i vote other/no preference. Tube is my preference, but I also enjoy mag-fed
Great question! Really made me have to think it over for a while.
I got lucky with the .22 rifles that I own, I didn't find them they found me. Like many of you, first guns I ever shot were .22s, but not my own (and they were single shot which was great for learning). Got into owning my own guns by starting with black powder, and by the time I decided I wanted my own rifles, a very good friend had to find a good home for his step-dad's two .22 rifles, and I ended up being that
very lucky good home
One is tube fed and one is mag fed and even now that I've tried most of the other popular makes and models, they are still the first two .22 rifles that I would buy today if I lost all my guns in a terrible boating accident
.
I must say I love my friend's Henry Goldenboy (it is SO fun!), and his brother's and dad's 10/22s, but I much prefer my Remington 521-ts bolt action / box mag, and Remington Nylon 66 butt-fed-tube (lol there's gotta be a better way to say that?) rifles. I find myself bringing the Nylon 66 out more than the bolt-action lately, but over the years that I've owned them I can honestly say they've both received a very equal amount of use.
With all my .22s, pistols included, keeping track of my round count, or anyone else shooting my guns' round count, has become beyond a habit, into a natural occurrence. I even will yell out the number of shots in a barrage while watching a tv show or movie with my girlfriend which always makes her laugh, simply because it's ingrained in my mind now to keep track of # of rounds fired. I say all that because it's not so hard and as I said after awhile becomes a natural habit. When shooting my tube-fed Nylon 66 I rarely
have to check to know if there's a round left or not (but I always do check to confirm!) Cool thing about that particular gun too, when it is empty, is that you can drop a round over the bolt in the ejection port, pull the bolt back and let it go forward and you now can fire that round, quick simple and easy. The butt has a funnel-shape surrounding the mouth of the tube as well, and the bullet in the round is the heavier end, so I can pretty much pour a handful of rounds (while carefully observing) right in to load 'er up. This gun has been so handy I will never sell it, and will snatch another up any time a good deal finds me.
The bolt action Remington is of course the more accurate of the two, I would imagine due to less moving parts with each shot, which at times makes it the better rifle for the task. I've checked out mag prices though, and have been not so inspired to buy more mags for it when I could buy ammo or whatnot. It's nice to be able to shoot the center of the O in a coke can, but also fun to shoot as fast as I want with the semi-auto, which is also surprisingly accurate. At this point loading the Nylon 66 is down to a rythm for me. After checking the chamber, I place the muzzle on or in my range bag while loading, and can get her ready faster than most would expect.
Having said all that I'd have to say I prefer the tube, but it only wins by a hair of a margin. I do like the 10/22s but don't plan to own one until after a few other guns on my list. I've used the speed loaders and when I do get a 10/22, that will be bought at the same time if not prior.