A .22 Question

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Patrick_Henry

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Hey Guys,
This Christmas I will be parting with the .22 I had growing up (it was a lever action ithaca, a great joy to shoot), to give it to the son of the Uncle who gave it to me as he died last month.

I love .22's very much and am trying to decide what to get next. I am thinking about a Ruger 10/22 because I really like the idea of playing with high cap mags in a .22 However I am thinking that here soon I'm going to have to teach my fiance and eventually my kids how to shoot with the thing. I was taught to shoot with my grandfather's bold load .22 and so I have a slight bias toward the bolt for a new shooter. I was thinking maybe this could be compensated for by just putting one shell in the mag at a time, but there is still something about the accuracy of the bolt that keeps my attention.

I was wondering if you guys would kindly help me out of my dilemma with some good advice, also if you recommend a bolt and have any good guns in mind, I'd be happy for that advice too.
 
Youv'e already had the lever gun. You must have liked it. Try a Marlin 39. Mine is the most accurate 22 i own. Plus it shoots CBs, shorts, longs and long rifles. Since the action is doesn't open at the shot no fouling gets into like on a simi auto and so stays clean longer.

I have a Marlin 783 22 mag that i bought at walmart at least 22 years ago for $115.00. It shoots around 1" groups at a hundred as long as i scrub the copper fouling from the bore every 25 to 50 shots.


I am thinking of getting a 22 LR version of the gun. I believe the model is an 880t. It also shoots S,L,LR plus any light load except Aquila Colibri loads. It is tube fed so there is no magazine to lose. A real plus with me.

I see them on GB for around $160.00.
 
I agree, if you liked the lever action, try a Marlin 39.

As far as bolt actions go, there are plenty of quality rifles out there at decent prices. Savage, CZ, Marlin are all respected names. The new Winchester Wildcat is a great rifle for the money, it's a rebadged and slightly cleaned up TOZ rifle. And don't forget about used rifles. There are plenty of nice old Remingtons, Winchesters, Mossbergs, etc. on the racks in gun/pawn shops.
 
10/22 is a neat gun lots of goodies on the aftermarket, but it's just plain fun in stock form, but just about any .22 is a neat gun. You had a lever gun, why not a Henry? I hear they're neat and great fun. I want one, myself, even though I own 5 rimfires already. Heck, you can't have too many .22s.
 
You know, I had a Henry and was not impressed at all. The finish on the receiver was just black paint, the stock was subaverage wood and accuracy was horrible. I sent it back to Henry and they ended up rebarrelling it. When I got it back, I sold it. If I was going to buy another lever, it would be a 39.
 
I really enjoyed the lever I had, but the thing I liked about it most was that it was a gift. If I am going to buy one for myself I'd like either an auto or a bolt. I have a Remmington 1100 and A MAK 90, so having another auto to me is just plain fun, esp. with a round as cheap and fun to shoot as .22 My primary reason for thinking against the auto is that it might me harder to teach a new shooter on. I'm only 19 and really just beginning to buy, it may be a good while before I have money for another .22 so whatever I get needs to have long term goals in mind. i.e. good for teaching new shooters on.
 
Not really harder to teach a new shooter with an auto, just maybe a little safer. There is no shortage of good bolt, slide action, lever, auto, and single shots available. Chipmunks were cheap trainer guns for kids, single shot, not sure if they're still available. My first was a Remington bolt action tube fed repeater.
 
Buy a 10/22. Lots of options to upgrade if you want. Add a scope. Different barrel. different stock ect. The Marlin 60 has few accessories and same with any bolt action.

I have a couple of bolt action 22's and I really don't like them as much as a semi-auto or a lever action. I have a Winchester 9422, a Marlin 39 and a Henry 101 and I like the 9422 the best, but the Henry gets the most shooting time anymore out of the lever actions as it's my beater gun out in the woods or wherever.

Check the pawn shops for another Ithaca 49 lever single shot rifle in he next few years (Gunbroker always has a couple) to buy to teach your kids someday. You can find them for around $100. That's what I taught my kids to shoot with along with a single action Ruger Single-Six .22 revolver.
 
Even though they are expensive (like $500), you might look at a Browning .22 semi-auto. These are one of the last designs John Browning did, and it shows his genius. Very light (5-1/2 lbs), good trigger, accurate. Breaks down for cleaning (or packing.) Tube fed magazine holds 11, easy to load through the side of the stock. Bottom eject. I don't know how one of these would work for a new shooter as the stock can't be cut down to shorten LOP. At least they are light.
 
I was taught on a marlin bolt action 22 and do think they have something special about them and they work great for teaching. However the 10/22 is a good beginners gun also. The number one rule to teach the child or any new shooter is to always keep all guns, laded or not, in a safe direction. That way, bolt or auto loader, the shooters will be safe. As for accuracy, teach the importance of taking clean shots to humanly and quickly kill an animal and to avoid the "spray and pray" method of shooting.
 
I shot a friend's Henry in .22 and it was great. I owned one in .38/.357 and the action on it was very sloppy. It is up for sale. I guess it is hit and miss.
 
the henry 22 sucks my brother has one, like was said erlier the reicever is diecast and is just painted black(you can look inside the reciever and see the over spray) and my cousin has one and it seems like when we shot that every other shot it got jammed and marred the crap out of the bullet
 
Patrick;

Another reason to consider the CZ's. There are a coupla models that are expressly intended for the beginner. They come with a single-shot adapter, which can later be removed & allow magazine fed operation. I believe the Trainer has this option. They are outstanding guns for the money, which in the case of the Trainer, isn't all that much either.

900F
 
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