.22LR rifle recommendations?

[ryguy76]

I'm looking into getting my first rifle, a .22LR, mainly for target shooting, but may end up dabbling in some Grouse hunting too.

I've been reading and watching Youtube reviews and am having a hard time deciding which would be the best. Looking for a bolt action, but not completely against the Semi's.

Figured I'd ask the guys here to see what might come of it. So if you have any knowledge on the topic, feel free to chime in and give me your opinion on how I should proceed.

I think CZ is more than I want to spend. Currently, it's down to the usual suspects... Ruger American Rimfire, Ruger 10/22, Marlin XT-22 and Savage Mark II.

[Sharp Guy]

Any of the models you mentioned are good starter rifles. Personally, I think I'd save my money up and buy a CZ. Love my 452 American!

Come on over to Rimfire Central and look around. There's a lot of great info over there.

http://www.rimfirecentral.com

[ImageX]

You really can't go wrong with any of those rifles. I'd personally go with a 10/22. There's MANY different styles, color schemes, and accessories to choose from too. More so than any other 22 on the planet.

[Bloke]

I'd have to agree with Sharp Guy.

I bought a new CZ Brno model 2 in 1984. It's shot many, many thousands of rounds, been well maintained and serviced and if it doesn't shoot as good as the day I bought it, I haven't noticed! :)

[demoncase]

When you mean 'target shooting'- do you mean 'informal plinking', something more formal or something like ISSF 10m?

.22RF semi autos are great fun but for target accuracy and game shooting I'd been looking at the Sako Quad, which gives you a selection of caliber barrels on the same platform....and their triggers are like a glass rod breaking compared to the mushy out-of-the-box 10/22

That said, if you want a great 'keep tweaking' gun, the 10/22 has more extras, spares and upgrades off the shelf than an 883 Sportster.

Oh, and I have a soft spot for the Feinwerkbau 2700 if you are thinking of heading down the brain surgery route for 10 or 25m ISSF.....
Want a real 'ego deflating' experience for the blowhards on the range?- Give 'em a .177 recoiless 10m air rifle with diopter sights and ask them to hit that full-stop sized aiming mark more than twice out of 10

[wrdwrght]

I'd echo the CZ 452 recommendation.

I went with the Lux model because I wanted a longer barrel, and iron sights as an option to my Leupold scope.

[MacLaren]

CZ is great. But aint a thing wrong with Savage either.
That being said, I had a Savage MKII with a threaded barrel and it was a really nice .22
Then my dad gave me his 1968? Remington MatchMaster. The most incredible trigger ever.
Now, I know what all the hype is about concerning the older Remmys. Has a 26" bull barrel too :)
At any rate, a lot of good recommendations here.

[bearfacedkiller]

I have owned the same 10/22 since I was a small child and it is still making head shots on squirrels at 40 yards without issues. I have been slaying them lately. :) I personally think that the 10/22 is one of the greatest guns ever made. Sure there are nicer options out there but for affordable functional fun it is the best out there. It also has more aftermarket support than anything out there except maybe the ar15 or 1911. I can knock shotgun shells off a fence post at 100 yards with cci mini mags with mine. My next .22lr will be a Henry Golden boy. I have always wanted one of them.

[farnorthdan]

Lots of fun to be had with the 10/22, got my first one about 40 years ago and its still going strong, picked up the break down when they first dropped and added a few mods to it, probably one of my favorite fun guns. AGP folding stock and Tech sites.

[Sharp Guy]

10/22's can be a lot of fun. They are excellent plinkers in stock form and can be made to be quite accurate but be prepared to spend a lot of money doing it. I've been messing with them on and off for many years. Mine is currently set up for CMP Rimfire Sporter competition and wears a Kidd barrel, aftermarket stock, and has had trigger & bolt work done to it. I still don't think it's as accurate as my CZ 452 or my bolt-action target rifles but I haven't really tried any match grade ammo in it yet.

Show and tell time!

Kimber 82 Gov't with a Kimber SSV stock and Redfield 6400 scope. I still have and use the original target stock and aperture sights when I want to use it for position shooting.





Original configuration:




CZ 452 American with Weaver 4-16 scope. The scope is set up high for silhouette/offhand shooting. It also works out better for me for the various positions used in Rimfire Sporter competition. The sling is only on there for the pic. I use a single point sling for position shooting.






Remington 541X. A lot of "upgrades" were done to this rifle. It's quite accurate!




Remington 513T "Matchmaster" (1946). This rifle had seen better days when I bought it many years ago. There was no collector value left so I refinished the stock & metal, drilled and tapped to accept a target scope, etc. It cleaned up nicely and is still capable of shooting very well!






Winchester 9422 (1973) This one was my Dad's. I was never much of a lever gun guy until I received this one. It's a fun plinker and is surprisingly accurate. The trigger on it is exceptional compared to most. I think my Dad had my brother do a trigger job on it but we don't remember for sure. This one might get used for Cowboy Silhouette shooting that's becoming so popular down here in TX. I just need to get to a match and try it to see how I like it.




Winchester 61 (1956) Edit: Note the scope position in the second pic. That's exactly how I received it. The Weaver 4x scope, vertical split rings, and added recoil pad are all period correct for the mid 50's and I suspect they were added shortly after the rifle was originally purchased. I wish the alterations weren't made to the rifle since it ruined the collector's value but I won't complain considering what I paid. Oh yeah, it's surprisingly accurate as well.





I have several others but these are pretty much my favorites. I'd probably have a few more by now but most of my gun money has been going to buying knives lately. :)

[farnorthdan]

Like the Winchester pumps, been collecting them for years, they just don't make them like that anymore, buttery smooth action on those babies.

[The Deacon]

Been away from buy new rifles for far too long to give brand advice. I will say that, IMHO, the best "first rifle" is a bolt action with a clip, rather than a tubular magazine. Unlike most pumps, levers, and semi-autos where you have to peer into a small ejection port, a bolt action makes it easy to inspect the chamber to be certain the gun is not loaded. The bolt can also be removed and stored separately for additional safety at home.

[Sharp Guy]

Been away from buy new rifles for far too long to give brand advice. I will say that, IMHO, the best "first rifle" is a bolt action with a clip, rather than a tubular magazine. Unlike most pumps, levers, and semi-autos where you have to peer into a small ejection port, a bolt action makes it easy to inspect the chamber to be certain the gun is not loaded. The bolt can also be removed and stored separately for additional safety at home.

Sound advice! Except I will never store a bolt separate from a rifle. Back when we owned a shooting facility, I'd be a rich man if I had a dollar for every time a customer would ask for their range fees back because they stored the bolt for their rifle separately and they brought the rifle but left the bolt at home. I also see a lot of folks looking to buy a bolt for Granpa's or Dad's old 22 because the original was lost or accidentally thrown away. I keep everything locked in a safe with the bolts stored (uncocked) and in the rifle. That way if anything happens to me at least the firearms are complete. My family may have a hard time figuring out what original & spare parts go to what in my parts boxes though. I'm in the process of organizing, labeling, and documenting all that too just in case something ever happens.

[clovisc]

10-22 is an awesome choice with myriad customization options if you ever get bored with it. Mine is currently a mini AR. :D

[murphjd25]

I've got a 10/22 and a Henry lever action 22. Love them both, fun plinkers and ground squirrel guns!

[bdblue]

You realize that ammunition is not available anymore?

Where I live there is none available. Stores no longer reserve a spot for it on their shelves. I don't know where it's all going- if people are still hoarding it, someday there might be a lot of it dumped on the market when people decide they really need the money.

[ryguy76]

Thanks for the recommendations, fellas. Surprised to see so many responses, but did kinda figure this wouldn't be a terrible place to ask such questions.

After reading more, and thinking on it, here's where I'm at.

I have lots of expensive hobbies and this needs to be somewhat low key on the radar in order to get buy-in from my wife. I have hobbies that are akin to buying the 10/22 and then dumping much more $$ into it to customize and optimize it. That scares me. I know what it's like and it never seems "done" once you start researching what's available. Naturally, I'd like to steer clear of that model for that reason alone.

The CZ, in Canada, seems to be double the cost of the other decent Plinkers I've been looking at. I don't want to dole out the money for a CZ and find out it doesn't really grab me as much as I am hoping it will.

Something that's ready to go out of the box with solid accuracy (going bolt for this reason alone), and a decent price point, is what I'm looking at. After much reading, and weighing pros vs cons on various models that fit the bill, It's leaving me with the Savage Mark II series. I'll likely go with a heavy barrel model. What I can't find much info on is whether the packages scopes are worth the added price, or just buy the rifle and add on my own scope choice.

[murphjd25]

I might be a hoarder of .22 ammunition :rolleyes: :D hehe

[ImageX]

You realize that ammunition is not available anymore?

Where I live there is none available. Stores no longer reserve a spot for it on their shelves. I don't know where it's all going- if people are still hoarding it, someday there might be a lot of it dumped on the market when people decide they really need the money.

22lr has been coming back around for awhile now. Even my local Gander Mountain has piles of it... when they rarely ever had any on the shelves. I have so much of it now that I walk right by it without buying any at all. Before, my heart would race when I lucked out by finding some on the shelves or online at good prices. I wouldn't consider myself a hoarder but I accumulated over 12k rounds and mostly CCI. The scarcity forced me to buy it whenever I found it. It's available now... even online. CCI still goes fairly quick but other 22lr is readily available.

[demoncase]

Thanks for the recommendations, fellas. Surprised to see so many responses, but did kinda figure this wouldn't be a terrible place to ask such questions.

After reading more, and thinking on it, here's where I'm at.

I have lots of expensive hobbies and this needs to be somewhat low key on the radar in order to get buy-in from my wife. I have hobbies that are akin to buying the 10/22 and then dumping much more $$ into it to customize and optimize it. That scares me. I know what it's like and it never seems "done" once you start researching what's available. Naturally, I'd like to steer clear of that model for that reason alone.

The CZ, in Canada, seems to be double the cost of the other decent Plinkers I've been looking at. I don't want to dole out the money for a CZ and find out it doesn't really grab me as much as I am hoping it will.

Something that's ready to go out of the box with solid accuracy (going bolt for this reason alone), and a decent price point, is what I'm looking at. After much reading, and weighing pros vs cons on various models that fit the bill, It's leaving me with the Savage Mark II series. I'll likely go with a heavy barrel model. What I can't find much info on is whether the packages scopes are worth the added price, or just buy the rifle and add on my own scope choice.

Take a look at second hand models too- there's an abundance out there at every price point, with the added bonus that it's really really hard to shoot out the rifling of a .22!

I'd also take a look for the BSA Martini-Henri actioned .22s from the 60s-80s (Because I'm a pervert and they are lovely to use)....These are rock solid, great triggers, come with 1" thick barrel, most come tapped and drilled for scope mounts. Plus the single-shot action is super easy to show as open/clear....and there's no worry of a fugitive round in a magazine causing an ND

They even made a dedicated left-handed one....as a target plinker you can't go far wrong- and they are very collectable.

Though- at the other end of the scale- I admit a softspot for the Calico C100....100 round helical drum mag, bulpup and 80s space age styling. Big grins on a steel plate range.