WestKentucky
Member
I can’t get past it. Fish rifle? All I can think of is this.
https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/53c4b886-bd75-4288-9c44-1e7e58ff69b5
https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/53c4b886-bd75-4288-9c44-1e7e58ff69b5
Beginning to consider a .22wmr bolt-action fishing rifle.
- Thread starter Monster Zero
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Monster Zero
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Let us know what you finally decide on.
Stay safe.
Thanks for asking.
I was in one of my LGSs to pick up my daily ration of some stuff and then took a walk by the used rack. Right there was a Marlin model XT22M priced at $193 plus sales tax.
It looked very taken care of it, so I snapped it up. Short story, it turned out to be a semi new gun - seems like the sales dude used the term "display gun".
Gun, Weaver base, Burris steel rings all together about $250. Two magazines too, one four round and one seven.
I took it to the indoor range and have got it close to sighted in on paper. Ammo around here is going for about $19 for a box of Hornaday 30 grain whatchamacallits.
I agree that the Simmons scope doesn't do it justice. I found a Tasco 2-7-32 at a very moderate price online, which will go on it soon, and the Simmons will go... somewhere...
Also I found a Nikon 2-7-32 that I'm watching. If I get it, it will replace the Tasco, which I'll find other use for, but in either case I'm not gonna use the Simmons. The Stevens .22 auto it came off of will just be my iron sight gun from now on... Still useful in case NE Oklahoma should be invaded by alligators or something like that.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
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dranrab
Member
That would be one of the last rifles I think people would feel comfortable beating the hell out of.
How does it fit this criteria?
"Oh, and did I forget to mention... "Cheap"? If one scuffs it all up or breaks it dragging it around, no big loss."
Armored farmer
Member
Cheap has dual meaning.
The ruger 77/22 is built for 'all weather '. It's ruggedness is why it is a classic. I know for a fact that it is an excellent shooter. Personally, i put the ruger at the top of the list...but its a long list. I would rather buy one that did it right the first time, and have something good, but thats just me.
Perhaps this is more suitable for some:
Keltec CMR30.
Its $500.
Go get that Nikon! Your rifle deserves it! I've got a Nikon fixed 4x on a 77-22 .22LR and it's a very good scope.
ThomasT
Member
I have always liked this video and the way they cut down this Marlin bolt gun. It should fit the parameters the OP listed for what he wants. And I ever find a beater version of this gun I am going to do the same thing to it.
ECVMatt
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I have always loved that rifle as well. Ruger get pretty close with this one:
https://ruger.com/products/americanRimfireCompact/specSheets/8323.html
I have used the .22 mag for years and really like the extra power it brings to the table. With some 40 grain HP or SP's and some FMJ you have the ability to solve most problems you might encounter in a pinch. Ammo is compact, light, and more reliable than the LR stuff.
ThomasT
Member
Yep. After I posted the video above of the modified Marlin I looked up the Ruger American 22 mag compact rifles and those would probably be an even better option than the Marlin. And you can buy the buttstock set to lengthen the LOP for $35 from Ruger. Its a win all the way around. And I have been a 22 mag fan since around 1981 when I bought a Marlin 783 tube feed from WM for $115 and still have that gun. And an 883 laminate stock stainless to go along with it.
Several years ago Sportsmans Warehouse had Armscor 22 mag on sale for $5.56 a box. I bought 4,000 rounds of it. I much prefer it over the soft, mushy bullet junk that CCI sells. The Armscor has been ever bit as good as Winchester 22 mag and maybe even a bit better because I have never had a split case like I have with Winchester. A known problem with that ammo. And the Armscor shoots to the same POI at 100 yards as the Winchester. So I have a total of 5,500 rounds of 22 mag ammo on hand. That should hold me for a long time.
chicharrones
needs more ammo
Y'all get me fantasizing about .22 WMR carbines when y'all post stuff like that. Reminds me why I chopped the barrel on my .22 WMR Zastava a few years ago. Plus, it still makes me want to turn a Marlin into a "survival rifle" with a Nodak Spud stock.
skfullen
Member
I have the Ruger American .22WMR. It's scoped with a Leupold. I've taken it camping and paired it with a Ruger Single-Six Convertible. I felt well "represented" and slept soundly.
Savage or Marlin being as Walmart had the basic synthetic models a few months ago very cheap. But I was too busy buying $89 700s to bother. 
. Love my Marlin stainless 917 and my Savage MKIIs. There is the Savage A22M. And there is that pot metal Henry which might be perfect for a drag around gun.
. Love my Marlin stainless 917 and my Savage MKIIs. There is the Savage A22M. And there is that pot metal Henry which might be perfect for a drag around gun.
ECVMatt
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Yes, that sent me over the edge as well. And of course I can't find the right Marlin to fit the stock. I have not bought a gun in quite some time due to the whole Covid thing, but I think I am going to move on the next Ruger American Compact in .22 Mag that I can find. I will most likely add a Leupold FX-II 2.5x20 ultrlight to help with the aging eyes. Held in Talley rings, that would only add about 3/4 of a pound to the rifle. I am more concerned with compact size over weight. Of course if I find a Marlin first, then I will probably go with the Nodak Spud stock. This is my favorite time of the year for exploring the desert so I would get a good chance to put some hard miles on either one. I also inventoried my .22 mag supply and although I am not as flush as ThomasT, I have several thousand rounds ready to go. Let's hope Ruger gets some new rifles out the door soon.
ECVMatt
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and here is a picture of a "Fishing Rifle"
Well I didn't actually shoot the fish, but I was on a hunt and my wife kept texting me asking what I got. We had a slow day, but the rancher whose property we were on was gigging some gar that got trapped in a bass pond when the Red River got a bit high and flooded his bottom land. They were eating all his trophy bass, so he had to get them out. I posed behind them and sent the picture to my wife. I told her that we would throw a Bud Light can in the water, the gar would attack it, and we would shoot them. She was a bit perplexed, but compared with some of the other things we did she was not surprised. She wanted to know if I was going to bring them home to eat......
Well I didn't actually shoot the fish, but I was on a hunt and my wife kept texting me asking what I got. We had a slow day, but the rancher whose property we were on was gigging some gar that got trapped in a bass pond when the Red River got a bit high and flooded his bottom land. They were eating all his trophy bass, so he had to get them out. I posed behind them and sent the picture to my wife. I told her that we would throw a Bud Light can in the water, the gar would attack it, and we would shoot them. She was a bit perplexed, but compared with some of the other things we did she was not surprised. She wanted to know if I was going to bring them home to eat......
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chicharrones
needs more ammo
I would love to find one of those to go with my KelTec PMR30, the pistol version of that rifle. To have a rifle and pistol that use the same 30 round magazines/clips would be great. I have taken all kinds if small game and rodents with the PMR30.
Armored farmer
Member
Since I am such a fan of 22wmr, I have been sorely tempted by one of those pmr30s. What an excellent trail/woods/truck gun.
All they need to do is make it mini dot ready and I'm a gonner.
troy fairweather
Member
If you go scope get a pic rail,
Bacon buster
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22 shorts are pretty quiet compared to lr and magnum is even louder. If I was gonna step up to wmr I would go 17hmr. I use 22 shorts in my Henry from time to time. It pops a little but in terms of a quiet footprint it’s the best option short of a silencer. Quiet survival is underrated
J-Bar
Member
No one has mentioned the Crickett by Keystone Arms yet, a small kid sized single shot bolt action rifle with synthetic stock, not terribly expensive, that offers both .22LR and .22WMR calibers. I bought one for my granddaughters when they were small. Should be some beaters on the used market even with today's demand. Interesting trivia: the Crickett is popular in small packing houses for knocking down animals for slaughter, both swine or cattle, because it's small size made it easy to handle and maneuver in crowded pens, and it could take a beating.
Did I mention it is small?
Did I mention it is small?
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herrwalther
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I really wish Ruger still made the 10/22 Magnum. That would make quite the handy jack of all trades rifle as far as rodent control. Barring that I am looking at the Savage A22 myself. I have about twice as much 22M ammo as I do 22LR, so I have to burn it up somehow.
Shorts still break 1100 fps.
Want quiet? Skip those and get CB or long rifle length " quiet " ammo.
If your rifle is chambered for LR....no reason to run reg .22 shorts.....unless its ammo availability issue.
ApacheCoTodd
member
*Fishing Rifle* made me think back to my Minnesota carp-aggedon days of youth.
Bows, guns, sling shots, m-80s....
I can't recommend one of these highly enough - within its design parameters.
I haul this thing everywhere now.
Sure, it's not a .22 mag but it's a .22 - more or less.
No, it's not bolt action but it does have a bolt.
Quite possibly the best; truck, quad, boat gun I've ever had.
Carries in a bag that no one would ever assume is a gun. In point of fact, it looks like a couple-three collapsable-rod bags that I have.
This version fires from the folded position to boot!
Todd.
Bows, guns, sling shots, m-80s.... I can't recommend one of these highly enough - within its design parameters.
I haul this thing everywhere now.
Sure, it's not a .22 mag but it's a .22 - more or less.
No, it's not bolt action but it does have a bolt.
Quite possibly the best; truck, quad, boat gun I've ever had.
Carries in a bag that no one would ever assume is a gun. In point of fact, it looks like a couple-three collapsable-rod bags that I have.
This version fires from the folded position to boot!
Todd.
ApacheCoTodd
member
Or. 20ga over .22wmr?
Todd.
Todd.
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