Dirigo — I lead.
Precision .22LR steel,
under the North Star.
Maine Long Gong is a monthly rimfire gong match in Central Maine. Three steel gongs — 8″ · 6″ · 4″ — shot for score. No recoil, no ego, no hiding from the wind.
The Sport
Simple to walk into. Hard to master.
8″, 6″, and 4″ of honest steel
Every station runs the same three suspended AR500 gongs. Ring it and it counts; miss and it doesn’t. There is no partial credit and no arguing with the sound of a hit.
Bench-rest, all ages, any budget
Rimfire has no kick, so a first-time shooter and a grand-master stand at the same line. Bring a borrowed .22 or a full custom — the steel treats them the same.
A slow bullet tells the truth
A light bullet drifts on a whisper of wind, which is exactly the point. Long Gong rewards the shooter who reads conditions and breaks a clean shot — nothing else.
Getting started
Your first match, start to finish
You do not need to know anyone or own anything fancy. Here is the whole thing.
Register online
Pick the next match and fill out the short form. It takes a minute and tells us who’s coming.
Bring a .22 LR + eyes and ears
Any rimfire you trust, ammo, and eye and ear protection. A rest or bags help. That’s it.
Show up second Saturday
Roll into [Host Range — TBD] in Central Maine. We’ll walk you through the line and the scoring.
Ring steel, keep score
Shoot the three gongs for score, swap stories between relays, and see where you land on the board.
The philosophy
The Honest Cartridge
“The .22 LR does not make shooting easier. It makes your mistakes visible.”
Recoil hides sin. The rimfire offers no such mercy — every twitch you put into the rifle is written on the steel. That is the whole point of Long Gong.
Knowledge base
Set your rifle up right
Preparing a .22 LR for Long Range
Coming from centerfire? Here is what actually changes when you push rimfire to 200–300 yards.
Read →Choosing the Right Scope Rail for Long-Range .22 LR
Why the rail matters more in rimfire than centerfire, how much cant you need, and why tube diameter changes your elevation.
Read →Do You Need a Threaded Muzzle on a Precision .22 LR?
The crown is everything, threading is a risk, and — spoiler — most tuners clamp on. When a can actually makes sense, and when it doesn’t.
Read →Headspacing a .22 LR for Lapua, SK, Eley & RWS
What headspace means in a rimfire, why match ammo is so sensitive to it, and how to dial it in with shims.
Read →Stocks, Chassis, Torque & Bedding
Building a rifle that returns to zero: platform choices, the action-screw torque most people get wrong, and what bedding really buys you.
Read →The .22 LR and the Wind: Lag Time, Explained
Why a slower, higher-BC round can drift LESS than a faster one — the lag-time idea behind rimfire wind reads. (Original summary; not a reprint.)
Read →Come ring some steel.
Second Saturday, every month, in Central Maine. New shooters always welcome.