Best .22 cal rifle

Depends...

Bolt action, I love the CZ 452 Trainer, though there are many other good choices out there.

Semi-auto, the Ruger 10/22 is probably the most popular, but the Marlin 60 and numerous others are good too. Or if you had an AR-15, for example, you could get a conversion kit.

The best .22 is the one that will perform when you need it to and is comfortable for you.

There are far to many guns out there and nobody has fired every single one of them to tell you which one is best. All we can do is pass around what we have heard (and even then, that can be full of it), what we have experience with, and what we think is best.


Until you actually get out there and test for yourself, you wont know.

Best .22 rifle for me? Marlin, ....and yes I have shot 10/22 albeit it was over 30 years ago. It was a fine enough plinker but it was why I bought my first Marlin.

Best for you? No one here would have a clue, you'll figure it out.


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mac66 said:

Best as in most accurate? Best as in most versatile? Best as in most accessories and aftermarket stuff? Best as in best bang for the buck? Best as in best quality?

The Marlin 60 is the most popular commercial rifle ever made primarily because it is the cheapest, most mass produced and mass marketed (commercial) rifle ever for the last 60 years. (and only the AK47 beats it overall)

The Ruger 10/22 is the second most popular ever and has been beating the 60 in sales in recent years because it has a reliable flush fitting, detachable magazine and has a much larger accessory aftermarket. Because of the aftermarket it is the most versatile rifle on the market and can be easily make into anything you want it to be.

I have dozens of 22 rifles, high and low end of all kinds of makes, models and types. The one I most always use for everything is a 10/22.

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Agree with 10-22 based on the fact anyone can personalize them however they want.

Love my Marlin 60 too, and miss my .22 WMR bolt, and dearly want a Winchester 94-22...

.22's are fun, hard to go wrong however you go.

Sig Sauer 522. It's what the 10/22 wishes it was.

Does the Sig Sauer fall in the price range the original poster was looking for ? How does it compare to the S&W or Colt offerings ?

Jspy said:

Does the Sig Sauer fall in the price range the original poster was looking for ? How does it compare to the S&W or Colt offerings ?

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Yup. $330 OTD. In most places.

Much better built and more robust that the Smith, and uses better magazines. That alone gives it my nod, but after owning both, the Sig was as accurate, more reliable, and cheaper.

Can't comment on the Colt. If you're are referring to the travesty made by Umarex, I've heard to many horror stories about it to warrant a look. But, that's hearsay.

The Sig is amazing.

The SIG 552 is an excellent rifle for what it is, perhaps the best of the factory "tactical" .22's but it doesn't exactly replace the 10/22. At least I've never seen one that shoots half-MOA at 50yds and has a 14oz trigger.

CZ offers 22rf rifles in a variety of configurations at good prices. If you pay 3 or 4 hundred dollars for one of the CZ's you won't find better value in any other make of rifle for the same price. If you get convinced to purchase a Ruger 10/22, the new ones are cheaply put together. Look for about a 20 year old or older one. Better everything. Some people will tell you that you can build a 10/22 into anything you want. You can and you can do it and end up with nothing remaining of the original rifle except the reciever. By then you will have just about as much money tied up in it as you would a Volquartsen but it would still have the stigma of being a worked over Ruger. If you want a very very good inexpensive rifle, look into a Marlin 60. About 150 bucks as it will outshoot a Ruger 10/22 all day long.

...the new ones are cheaply put together.

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Nonsense. Prove it. Some folks complained about the matte finished barrels and wrinkled coated receivers. Enough so that Ruger went back to the old teflon coat and brushed finish. If you're referring to the polymer trigger housings, some folks with an open mind actually see them as an upgrade. Marlin has used plastic on the triggerguard of the model 60 and 795 since their inception.

By then you will have just about as much money tied up in it as you would a Volquartsen...

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Have you priced a VQ rifle? Built a 10/22??? With a statement like that, you've obviously done neither. Buy a VQ rifle, at a substantial premium over building a Ruger and you get a very finely made rifle but you only have a choice of whatever VQ wants you to have. Build a Ruger and you can have it your way.

...but it would still have the stigma of being a worked over Ruger.

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What stigma???

The CZ is a reallly nice accurate rifle with open sights which are still on my gun. Really nice sights. This thread is interesting as it contains many great choices including the 10 22. It goes from accurate bolt actions to semi auto. It is cleat to me that you must do some thinking about what you want or else buy at least two 22 s. Good luck and please let me know what you did finally buy.

I have about a dozen .22 rifles at present, but if I could only keep one, it'd be my Marlin 39A.

Everything you need to know was out there by post 10 (no offense anybody...that's as far as I read).

Given what you're intentions are (you didn't say you were going to take it to the arctic to use aboard your fishing boat during a blizzard...kind of a thing), those first 10 posts covered it. I went the 10/22 route over the Model 60 for two reasons 1) it appeares to me that the 10/22 is easier to take apart (many will not agree), and 2) the 10/22 is easier to load and unload with that rotary box magazine.

Winchester Model 67. I have never owned a more accurate rifle for .22 cal. It is a single shot, yes... but I inherited it from my grandfather when I was a child and I still have it today, and it is still just as accurate and every time you pull the trigger it goes bang!

Does anyone have any idea how much one is worth nowday's? Not to change the subject... better yet I will ask by starting a new thread here in the rifle section on it so answer there if you know.

Another vote for the Marlin model 60. Mine was given to me when I was in seventh grade, so I've had it for around 14 or 15 years. Incredibly accurate and fun to shoot.

The only problem I've had with mine is I broke the plunger on the magazine tube, so it doesn't like to feed the last round. If anyone knows where to get one, let me know. I have found them, but they are for the newer models and they use a different size and style.

CraigC said:

The SIG 552 is an excellent rifle for what it is, perhaps the best of the factory "tactical" .22's but it doesn't exactly replace the 10/22. At least I've never seen one that shoots half-MOA at 50yds and has a 14oz trigger.

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It's 522, and by the time you have that 1/2 MOA and light trigger pull, you've far exceeded the $400 price limit. If that we're the case, the Marlin 60 will do 1/2 outta the box with the right guy/gal on the trigger.

The 522 is accurate enough for all but the most nitpicky marksman. For a varmint/plinker/tac trainer, it's hard to be beat. Certainly, in my experience, by a 10/22 variant costing at or under $400.

I own a Marlin, Ruger CZ 452 and a a few others. The most accurate and reliable
Is the CZ. The handiest and close on accuracy is the Ruger 10/22 with a barrel upgrade. Either one is under an inch at 50 yards with target ammo. My 2 Marlins, Winchester, Daisy bolt action and Savage are not as accurate. There are lots of choices but I can't buy all of them. Buy one that appeals to you, then add another when you can till you know what you like.

gojuice,
I would check Numrich first. After that I think your best bet would be to try gun broker for a "parts rifle" or "gunsmith special". Possibly ebay. If that all fails I would put up a few ads in "wanted" section of the classifieds for this website and/or rimfire central

gojuice if all else fails you could try calling Marlin. Be warned though I replaced the buffer in my Glenfield version of a model 60 a couple of years ago & they charged me $10 shipping for a 5 dollar part that probably didn't weigh but a couple of ounces.

It's 522, and by the time you have that 1/2 MOA and light trigger pull, you've far exceeded the $400 price limit.

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It's what the 10/22 wishes it was.

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That's true but the 522 will only be what it is when you unbox it. The 10/22 can be anything you want it to be and you can do it a piece at a time. I'm not saying one is better than the other, they are just different.

If that we're the case, the Marlin 60 will do 1/2 outta the box with the right guy/gal on the trigger.

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Nothing more than wishful thinking.

The 522 is accurate enough for all but the most nitpicky marksman.

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Like I said, the 522 is an excellent rifle but lots of folks want/need more accuracy than it could ever deliver.

Anyone own either of the Browning 22 rifles, the SA or BL? I know they will be over the OP's budget but what do you think of those two quality and accuracy?

The quality of the Brownings is superb, and I forgot all about them. I like this thread.

What, is this thread still going? I'da thought by response number 71, someone woulda posted the fact that the Marlin 39 (Golden 39, thank you very much!) IS the best .22 rifle, ever, full stop - and then the thread could have been locked in the "asked and answered" mode so popular around here.

Not "one of...", not "among the..." or any of those sad qualifiers but the king pooh, A#1, top-o-the-heap, go-to, gold standard, rock-out-with-yer... well, the best!

Carbine aint bad either...

Too much coffee ?

CraigC said:

That's true but the 522 will only be what it is when you unbox it.

Nothing more than wishful thinking.

Like I said, the 522 is an excellent rifle but lots of folks want/need more accuracy than it could ever deliver.

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That's the point: it is what it is, and doesn't NEED to be changed. I don't know where MOA out of a short barreled trainer is bad, but okay...

It may be wishful to you (hopefully not) but my 8 year old punches excellent groups with his M60 and mini mags like a champ. Hope you shoot better than an 8 year old!

Either rifle spoken about in this post delivers enough accuracy at or under the OPs price point without modification past an optic. I'm aware of the Rugers potential, I've owned several over the years, but for what it costs to make a bench shooter out of it...lets suffice it to say I'd have been better off with two Sigs or three M60s over one modded 10/22. I guess it's up to intended use: I find it boring to bench shoot ALL the time with a .22, but that's ME. The other two I prefer are what I consider "jack of all trades, masters of none". Decent at the bench, great for plinkage, deadly to small game. That's my opinion.