.22lr to train new shooters with?

[jason41987]

hey everyone.. i have some friends of mine that are thinking of getting into shooting.. and want me to teach them the fundamentals to determine if its something theyd really like to do, and so they have an idea of what to do when they start shopping for rifles of their own...

so.. im looking for an inexpensive rifle, cheap on ammo, low on recoil to train them with.. and i was thinking .22lr would be best since i can get 500 rounds for $20... and as of yet i dont actually own a .22 for myself

none of the firearms i have now are good to train anyone on as they all kick quite hard and would only discourage people from shooting before they really know how to

so... for the .22lr, what would you suggest this be?... should it be semi automatic, bolt, or lever action, and are there any particular brands or rifles i should consider?... as of right now the only one i can think of is the ruger 10/22

 

[mac66]

Highly recommend a Ruger 10/22 with good iron sights (Tech Sights) or a scope. Set it up with a GI web sling and take them all to Appleseed to learn to shoot. It is well worth the time and money and is a lot of fun.

If the 10/22 is too expensive look at the Marlin 795 or the Remington 597 in that order.

 

[SlowFuse]

My "go-to" when working with a new shooter is my savage mark II. Its a simple to operate bolt action. You have the ability to hold the magazine in your pocket and single feed it until they/you are comfortable to move up to a 10 round mag. Its also an accurate 22 that can reliably shoot quiet CB loads or a ultra high velocity stinger/yellowjacket variety.

 

[readyeddy]

I would get a 22 bolt action. The problem with semi's is that they often experience reliability problems with certain brands of ammo. Failure to feed or extract are common problems which a bolt gun usually does not suffer. Bolt guns also benefit from better accuracy giving the experienced shooter the most important quality. Finally, the bolt gun will slow down the rate of fire forcing the new shooter to focus on the one shot.

 

[foghornl]

If you are training the absolute greenest of the beginners, yeah a .22LR bolt is an excellent choice.

Next would be something along the line of a Ruger 10-22 or Marlin

 

[TyGuy]

Marlin 795 with Tech Sights. $170-$200 total. I got my Marlin for $100 last year. I've put probably 3,000 rounds through it.

 

[jason41987]

wouldnt the occasional feeding or extracting malfunction be a good thing and part of the learning experience should one occur?... wouldnt want someone to be in the dark if they purchase a rifle of their own and experience such a scenario

 

[SpentCasing]

savage mkii

 

[h0use]

Ruger 10/22 or a marlin 60 are both
Great rifles

 

[docnyt]

Good choices mentioned. I'd like to add the CZ452 but then again one of your buddies might grab it from you.

 

[narcoden]

Marlin 795. You can find them for a tad over $100. Great 22 to learn on.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

 

[SlowFuse]

I don't think exposing an absolute newbie to failures is a good idea. You're trying to make the shooting experience appeal to them in the best way possible. I believe dealing with failures should come later with more experience under their belt. Yes the 10/22 and model 60 are great rifles, I love them both. But for a young or brand new shooter... I see it as a bad idea. Everyone is different on their opinions. They can "grow into" the semi as experience comes but if they get into punching small groups you can't do any better than a quality bolt rifle.

 

[trimore]

Savage mark II.. I stared with a Marlin 60.(semi auto), and regret it. Don't get me wrong, the marlin 60 is a great gun but it is a little finicky with ammo and I think I like a magazine better than the tube. Also it has to be cleaned about every 100 rounds ..

After learning this I got my 10 year old a savage mark II youth model and we are very happy with it.. Don't have to worry about ammo, jams, etc. it is very accurate and a good trigger. It is not the cheapest nor the most expensive 22 but I doubt you will regret it.. One for myself is on my short list after the Savage 14 American Classic I just ordered

 

[jason41987]

i used to be a big remington fan, but not anymore, their CQ has been going down and theyre taking marlin with it... as of now the brands i stick to most are ruger, savage, and CZ... so ill probably go for the 10/22

 

[Grunt]

Well, both me and my son found a .22 single shot (in his case a Crickett due to it's reduced size suited for his age) is always a good choice. Tell me that's not a happy face!

 

[OhioChief]

I learned on a Savage 22LR bolt. But you might consider a .22 semi auto. Here's a thought, Hi Point 9mm carbine. ammo's reasonable. Gun is inexpensive. great fun to shoot and is a step above the .22. Just a thought. We have two in .40 and love them.

 

[jason41987]

for the price of .22lr ammo, theres just a lot more learning experience available for the same amount of money.. $20 gets you 500 rounds vs 50 so i think .22lr would definitely be best...

as for single shot.. i think that could kind of get boring having to reload after every shot.. and it would be good to get them to shoot more... 10/22 uses a rotary mag, which is probably going to be more reliable than the box mags other semis use.. so it would offer good reliability... so i think that wuold be the best route... also, with the stocks for the 10/22 i could get stocks that would fit anyones size and need

also.. the people that see me shoot usually see me shooting semi automatics and its what they eventually want to move onto.. so i think after listening to everyones advice here, i will in fact go semi, and as i am a rather large fan of the ruger company its hard to ignore the aftermarket that comes with the 10/22

 

[TyGuy]

Imho the Ruger 10/22 has funky controls. I own one, but I shoot my Marlin 795 much mich more.

 

[jason41987]

my concern with the marlins is how all marlins have seem to been going downhill since remington has taken over.. makes me wonder how many corners theyre trying to cut with manufacturing

 

[Centurian22]

It's all been said but 1 more vote for the following:

Semi: Marlin 795, or 60, or Ruger 10/22

Bolt: Savage Mark II, or some type of single shot.

I have an old J.C. Higgins .22 single shot bolt action that belonged to my grandfather. If I'm not mistaken it was produced around 1959 and still operates Flawlessly.

Best of luck and congrats on training some new shooters! Well done.

 

[BadWool]

Walmart has the Mossberg Plinkster 702 for $107 right now, at least here in VA. Price is probably the same in most regions. Decent lightweight rifle, nothing spectacular......just a good general purpose/critter rifle for around the house and would be a good candidate to train noobs with no doubt.

 

[Captains1911]

Highly recommend a Ruger 10/22 with good iron sights (Tech Sights) or a scope. Set it up with a GI web sling and take them all to Appleseed to learn to shoot. It is well worth the time and money and is a lot of fun.

Exactly what he said.

 

[Captains1911]

Imho the Ruger 10/22 has funky controls. I own one, but I shoot my Marlin 795 much mich more.

What controls in particular? The bolt release is quirky but that's easily remedied with a $10 auto-bolt release, or you can modify the factory part yourself. Also, all new 10/22s come with a factory extended mag release.

 

[One_Jackal]

A friend of the family loaned me a 22 bolt action. After about 50 shots I was like screw a 22. I have a shotgun that gets the job done. Then I got a Marlin 60 for Christmas. The only time I used the shotgun was for hunting. All my range time went to the 22. Well, until a local game warden introduced me to skeet shooting. I was hooked for life!!

 

[goon]

I've eyed up the Savage MKII rifles too - and at $150 or so at WalMart they sound like a pretty good buy. I'd probably try one of them first, but I also really like the 10/22. It's what I learned on at the age of 4 and I've taught many others on one as well.