.22 Caliber Rifle recommendations....

[gm]

get ahold of an older marlin 39 levergun- either an "A" model or an "M". The nice thing about them is you can shoot shorts as well as long rifle from the same gun, interchangably and theres no plasic in these guns cept maybe the stock end cap. They are tackdrivers.

I have one that my father got me some 25+ years ago and it still shoots great.

 

[buzz meeks]

gm- you beat me to it. I can't believe it took this long for someone to recommend a Marlin 39. I found a used 39M six months ago and it's a dandy. The CZ452s are great, too, but the 39 has charm that won't quit.

 

[cslinger]

Good suggestions all around.

I have to ditto all the CZ452 recommendations. I have a varmint model in .22LR and it is a tack driver even at 100 yards. Awesome gun that feels and shoots like a real rifle.

I also have give a +1 to the AR15 with a .22LR upper recommedation. This is an expensive route to go but I have a DPMS .22 LR upper and a couple of "real" AR15s and I cannot tell you how fun it is to use that .22 upper. Best gun money I have ever spent. To do it right you are looking at about a $1100-$1200 bucks or so to do it up right with a real AR15 and a dedicated .22LR upper but it is well worth it.

The Ruger 10/22 is cheap, fun and available everywhere but isn't all that great of a gun out of the box. Because of this and all us gun geeks providing lots of peer pressure you will just have to dump loads of money into it to make it into your own image of an UBER10/22. This is great fun and usually leads to one hell of an accurate and reliable rifle.

So there are my suggestions in the order that I would pursue them. The CZ really is the best of the bunch as far as cost, performance and esthtics. It is a hell of a rifle for not many sheckles.

All will basically shoot one hole groups at 50 yards with the CZ452 being incredibly accurate at 100 yards as well.

CZ452 Varmint .22LR

AR15 with DPMS .22LR upper

Ruger 10/22 with a modification or two.

Chris

 

[Father Knows Best]

Yech. I am NOT a fan of the Henry lever 22's. The basic lever 22 isn't bad for the price, but the Golden Boy is an overpriced POS.

For a fun plinking .22 rifle, I like the Taurus 62 pump carbine. It's a replica of the classic Winchester 62 gallery gun. Taurus makes a great "youth model" that comes with two buttstocks -- a full size one and short "kid" sized one, both fitted to the rifle. It's great for teaching little ones to shoot. Street price is a little over $200 for the two stock youth model, and just under $200 for a single stock model. They're also available in rifle versions (longer barrel), and in blued, stainless or color case hardened.

For an all-around .22, though, I prefer a bolt action. There are any number of good ones out there, many of which have been mentioned above. My personal favorite is the Ruger 77/22, in large part because it was the first gun I ever owned. My dad gave me one of the very first 77/22's for my 16th birthday. That was 20 years ago. I haven't looked at new ones, lately, but mine is very finely crafted -- the equal of many centerfire rifles. It is plenty accurate, too. I had a $1,000 Anschutz single shot .22 dedicated target rifle for a while, and it wasn't much more accurate off the bench than the Ruger. The 77/22 is also a perfect small game rifle.

 

[slzy]

they may not be the least expensive,but i like biathlon rifles,they are robust as they say,and are adjustable. an ar with conversion would be nice,too. get both, and the cz to just to be on the safe side.

 

[Marshall]

Maybe too rich but what a nice rifle.


BL-22 FLD Series, Grade II

MSRP $555.00


I sure like the CZ452 Lux also! I prefer to have iron sights.

MSRP $389.00

 

[MoeMentum]

Ruger 10/22, you can usually pick up one for 150.00 on sale at Dicks, or Wally world, great shooters out of the box.

 

[Kestrel]

What does anyone think of the Browning Auto take-down rifles? I've kind of been enamored with them, but the buttstock looks a bit too big for the dimensions of the gun.

Anyone have experience with them?

 

[Peter M. Eick]

My wife and I like to shoot the 9422 a lot. Easy gun to shoot well and the lever action gives you something to do. Very few people are put off by the lever action and it is easy to teach someone new with it. They are quite nice!

 

[gotime242]

Look into a marlin 7000 or 795. Absolutely wonderful gun in my opinion. Great accuracy, good price. Ive had mine for a while now, i have never had a single miss fire, ive been using CCI minimags, but it will eat just about everything.

 

[The_Antibubba]

I went to the gun store today (just to look, of course!), and they had two .22 bolt actions. The first was one of the Romanian trainers, which I've read good things about. The other was a Norinco JW15, which is the Chinese clone of a CZ Brno 452. The dealer said the Norinco was parts-compatable with the CZ, including mags. Both rifles seemed to be in good shape.

Has anyone had experience with the Norinco? My main concerns for both rifles are parts and extra mags, but I also want to know how the Norinco compares to the original CZ.

 

[StephenT]

Anti, I think you should definitely get the Chinese clone of the CZ452 if the price is decent. Is it priced at about $150? I've had good luck with the Chinese copies that I own (1911A1, 1897 and Ithaca 37 shotguns). In fact, I'd like to get the JW21 lever action 22LR that I see on www.marstar.ca, but don't know if it can be found in the US.

 

[Selfdfenz]

I think J & G Sales made the claim in their ads the mags interchanged but I'm not sure about other parts. I didn't think the JW was patterned after the 452 but rather one of the older models.

Post your comment on rimfirecentral.com. I'm sure somebody will have the correct answers.

S-

 

[The_Antibubba]

Actually, I checked that out about 20 minutes later . They had a thread on the very subject; looks like I'll take a good look at that Norinco.

 

[JLGILBERT]

CZ 452 Training Rifle : Great Choice, excellent rifles, moderately priced

Henry Lever Action : junk! We had brand new ones that would not work and Henry wanted us to send to a gunsmith to pay to fix ( on our dime ). I would rather throw rocks than own one.

Ruger 10 / 22 : Tried & true for decades. Fun to shoot. You can spend big bucks on accessories if you like

Marlin 39: Built to last

Browning BL 22: Very Short throw on the lever ~ one of my sentimental favorites

Kimber Super America: Fantastic Shooters, Superb Wood: This is a dig deep in the wallet type toy

T/C Classics: Higher priced .22 LR Auto, but slim design, nice handling, and quite functional

Lots of choices ~ Enjoy!

 

[Gewehr98]

A tackdriver if ever there was...

Izmash Biathlon Basic. Tight groups, reasonable price, good looks, neat toggle action:




And the groups, at 50 yards:

 

[Bill B.]

Gewehr98 I don't which I like best your rifle or your neat location from the relections in the glass! Both are very nice and that's some excellent shooting!

There has been some excellent .22's listed and I would like to add a couple more. A Thompson Center Classic is a excellent shooter for a "cheaper" .22 and a used Anschutz with a 54 action can be had in the $500 - $600 dollar range. As friend of mine put it once a well worn Anschutz 54 will still shoot with or better than most .22's new. Over the last several years I have come to find out he spoke the truth ......... .

 

[DBR]

Personally, if this is a training/fun rifle, I would stay away from tube feeders. It is all too easy to overlook a round stuck in the mag and have an accident. I own several tube feeders and they are good guns - just not for training/beginners IMHO.

Good bolt gun choices are the CZ, Remington 513 (target model), Winchester Model 75 (if you can find one) or as everyone else has suggested one of the many Ruger 10/22 models.

22's are the heart and soul of shooting - have fun!

 

[KaceCoyote]

I swear by the Marlin model 60 myself, accurate, reliable and simple. Gonna pick up a 60SSK here soonish..