Thoughts on a .22 rifle

[firedog03]

OK, while looking thru a recent edition of F&S, (April 2004) i came across an article on the .22 rifle. IT gave a list of .22s that was interpreted by me to mean...i needed one of these to be a good shooter. I have no problem with that, I like reading about different brands of firearms. However, When i looked at the list, I was in shock. The Author, Dave Petzal, listed the 10 rifles along with the MSRP of each one. Here is what he listed:
1) Anschutz 1416D--$756
2)Cooper Mod. 57-mClassic--$1,100
3) Kimber Classic--$949
4)Marlin model 39A--$552
5)New Ultra Light Arms Mod. 20--$850
6)Remington 504--$710
7)Ruger 10/22 Target rifle--$425
8)Savage MarkII BV--$248
9)Thompson/Center Classic--$370
10)Winchester Mod. 52B--$662

A few thoughts came to mind after reading this....He says in his article, the .22 rifle you pick should resemble your huntng rifle, i can see that....but then that raises a question...should your .22 cost more than hunting rifle? I guess thats a matter of opinion, i paid $288 for a Remington 700 .30-06, NIB. Another thought I had, he states that "...if you shoot a lot of centerfire ammo, you will end up broke, deaf and foolish." my thought on that staement was....if I spend $1,100 on a Cooper model 57 Classic...I think I will be broke and foolish. So after I pondered the list over and over..i decided to get an average price of the .22 "I should get"...The average price for the 10 rifles listed was $662.20, maybe I'm wrong on this, but that sounds kinda steep for a .22 rifle. I thought some more....and then went to my gun cabinet, pulled out my Marlin Mod. 25N, which i Paid $125 for, NIB....and went and shot a couple clips thru it...and thought...i dont need to spend another $500 on another rifle to be a good shooter, $500 would buy about 13,000 rounds of .22 ammo, I think I could become a good shooter for about half of that, take the remaining $250 and go buy hunting license for the next 6.25 years, and enjoy the outdoors without having to worry about my $1,100 .22 rifle getting scratched or god forbid lost or stolen. Anyway....Thats my Soapbox speech, any thoughts..please leave them

PS---I do feel like a good .22 rifle is essential in your firearm battery..but for the common working man, we have to buy what we can afford. Ive had my marlin 25N for 13 yrs..and I have been pleased with it since the first time i took it out of the box.

[Metaldoc]

Reading that list made almost made me pee my pants :o

I suppose if you are a paper puncher it would make sense, but for everyday use, no way.

My favorite and most dependable .22 is an old Montgomery Ward/Western Field lever action .22 that I bought at a pawn shop for $40 over almost 30 years ago.

It has rode on the tractor with me, in the pickup, on the mower, and now hangs over my door for quick and easy access. It has never let me down one single time. Under fifty yards, sparrows, ground squirrels, rabbits, or whatever pests come along, they are good as gone. No scope.... just a buckhorn open rear that requires holding a fine sight.

I do own a standard 10/22 and a couple of other cheaper rimfire rifles but that little lever is the one that gets the job done. ;)

If I had to own a gun on that list to be a 'good shot' I'd be out of luck. My budget has always required me to be especially frugal.

Metaldoc :usa:

[Old Judge Creek]

22 rifles are like potato chips - ONE ain't gonna do ya - but here's my thoughts on 3:

Certainly, the best 22 for the buck available in todays market is the Ruger 10/22.

The best all round 22 survival rifle, IMHO, is the Marlin because Marlins "take down" and will feed 22 longs, long rifles, and shorts all intermixed in the same tube full.

My most fun 22 (and thus the most used) is a Taurus M62 clone of the old Winchester gallery gun. Mine is the little short carbine. It's light, compact, fast and takes down to 2 pieces <20" long. I installed a Marbles rear sight on mine (the Marlin comes stock with Marbles sights).

[blacksmith_sc]

Old Judge Creek:

Which Marbles rear sight did you put on your Taurus M62? My older son got one of these in .22 magnum, and it has to be the least accurate of about 14 .22 rifles we own. I've always felt it was the sights.

thanks

[surbat6]

Originally posted by Old Judge Creek@Jun 29 2004, 07:58 AM
The best all round 22 survival rifle, IMHO, is the Marlin because Marlins "take down" and will feed 22 longs, long rifles, and shorts all intermixed in the same tube full.


My Marlin Model39 also feeds practically every .22RF round super-reliably. At a get-together a few years back, all the guys with .22's threw misfed and jammed rounds on a little pile. At the end of the shoot, I loaded all those .22LR's and Shorts in the Marlin and shot them all without a hitch. And some had dented cases and deformed bullets (they weren't all that accurate, but they worked!).
You might consider looking for one of those premium rifles in the "used" rack at your local dealer. I've picked up several really good .22's at a savings of hundreds of dollars off the new price.

[txfyrguy]

What else did you expect a communist magazine to print? :confused:

[AR15_Fanatic]

Sounds like the premise of the article's author is full of crap. That being said all the rifles listed there are very nice firearms. I myself own two of the weapons on the list.

Just my thoughts on .22 selection

1) Buy an honest firearm. By this I mean a well made, real rifle or pistol as opposed to a "K-Mart .22". I learned how to shoot guns with a Marliin Model 39 Mountie, so I'm a bit jaded about owning nicely made guns. Certainly most weapons form the Ruger and Marlin lines fall into the category of a well made gun. 10/22s are the best bang for the buck out there and make great gifts for sons/daughters who are interested in getting their foot in the door of the shooting sports.

2) Buy a gun that works for YOU. Pardon my French, but F**K whoever says you MUST own a certain type of gun to be a good shooter. I'm sure there are a number or rich snobs with Olympic Anschutz target rifles who can't hit the breadside of a barn! Yet there are plety of folks who own stock 10/22s or other "poor man's" firearms that are extremely good shots. Whatever gun you select you need to devote some time and a lot of rounds to get good at shooting it. And all guns have their performance limits as well, you know. You'll have to use yours and find these out.

[Krazyhorse]

I've got three .22 rifles and one .22 auto pistol and with the wheelin' & dealin' factor considered, I don't have $662 tied up in all of them together. Just don't tell them that they aren't good and accurate guns, they don't seem to know it! ;)

[Ray P]

I've noticed most gun-rag writers tend to toss out a "Flamer" every so often. This lets the editor know the writer has readers, if only because of the irate letters & e-mail that flow in.

That, and the total lack of honesty on gun tests, are the reasons I've dropped my subscriptions to all but Gun Tests & AGI.

Oh, for me, it's Grandpa's Mossberg 152, my H&R Reising 65, an AMT Lightning & Hunter 25/22, and a Ruger Bearcat. Hmmm. That Mountie sounds real neat!

[Ivanimal]

I am a sucker for the 22 I will buy just about anything I see in 22 thats a good deal. am sorry but 500 bucks doesnt cut it. There are so many used guns out there its hard to choose. The older rifles are made better anyhow, the 10/22 is still a bargain if you shop around and no one needs an $1100.00 plinker. Even if it garantees 1/100" MOA. I would rather shoot grandpas gun anyways, I cant afford to hunt Africa so who needs all the expensive rifles anyhow.

[Bigdog]

The writer is certainly an Elitist. I do own one $500 twentytwo rifle, my BSA MkII International Martini - all 14 pounds of her . . . :D
I paid less than four bills for my superb Winchester 75T. Both are fantastic shooters.
But when I head to the squirrel woods, I'm usually carrying my Mossberg 146B that I bought for $40 as a rusted ruin, and rebuilt.
Lately, I really love my little Henry lever-action. Slick, handy and it easily outshoots my Marlin 39A. Anthony Imperato has a great little gun there - accurate and reliable. I'm one of those rare shooters who actually likes the Henry sights.
One-holers at 25 yards, and soda-can accurate at 50 yards - I can't argue with that. Next gunshow, I may take my 39A as trading stock towards a GoldenBoy.
My little Mossberg 152 puts my Ruger 10-22 Wally Mart Special to shame. Not half bad for a $55 semi-auto twentytwo carbine!
My Chinese-made Norinco JW27 has shot under an inch at 100 yards, using premium ammo. Pretty good for a weird-looking CZ/BRNO clone for half the price of the CZ.
Gosh - I love the "Cheap Guns"! ;)

[Charlotte22LR]

Must haves? Hmm, no CZ on the list? And I recently bought my daughter a stainless 10/22 sporter rifle. After bedding it and floating the barrel, it shoots close to my CZ452.
My 22 wish list would be...........
Henry Golden Boy
Lilja barreled 10/22 sporter rifle with Volquartzen trigger and head spaced bolt.
CZ 452 Varmint
The problem with 22's is that as many as you want, you can find a reason to get them.