Izhmash IZ144 7-2KO Basic Biathlon 22wmr

[Titanium Hammer]

So I finally got around to picking up this puppy from my FFL yesterday. I picked it up from Centerfire Systems on sale for $299. All the documentation shows that she was built in 2005 and I guess has been sitting in a warehouse ever since. She came with two 5 rnd magazines, cleaning bottle, wooden cleaning rod, and an AK style cleaning kit. Everything came individually wrapped up in the usual Soviet Style brown wax paper and string.The fit and finish is typical Russian. The barrel is free floating. I'm looking forward to getting her scoped and out to the range to see what she can do. Does anyone else on here have one of these in 22wmr? I've learned over the past two weeks that extra magazines are going to be near impossible to find.

[bunkysdad]

Hi there TH, that is really cool. Magnum huh? I like it. What kind of scope are you thinking about? Over on the rimfirecentral.com forum there are a lot of fans of a scope by Mueller APV. The Mueller company had gathered info from a large number of forum members as to what features they most wanted on a rimfire scope. The APV was the result and they built it. They run a little over a hundred bucks, maybe 125.00ish and are 4.5-14x40mm and come with adjustable objective and a hood(front screw on tube). I must try one some day. I have a cheaper scope sitting on my workbench that I want to mount on something and see how I like it. It's a BSA Sweet 22 scope that I got on sale.

[bunkysdad]

Here is the Mueller APV. Comes in black or silver. Looks like they have gone up a few bucks too. A google search shows them to be around 125.00- 130.00 with free shipping.
http://muelleroptics.com/mapv451440

[Junk Yard Dog]

[Titanium Hammer]

Hi there TH, that is really cool. Magnum huh? I like it. What kind of scope are you thinking about? Over on the rimfirecentral.com forum there are a lot of fans of a scope by Mueller APV. The Mueller company had gathered info from a large number of forum members as to what features they most wanted on a rimfire scope. The APV was the result and they built it. They run a little over a hundred bucks, maybe 125.00ish and are 4.5-14x40mm and come with adjustable objective and a hood(front screw on tube). I must try one some day. I have a cheaper scope sitting on my workbench that I want to mount on something and see how I like it. It's a BSA Sweet 22 scope that I got on sale.

I actually just popped over here after doing more scope research. You know, I've been scratching my head over that dilemma since I picked her up my FFL on Saturday. My FFL is a serious target shooter and he recommended the Bushnell Banner 6-24X40 scope but I'm still not sold on it. I stumbled across this yesterday and I'm seriously thinking about it but I've got to get my tape measure out to see just how goofy it will look on the rifle as it's 16" long and who knows how much longer with the sunshade. I love the Nikon that I've got on my CZ452 Military Trainer in .22LR but it's just not powerful enough for me to see well at 100yds. I did stumble across the Mueller APV thread at Rimfire Central. I just don't know if it will be powerful enough for me at 100 yds. What do you think?

[bunkysdad]

I think it would. But it sure would be nice to try one first.

[Titanium Hammer]

I think it would. But it sure would be nice to try one first.

I wish I could try one of them out but I'm kind of limited in this area as I haven't seen many retailers carrying the Mueller scopes. I took a cheap 3-9x32 scope off of my AR and mounted it to the IZ144 this morning. The mount on the IZ is only 4" long and has limited slots for mounting the rings on this cheap scope and my eye relief isn't exactly where I would like it to be but I'm going to try and get out to the range this afternoon and see how she does at 50 yards. I ended up just ordering the Bushnell Banner 6-18x50 from Amazon this morning. I think it's going to look huge on this rifle and look a bit funny but we will see. As long as its a good piece I don't really care how ridiculous it may look. The new scope should be here by the end of next week so I'll keep you posted on how it turns out.

[Titanium Hammer]

Just got back from the range. Met fellow Forum member Lotema out there and had some fun. The Izhmash actually shot quite well and I can't wait to get the Bushnell scope on it as the cheap one I had on it today is ready for the scrap heap. I would say that the Izhmash is definitely on par with the CZ which I also brought out to the range today. Hopefully I'll have the new scope in hand and mounted by the end of next week. On a side note, the 5 round magazines that shipped with the Izhmash actually turned out to be 10 rounders which was a pleasant surprise.

[Lotema]

Good seeing you at the range again today and thanks for letting me try out the Izhmash! Fun little rifle and seemed to be pretty accurate too. If I had to pick between that and the CZ, it would be pretty tough. Some great things about both if them.

[BuckeyeSgt]

I'm looking at a Weaver or Vortex for my Ruger American. Take a look at SWFA.com for scopes. They have pretty good prices.

[Titanium Hammer]

Well I received the scope last night & just finished mounting it this morning. It's a bit on the obnoxious side but I don't care. As long as it gives me good results I'm happy. It looks to be pretty well made and I'm looking forward to heading out to the range this morning and possibly meeting up with Lotema to see just what it can do. He's a heck of a lot better shooter than I am so I'm curious to see what he thinks about the setup. The only problem so far is that the Burris Signature Zee rings didn't fit the factory mount on the IZ so I'm relegated to using the crappy rings off of my AR setup. Thought I would throw in a pic of the recessed crown as I haven't shown one before. It's pretty unique and kind of cool.

[millman]

That looks great. How do you like the side toggle action?

[bunkysdad]

Wow, now that's what I call a counterbore!

[Titanium Hammer]

That looks great. How do you like the side toggle action?

I love it. You don't need to pick your cheek off of the rifle to fidget with the bolt. Just an easy pull back and then forward and you're ready to go again without ever taking your eye off of the scope. A couple of guys at the range today brought their Izhmash IZ-149's in 22lr and those were very nice. The two of them were having a ball shooting them and playing with the dioptrical sights. They were very beefy rifles and I wish I could hit the lottery and grab one. I was very happy with the Bushnell scope today. It sighted in quickly,held zero, and the glass was crystal clear even in this overcast weather we're currently in.