Help me pick a rifle to learn with.

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Scottmkiv

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I have a pair of FALs, but they were my first rifles. In hindsight, I don't really think this was the best decision for a rifle to learn on. They are still awesome, don't get me wrong, but I don't really think I am learning to shoot very well.

This has made me decide that I should get a rifle to really learn marksmanship on. I intend to do most of my shooting off-hand, or with an improvised rest using iron sights. A .22 of some flavor seems like the ideal way to go, if for no other reason than cost of ammo. My budget is up to 300 or maybe 350.

Any suggestions?
 
Congrats on deciding to pick up something to really learn the fundamentals with. It's a real pleasure to shoot a .22 anyway, and you can do it all day for almost no real money. The 10/22 is a good choice as someone mentioned. I don't have any experience with them, but quite a few people around here .ove their CZ .22's. You should take a look at those. For some reason the idea of a bolt action appeals to me as a good trainer, having to perform a manual operation after each shot seems to concrete the idea of 'one shot and expire'.
 
CZ 513, 452, 453 models
The plain version is around $250 with tangent adjustable open sights, very usable as is. Lots of information on care and managment over on rimfirecentral.com

Ruger 10-22
Kind of a standard gun to work with. Lots of goodies to spend money on.

Thompson Center
Their Classic .22 auto is very nice. Be sure to get a new one, they had to do some debugging from the early production.
 
If you want an auto to go with your FALs, the 10/22 is a good choice. It can be tricked out to kingdom come, if you like. Personally, I'd get a Marlin 60 since I prefer to leave guns as they are and I think it's nicer stock than a 10/22.

For a bolt-action, I had a CZ 452 Special that just impressed the heck out of everyone who shot it. Should be able to find one within your budget.

Savage makes a bolt-action rifle called the Mark II that's gotten good reports as well. Shouldn't be more than $150 or so at your local Wal-Mart.
 
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You don't have to spend all that money on a new .22LR. I learned on a Sears Roebuck single shot crankbolt that most folks are liable to mislead you into beleiving was long since wore out. Many of those rifles were made by Savage way back when and will shoot circles around a lot of newer rifles. The single shot action will make you slow down and take your time aiming for the X ring instead of trying to hose out the 10ring rapid fire.

Many pawn shops will have these rifles on the racks because so many are trading them in on overpriced 10/22's and fancier crankbolts. They misunderestimate these old rifles just because they're old and allegedly "uncool".

In fact, and I'm not kidding, a rifle such as the one I learned on a long time ago is the basis for a project I have in mind. It involves pillar bedding and aperture sights.
 
I would suggest a bolt action .22 with good iron sights. I can't name any particular makes or models. This is what we were taught on in JROTC many moons ago. It allows you learn sight alignment, breath control, and re-acquiring sight picture.
 
Consider looking around at different forms of rifle competition* held near where you live. If you find one that strikes your fancy, buy the equipment to get started in competition and start going to matches.


*small bore, highpower, tactical, bench rest, whatever.
 
Another +1 for a bolt action .22LR with iron sights. The CZ-452 is an excellent choice. Very accurate, nicely made and you can get 10 round mags for it. I have a very old 1st generation (actually a 1950s BRNO #1, before they were even called CZ) and it still shoots way better than me.

There are lots of other good yet economical bolt action .22 rifles though. I've always been partial to Marlins. I've never owned one that shot bad.
 
If you don't think you'll be modifying or don't want to modify the gun for better accuracy, IMO, the CZ 452 will be the best bang for the buck in terms of accuracy/$ out of the box. If you think you'd like to try your hand on modding a gun, the 10/22.
 
I thought about modificating a 10/22 once... then I saw what parts cost. Then add the gunsmith's fees for the parts that require professional help.:what:

The set-up I mentioned I have in mind with the old single-shot crankbolt... it don't cost much at all. $90-100 for the rifle, maybe $2 or so for some steel or aluminum tubing for the pillar bedding (mainly to stop the action screw from compressing the wood directly around it and pulling the barrel down into it tighter than necessary), and the cost of sights. Sights are probably the biggest issue in the whole project, but I don't think they'll give you sticker shock. I've cold blued some guns before so I know I can do that myself too and that solution's cheap and easy too. In the end, if somebody does this deal, they won't have near as much in a real good shooter as they would going with a fancy off-the-shelf .22.

Although, I have looked at 39A and 452 and liked what I saw.

Scottmkiv, if you set up the one I'm talking about, you'd be way under budget and can spend the rest in a whole bunch of Federal 550rd .22LR from Wallyworld for under $10/box. That's a whole lot of shooting with a real good potential for accuracy.
 
Another vote for the CZ 452.

If you get extremely lucky and find a winchester model 52 for around ther same price, you've found gold, but this is pretty unlikely.

If you can find one used, a remington 541 is very similar and is an excellent rifle.

A used remington 581 will be very accurate, and cheaper yet, probably around $100.
 
Best trainer piece is a bolt action .22 LR, even a single shot. Preferably a decent trigger and good adjustable aperture sights (hard to find).

In high school I used the Remington 513 which still turns up now and then. also used the Springfield M2 .22 and liked it so much I eventually got one years later.
Lovely rifle.

A bit out of the mainstream but a nice .22 is the Remington Nylon 66. Almost too light but a joy to shoot.
 
Dienekes said:
Best trainer piece is a bolt action .22 LR, even a single shot. Preferably a decent trigger and good adjustable aperture sights (hard to find).
Click to expand...

I'm with Dienekes, a good bolt action or single shot are best if marksmanship is your goal. Semi-autos just seduce you into rapid fire. While not as good of a choice for basic marksmanship the Marlin 39A is a great rifle and one that generally holds it value over the years, and are well known for their accuracy.
 
CZ452 if on a budget.

Otherwise a heavy barrel single shot smallbore rifle with arperture sights adjustable for windage and elevation.

Then a Howa Lighting/Weatherby Vanguard in .223 with a scope adjustable for windage and elevation then go to a 300m range and learn how to read the wind.
 
Thanks for all the advice. I had been leaning towards getting the CZ452 before I asked, but I didn't want to bias the responces.

Can anyone point me towards a "how to" sort of webpage for learning to shoot accurately?
 
I use a CZ452 Lux and think it's the cat's meow. I attached a 1907-type shooting sling and practice all the shooting positions with it (makes shooting way more fun than just sitting on a bench ;) ). It really builds great fundamentals that transfer to when I shoot my M1 Garand, except that the
M1 is heavier and has peep sights. I've shot my CZ so much that I feel like I own anything 50 yards away as long as I can get a good sight picture of it.

It comes with a detachable five round magazine but you can also get a single shot loading device from the factory if you really want to force yourself to "make every shot count." There is a CZ452 that is exactly the same as the Lux except with a different stock, and lower priced. All the metal parts are the same, so you get the same quality. I forget the name of it (Trainer? Military? Standard?) but it has a beechwood stock and that's the one I would buy if I had the choice to do it again.
 
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