I want a .22 rifle real bad.

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

Get both - check around for a good deal on a used 10/22, because there are a lot of used ones out there for a better price. If buying new, I'd get a Savage or Marlin on a budget, CZ on a semi-budget, and Anschutz not on a budget.

My first non-airgun rifle was a 10/22, and I was pretty happy with it. First shotgun, S&W 3000, 12 ga riot gun. Second rifle, Russian SKS. Second shotgun, Winchester 1300. First pistol, Lllama "1911", 9x19mm....but I digress.

 

[Maverick223]

I love my 10/22, it was my first gun and is very versatile, and it was a military arm (what other .22LR carbine can say that). AKA: "hushpuppy"; used my IDF as a quiet (with suppressor) carbine to silence dogs. If it's good enough for Israel it's good enough for me . The exorbitant price of the 10/22 is a shame, it used to be comparable in price.

On the other hand one of, if not my favorite firearms is my Stevens Model 87D, the thing is a sniper rifle (has 24" barrel). This thing has great knockdown too...my Grandmother used it to take down a rogue Bull (kept gettin' in the garden), yea she killed a bull (although it wandered off) with a shot to the jewels. I **** you not, and she swears she aimed to miss the bull. My 10/22 has no bulls to it's credit.

 

[f8talh8red]

i just bought a mossberg 702 plinkster for $119. havnt shot it yet but for that kinda money im sure itll be just fine, and do as well as the marlin 60. with the money i saved i bought a cheap simmons 3-9x40 for my ar. i was going to get the .22 conversion, but it made more sense to get the gun. im happy so far, but ill let ya know after i put 500 rounds through it.

 

[panrobercik]

If the large magazine is your selling point, keep in mind that most aftermarket magazines for 10/22 are junk. I bought a bunch of 30 rounders for my 10/22 and ended up with a lot of frustration. The original mag is a pain to load. Accuracy is not that great unless you get a decent barrel. All the aftermarket stuff will cost you more than the gun itself. I would take my money elsewhere.Just my 2 cents.

 

[Big Bill]

I've always shot a marlin, and I think that's what I'm going to go with.

It sounds like your mind was made up before you started this thread.

I've got a two Marlins, a couple of Ruger 10-22s, a Henry H001, and a Remington 597. I definitely think the Rugers are all around the best because of the aftermarket accessories that are available. I've shot thousands of rounds of .22 ammo through them and have never had a problem and their accuracy is excellent.

However, on some occasions I want a nice bolt .22 and the Marlin 981T is a great gun. So, I guess it all depends on what you are using it for.

 

[BigNYMini]

for that kinda money im sure itll be just fine, and do as well as the marlin 60

Ever owned a 60? When you disassemble to clean prior to testing look carefully at the receiver. Uncanny resemblance to the Marlin. Dont get me wrong, the action is different but similar in design.

The Plinksters have a great reputation and for $119 (seen them for 109.)I think its the best detachable mag value out there.

 

[TRGRHPY]

Marlin Model 60
Pros:
-Semi Auto - 16 shots
-Tube Fed for faster reloads than mags
-No need to spend money on extra magazines
-Time-tested durability and performance
-Just about everyone's owned one - lots of info out there
-Great accuracy right out of the box
-basic model is 139.99 new

Since when is tube fed a faster reload? It's not even remotely close.

There are some pretty bad magazines out there for 10/22s, just like every other magazine fed firearms out there. But the thing to watch for with 10/22 mags is whether or not the feed lips are metal or plastic. Metal=good, plastic=bad. And typically anything over 25 rounds will have feed issues.

I love watching people talk about how this rifle is better for accuracy over that rifle, when in fact a pretty decent majority of people are completely incapable of shooting to the guns ability.

 

[Maverick223]

But the thing to watch for with 10/22 mags is whether or not the feed lips are metal or plastic. Metal=good, plastic=bad. And typically anything over 25 rounds will have feed issues.

+1 on both accounts. The Steel Lips magazines have been great for me (better than the original rotary mags). I bought a 50rnd drum for the 10/22...it is a jam-o-matic. It is the worst feeding mag and hardest to load mag I have ever seen. My fingers bleed at the sight of it.

 

[Maverick223]

And as far as accuracy, I can reliably make 50yd shots at .22lr brass casings with my 10/22. The most accurate .22lr it is not, but it is more than acceptable, and plenty of accessories to make it into a target rifle (Volquartsen makes good stuff, albeit pricey).

 

[CZguy]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Hostile Amish
10-22 is like twice as better.

The English teacher in me just had a stroke. Fortunately the firearms fanatic is still alive and well.

I was euphoric that he didn't say "10/22 is like twice better, dude".

And it wasn't all lower case, and missing punctuation.

 

[hoohaa310]

Lot of hate on here for the 10/22.....



All i know is i bought the cheapest model they make at a Gander Mountain a few years back (If I remember correctly, I paid around $150 for it). My dad spotted a beautiful walnut stock in a local store for around $20 bucks, and I had him pick that up, and I found a Bull Barrel that a friend of a friend had actually recieved completely on accident from Cabelas. He basically gave it to me I think I might have given him $5 for it.

Threw on a 3-9x Scope on it (the brand escapes me but I probably spent around $50 for it)


So overall, for around $225 dollars I ended up with a TACK DRIVER. One of the most accurate rifles I have ever shot (at 100 yards). I have one of those flip up targets (the ones with 4 swinging discs and one on top that resets them) and that almost gets boring to shoot. As long as the crosshairs are on that disc, it gets shot haha.

Sure the mags are a pain loading in 25 .22's all the time. Overall I think its a neat little rifle, that is easily upgradable/custamizable.



I like to relate my 10/22 to my Jeep. Sure its not the BEST vehicle, but it sure is durable, and the aftermarket parts cannot be beat.

 

[Avenger29]

The 10/22s a good basic rifle. It's more accurate than many claim (although it can be made very accurate with replacement parts).

The magazines are very common. Yes, the Butler Creek loader works, too. Best $30 I have spent.

Techsights are available for it (and now the Marlin Model 60 as well).

The Ruger is also easy to disassemble and clean. And .22s get dirty, so that is a plus. Even if you don't believe in cleaning the barrel until accuracy suffers, the chamber and action area still need cleaning.

As far as magazines go, the Ruger 10 rd. factory mags are plentiful, and I buy Butler Creek hotlips mags for $10 each. I wouldn't bother with any mags over 25 rds.

 

[CZguy]

The 10/22s a good basic rifle. It's more accurate than many claim (although it can be made very accurate with replacement parts).

You may want to checkout Rimfirecental.

 

[Brian Dale]

Of my friends and acquaintances with guns, I don't know of any who own only a single .22 rifle.

Get the one that grabs you now; you'll buy more later as you find others that you want. They're not expensive, and if you're anything like most of us, you'll continue to shoot them all.

It's OK to have .22 rifles available in various sizes, for teaching anyone from a 5-year-old kid to a tall, slender woman to a 350-lb guy, and to shoot them yourself when you're not teaching.

Get what you like.

 

[Gunfighter123]

Everybody needs AT LEAST one good .22 rifle.

I own 2 semi-autos , 2 pumps , 3 lever-actions, 1 bolt , and 1 single shot. The one I like the best is the bolt action Marlin 880SQ --- it is the Best Buy for accurate .22 rifles. ---- I use mine as a "trainer" for my LR .223s and 308s.

I use a Shepherd 3X9 scope on it and hit bird/can size objects out to 300 yards !!!!

A Hi-Cap semi .22 rifle is a lot of fun. But a good scope and bedded/hvy. brl. Bolt Gun is like having a Mini-DeathRay !!!!!!!!!


Here is a link to a local club that shoots .22rf at 300 yards;
http://www.oscinc.org/buffalo.html

 

[hadmanysons]

If you want a .22 that bad, just get a Mossberg 702 Plinkster. You can get that, 550 rounds of ammo and a 3x-9x BSA scope for less than 200$. I did. Twas my first firearm and I don't regret it a bit. I do regret that they are all sold at Walmart, but that can't be helped.

 

[Dookie]

This is one of the dumbest continuing arguments on the web. Marlin and Ruger are the TOP semi auto sellers for one reason, they are good at what they do. Reliable, accurate enough, and just plain FUN!!!!!

Bolt will be more accurate MOST of the time, semi's are usually better for all around plinking and having fun, IN MY OPINION.

I don't think you can go wrong with any of the options you are interested in. Pick them all up, feel them and go home with the one you like best. And if you want to modify, your best bet is the 10/22, but they rarely need it to work correctly. People modify them because it's fun.

 

[CZguy]

King Ghidora,

Good post, takes the emotion out of it, and just deals with the facts.

 

[dillynfw]

I was thinking about a GSG-5. It's probably too fancy for what you want, though. But it's a decent gun from what owners say and the ammo sure is obtainable compared to even 9mm.

Be sure to check out "The AK-47 and AK74 Kalashnikov Rifles and Their Variations" by Joe Poyer. Got a short section on Soviet .22 sniper rifles used in Vietnam and Chechnya. Even says the SAS got similar ones for urban sniping.

 

[Dookie]

Reliable, accurate enough, and just plain FUN!!!!!

For one thing the Model 60 has sold more than double what the 10/22 has sold so just saying they are the leaders is kinda misleading. One is far ahead of the other. And I don't agree that Rugers are accurate enough. You can buy better barrels and make them more accurate but the gun starts out way more expensive and when you add that better barrel you would be better off having bought a CZ in the first place.

Did you actually argue with that? You just wanted something to argue about. Yes, Marlin has produced double. But they also sold under many names for a very cheap price, Glenfield, Western Auto. Much cheaper than the Ruger.

And they are the leaders in their field, low budget semi auto. Marlin just sold many more that Ruger has.

You even argued with the accuracy I mentioned. When I said accurate enough, I meant accurate enough for 99.9% of the people who own them, not the people you find in forums complaining. Most people who own either are just fine with what they have and don't care about the tug of war between the two companies fanatics. They just want to do what every other person who buys a gun wants to do. Shoot it.

I could go on as to why the marlin is not as good as the ruger, but I highlighted the basic finer points of both, as they are both fine rifles. Just a slightly different road to the same ending.

 

[snakeman]

I have a 10/22 and a magtech 22 and a henry 22 the ruger is the least accurate by far I like the henry best. If you must have an auto go for the tube load marlin.

 

[HB]

Not a big fan of the 10-22 in the stock form. Accurate enough and reliable enough, but I prefer tube-fed guns for the most part. Most hold 15+ rounds anyway and with a charger (basically tubes that dump rounds into the tube) they are just as fast to reload.

HB

 

[alaskanativeson]

On the magazine loading thing - I have a Ramline mag loader that I can use to load a 50 round mag in about 30 seconds. It's quite good. If only the Ramline 50 round clips would last longer than they do. If they'd have made them with steel lips like the Butler Creek ones they'd be great.

Didn't someone else make a 50 round 10/22 mag of high quality? I know it was expensive, but I'd be willing to shell out the cash if I could find them again.

 

[Sixtigers]

Am I weird? I own both.

I allways figured the 10/22 as the small block chevy of .22 rifles. It may not be the best, but everybody makes parts for it, and you can make 'em scream...so why not?

As for price--does everybody have to have a new rifle? I put an ad in my local swap rag asking for a 10/22 in excellent condition that I'll pay $100 for, and I'll get 10 phone calls the first day.

I love my 10/22s! I love my Marlins!
I love all you guys!

Group hug!

 

[woof]

I'm surprised this thread hasn't been closed yet, it's always fun when this comes up. Like tastes great and less filling. Truth is there isn't a bad .22 on the market so you can't go wrong. I guess it's just human nature to choose up sides and go at it , and 10-22 vs Marlin 60 is a classic rivalry. Best way to help someone really looking for advice is to explain what those who like 10-22 like about them and what those who like Model 60s like about them and we've done a pretty good job of that.