Rimfires I've loved or hated

[cdb1]

The Winchester 190 is probable the least favorite 22 rifle I own. The only reason that it is still in my safe is because my grandpa gave it to me. For out of the box accuracy in a semi auto, I've been very happy with my Marlin Model 60 and Model 70. As far as bolt actions, all of my Savage MkII rifles. My favorite hand gun (though not the most accurate) is my Harrington and Richardson 949 9 shot revolver.

My aunt gave me a Winchester 190 for Christmas one year. It had been her husband’s but he passed away without ever shooting it. It was NIB when she gave it to me and was a jammomatic POS.

I don’t care for 10/22’s either.

I’ve had a Marlin Model 60 for a long time and like it. It has one of the first replacement triggers made by Arrowdodger from Rimfire Central.

I seriously like my CZ 512 and Browning Buck Mark Camper.

 

[tbs]

I loved my CZ but don't have it anymore.
View attachment 921770

 

[Picher]

I'm surprised at both the hate and love of various .22 rifles. I love some things about the 1022, but don't like barrel-band models. The 10-22T can be a really fine piece, especially when tuned a bit.

 

[tubeshooter]

I like all of my .22 rimfires pretty good; can't really say that I hate any of them...

I do have a Mossberg 146B-A that shoots well. It has this S130 target sight on it, which is effective but rather clunky.

I also have a Win 190 that I have never fired. As you can see just from this thread, their reputation is spotty at best. I hope I have a "good" one...


For a plinker, my Marlin 39A is probably my favorite. But again - I generally find it hard to dislike any of them. The key is accepting the gun for what it is. And also accepting that most any semi can/will jam occasionally.

 

[Picher]

Speaking about tuning cheaper rifles, the Rem. 581 bolt-action is a really fine rifle, made better by doing a few simple mods. The trigger can be made really nice by isolating the trigger spring function from the heavier sear function. Using a light spring for the trigger return on the bottom and cutting the original dual-function spring to retain sear pressure for the top. My trigger is now about 2 lbs, but you may want it a bit
heavier.

Other simple mods include free-floating the barrel and glassbedding the receiver and the rear couple of inches of the barrel. I was lucky to get a great Shilen replacement barrel, turned down to sporter-weight. I also picked up a stock blank for an Anschutz from a barrel at Kittery Trading post, years ago.




JP

 

[WisBorn]

The only 22lr I can say I loved was my Savage model 24 22lr/20 gauge (my first gun). I have passed this on to my nephew.

I have owned several others; Ruger 10/22, Marlin 60, Savage Favorite (forget the model #), Savage mark2, & a Savage single shot that was my Grandfather's. Gave it to my sister, she lives in the country and can shot varmints around her place.

Sorry I don't get that excited about 22s.
The only 22 I have now is a S&W 22 Victory pistol. I like shooting it and I shoot it well enough to use on critters around my house. My wife also likes shooting it.

 

[Picher]

Also not a fan of the 10\22. That stupid bolt hold open is just asinine and for all their great reputation for reliable feeding, my experience has been that they are no better or worse than any other SA rimfire- which is to say they jam once in a while.

Then there was the ole Charter Arms AR7- what a peice of junk. Id have thrown it in the river, but it would have floated right back with my luck.

OK, flame suit on.......I didnt like my vintage Single Six. Nice looking, well built and accurate, but the cylinder timing was such that it was a real chore to line up the chambers with the ejector rod when unloading.

As far as those I love? Pretty much all the ones I still own. .22s rule!

I share your disdain for the Charter Arms AR7...POS! I also don't have the patience for single-action .22s reloading. Ruger semi-autos are fun and accurate, the High Standard Citation and Trophys are super-stable target pistols, but always wanted a S&W 41.

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

I share your disdain for the Charter Arms AR7...POS! I also don't have the patience for single-action .22s reloading. Ruger semi-autos are fun and accurate, the High Standard Citation and Trophys are super-stable target pistols, but always wanted a S&W 41.

My M41 experience has been pretty much what folks told me to expect- superbly accurate and well balanced, but a bit ammo-sensitive. Once you find a brand it likes, youre good to go. Mine has a heavy spring and buffer installed, so it no longer cycles with SV but eats up thunderbolts and stingers with ablomb.

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

Funny how rimfire guns go. One is junk. One is great. It's as random as a roulette wheel. I had a 22S and it was awesome. Loved the oversized wood grain grip. Superbly accurate. (More so than my Ruger MarkII with the bull barrel). The only problem was the plastic buffer on the recoil spring kept breaking, but S&W wold send me 10 at a time free.

I'm glad to see a few more people hating on the 10/22. Everyone seems to love them, so I bought one. What a POS. Lot of people hate the Marlin 60 because of the tube mag (or some other reason.) Mine has been far superior to the 10/22. I also had a really bad experience with the Nylon 66, but somehow, they're a collector's item. That's like calling a Yugo a collectible car.

I think the issue with the Nylon has to do alot with how it has been stored and maintained over the last 50-60 years. If its been kept away from heat/humidity and not exposed to cleaning and lube products which attack the Nylon, they are still viable guns.

My Dads was pretty darn reliable, as I remember, but not particularly accurate.

IMO, the whole concept of the AR7 and other "takedown" type guns as hiking and camping guns is nebulous. They take too long to assemble in an emergency, the round is ineffective on larger game/predators/people, and they generally arent set up for a sling which I consider essential for any walking gun.

To me, they only make sense for throwing under the seat of a plane or other veicle where space is at a premium,but even the Id take a centerfire handgun over a .22 takedown.

 

[bannockburn]

Only have one and I still love it: my first rifle, a Ruger 10/22. Think I paid a little over $72 for it and soon discovered this gun loved to shoot! And not only that, it was very accurate with the iron sights! I loved that little brass bead in the front sight! Not long after I started shooting it I decided it really needed a scope to make the most out of it's accuracy potential. Picked up a Weaver K2.5 and have been happily plinking away with it out to a 100 yards ever since!

 

[Picher]

My M41 experience has been pretty much what folks told me to expect- superbly accurate and well balanced, but a bit ammo-sensitive. Once you find a brand it likes, youre good to go. Mine has a heavy spring and buffer installed, so it no longer cycles with SV but eats up thunderbolts and stingers with ablomb.

Yes, when I shot gallery, S&Ws had more "alibi's" than High Standard military, but had finer sights. Ironically, I seemed to shoot best with a standard Ruger MK I, 4 5/8" barrel. The sights were the right size and ergonomically, was better than the H.S. for my hand, but needed target grips. Mine were "Fitz Grips". The Ruger seemed better for slow fire, but the H/S better with Timed and Rapid, which is 2/3rds the score.

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

Yes, when I shot gallery, S&Ws had more "alibi's" than High Standard military, but had finer sights. Ironically, I seemed to shoot best with a standard Ruger MK I, 4 5/8" barrel. The sights were the right size and ergonomically, was better than the H.S. for my hand, but needed target grips. Mine were "Fitz Grips". The Ruger seemed better for slow fire, but the H/S better with Timed and Rapid, which is 2/3rds the score.

Both my Ruger standard and SW 422 are very reliable feeders, and are probably 90% as accurate as the M41- but if you need the extra 10%.........

It certainly a challenging pistol, since you know that if you do everything right, every time, there will be a nice little group down there as a reward.

 

[C.R.]

22's that i wasn't too fond of ? , a Marlin , I cant recall the model a semi auto that never made it through a magazine without a jam of some kind .When it was stolen I almost felt sorry for the thief . I enjoy the High Standard .22 revolver , and my Henry quite a bit and the old 10/22 has been good

 

[12Bravo20]

Funny how rimfire guns go. One is junk. One is great. It's as random as a roulette wheel. I had a 22S and it was awesome. Loved the oversized wood grain grip. Superbly accurate. (More so than my Ruger MarkII with the bull barrel). The only problem was the plastic buffer on the recoil spring kept breaking, but S&W wold send me 10 at a time free.

I'm glad to see a few more people hating on the 10/22. Everyone seems to love them, so I bought one. What a POS. Lot of people hate the Marlin 60 because of the tube mag (or some other reason.) Mine has been far superior to the 10/22. I also had a really bad experience with the Nylon 66, but somehow, they're a collector's item. That's like calling a Yugo a collectible car.

I have had my S&W 22A since 2008. It has functioned fine and is accurate but heavy compared to my Ruger MkII, H&R 949, and Glock G44. S&W sent me a replacement recoil spring guide rod and a bunch of buffers when I called to buy a new guide rod. The first time I field stripped the 22A, the guide rod launched into orbit, to never be found again. A+ for S&W customer service.

I'm not a fan of Ruger 10/22 rifles either. Yes they are nice once you mod the heck out of them, but in stock form they just don't do anything better that a Marlin does. As far as Marlins SA 22s go, I find that my 70 is more accurate than my 60 is since the 70 doesn't have a magazine tube hanging from the barrel. factory 70 mags work well but aftermarket mags are hit or miss. I have several factory 7 and 10 round mags for it.

The biggest surprise as far as accuracy is concerned is my Romanian M69 trainer. It is rough as a cob and crudely machined but it shoots good. And the 2 stage trigger is actually quite good once you get all the cosmoline cleaned out.

 

[Jeff olson]

If you ever come across one of these, run.View attachment 921778

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

I have had my S&W 22A since 2008. It has functioned fine and is accurate but heavy compared to my Ruger MkII, H&R 949, and Glock G44. S&W sent me a replacement recoil spring guide rod and a bunch of buffers when I called to buy a new guide rod. The first time I field stripped the 22A, the guide rod launched into orbit, to never be found again. A+ for S&W customer service.

I'm not a fan of Ruger 10/22 rifles either. Yes they are nice once you mod the heck out of them, but in stock form they just don't do anything better that a Marlin does. As far as Marlins SA 22s go, I find that my 70 is more accurate than my 60 is since the 70 doesn't have a magazine tube hanging from the barrel. factory 70 mags work well but aftermarket mags are hit or miss. I have several factory 7 and 10 round mags for it.

The biggest surprise as far as accuracy is concerned is my Romanian M69 trainer. It is rough as a cob and crudely machined but it shoots good. And the 2 stage trigger is actually quite good once you get all the cosmoline cleaned out.

The M69 is a gem for the $$$$. Not pretty, perhaps, not the smoothest action, mushy reset, but reliable and superbly accurate- especially if you can manage to hang a scope on it.


Honestly, its as accurate as my M1922 for 1/5 the cost. Still not selling the Springfield though!

 

[Taurus 617 CCW]

.22's that I have loved:
Ithaca M-49 single shot saddle gun
Ruger American Rimfire
Smith and Wesson K22 revolver

Guns that I hate:
ISSC M22 pistol

 

[bikerdoc]

I got only one 22 rifle.
A 10/22 I bought in 74 he it was old when I got ir .
Still work and the grandson loves it.
I prefer 22 pistols and revolver. Got 6 of those!

 

[12Bravo20]

I have found that my M69 will sometimes give my Savage heavy barrel a run for its money out to 50 yards. I did modify some 3/8" dovetail rings to fit the M69. As far as comparing the M69 and a M1922, they are like a Chevy Cobalt to a Cadillac CTS as far as fit and finish.

 

[Picher]

Both my Ruger standard and SW 422 are very reliable feeders, and are probably 90% as accurate as the M41- but if you need the extra 10%.........

It certainly a challenging pistol, since you know that if you do everything right, every time, there will be a nice little group down there as a reward.

Since we used a "6'Oclock" hold on the 3" bull, I had to file the front sight on my fixed Ruger sight. The sights were finer than the High Standard I bought later and I shot "Slow Fire" much better. (One day I happened to shoot a 1" group of ten shots in the X ring of the 50 foot target with that gun. Probably should have quit after that.)

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

I have found that my M69 will sometimes give my Savage heavy barrel a run for its money out to 50 yards. I did modify some 3/8" dovetail rings to fit the M69. As far as comparing the M69 and a M1922, they are like a Chevy Cobalt to a Cadillac CTS as far as fit and finish.

Lol.

The biggest difference is that both the rifles are actually built to last....whereas neither of those cars were!

PS: I work for GM now. Run away. Far away- to Korea, actually.

 

[12Bravo20]

Lol.

The biggest difference is that both the rifles are actually built to last....whereas neither of those cars were!

PS: I work for GM now. Run away. Far away- to Korea, actually.

That made me laugh.

I have to say that once I put a scope on the M69 and found ammo that it likes, it is accurate, definitely not pretty but accurate.

 

[Cornhusker77]

I dunno if I'd say it's my favorite to shoot, but the last one I'd part with is my old Montgomery Ward Western Field single shot M815A built by Mossberg.
It was my 10th or 11th birthday present from Mom and Dad. I musta put thousands of rounds through that thing wandering the Nebraska Sandhills.
I have five 10-22s and none have given me any problems.
My least favorite is a tossup between a Daisy 2202 and a Charter Arms Explorer II.
I really should send them down the road.

 

[Speedo66]

Loved my High Standard Victor, hated my Charter Arms AR-7. One couldn't miss, one couldn't fire.

Both gone, one sadly, one gladly.

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

I dunno if I'd say it's my favorite to shoot, but the last one I'd part with is my old Montgomery Ward Western Field single shot M815A built by Mossberg.
It was my 10th or 11th birthday present from Mom and Dad. I musta put thousands of rounds through that thing wandering the Nebraska Sandhills.
I have five 10-22s and none have given me any problems.
My least favorite is a tossup between a Daisy 2202 and a Charter Arms Explorer II.
I really should send them down the road.

Ugh, forgot about that horrid Daisey!

Great, now Im having flashbacks.....thanks alot!