Most rugged, durable .22lr

[Elotemuygrande]

Hey guys, after purchasing a Ruger pistol, a Saiga .308 carbine, and a Saiga 12Ga, I'm disgusted to realize that I do not own a .22. My philosophy lately is to buy only guns that will last for a very long time reliably with no maintenance other than keeping them dry. What current production, affordable .22lr do you feel you could take to hell and back and never break? Bolt or semi, the more accurate the better. Wonder if there are any AK style .22s haha.

 

[kingjoey]

Ruger 10/22
Marlin 795
Savage 63

 

[kingjoey]

BTW, here's an AK .22 for you

http://www.jgsales.com/product_info.php/rifles-shotguns/ak-47-and-rpk-rifles/p/romanian-ak-47-wasr22%2C-22lr-ak-rifle-/cPath/209_214/products_id/1793?osCsid=0af18af097e885c70f47beb11a71f80d

 

[Elotemuygrande]

Thanks KingJoey, I'll definitely have a look at those.

BTW that AK .22 makes me insanely happy, but I would be a little worried about mag availability haha.

 

[chris in va]

I'd have to go with something in bolt action for longetivity reasons. You could always get spare parts on a semi, but there's certainly more parts to break on those.

I'm looking hard at the Winchester Wildcat myself.

 

[Luomu]

77/22 "all weather" -model.

 

[BryanP]

If durability was the main concern I'd go with a single shot bolt action. A step up would be something like a CZ-452 bolt action.

 

[MIL-DOT]

i've long been considering the highly popular Marlin 60.I'm surprised no one's mentioned it yet.

 

[hoji]

I have a 10/22 with over 300,000 rounds through it and have only replaced the firing pin.

 

[Marlin 45 carbine]

if you can find one get an AMT, built hell-for-stout. Marlin 60 (I got one in a trade years back and sold to my nephew that cleaned, tightened, and scoped it-don't want him shooting at me w/it) is good AFAIK. and of course 10/22.

 

[Slugless]

If you want a Marlin 60, go for it. Good choice, great rifles, I've got 3. They were all pawnshop rescues and there's been something wrong with each of them that prevented full 100% reliable functioning. That's the name of the game & part of the fun with pawnshop Marlins but I don't consider a semi-auto .22 to be a "hell and back again and never break" rifle.

None of my semi-autos have been 100% although they're close. I've had zero failures with my bolt, lever & pump rifles. A bolt would my choice to go to bad places but the suggestion of a single shot is good.

W.r.t. bolts I've owned a Rem512 & a CZ452. The CZ has seen little abuse but appears much more rugged than the Remington, which saw a lot of abuse and never flinched. I consider the CZ to be a very good value but you can get high quality bolt action rifles for less money out the door.

 

[doc2rn]

I agree with Luo however the 77/22 all weather is a very fine rifle. Ruger overbuilt it like the GP100. More money, well spent. I am sure mine will go to my grandkids.

 

[Fumbler]

I don't think anyone could wear the action out of most bolt action 22s. The cartridge just doesn't make enough pressue to stress the parts. I think the part that you'd have to replace most often (which isn't often) would be the firing pin because it's small and takes a lot of force from the hammer.

I'd look at getting a bolt action because semiautos can be finicky with feeding. Also, accuracy with most bolt guns will be better than most semiautos.

My girlfriend got a Winchester Wildcat for xmas and it's a pretty nice bolt gun for the price (~$200).
What I like about it is the bolt body (head of bolt) is chrome plated. The chrome plating makes it real easy to clean the face.

I think you'd be perfectly happy if you got any bolt action 22 from a quality manufacturer.
A CZ or any of the numerous target models from the different companies would be gravy.
Keep iron sights on it and you won't have to worry about scope durability.

 

[ImARugerFan]

Remington Nylon 66.

 

[davera]

I can't believe no one has mentioned the Marlin 39.

OK - consider it mentioned

well made (check)
durable (check)
accurate (check)

 

[goon]

My dad bought a 10/22 in the early '70's. He shot tens of thousands of rounds through it at rats in garbabe dumps and with just plinking in general. Then he taught my brother and I how to shoot with that rifle and we helped him put countless more rounds through it.
It became mine in 1994. I asked my dad how to take it down for cleaning and he had no idea. In those 20 plus years, that 10/22 had never been cleaned. I can only remember a handful of malfunctions with that rifle and nearly all were magazine related.
It belongs to my brother now. All the parts are original and he is still putting rounds downrange with it.
But it does get cleaned a little more often now.

I'd say the 10/22 or any mag fed bolt action should last a very long time.

 

[PTK]

Break open single shot external hammer from H&R. It simply won't ever break under realistic use. Abuse ANY gun and it'll eventually break. If you really must have a bolt-action, try to find a used Romanian trainer. They're inexpensive and built like a tank.

 

[cornman]

Marlin 39 alright. Always wanted one, but no luck as of yet. You can get a 100 year old one that still works great.

 

[ArmedBear]

I love my 39. So much that I bought a second one. And I'm not rich.

HOWEVER, since the OP asked for the most rugged, durable, no-maintenance, inexpensive .22LR.

To me, that says stainless and synthetic, so that rust and scratches are not an issue. And it says bolt action, which doesn't foul appreciably at all, and will go a very long time without cleaning. It can be cleaned quickly and easily should you get sand or mud in it. Finally, I'd say a detachable magazine is a plus. While I prefer tube magazines and find them to be reliable and simple, a detachable magazine won't get tweaked as easily with abuse as the inner mag tube, the action can be cleaned more easily when you pop it out, and the magazine can be replaced for cheap, in 5 seconds, if you damage it.

While, again, I LOVE shooting my 39's, I'd suggest this gun:

http://marlinfirearms.com/Firearms/BoltAction22/980S.aspx

It has iron sights with a protective hood, too. It is well worth scoping, and will work either way. It won't rust, it can be cleaned completely and oiled in a few minutes, there's no wood finish to scratch, and it costs about $260 brand new.

Now if you just want an inexpensive .22LR rifle that will shoot, and shoot accurately, a base-model Marlin 60 now has a laminate stock and shoots like a certain other brands' "target model", for a good deal less money than the standard 10/22, which I had, but never was real happy with -- mine was not accurate or reliable. But it's blue with a wood stock, and a tube magazine. As a blowback semiauto, it needs to be cleaned or it will eventually stop working at all.

The stainless bolt gun above is relatively inexpensive and, if that's what you want, it will probably take more abuse than anything else for the price.

 

[glockman19]

All weather, cheap, accurate, fun.....

.....Ruger 10/22

 

[MilsurpShooter]

Henry lever action. Thing is probably going to outlast me lol

 

[Vern Humphrey]

77/22 "all weather" -model.

Amen.
If it's durability you're looking for, Rugers are built like tanks. My Ruger 77/22 is in .22 WMR, and it's an honest minute-of-angle rifle.

 

[jkingrph]

I can't believe no one has mentioned the Marlin 39.

OK - consider it mentioned

well made (check)
durable (check)
accurate (check)

Beat me to it. I have one Dad got for me in 1952, One little part fractured sometimes in early '60's, The guide that is square about 2"long with one corner angled off. We made a replacement from the shaft out of an old auto shock absorber, It's still going strong.

 

[Max Velocity]

Most rugged, durable .22lr?

Most rugged, durable .22lr

What PTK said. H&R is simple, robust, few parts, hard to break

 

[ATAShooter]

Marlin 99