Low-End .22 Rifles

[Speedo66]

My first .22 was an inexpensive, but not cheaply made, Marlin 80DL. I was 12 and wanted to do target shooting, so I finally got my parents to agree to buy me a rifle. Down to Modell's on Broadway in Manhattan, and for $40 we got a new walnut stocked bolt action detachable magazine rifle with a peep rear and a hooded front sight.

I used it in the NRA Jr. Marksmanship program and advanced up the line: Promarksman, Marksman, extra bars, etc. It was capable of one hole 5 shot groups at 50' even with it's abysmal trigger.

It's long gone but I now have another Marlin, a model 70 PSS Papoose take down in stainless and plastic and a little 4x scope. Having lots of fun with this surprisingly accurate lightweight rifle.

 

[Picher]

One of my favorite .22s when in high school was a Rem 572 pump, which point-shot very well, and though I hate to admit was fantastic at aerial targets. I hit many coins in the air and once, after a buddy told me about his friend who shot cigarettes out of another guy's mouth, then threw down his own smoking butt. I picked it up, flipped it into the air and, to even my amazement, shot the ash off it. Lucky shot!

The only thing I didn't like about the 572 was the sound of the firing pin in that tiny bolt. It sounded worse than cheap cap gun. I traded it in on a Marlin 39A Mountie which was a tack-driver, but not worth a darn on aerial targets (just as well). The Marlin shot 1/2" groups at 50 yards with a receiver sight! I've always regretted trading that one.

 

[Hasaf]

My first .22, in fact my first rifle, was a Marlin Glenfield. I am pretty sure, without researching it, that it is the model 60. My father purchased it for me in the eighth grade.

Unfortunately, it was stolen when my fathers hunting cabin was broken into and the safe drilled open. However, I still have his first rifle, a Winchester bolt action .22, that he got it when he was 15.

 

[glc24]

My first firearm, like many others was a 22. It was a Mossberg 42M(c) that my uncle gave me in 1965. To this day, it is the only 22 rifle I own. Right now, I'm in the process of restoring it.

 

[chicharrones]

Either you end up with a defective gun or I ended up with a superior gun. My first .22 was a Marlin 39A (1951 manufacture date) and the trigger needed only a little work to be a great trigger. With considerable help from a very good gunsmith, I ended up with a very slick gun. I still have that gun, along with a 39D ($65.00 new) and I love those two guns. Now, they are not Olympic paper punchers but they are as good as any mass produced rifle out there in terms of group size, and certainly more accurate than the wildly popular stock Ruger 10/22 for accuracy. (I own two of those as well.) The 39 D works better than the 39A on closer range moving targets, but the 39A works better on stationary longer range targets when equipped with the right scope.

I bought my 39AS new in 1994. Which means it has the cross bolt safety and rebounding hammer. After the mild tuning to the hammer, strut, and trigger, the worst thing on that gun is the heavy trigger spring.

The best I've done on paper with that gun is 3/4" three shot groups at 50 yards using a 4x scope. The 3/4" groups are the rare exception for that gun. Currently, that 39AS still has the Williams 5D receiver sight that I installed on it years ago.

 

[DM~]

MY lo end shooter 22 is a Savage 3-D, it cost me a whopping $10.00 and it shoots VERY good.

DM

 

[Catpop]

I was raised on my grandads 1892 Marlin 22. Wouldn’t even begin to count the bushy tails it brought home. Love that rifle and still have it!

 

[22250Rem]

Now here's a thread that most of us can relate to, and participate in. As opposed to the recent "High End .22's" thread which was full of beautiful high end .22's. that I was drooling over. I grew up around low end, utility grade .22 plinkers. Some of the same guns that today are getting re-blued and refinished by all of us old guys who recall them so fondly. A lot of folks are also discovering that most of them also shoot very well even with their original iron sights and that even after decades of use the bores are still mint and shiny. The old Winchester Model 67 that my father acquired in the latter 1930's has its own spot in my safe among a few other .22's. Mod. 67's were considered to be "low end" .22's; - a single shot bolt action that had to be cocked manually for each shot. My reproduction of the 1940 Stoeger Arms catalog shows new Model 67's being sold for $5.45 while a standard grade Winchester Model 70 would set you back $61. 80 worth of 1940 dollars. So model 67's easily qualified as low end .22's and "starter rifles" for young shooters back when they were new; but today they qualify as "classics", IMHO, to those who spent so much time enjoying them. Winchester sold a lot of them from 1934 to 1963 and they are still commonly found even today. Mine's all original except for wood refinishing in the early 1980's and still shoots as good as ever.

 

[RedlegRick]

My first low end rifle was a Glenfield, bought at a local drugstore in SLC back in 81, for something like 69.95 and came with a scope. Yes, at one time you could do that there but I don't know if you can now.
It shot great, zapped a lot of rabbits and a coyote with it before I traded it for something else. Never really measured the groups, but if I did my part, I could get them a little bigger than a quarter.
My current low end rifle is a Crickett, and do far, at a hundred for the rifle and a combined fifteen bucks for the scope and mount, it's become one of the nicest shooters I've ever had. I found the kid-sized stock works great when I'm wearing layers and it weighs next to nothing.

 

[mgresh]

Surprised the Marlin 795 has not been mentioned (unless I missed it). Great little accurate rifle.

 

[Picher]

My son has a .22LR, Marlin 880 SQ, which is a heavy-barrelled, plastic-stocked rifle with a great barrel. I tuned the trigger and bedding a bit and he shot informal "Plinker Class" Rimfire Benchrest with it and did quite well. The SQ (Squirrel?) was available about 20 years ago, but I haven't seen them lately.

It is a bit muzzle-heavy, but it hangs nicely. It has a 4.5-14x variable on it and it sleeps in my safe.
JP

 

[jolly roger]

My low end 22 is a Remington Model 12 pump that I got from my FIL when he passed. Worn slam out looking and made in 1936 and the barrel was slightly ringed from him shooting a frog underwater ...however I took that thing out and shot a dime size group at 25 yards with it..go figure. I can only presume the bullet goes down the barrel and pooches out a bit then pooches back in just fine for lack of a better ballistic description..bore otherwise fine

 

[ontarget]

Cheap, not so accurate guns are fun until you shoot something better.

There is nothing more fun than plinking no matter whether it's on a range or in a gravel pit. It's fun with a cheap, not so accurate gun with a lousy trigger and sometimes unreliable bulk ammo...Until you discover other options.

Not all rifles are intended to be hunting rifles.

You are correct in all of the above. I think the spirit of the thread was the less expensive and more commonly owned budget friendly .22s. The high end models have their own thread

 

[ms6852]

My favorite rifles are my vintage .22s. Sure I have the modern high powered bolt actions and of course the ARs, but I enjoy practical shooting and plinking with an old 22 far more these days.
What good is a rifle that shoots one hole groups off a bench if it never leaves the bench?
I remember as a kid with my Red Rider bb gun seeing how many times in a row I could ding the clothes line pole. It was a hoot and I'm pretty sure it was not a moa gun.

Totally agree. My vintage rifles are a Winchester 52C and a Remington 513T. I love shooting these two rifles with irons sights still. Used to do to 200 yards but now shoot them to 25, 50 and 100 yards.

 

[sean m]

My first 22 rifle that I purchases was a Mossberg 380, tube magazine in the buttstock. Think I paid less that $100. Was a decent shooter. I remember going to the range many times with a 500 bulk packs and spending the better part of an hour plinking away. Think I ended up putting a simple 4x scope on it. Kept it for several years until I inherited a 10-22, and then foolishly traded it off to acquire some other

(not my picture)

 

[John Joseph]

When I was a kid, a Winchester 77 was all I had. These days it is a Romanian 1968 which I'd really like to trade for something less problematic.

 

[Picher]

My first 22 rifle that I purchases was a Mossberg 380, tube magazine in the buttstock. Think I paid less that $100. Was a decent shooter. I remember going to the range many times with a 500 bulk packs and spending the better part of an hour plinking away. Think I ended up putting a simple 4x scope on it. Kept it for several years until I inherited a 10-22, and then foolishly traded it off to acquire some other
View attachment 777831
(not my picture)

My B.I.L. lusted for a Marlin with a fold down wooden forend. He told me that if I ever found one to buy it and he'd repay me. One day, I found one that was kinda rusty, but had nice wood, at a gun show and bought it for him, paying $130. I cleaned it up, including the plentiful of surface rust on the metal, then one day, I brought it to him without telling him I had it. I told him that it was a gift, for his help in getting me started in the shooting sports. He actually cried!

He refinished the stock and brought it to a gunsmith for polishing and re-blue. It came out beautiful and shot well and he never stopped thanking me until he passed away.

 

[johnnydollar]

My favorite from way back when was a wonderfully accurate little H&R 365 "Ace". A single shot bolt action with a Lyman receiver sight (#55H), it had what seemed to me then a great trigger. It is long gone, and I have no pictures of it, but I wish I had it back.

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

For one of today's "low end" .22LR rifles that impressed me, there is the Mossberg 702 Plinkster. This Mossberg-branded Brazilian import cost $99 new at Wal-Mart a couple of years back, and certainly feels as though that's about as much as it should.

But, boy will it shoot. Though I haven't yet had it out past 25 yards (only pistol ranges in my immediate area), it is certainly easy to keep all of the Federal AutoMatch rounds within a quarter if I really do my part. I've had no hang-ups at all, and the bolt even stays open when the last round is fired due to the magazine follower interrupting it (pull the magazine, though, and the bolt will snap closed.)

I also have a 10/22, purchased new in 1986. That gun has always worked well, though I don't recall ever actually trying to see how accurately out to any real distance. A few years back, I drank the "tacti-cool-aid" and Tapco'd it up some, but it's still fun in hand.

I have an original 70's Model 377 Plinkster that my daughter has now requisitioned- very accurate , but also highly ammo sensitive. She gets plenty of practice clearing jams. And that faux-wood foam thumbhole stock......well beauty's in the eye I guess..... .

My buddy gave me his new production Plinkster to see if I could mount a ridiculous 4-16x 44mm scope on it, lol.
I gotta say, aside from the gritty trigger, that was a darn good shooter. I was able to put 10 rounds in a nickel sized hole at 50 yds when it was done.
Don't have a pic, but if you remember the M1 carbines with the experimental night-vision equipment, you've got a pretty good idea what it looks like!

 

[Striker]

I have quite a few .22 rifles, but my all time favorite is a Marlin 25 bolt action that I paid $69.00 for at Service Merchandise in Alexandria, VA, in 1989.

Interestingly, I dug it out of the safe yesterday and put a box of mini mags thru it. It's still more accurate then I am....

 

[Scooter22]

My B.I.L. lusted for a Marlin with a fold down wooden forend.
He told me that if I ever found one to buy it and he'd repay me. One day, I found one that was kinda rusty, but had nice wood, at a gun show and bought it for him, paying $130. I cleaned it up, including the plentiful of surface rust on the metal, then one day, I brought it to him without telling him I had it. I told him that it was a gift, for his help in getting me started in the shooting sports. He actually cried!

He refinished the stock and brought it to a gunsmith for polishing and re-blue. It came out beautiful and shot well and he never stopped thanking me until he passed away.

Pssst. I think it was a Mossberg.

.

 

[mokin]

My current low end .22 is the .22 barrel of a Rossi Matched Pair. I really haven't shot it that much. I seems to group nicely but the plastic rear site doesn't hold a zero. The .410 barrel makes it a lot of fun though....

I did briefly own a Glenfield Model 20 that was great. I went out looking for an air rifle and walked out of a pawn shop with that .22 instead. I ended up selling it to my brother. I hope he still has it.

 

[ontarget]

My first 22 rifle that I purchases was a Mossberg 380, tube magazine in the buttstock. Think I paid less that $100. Was a decent shooter. I remember going to the range many times with a 500 bulk packs and spending the better part of an hour plinking away. Think I ended up putting a simple 4x scope on it. Kept it for several years until I inherited a 10-22, and then foolishly traded it off to acquire some other
View attachment 777831
(not my picture)

I recently acquired a Mossy 380. I haven't been able to get it out and shoot it yet but its on the schedule. Come on Spring..... Or at least above freezing.

 

[Iroquois]

When I was younger my dad took me woods shooting with a Marlin model 81. When I turned 13 he gave me that rifle. I shot some squirrels, a few rabbits and some other stuff. That was a while back ago. I’ll never forget the woods shooting experience with him. I still have that rifle and maybe it’s time i get it out of the safe and shoot it.

 

[Picher]

Pssst. I think it was a Mossberg.

.View attachment 777876

DUH - I knew that. My fingers weren't connected to my brain, apparently.