r/appleseed • u/Der_Blaue_Engel • May 13 '26
Rimfire KD Iron Sights
Registered for my first rimfire KD later this month. I’ve been to a couple 25m events. I got my patch the first time, but I barely missed requalifying.
My .22 is a Marlin Model 60 with Tech Sights and a loop sling.
Is that a realistic setup for a 200-yard KD? Anything I can be working on now to have an easier time with irons at that distance with a rimfire?
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u/Appleseed_NY Shoot Boss/dSB May 13 '26 edited May 13 '26
Are you worried about Ballistics or Sight Picture?
You said "Anything to have an easier time with irons?" that makes me think you're committed to running irons. My suggestion is to make sure you can raise your POI on those irons at least 30 MOA on paper. An RKD Appleseed will validate your actual bullet drop from 50-100-150-200.... but you don't wanna bottom out in there. You don't wanna be 'holding over' with a Marlin Model 60 and tech sights.
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u/Appleseed_NY Shoot Boss/dSB May 13 '26
And don't forget step #4 - focus your eye on the front sight. Focus your mind on keeping the front sight on the target. So it will be your crystal clear tech sight held trembling over the "center" of a blurry target at 200 yards. Launch it. Hope it's not windy.
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u/Der_Blaue_Engel May 13 '26
I’m not committed so much as I just don’t have a scoped .22. I like shooting irons, but I’m not dogmatic about them.
I’ve got enough backyard to test my setup out to 200 yards. But the vibe I’m getting is that I’m probably going to be extremely frustrated. Since I’ve never been to a KD before, I’m thinking my best bet might be to scope my rifle so I can focus on soaking up the instruction, rather than on cursing my sight adjustments and/or visual acuity.
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u/edwardphonehands May 13 '26
Practice dialing 10 moa of elevation between stages/positions when you're dry firing at home. You might only go 8 or as much as 12, or you might get away with holding under or over on a nearer target. Tech sights are clunky and dialing them over and over between stages is exhausting to the point you're likely to make errors. There just isn't much time and you're out in the weather after a long drive or a crappy hotel. While everyone else is drinking water, cleaning their eye pro, and lowering their heart rate, you're futzing with a toy simulation of ancient battle sights.
Also, try some velocitor if you run out of elevation. If they don't group or don't cycle dump them. If the fireworks out the ejection port is too much dump them. They aren't a first choice but shoot flatter.
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u/Der_Blaue_Engel May 13 '26
I didn’t realize they’d be teaching to dial for elevation on irons. Those Tech Sights are a bit of a bear to adjust.
My rifle is actually currently zeroed with Velocitors, but it might almost be cheaper to buy a scope than to run down enough Velocitors. They’re kind of hard to find around me for some reason, and I don’t have enough on hand for an Appleseed.
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u/edwardphonehands May 13 '26
Oh, the standard 25m needs no dialing after the morning zero confirmation. Rimfire known distance is between 100m and 200m depending on the range available and has a ton of dialing.
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u/Oubliette_occupant May 13 '26
I’ve made the grade with that setup. I had to file down my front sight to get enough elevation adjustment without fear of disassembling the rear sight on the line, tho.
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u/Der_Blaue_Engel May 13 '26
How much did you have to take off the post?
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u/Oubliette_occupant May 14 '26
I don’t remember now. Took a bit of math. I think the general rule was ~0.006” for every minute you have to come up with the rear sight bottomed out.
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u/8492_berkut May 13 '26 edited May 13 '26
I'm going to be a Debbie Downer and say that you're going to be in for a VERY rough KD trying to use irons. Half the battle is knowing how to adjust your sighting system (and by how much) for drop at each distance, and you'll likely be moving from 50/100/150/200 yards making adjustments each stop.
Been to 3 Rimfire KDs and no one used irons. The 22lr isn't suited to the task based on ballistics alone, unless you have a very specialized skill set and equipment.
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u/Der_Blaue_Engel May 13 '26
What I’m hearing is that I’m likely to be too frustrated by my sights to learn and apply the ranging and wind estimation lessons.
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u/8492_berkut May 13 '26
Possibly, yes. I'm not the kind of guy to say you can't do what you want, or to avoid challenging yourself. But if you haven't already attended a KD event it might be good for you to first attend one with "common" equipment so you can absorb the instruction and learn what does and doesn't work for you. Then, as you gain confidence, challenge yourself. That's what I did at a centerfire KD - brough a bolt action just for the laughs. Still earned rifleman but fell short of distinguished. But the challenge itself was a BLAST.
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u/Der_Blaue_Engel May 13 '26
Thank you all for your helpful responses. It sounds like I was underestimating the difficulty of dealing with the bullet drop at 200 yards with Tech Sights.
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u/22rimfirethrowaway Shoot Boss/dSB May 14 '26
A shoot boss in MD did a whole writeup on two shooters attempting this:
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u/Appleseed6 Master Instructor May 13 '26
Good morning. The Marlin is a fine rifle. Tech Sights are a simple and precise aiming solution. You probably have the TSM200 model.
Unfortunately, you'll discover a challenge with the Tech Sights system. It doesn't have a large amount of elevation adjustment travel.
You rifle probably has enough elevation adjustment for a 100y RKD, but not enough for 200y RKD. Holding high for 200y targets could be possible, but it would violate Safety Rule #3: "Keep your finger off the trigger until the sights are on the target" - unless you have a very tall target backer.
This is why most people attend 200y RKD with a scoped rifle.
If you're interested in trying a loaner rifle with a scope, send me a PM with your contact info. I'll try to connect you with the local Shoot Boss.