I Really Need a .22 Rifle...

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I bought the Marlin XT 22 a few months back. Was not real happy with it coming off the range as I was barely able to keep my shots on the paper. Brought it home, cleaned it and went back the next day. (It was a new gun so it had to be me right?) Second day was no better even though the scope had been reseated etc.

After the second trip, I took it down to parade rest. The hole for the lug was way oversized and the other locator bolt had no support. I bedded the stock and built in the needed supports and floated the barrel. Once I got the scope zeroed it put 14 rounds in a dime size hole.

So far it is a good gun just . . . not out of the box.
 
I bought a mossberg 146a yesterday for under two bills. It was a good find, both stock and steel are better than 90% on it. It has a cheap 4x32 on it. I bought it with two purposes in mind. 1. Becoming more proficient with a scoped rifle and 2. To pass down to my son for his first rifle. Something like it or a Winchester model 67 or 68, a marlin 60 or an older savage bolt is perfect for a first rifle. Plus you don't break the bank. Be careful with the 10/22. There is a HUGE aftermarket for them and there is a huge possibility of addiction.
 
If you must buy new: Marlin 60!
Used: Glenfield 60!

They're all very affordable and quite accurate. I think they've sold about 12,000,000 so far. That says something.

10/22s are cool but, as is, out of the box, the 60 will be the more accurate of the two. You can always pick up a decent Marlin for $100, probably less, if you cruise some pawn shops. Take someone knowledgeable with you to check 'em out, though.
 
If you're a member of a CMP affilated club you can get the discount.

Otherwise you pay retail. Shouldn't be too much more though. You should be able to order one from your LGS.
 
If you want an introduction, either a CZ or Savage Bolt will suffice. If you want something that you can grow with, a Ruger 10/22 is the best option. I love the .22LR. There are many great options--you'll probably buy more then one.
 
Add another vote for the Henry Lever Action. Out of all my .22s, I love my Golden Boy the most. I have an old Remington 581, that's pretty darn accurate too.
 
I have two, a 50's stevens model 56 that I paid $50 dollars for about 10 years ago and a ruger 10/22 that I got for $150 I think about 5 years ago. The stevens is all original with a 5 round mag and the 10/22 has a tapco stock, blackhawk sling, harris bipod, and a cheap 3-9 x 40 tasco scope.
The 10/22 $150
Tapco stock $70
Harris bipod free from a friend!!
Tasco scope was $49.99
$269.99 and it is 1 moa or less at 50 yards. It has become my favorite to take out and plink because ammo is so cheap and varmints are so plentiful around here. Also remember if you want more than a ten round magazine few options exist. Parts replacement and aftermarket are available for the 10/22 like no other .22lr. Barrels, stocks, triggers, magazines(new 25 round from ruger!), everything! Also check out tntoutdoors9 on youtube, he hasn't done a thing to his 10/22 and it's a real shooter.

Photo_32D0B9F4-2B91-20BD-AD1E-F2C8F83C8484-2.gif
 
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If I were to get the Savage Mk II FVT and wanted to get a new stock for it, how would I go about doing that. I don't own or have experience with tools.
 
KG363, Boyd's has gunstocks for the Savage Mark II. You will also need to get trigger guard and mag plate with it. Don't worry, Boyd's has both listed as accessories for the stock you choose.
 
Thanks! I'm having trouble between the CZ and the Savage MkII FVT. The Savage apparently has a crummy stock while the CZ is a tad more expensive and I like peep sights, which I'm trying to find for the CZ

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@AK Gun Man, I'll look that up. Does the rifle just fit in with the stock without modification?
 
KG,
Have you gone through the Savage site? They have several wooden stock options which might be preferable to an aftermarket. But aftermarket stocks are usually drop-in with just a screwdriver. If you don't have a screwdriver, go get a set. :)
 
If you're after a bolt rifle then I'll toss another recomendation for Savage onto the pile. I don't have one but the ones I've shot area amazing. They are just plain good rifles. And the Accutrigger just adds that nice topping onto the dessert :D

I've got a Henry lever action of my own and like the others say it's a lovely gun that shoots very nicely. Don't let the alloy receiver put you off. Lots of them are still shooting just fine that were made some 30 years back and the owners are pretty sure they'll still be shooting well in someone else's hands in another 30 years.

Don't pass up on some of the oldies either if you trip over one in your travels. In the last year I've gotten a 1926'ish made Remington 12 pump action. It came with an old Tasco rimfire scope. At 100 yards on a dead calm day I put 10 rounds into a 1.25'ish inch group. And this from a guy that doesn't specialize in rest shooting so the rifle is likely better than this. So there's some very nice used jewels out there as well. And shooting with a .22 pump rifle produces stupid amounts of grins :D

Mind you until you get to know what to look for in a used gun it's likely best to stick with new.
 
GunnyUSMC said:
There are way too many good 22s to say which one is the best. I know this because I have over 40, 22 rifles and love most of them, the others I just like.
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Nice rifles, Gunny.

Another vote for a bolt action. You'll always keep it, even after you buy all your tricked-out semi-autos and your lever-actions, and what-not.

I say Savage or CZ. If you get an iron-sighted 452, you can add one of these:

http://shop.cz-usa.com/P-19012/452-Adj-Peep-Sight-W-Target-Knobs.aspx

It works with the stock front sight. Looks like they're out of stock -- you can order them direct from Williams, but they're a lot more expensive for some reason.

Those Savage FVTs from CMP are only available to clubs that have a recognized youth shooting program. It's not like the Garands and carbines that individuals can buy once they're qualified. CMP wants documentation of your program. You can buy those rifles elsewhere for around $350. It's a heavy-barreled rifle, which isn't something you'd want to carry around in the field all that much. The trigger is better than the CZ trigger out of the box, but the CZ trigger can be made much better with a simple kit that you can install yourself. Search "yodave trigger kit" and see what comes up.

I think the standard Savage MKII is one of the best deals out there these days. However, the CZ is a much "classier" rifle, if that matters to you.

Happy shopping!
 
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@CJ, That was a great, well informed recommendation. Thank you. I really like the savage that you recommended, but are there aftermarket iron sights available? If not, I might just forgo the peep sights in order to have a better stock.
 
+1 for the Marlin model 60. Crazy accurate, reliable and good price too
 
I am also shopping for a 22lr bolt action. I have decided on the Savage Mk II F. I can't really beat the price at $127.00. I'll get over the synthetic stock and might even convert it to wood later.
 
ms6852 said:
If you really would like to make a solid introduction I would than highly recommend a bolt action rifle. Stay away from the semi auto, tacticool stuff. These are too much fun too shoot and like myself, you will probably lack the discipline to learn proper marksman ship skills. Go with a marlin XT22 or Savage Mark II series, their are other but not within the prize range you want, or ignore what I said go with ruger 10/22, marlin 60, cz. Check the pawn shops for a good deal.
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I agree that the Savage Mark II BV is an excellent, accurate, quality bolt action .22 rifle. It has the great adjustable "Accu-Trigger", which can be adjusted down as light as about 2.5 lbs. I bought mine a few months ago on sale from Cabela's for only $299, but it's sort of a special edition of the Mk II BV called the Mark II-BVG model, with the "G" standing for the gray laminate stock. Typical Mk II BV's come with the brown laminate stock. Plus mine came configured with the heavy target barrel AND a Bushnell rimfire scope. Without the scope combo, the Mk II BV's are going to run you around $300, and it's great quality for the money. I adjusted my Accu-Trigger down to 2.5 lbs. and have shot quarter size groups with it from a bench rest at 50 yards. It is definitely my favorite all around .22 rifle.

Here's a pic of the Mk II BVG:

76-MARK-II-BV-XP-main.jpg
 
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Call Savage and ask them if you can order a FVT with a wood or laminate stock. I bet you they say yes. The BV stock is quite nice; that's what I have. It's a tad low in the comb for a scope, but would be perfect with the irons.

The FVT deserves a better stock IMO, but they probably don't sell any other than to youth shooting clubs and Boy Scouts, who are more than happy to save some bucks.
 
I've been thinking about .22's lately because I want to go shooting more than I can afford to with my centerfire handguns. I was surprised recently when it occurred to me I had never owned a .22 rifle. Yeah, I'd love a new 10/22 with all the cool gadgets, but I just wanted something to start with.

I bought a well-used Marlin Glenfield Model 60 for less than $50 OTD at my favorite LGS. The bluing was not too bad, the stock was pretty well nicked and scratched-up, the feed tube was slightly bent and you could pull the bolt back, release it and take a sip of your coffee before it closed all the way. I referred to a youtube video showing me how to completely disassemble it and just cleaned it up as best as I could. I had it on the range for the first time just last week and....FUN!

IT may or may not be capable of dime-sized groups. Doesn't matter because I'M not capable of dime-sized groups! But it was lots of fun on the range and I can't wait to take it to my friends cabin and move some stuff around outside with it! Just get something to shoot and shoot it...it will tell you what else you may want or need in a gun. This one told me it was all I need... for now.
 
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