[themic]

OK, in the market for a .22, but with a real tight budget. in fact, that's kind of why i'm in the market for a .22. they're cheap to buy, cheap to shoot.

my quick wal-mart scouting trip shows me i can spend anywhere between $89 and $250 on a .22LR.

are these rifles at or around $100 any good? are they for junior shooters only? they did seem a bit small, but all 22s seem small to me. haven't shot one in quite a while.

what am i sacrificing by being a cheap-skate here? is there a particular price or model that's a much better value?

edit: action type doesn't matter much to me. lever, bolt, semi, all is fine, and it seemed like there were examples of each type in that price area of $100.

[Not_A_Llama]

Yes, they're quite good, and possibly more accurate than you are.

I'm partial to the Marlins, but the more accessory-happy might be happier with a Ruger. The Marlins shoot much better out-of-box, in my experience.

[Darkside852003]

I just picked up a Marlin 60 for $52, with shiping and transfer fees comes out to $85 and the rifle is almost new. Scan the auctions, I have seen all kinds of deals lately. www.auctionarms.com www.gunbroker.com www.gunsamerica.com

[tbeb]

I never owned a Marlin model 60, but I've always heard good things about them. I owned a Winchester model 190, which is probably a discontinued model, and I liked it. I owned a Ruger 10/22, and it was equal to the Winchester. With a scope they shot 1 1/4" groups at 50 yards. I owned a Remington that looked like a model nylon 66, but it had another name--may have been a model 77 Apache. Surely this model has been discontinued. Anyhow it was the most accurate. If you stumble upon a used Remington Nylon 66 for under $100, I'd grab it. All the above are semi-automatics.

[Red_SC]

I have a Ruger 10-22 and a Remington Nylon 77 like tbeb mentioned. Yes, it has been discontinued for quite a while. Between my two brothers, they own about 8 of the Marlins. They will pretty much all outshoot my 10-22. They aren't 'upgradable' like the Rugers, but they shoot better out of the box, at least in my experience.

[George S.]

The $99 rifles are probably much more fun than accurate but there are some rifles like the CZ 452 Scout or Marlin 25N for bolt action rifles or the Marlin 60 and Ruger 10/22 for semi-autos that are even good for small varmints or even small game like squirrel. All of these run around $150 to $165 and you get a lot of value for the money.

Add a cheap rimfire scope and find the ammo the gun really likes and you should be able to get a really nice and accurate rifle.

[OEF_VET]

Wal-Mart sells a Keystone Arms Cricket .22 for about that price. It is a nice LITTLE rifle, bt it is just that, little. It is made for young shooters. Unless you intend to use it to teach kids, don't bother buying it. I have one for my son, but it is too small to really enjoy as much as a more adult-sized rifle.

For the price range you're looking at, go with the Marlin Model 60. They are great rifles. Shop around at the local pawn shops. You should be able to find a decent used one for around $60. That will leave you plenty of money for ammo and an inexpensive scope, if you don't buy one with a scope. As for optics, you won't be needing Leupold or Kahles (Do either of them even make .22 rimfire scopes?). Just get a cheap, $10, Simmons or Tasco. It will be plenty accurate for plinking tin cans and the like. Heck, while you're at Wal-Mart picking up your ammo and scope, they also sell little spinning targets for .22's, they're priced around $15-20.

So, for $100, you get a $60 Marlin at the pawn shop, a $10 scope, $15 spinner, and $15 worth of ammo at Wal-Mart. A 500 round box of .22 will cost $10, which leaves $5 to buy 4 or 5 50 round boxes of various kinds of ammo to try out.

Whatever you get, have fun with it.

Frank

[themic]

ok, sounds like marlin 60 is a good way to start out. good to know. i'll check around the pawn shops and the auction sites a bit.

are the savages any good? i saw a few of those on the auction sites, too.

[Sam Adams]

I'm also in the market for an inexpensive .22 (though I only want an autoloader, as I bought a boltie .22 several years ago for $115, incl. scope, and it gives me approx. 1/2" groups at 50 yards with CCI Green Label). The idea of buying a .22 at a pawn shop is great. My only concern is with reliability, etc. I fully understand that buying anything used is a bit of a gamble, but I was wondering what the experience of people has been with pawn shop guns, specifically .22 automatics.

[Spot77]

Bought a Marlin .22lr model 25 (which is a bolt action) from a pawn shop, and I love it.


A lot more Marlin fans here than I thought.

[Mal H]

I'll vouch for the cheapo Marlin Model 60's at Wal-Mart. I was looking for a good .22 semi-auto to use as a squirrel gun. I was getting tired, literally, of using my tricked out heavy barrel 10-22 down in the woods. I have been very pleased with the Marlin. It's accurate and reliable. I got the stainless model, it was a few bucks more than the $100 blued ones.

[Rupestris]

A lot more Marlin fans here than I thought.

count me in.
I have a marlin Model 60FS scoped with a Nikon 4X that will group 5 shots right around one inch just like 5.56guy mentioned. Sometimes better but thats when I get lucky. Favorite ammo is the Federal 100 pack. Part number 810.
Great little plinker. Get one.

[TheGunDealer]

YES, i also have to give cudos to the marlin model 60. they have been around for alot of years and have remained virtually unchanged. very accurate .22 rifles.

i know theres alot of 10/22 fans out there, and im not knocking the gun mind you, or the people who own them. there fine weapons, but personally i could neber see spending that kind of money on a .22 myself ( unless it was supressed...lol)

go with the marlin. wal-marts prices are hard to beat, and if you lok around a bit on the web at used ones, if you dont like it, you can always list it on one of the auction sites and get your money back. i think youll find though that youll fall in love with it and never want to sell it.

ive got a brand new one ( the 60) sitting here in the box right now, but i cant touch wally worlds prices. they sell there stuff retail for below what most dealers can buy it wholesale because they buy 20,000 of each gun at a time....lol

[Sam Adams]

Given the comments here, I'm leaning heavily toward the Marlin 60. But I hate Wallyworld (well, truthfully, I love the prices but hate the business ethics and the origin of most of their products). Anyway, around my area (South Texas) Academy Sports sells the Marlins and the Rugers for basically the same as Wallyworld does, so guess who's going to get my business?

[oldfart]

There's a Romanian .22 cal training rifle on the market now, usually at gunshows or in Shotgun News ads, that shoots pretty well. It comes with a Taiwanese clip that needs a bit of 'tweaking' to feed properly, but once that's done it's quite reliable. It has a lightweight barrel-- heck, I've seen stiffer soda straws, but I manage to keep most shots within a 2 inch circle at 100 yards. All in all, it's well worth the $70 I paid for it.

[Daniel964]

I have 2 Marlin Model 60. Great shooters. Once in a great while I'll get a jam but not often. If it does happen its very easy to clear. You can also get after market stocks at www.cheaperthandirt.com if you want them.