Researching .22LR rifle selection

[Hal]

Hi,
I am going to buy a .22LR rifle for my son to replace a really old Stephens semi-auto tube fed. He doesn't want a tube fed; seems to prefer magazine.

My son's friend has a Ruger 10/22 that, for whatever reasons, my son doesn't like after shooting it. He wasn't too specific on what it was about it.
I am looking for two things: recommendations/comments on the market choices available for either semi-auto or bolt action, and a list of websites where I can do research on comparisons of these type rifles. My son is unsure of his preference semi versus bolt, but I think he's actually leaning toward semi-auto.

Do most .22s having the same reliability and accuracy, within reason? I plan on using bulk ammo, any brand; and it's for target shooting (non-competition).
I was thinking of getting stainless steel barrel, but I'm hearing cleaning isn't really an issue so might not be needed.

I visited a few stores and see prices range from $120 to maybe $300, but seems no two stores carry the same makes/models, and each store seemed to have limited selection.

Thx,
Hal

[.30 HART]

My personal favorites are any of the Marlin bolt actions. As far assemi autos and seeing that you have eliminated the 10/22 you should look at the Rem 597.....get it in camo and stainless (cool factor!!) for your son. I hope this helps and keep him shooting we need all the young people we can get.

[kax23]

i have a marlin 60 in stainless and i love it. i shoot cheap remington golden bullets from walmart and will shoot under an inch (five shots) pretty consistantly. i know tube fed guns aren't as fun as mags, but eliminating the 10/22 leaves the 60, as far as the old standards go. as for the rem 597- i've heard nothing but problems from them. the marlin 795 isn't a bad gun. nothing special tho. 10 mag, synthetic stock with blue or stainless. good luck

[lovestohunt]

I've owned the 597 and I had nothing but problems with the shells not wanting to eject. I traded that gun in and got a ruger 10/22 carbine. That gun was reliable but one of the most inaccurate guns I have ever owned. I couldn't get that gun to pattern anything, even after switching scopes and rings. I would go with the bolt action if you want accuracy. Accuracy will be affected with a shorter barrel as opposed to longer. I also would stay away from barrel bands if accuracy is an issue. I ended up getting a 17HMR and I love it. Good luck.

[citori]

Forget the 597, it can only be an abomination foisted upon us by demons from the Brady Campaign. I have had a couple of these come into my hands very cheap, the fact they did not work and I could not make them work was the whole reason. The problem with both of them and way too many others has been ejecting the spent cases an feeding the new. Cleaning, oiling, stoning, tweaking magazines, and any other possibility was tried to no avail. If you get one that works its seems to wok well but one may have to go through any number of them to get that one. These models no longer move very well at the local (<100 miles away) stores as the word has got out. Every time a sales flier comes out, the 597 is included.
I am a Ruger 10/22 fan but since that is not an option, the Marlins are the best choice for new guns in my opinion. If you are looking at going as much as $300, the Remington 552 might be an option. I found one on the used rack at a shop for $200 and snapped it up. It shoots well, is reliable, and is capable of shooting shorts and longs in addition to the standard long rifle ammunition. Winchester had some nice 22 semi-autos but I don't recall the various model numbers.
In bolt action I don't think you can go wrong with either Marlin or Savage. I have a handful of Marlins and all have been very satisfactory. The Savage guns are just as good but I personally do not think of Savage when I think of 22 rimfires. Its a mental block and not anything to do with quality. You may be able to find a Remigton 507 in this price range but from what I've heard they are not very accurate considering the cost. The older 580 series bolt guns can be had fairly reasonable and one should keep their eyes open for them. Ruger has the 10/77 and it is a good shooter. I have not used one very much as they are a bit pricey compared to the Marlin and Savage guns and no more as accurate for the most part. CZ has some nice guns and I'm sure there are many others out there I can't think of off the top of my head.

[Nr1 Qualifier]

Check out www.rimfirecentral.com where you'll find a wealth of information
on rimfire rifles. I have a Ruger 10/22 and an older model Remington Model
33, but my best .22 for both quality and accuracy has got to be a CZ-452
(a bolt action). It comes with a target in the box so you can see the accuracy
before you buy. It's in the mid price range $350-400 and worth every cent.

[Mark]

Hi Hal, welcome to the forum.

You don't mention how old your son is, or the level of his experience. I'd also recommend you find out why he doesn't like the 10/22, it might be something that doesn't have much to do with the rifles in general, a cloudy scope, or something that isn't common to all Rugers.

A lot of guys will recommend a bolt rifle, but when it comes to .22's, kids really like to put lead in the air. There is the thought of making the first shot count, and a bolt gun just isn't going to pour it out like a semi auto, but... I have a story:

The family and I were on vacation, and we brought a couple rimfire rifles to use for plinking at a range near where we were staying. My kids were really going through ammo, my fingers were raw from loading clips. Both kids ran out of ammo at the same time, and there was 1 empty 12 ga. shotshell hull left standing at 25 yards. I loaded both rifles with 10 rounds, and told the kids the first one that knocked over the hull decided where we would eat dinner that night.
I gave the signal to go, and my son started blasting away. I told my daughter to really take the time, and hit it with 1 accurate shot. As my son had shot 8 rounds, my daughter aimed and squeezed off 1 shot. She hit it!

Of course, as a father I really made hay on that. "Do either of you think a deer would let you shoot at him 8 times?" If you want to have fun, there is nothing like shooting. But, when you have to make things happen, 1 accurate round is better than a magazine full of misses. This was kind of a backwards way of teaching this, but the impression was made.
Good luck with your son.
Mark

[usmc89]

Check out www.rimfirecentral.com where you'll find a wealth of information
on rimfire rifles. I have a Ruger 10/22 and an older model Remington Model
33, but my best .22 for both quality and accuracy has got to be a CZ-452
(a bolt action). It comes with a target in the box so you can see the accuracy
before you buy. It's in the mid price range $350-400 and worth every cent.

agree with the cz 452 completely, have one in a varmint configuration. well made high quality accurate and affordable. and it has a magazine. my only other suggestion would be a cz 453 in that price range.

[BigBoreDan]

Might want to check out the CZ 452 or 453.

[vtxbud]

I have owned and shot a ton of .22's Most have been excellent. The one I have now and intend to keep is the CZ "American". This thing is an incredable shooter and I believe, is the most accurate .22 I have ever owned. I shoot nothing but Remington Yellow Jackets. I can't tell you about groups but I can say there are roughly 1800-2000 gophers a year that are not around to argue against its accuracy !!

[Cabela's Moderator]

Below are links to two .22 rifles I tested and wrote reviews on for Cabela's. Each has its finer attributes, but I've got to say the accuracy of the Winchester Wildcat was amazing and the Browning T-bolt was just plain fun.

Dan

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/community/inthefield/fieldguides/guidebooks-story-1.jsp?hierarchyId=10201&oiPage=fieldguides&title=Winchester+unleashes+a+Wildcat&contentId=carlson_winchwild_review

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/community/inthefield/fieldguides/guidebooks-story-1.jsp?hierarchyId=10201&oiPage=fieldguides&title=The+T-bolt+returns&contentId=carlson_t-bolt

[Lodiman]

Dan, What does bela's have for 22 pistols? either semi auto or revolver?

[Erik.300ULTRA]

I've owned the 597 and I had nothing but problems with the shells not wanting to eject. I traded that gun in and got a ruger 10/22 carbine. That gun was reliable but one of the most inaccurate guns I have ever owned. I couldn't get that gun to pattern anything, even after switching scopes and rings. I would go with the bolt action if you want accuracy. Accuracy will be affected with a shorter barrel as opposed to longer. I also would stay away from barrel bands if accuracy is an issue. I ended up getting a 17HMR and I love it. Good luck.

I have a 10/22, a Marlin 60 and a Savage 93 .17 HMR. All are great shooters, but the 10/22 is far better than the .17. Granted the 10/22 has a Green Mountain bull barrel and a Boyd's Evolution stock, but it was just as accurate before the customization (I gained nothing).

I wonder why he doesn't want a 10/22??? I think it might be the most popular .22 autoloader out there.

If you can find a Winchester 290 .22, buy it. Dad has one, and it is a shooter.

Erik

[TNRifleman]

I have a Savage Mark II in .22 and it is awesome. It was very inexpensive, under $250, and extremely accurate. It comes with the accu-trigger and the stainless model comes with fibre optic sights. I have sighted it in and with Federal Gold medal shells, it puts 3 holes touching each other at 50 yards.

[lovestohunt]

I have a 10/22, a Marlin 60 and a Savage 93 .17 HMR. All are great shooters, but the 10/22 is far better than the .17. Granted the 10/22 has a Green Mountain bull barrel and a Boyd's Evolution stock, but it was just as accurate before the customization (I gained nothing).

I wonder why he doesn't want a 10/22??? I think it might be the most popular .22 autoloader out there.

If you can find a Winchester 290 .22, buy it. Dad has one, and it is a shooter.

Erik


I don't know what you are basing your comparison on, but I will personally never own another Ruger product again. You may be right about the most popular semi 22 out there, but I thought it was terribly inaccurate. Granted, like I said before, it was a short carbine with a barrel band on it. I am sure that didn't help. However, 6 plus inches at 50 yards after two sets of leupold rings and two different scopes....well, what would you do with it? It promptly went back to the store. I don't doubt that you have a good shooter, but I am not willing to take the chance on another one.

[Cabela's Moderator]

Lodimanm,
Our retail stores have a large selection of .22 handguns. In semi-auto the venerable Rugers and Browning Buckmark are popular choices. All the major revolver makers have a good lineup of .22s, but a personal recommendation would be a Ruger Single Six that comes with two cylinders (a .22 LR and .22 Mag). Those are slow-loading but a blast to shoot. Finally, for a .22 that's out of this world in looks and performance, check out the Walther G22. It looks like a Star Wars blaster, but the one I tested on the range delivered 1.5" groups at 50 yards shooting OFFHAND. The design is a bit odd, but the G22 is a tack driver.

Dan

[Lodiman]

Thank you Dan. Imay go to Prairie Du chien this weekend to the store.

[Erik.300ULTRA]

I don't know what you are basing your comparison on, but I will personally never own another Ruger product again. You may be right about the most popular semi 22 out there, but I thought it was terribly inaccurate. Granted, like I said before, it was a short carbine with a barrel band on it. I am sure that didn't help. However, 6 plus inches at 50 yards after two sets of leupold rings and two different scopes....well, what would you do with it? It promptly went back to the store. I don't doubt that you have a good shooter, but I am not willing to take the chance on another one.

That sucks that accuracy was that bad. My 10/22 was the same as yours, barrel band and all, and it shot 5 shot groups at or under 1" at 50 yards like clock work. I put the aftermarket barrel and stock on, and now it will shoot 3/4 to 1" groups, and I bet it would do better with target or match rounds. A friend and I were at the range before squirrel season, and he also has a carbine 10/22. His shot just as good as mine, even though the trigger pull on his is unbearably stiff.

You may have just had a lemon. Did you bring this up with Ruger? I would have. I wouldn't swear them off forever though.

I do like my Savage .17, And I can see why you like yours, they are nice.

Erik