Bolt action .22S, L, and LR.

[roofsc]

if your open to another variation the Henry 22 pump shoots,l,lr and shorts no problem. tube fed bought the rifle just cause i always wanted a 22 pump, used winchester ones are $800.00 to $1,500.00 got the henry new in box at gun show for $325.00. yes they had them there for $529.00 but didn't take long to find a deal. new favorite rifle

 

[razorback2003]

Let us know about the accuracy you can get with that Marlin XT 22 tube rifle with 22 shorts. 22 shorts would be great to use for squirrel hunting if you can get great accuracy. The improved trigger should really help it out.

 

[Cee Zee]

I get very good accuracy with shorts in my XT. When we were kids we always hunted squirrels with shorts. They were a dime cheaper per box (a bottle of Pepsi cost a nickel at the time so 10 cents was a big deal to us kids who had to save their pennies to buy ammo). But the thing with shorts is that they pretty much require a head shot on a squirrel. I shot one with the higher powered shorts CCI was making before the shortage. It moved just as I shot and I hit it in the chest. It ran around for 2 days before it finally keeled over. The shot was only from about 20 yards too. Still we managed to kill a bunch of squirrels with shorts way back when.

 

[heycods]

Im with reloadron, I have several old Remingtons that handle the shorts well, My favorite is a early 50s vintage and it is an auto, cant remember number off hand, but is by far the most accurate 22 in my stable. I gave $35 at a pawn shop for it a few years back. He only drawback to the old guns is if you want it scoped you will have to have it drilled and taped and find the mounts.

 

[aka108]

Get a Remington 511 nor 512. Very accurate sporters from the middle of the last century. At gun shows they are roughly 150 bucks or so. Far better quality than you can get today for the same money.

 

[toivo]

Mossberg used to make a .22 box magazine that adapted to different lengths of cartridge by a little spacer that swung into place, blocking off part of the feed lips.

The bad news is that these magazines are now as scarce as hen's teeth and are fetching insane prices -- sometimes higher than the rifles they go with.

 

[chicharrones]

. . . I ended up at a LGS that made a lot off of me when was single and better paid. I had him order the XT22.

Let us know about the accuracy you can get with that Marlin XT 22 tube rifle with 22 shorts.

+1

I'd like to hear of how the incoming Marlin works for you with shorts, Zach S.

 

[Water-Man]

Find yourself a Savage Model 3.

 

[Deltaboy1984]

Remington 500 series is your answer to gun you looking for.

 

[Cee Zee]

If you want to go with an older rifle a Stevens Model 15 would make an excellent choice. The only problem is that you can't mount a scope on them. But they are very accurate. They're single shot rifles which almost always helps accuracy IMO because a stiff receiver makes for an accurate gun (along with other stuff of course). I have a 15-B that is as accurate as any rimfire I own including my CZ 453 and my Savage MkIIBTV. The price for an old Stevens can sometimes be below $50. Usually they cost more though because people know they are great shooters.

 

[d2wing]

If you do want a semi auto that shoots S,L, and LR you may want to look for a Remington 550. They are said to be accurate, reliable and I have seen two for under $200 each. I would have bought one but they are not grooved for scopes. They have a unique design that will cycle any 22 s,l, or LR.

 

[Gordon]

Winchester model 69a feed shorts very well and are a class act. The model 75 even more so.

 

[Kp321]

+1 on the Remington 500 series. Unfortunately they are going up daily, don't think you can find one for $150 any more. Jump on it if you do. I paid that for just a bolt last week.
Another possibility is a Romanian 69. They are a little rough looking but shoot very well. Should be able to find one in the $150 range.

 

[Field Tester]

Although I don't own one, I believe a older used Marlin Model 60 will fit the bill. They were designed to use the LR, S & Long if I recall correctly. One of those shouldn't run you too much. It's a tube fed BTW.

 

[Field Tester]

Oh, sorry Zach, I just read the rest of the thread. Hopefully my suggestion may help someone else.

Add me to the list of people who can't wait for your review. I'm curious if it can use more than LR reliably.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

If you do want a semi auto that shoots S,L, and LR you may want to look for a Remington 550. They are said to be accurate, reliable and I have seen two for under $200 each. I would have bought one but they are not grooved for scopes. They have a unique design that will cycle any 22 s,l, or LR.

When I was a boy in the '50s, I had a 550A, and it was grooved for a scope. That rifle has the Williams floating chamber, cut for the .22 Short (Longs and Long Rifles bridge past the floating chamber.)

When I finally put a scope on it, I was amazed at how accurate it was -- inch groups at 50 yards. On the downside, it had a typical automatic's trigger -- not very good.

 

[RFMan]

If you do want a semi auto that shoots S,L, and LR you may want to look for a Remington 550. They are said to be accurate, reliable and I have seen two for under $200 each. I would have bought one but they are not grooved for scopes. They have a unique design that will cycle any 22 s,l, or LR.

I inherited a Remington 550-1 from my grandpa. Tube mag, semi-auto, shoots short, long, and long rifle with the floating chamber, and it does have a not-too-deep dovetail on top. I'm still shooting it with the factory irons, though (at 50, I don't know how much longer that will last ). Try to find a used one of them!

 

[ColtPythonElite]

I have a couple of 550-1's. One has been farm abused 60+ years. The other is near mint. Both feed the three .22s fine.

 

[Kingcreek]

My old tube feed Stevens model 66 is a tack driver. You can still find them used for under $100.

 

[Cee Zee]

Although I don't own one, I believe a older used Marlin Model 60 will fit the bill. They were designed to use the LR, S & Long if I recall correctly.

Actually the 60 is LR only. I've never seen a semi-auto that would cycle with a .22 short. There isn't enough power there to push the bolt back.

For all you guys suggesting that the OP go looking for an older model Remington they certainly are nice rifles. But finding one might take a long time. I've looked at lots of rifles in gun shops over the years and AFAIK I've never seen one of the older models that are box mag fed and shoot shorts. I did find a couple on GunsAmerica. One had a "starting bid" of $90 on a gun that was pretty beat up and another started at $300 for one without the rear sight. That's in addition to shipping fees and FFL fees. Of course you get those on some of the rifles I list below but you can find them locally if you look. It isn't hard to do. You can get a brand new Marlin XT-22TR for under $200 and they have a ProFire Trigger, which is a huge advantage. Nostalgia is great and all. I like older guns too. But I looked for years for a Marlin 981 and couldn't find one. XT's are everywhere. And they're inexpensive for a new rifle especially with the features it has. I don't think this question is that hard to answer. It's very hard to find a gun that shoots shorts, longs and LR's that isn't a single shot and there aren't that many of those still around. By far the most obvious answer is a Marlin XT. It just isn't even close.

Here's a quick list of places I found that have these rifles and what the price is. I only included places that had them in stock. I could have found a lot more places but this is enough to prove my point. Try finding just one of the other rifles mentioned here.

$170

No price listed but this is Walmart so it will be cheap.

Gander Mtn. so it's high at $240. Look for a sale.

Lists only the MSRP at $235 which tells you a lot about Gander Mtn.

$198 w/ free shipping.

$195

$200

$180

Get the picture?

 

[back40]

that $170 buy at cabelas says not available online and it's for the youth compact version, fyi.


the OP apparently already placed his order.

good luck with the new rifle, and have fun!

 

[Cee Zee]

And the OP talked about kids in one of his posts. Besides that compact youth model is only a little shorter than the adult model. Savage has always made their guns that way. As for the OP already making his choice I knew that too. Others might read this thread at some point. I just made a point that finding those old rifles at decent prices (as the OP already knew) is hard to do. It takes time and patience. And I don't know where you live but there are 2 Cabelas stores not real far away from me and maybe more. I haven't checked. I pointed out that finding one locally might be cheaper because of shipping and FFL fees.

<deleted>

 

[Sam1911]

Looks like this is answered and for some reason heads are getting hot over it all. Let's put it to bed and wake up in a better mood, shall we?

 

[Sam1911]

Field Tester has asked that I add the following note:

Someone responded to my post about the older Model 60's not being able to use more than just .22LR.
I did read that they in fact can.

Something to look into.