Ultra-light 22 advice?

[Kentucky_Rifleman]

I love to tinker. I'm forever tweaking the guns I own - it's a passion.

I want to build an ultra-light .22 field and squirrel gun, and I have a couple of questions:

1. Should I go bolt or semi-automatic?

2. What rifle should I work off of?

I'm thinking of something like an AR7 in auto, or a Crickett in bolt. I want something cheap, scope-able, and REASONABLY accurate.

I already have a TC .22 Classic, a Remington 511 Scoremaster, and a 10/22. I'm happy with the TC and Remington accuracy, and the 10/22 is a great truck gun.

I know whatever I build won't be Anschutz accurate, but the ability to shoot MOA at 50 yards with good ammo off a sandbag would be nice. (I'm a decent shot - I can do my part of that.)

Any advice or experience would be appreciated!
KR

 

[taliv]

what's that 22 where the action and barrel come off and you put them inside the water-tight stock?

 

[wgp]

Congrats on your passion and ability for tinkering, but the rifle you describe, for me, already exists as the Browning .22 auto. It is so slender and light it's barely there, and accurate too.

On the other hand, I have a Remington 514 single-shot .22 bolt gun, it's a youth model that was my very first new gun. Beginning with that action, and then with good work to minimize the stock, you might have a very light, handy little rifle there.

 

[CZguy]

what's that 22 where the action and barrel come off and you put them inside the water-tight stock?

http://www.henryrepeating.com/h002_survival.cfm

 

[taliv]

thanks, czguy

there ya go. 2.5 lbs, semi-auto, breakdown

no idea how you'd scope it though

 

[conhntr]

or the H&R 5.5lbs is pretty light. anything less than that and it would be hard to shoot. but that is 20" with sights; id imagine taking off 3.99 inches of barrel and the rear sight would get you under 5lbs. just make sure you get a really light scope, 2x is plenty to 100yards

 

[Mountie855]

22

Check the Marlin SS Papoose- light, short, takedown, very reliable, very accurate, not expensive. Easy to scope. Comes with a floating case.

 

[ArmedBear]

Yeah, the rifle exists in several forms:

1. The Browning SA 22, takedown, 5 lbs. 3 oz. http://www.browning.com/products/catalog/family.asp?webflag_=022B&catalog_=B
2. The Marlin 70 Papoose, takedown, 3 lbs. 4 oz. http://www.marlinfirearms.com/Firearms/SelfLoading/70PSS.asp
3. The Browning BL 22, not takedown, 5 lbs.
http://www.browning.com/products/catalog/family.asp?webflag_=005B&catalog_=B
4. The Browning Buckmark Rifle, not takedown, 4 lbs. 6 oz.
http://www.browning.com/products/catalog/family.asp?webflag_=004B&catalog_=B
5. The Browning T-Bolt Rifle, not takedown, 4 lbs. 9 oz. to 6 lb. in various configurations
http://www.browning.com/products/catalog/family.asp?webflag_=021B&catalog_=B
6. The Marlin 60, not takedown, 5 lbs. to 5 lbs. 8 oz. in different configurations
http://www.browning.com/products/catalog/family.asp?webflag_=021B&catalog_=B
7. The Marlin 795, not takedown, 4 lbs. 8 oz.
http://www.marlinfirearms.com/Firearms/SelfLoading/795SS.asp

Any of those will do MOA with the right ammo, out of the box. Both Marlins and Browning .22s are accurate little things. The 795 would be the least expensive of the above; the 70PSS is the least expensive takedown, and stainless, too.

Also worth a look are Marlin's .22 bolt guns, and the Winchester Wildcat bolt gun from CDNN -- Winchester no longer lists the light version, but CDNN has them for cheap.

In single shots, the Stevens Favorite Takedown from Savage is a neat little falling-block. H&R also makes lightweight .22 single shot break-actions.

 

[taliv]

best thing about the marlin papoose is the way it takes down. barrel separates from the action. that means, it's very easy to swap an integrally suppressed barrel on and off. i nearly bought a papoose like that. was VERY cool. insisted on shooting it first though, and it malfunctioned too often for my taste, so i had to pass. was so quiet and cool when it worked though

 

[conhntr]

In single shots, the Stevens Favorite Takedown from Savage is a neat little falling-block.

oh ya i forget the stevens 4lbs. i have one in the safe somehwere; but the distance from the buttstock to forend tip is too short to sling it comfortably so until i find an economical way to get a sling stud on the barrel it just sits. its very accurate though; however OP stated scope mounting which the 30g is not set up for...

 

[Kentucky_Rifleman]

Congrats on your passion and ability for tinkering, but the rifle you describe, for me, already exists as the Browning .22 auto. It is so slender and light it's barely there, and accurate too.

I do love the little Brownings, but they're more than I want to spend on this, and they're just too pretty to throw behind the truck seat. Plus, I wouldn't have to do anything to it. That's take all the fun out of it

KR

 

[Kentucky_Rifleman]

Check the Marlin SS Papoose- light, short, takedown, very reliable, very accurate, not expensive. Easy to scope. Comes with a floating case.

I hadn't thought about the papoose, but I like the looks of it. I think I can definitely do what I'm wanting to with that. The Papoose is a real contender, especially if I can find one used...

 

[mikewayde]

PM Me if your interested in a Papoose

 

[Jubjub]

No love for the Remington nylon rifles? They are pretty affordable unless they are in collector condition, and you can't hardly make them stop working. I paid $45 for mine, though that was a while ago, and it is pretty rough. Always goes bang though, and shoots right to the sights.

 

[rangerruck]

if you can afford the volquartzen ultralight or the magnum research, they are superlight, and allready done for you. next I would look at Majestic Arms, theres is similar to a ar 7, but much better and more reliable.
lasty, you have the Feather, then you have 2 great ones, which are still great and still made- marlin 795, and marlin papoose; lighten them as you will.

 

[ThomasT]

JubJub wins the prize. I had a nylon 66 I stupidly sold and it was hands down the best truck gun I have ever owned. I saw one in a local store a couple of years ago for $100 and was stupid a second time for not buying it.

I never scoped mine, just used the open sights. Nothing was safe while I was in the woods with that rifle.

 

[kludge]

How about this?

http://www.pakrifle.com/index.html

For the purposes you describe, I'll keep my Buckmark. Aluminum barrels are available for Buckmarks and Mark III's to make them even lighter. They also make aluminum match barrels for 10/22's

 

[rangerruck]

Ooh, just thought of the best; remmy old school , either a 24 or 241, or the best of all- a 241 S or gs model; not really sure if the s and gs is the same thing, or there was no gs, however I have one , and was told it is a gs model.
It is the origional browning design, but made by remmy, and the s/gs model fired 22 shorts only, and it is a take down model, so are the 24's.
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=159874454

see the big screw front left of the receiver in pic 8? pull it back, twist the front, and the whole front end comes right out...

 

[rangerruck]

...but above all of these, would be a long bbl'd 22 pistol, 6 inches or more, with good sites. this will be accurate, shorter, lighter, and easier to carry than any takedown rifle. The new browning hunter/target models are impressive, and nicely priced at that. I also like the long bbl beretta neos'ssss's es... or however you pronounce that.

as far as the papoose goes, either go stainless like this, or go old school; they were made with wood, and also had a front attached short forearm, very handy for carry, and for resting on something while shooting...

 

[Kentucky_Rifleman]

...but above all of these, would be a long bbl'd 22 pistol, 6 inches or more, with good sites. this will be accurate, shorter, lighter, and easier to carry than any takedown rifle.

I've got a few .22 pistols - 3 Rugers, a S&W, a Browning, and a Heritage. I'm really wanting a short rifle. I've been eying the Ruger 10/22 pistol, The Charger, I think it is.
The Papoose has real potential, as does the little Crickett single.

I've been reading a lot, and I'm leaning toward getting the little Crickett stainless and fabricating something like the pistol-grip frame stock they sell for the AR7s - the one that reminds me of the Sten buttstock. It would be light, and from what I've read, the Cricketts are reasonably accurate. Best of all it would give me an inexpensive project for the next week or three.

I'm not set yet, but I'll decide by Thursday night.

KR

 

[greyling22]

scope a pistol.

 

[7.62 Nato]

I've seen aftermarket carbonfiber barrels for 10/22s. I'll see if I can find a link.

 

[BCRider]

Stevens Favorite Takedown ? That just happesn to look like a shiney new version of the Stevens Crackshot 26 I've got in the basement. Mine was in such bad shape that it was given to me. I fixed it up and cleaned it and the darn thing is a superb little shooter.

For "rapidfire" I wedge a 4 to 8 spare shots between the fingers of my forestock hand and just flick out the spent casings with a finger nail and pluck a fresh one from the four finger "side saddle" It truly is a big giggle to shoot but a person has to be a single shot fan to enjoy such things.

 

[Kentucky_Rifleman]

No love for the Remington nylon rifles? They are pretty affordable unless they are in collector condition, and you can't hardly make them stop working. I paid $45 for mine, though that was a while ago, and it is pretty rough. Always goes bang though, and shoots right to the sights.

I have three issues with the Remington Nylons:

1. They're expensive, around here at least. I used to see them everywhere for less than a hundred bucks, but now they usually bring over 200. Some of them bring absurdly more.

2. The scope rail on the receiver plate has a reputation for sliding around a little, radically changing POI, and I want to scope my project.

3. The structure of the nylon is nice - they've got a great feel to them - but I'm wanting to "bubba" the gun a little. Okay, a lot and I can't modify the nylon much before I get into the guts of the action and mess up a perfectly good little rifle

KR.

 

[Kentucky_Rifleman]

Ooh, just thought of the best; remmy old school , either a 24 or 241, or the best of all- a 241 S

Love it! Sadly, like the Browning, it's too nice and too pricey to just chuck behind the truck seat. Didn't Norinco make the little Browning clone? Did anybody ever have one? How are they price-wise?

KR