22LR
But also to reduce costs if you decide to go bigger, in fact you can strip the Bergara B14R to equip a 308Win or a 6.5CM, you will only have one barreled action to buy, everything else you will already have, isn't that great?
In short, the 22LR is certainly the most customizable of all.
We could criticize him for it... his price at almost €1000 per share is not for small wallets.
THE RUGER RPR RIMFIRE: Ready to go out of the box
Ruger arrived at the end of 2017 with this model, which quickly took a very important place on the French market, and for good reason? A rifle with a quality chassis, for less than €1000 is not common!
This rifle was designed TLD from its creation, as evidenced by the features present on the chassis: adjustable comb, adjustable cheek rest, M-Lock interface on the sides of the chassis, pistol grip. And the detail that does not deceive: a 30 MOA sloped rail to reach far... very far!
The weapon has a stock ½”-28 TPI thread, a standard thread for all brands of sound suppressors.
On the other hand, the improvement options are weak... or even non-existent...
You will therefore have to be content with the basic version because the upgrade parts are rare...
In short, a good 22LR straight out of the box for those who don't want to play mechanics.
One criticism could be that... the lack of upgrade parts, if something doesn't suit you, you'll have to get used to it or change your weapon!
Find our slide case for RUGER RPR Rimfire here: LINKThe Tikka T1X, the little sister of the Tikka T3X
We find here the same logic as that used by Bergara, except that this time the T1X offers compatibility with the accessories for Tikka T3x, which have become in recent years, almost as customizable as the Rem 700!
Tikka T3X compatible trigger
Tikka T3X compatible sloped rails
Tikka T3X compatible chassis and stocks
Allowing you to make a weapon in your image: Unique
This will therefore allow you to have a high-performance weapon for practicing TLD 22LR
But also to reduce costs if you decide to go bigger, in fact you can strip the Tikka T1X to equip a 308Win or a 6.5CM, you will only have one barreled action to buy and of course that requires you to have a TIKKA T3X, everything else you will already have, isn't that great?
In short, the 22LR is the second most customizable rifle of all (behind the Bergara).
We could blame him for that... Just one barrel configuration...
Our breech case for TIKKA T1X: LINK
In short, you now have the weapons in hand to choose your preferences: Versatility or customization, or ready to use upon purchase...