question about .22 rifle......

[bottomuvthamap]

don't really know too much about .22 rifles (besides my little pump .22 from the 20's), but looking for a fairly inexpensive .22 semi. NOT bolt-action around $150-300. i have looked at the ruger and marlin, but was wondering what everyone else likes. will add an aftermarket scope later on, but mainly for varmits/squirrels/target.

 

[rangerruck]

if you can find the CZ, get that one, though they are hard to come by.
The general consensus is, any of the marlins , like mod 60 , 795, 70, papoose, 99m1, etc. is going to be fine, reliable, anc very accurate, all for 150 bucks or less. some of those models, are not made any more, but that is okay; get them used, in a pawnshop or gunshop, and buy them , and shoot them to your hearts content. You can also get the savage or mossberg, they will be cheap, and accurate as well, especially so the mossy; it is a marlin mod 60 clone, but it is nice in that it has a fully adjustable rear site. Savage can be had almost anywhere, and the mags are very thick and sturdy, and can be had anywhere, and you can throw them as a weapon, and break somebody's arm with them, they are like little steel bricks!!!!
Then of course you have the remmy 597; it is fast becoming auspicious as the ruger 10.22 and the marlin mod 60, but it does have upgradeable features now like the 10.22, the mod 60 never will. your 597 may need a few tweeks to get it to run reliably, but this is easily done , just check over on rimfirecentral for the things to look for to tweek. it is not that they need any aftermarket parts to run right, you just need to make a couple of adjustments, and maybe get newer generation mags.
Now the 10.22 is fun, and cool looking, and that flush fit mag is both comforting and cool, hard to explain.... but I digress. They will be the most expensive, outside of the CZ, and almost allways, to get them to function 100percent reliably, you will have to buy aftermarket parts. Even then, you will spend another 50 bucks on parts, and they really need a trigger job as well, you can do it, or send it off for another 50 to 100 bucks.
Even then, if it is running 100 % , it may not be that accurate.
It is almost a guarantee, that all the other rifles listed above will be more accurate, straight out of the box.
the best semi auto ever is the remmy speedmaster(552) New , they are over 400 , but you can find them used for 140 plus. Because of their 'floating chamber' design, they are the most reliable 22 semiauto ever made, plus you can fire them short, long, and long rifle, and even do that interchangeably , in the same tube. But , it is a tube fed.

 

[Clipper]

My wife loves her Mossberg. The thing weighs practically nothing, is short, accurate and has been 100% reliable straight out of the box.

 

[cat_IT_guy]

+1 for the marlin model 60....great gun, classic design

 

[GunTech]

I am personally not a big fan of them, but it's hard to beat the Ruger 10/22 for options available down the road. There are, by far, more after-market acessories for the Ruger than for any other 22 semi. It's the most popular 22 semi sold in the US for a reason.

 

[Legionnaire]

Second the 10/22 recommendation. They make great out-of-the-box plinkers and are a tinkerer's dream. Lots of aftermarket parts, including user-installed barrels. They can made to be surprisingly accurate. Good bang for the buck, I'd say.

But why the aversion to bolt-action rifles? Much as I like the 10/22, if I were only going to have one .22 rifle, it would be a bolt.

 

[gunnerh]

Amen to Guntech and Legionaire, the 10/22's are fun guns. A lot of fun to shoot and one of the easiest to tinker with. The trigger is rough but simple to change out. I shoot crows and black birds out of my pecan trees almost every day in the fall. The factory mags are fine, the after market mags are next to worthless.
The marlin 60 in all it's version is OK and so is the Mossburg.

 

[MCgunner]

I like my stainless 10/22 as a plinker and it's accurate enough for hunting, though it's not the most accurate gun I own. I have a Remington 597 Magnum that's awesome! I put an aftermarket hammer in it to reduce an excessive trigger pull. Now, the trigger is sweet. MINE (I know the gun is much maligned) never jams and is deadly accurate, like 1.5 MOA accurate, right out of the box. It's probably the most accurate .22 out there on the market today in plinker/affordable guns, match guns excluded. You'll spend HUGE amounts of money on a 10/22 to get it as accurate. Too, the 597 is a full size, adult size rifle unlike most of the .22s out there than seem to be built to kid dimensions.

Now, then, you'll get a bazillion posts damning both the 10/22 and the Remington 597, but I like 'em both.

 

[MilsurpShooter]

They should pay me for advertising and I'd change my name to Henry Fanboy but through personal ownership of one I vote for:

http://www.henryrepeating.com/h001_leveraction.cfm

Don't let the price tag on the websight fool you. I managed to get mine from Wally World for $125 new, and I've seen a few of them in gun shops around here for cheaper or the same. That said and done, now back to the 10/22 and CZ supporters lol

 

[kymarkh]

Take a look at the Ruger 10/22 T model. I have a stainless T model that has no problems at all keeping up with a friends FrankenRuger that has about 400 bucks worth of VQ parts in it. His rifle is quite nice, but while he was buying and installing parts I was at the range putting round after round of Wolf Match Target in the bullseye. I paid a little over 200 for mine at WW.

 

[trapper513]

I have a 10/22 and absolutly love it. I shoot it alot and never had any problems with it. Mine likes the CCI's for ammo and holds some wicked groups and 50 and 100 yards.

 

[Red Tornado]

You can't go wrong with the 10/22, 597, or Model 60. They're all ubiquitous for a reason...they work and are fine for almost all uses you'd need a .22 for.

If you look around, you can probably find a Rem 552 in really good shape for < $300. Shoulder one and see how it feels. It's one .22 that feels like a man's rifle, solid, good LOP, and it's accurate, reliable, and shoots S, L, and LR.

Of the "big 3" I think the 597 has the best ergonomics, 60 next, and the 10/22 last. However, Remington's almost always fit me, YMMV.
RT

 

[davera]

+1 on the Marlin 60. Inexpensive but not cheap. Plenty accurate.

If you find a Remington 552 at the right price I'd take that over the Marlin - it is a prettier gun (IMO) and mine is marginally more accurate than a friends Marlin.

My take on the Ruger 10/22 is that it is marginally less accurate than the Marlin or Remington, holds less ammo in the factory magazine. IMO with all the aftermarket parts that turn it into a way cool tack driver the 10/22 is more of a tweakers rifle. And that is why I will own one someday.

 

[doc2rn]

+1 the Marlin Model 60 is probably the best inexpensive rifle ever made.

 

[MCgunner]

+1 the Marlin Model 60 is probably the best inexpensive rifle ever made.

Without doubt, my Remington M512X will out shoot it and take short, long, or LR ammo. Now, don't find longs anymore, but CB shorts are more accurate out of that rifle than match Eley out of my 10/22. On a calm day, I can shoot 1.5" groups at 100 yards with it using Federal lighting 550 in a box bulk pack for 10 dollars a box. I've yet to find a round it won't shoot better than the 10/22.

Of course, the 512X is no longer made. Mine is 45 years old. But you did say "best inexpensive rifle EVER made" and I dispute that statement.

 

[Neo-Luddite]

10/22--overpriced by a few bucks--but can be decked out 10000 different ways or left as is out of the box.

The Marlin 60 is just fine also; and a few bucks under the Ruger.

I've had my 10/22 for 21 years; I know folks that have put 100,000 rounds through the things. For my money I'd take it over the Marlin only because of mag capacity and dress-up goodies available. The Marlin however is probably every big as accurate and reliable out of the box as the Ruger.

 

[MCgunner]

The M60s I've fired are more accurate than my 10/22. They'll often shoot at 50 what a 10/22 will at 25 in terms of group size and that can make a difference squirrel hunting. 2" groups at 50 yards can cause a few gun induced misses on a target the size of a squirrel's head.

 

[Oodin]

+1 to the 10/22

I picked up a used one with a Butler Creek bull barrel for $250 a couple years ago.

I've only shot a couple groups at 100 yards with it and got between 1.5" and 2" shooting Federal Gold Match. This was on a "calm" day in North Dakota.

jon

 

[dscottw88]

<-- Iv'e never disagreed with GunTech on anything

 

[foghornl]

Haven't shot a Marlin 60. My OLD M99 with the 'micro-groove' barrel works great with plated bullets.

My 40th Year 10/22 eats anything I feed it, except for the CCI "Green Tag" ammo. Even shoots the Rem Thunderbolts and other ultra-cheap ammo.

 

[springmom]

I'd also vote for the Ruger 10/22. One of my sons has a Marlin, the other a Savage, but my Ruger 10/22 shoots much more accurately with fewer problems.

Springmom

 

[Sharps Shooter]

For all the reasons already posted, I'll add another vote for the 10/22. But does anyone know if Browning still builds their little .22 semiauto? And if so, is it in the $150 - $300 price range bottomuvthemap asked about?
I'm mostly just curious. My dad had one of those little Brownings and claimed it was the most accurate rifle he'd ever owned. I remember he and mom had an old shed behind the house they were figuring on tearing down anyway, so dad decided to see if his Browning .22 was accurate enough to "drive nails" in the side of that old shed. He told me later he couldn't actually "drive nails" with it, but he could "bend them over" with ever shot.

 

[kymarkh]

I too was interested in the Browning take down .22 (ATD?) but the stainless/laminate that I handled at Bass Pro was almost 500.00, and that is the only one I've ever seen in person. Nice little rifle but too much for a plinker. I don't think you can put optics on them very easily either but it seemed very handy and well made.

 

[MCgunner]

The little Brownings are awesome and I will have one someday just because I like 'em if for no practical reason.

 

[okiewita40]

Used to own a 10/22 it was very accurate out the box. I bought my son a marlin mod 60. It is more accurate than the 10/22 ever thought about being. Plus I got it for $60 at the pawn shop.