I need a new .22lr What make and model would you recommend?

Althescal

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I find myself once more in search of a new squirrel rifle. I last owned a Marlin mag fed bolt action, but I got it from a pawn shop and I think that the dang barrel was shot out of the poor thing! Well, an expensive lesson was learned. I was taken in by the walnut and steel, but it just wouldn’t group worth a hoot! I’ve been a bit leery of the synthetic offerings but am hoping that there’s still a great rifle out there for a reasonable price. What do y’all like?
 
Shooting out a .22lr is pretty hard ... maybe the barrel needs cleaning. Leading in a .22lr can fill the grooves in the rifling to the point they almost become a “smooth bore”. A proper cleaning could bring it back to life.

Also .22’s can be a little ammo picky. CCI MiniMags typically do good in most ... but once you find what it likes stick to it.
 
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Shooting out a .22lr is pretty hard ... maybe the barrel needs cleaning.
I thought the same thing, so I went through a thorough lead and copper removal process only to be disappointed. The Microgrooves weren’t too prominent while looking down the bore. One thing I did notice was that the barrel appeared to have been crosspinned through the receiver in a way that might not have been a factory feature. The thing would’nt group better than 4-1/2” at 100 yards with any weight projectile!
 
But.... cleaning a .22 can make a mess of a barrel. Who knows what the previous owner was up to.

Maybe he was using bore-brush and inserting from the muzzle.

What does it hurt to try cleaning the barrel.? Just time and a few supplies ... yes being a bolt gun proper cleaning techniques do say work from the chamber along with other do’s and don’ts ... but done right it can’t hurt.
 
Best out of the box accuracy at a reasonable price- CZ455 or CZ457. You will need to do zero upgrades to make it better.
I’m gonna look into those. My youngest brother has a little CZ carbine chambered in 7.62x 39 that he absolutely loves. His has a single set trigger that is so light it’s almost too light!
 
You’re right... it can’t hurt for him to try a deep-clean on the Marlin. Any damage done is already done.

I wouldn’t even be opposed to a redneck recrown, on a rifle I’ve given up on.


I gave up on it and parted company with it a couple of months back. I even tried floating the barrel and then experimented with various pillar/contact/pressure points. Nothing helped.
 
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Oh so no long in the rotation ...

In that case I love my Cz455’s. My Varmint model will hold 1” at 100 yards with Wolf Match ... and my kid’s eyes ... unless the wind kicks up. Personally, CZs are great out of the box and with a little trigger “massaging” they will out shoot me and my old eyes easy.

Don’t forget the Savage Mark II ... especially their upper target models ... they are right there with CZ ... just not as pretty to me.

A new horse in the race is Tikka and it’s T1X also ... threaded cold hammer forged barrel, nice Tikka trigger and feels like a real rifle.
 
I thought the same thing, so I went through a thorough lead and copper removal process only to be disappointed. The Microgrooves weren’t too prominent while looking down the bore. One thing I did notice was that the barrel appeared to have been crosspinned through the receiver in a way that might not have been a factory feature. The thing would’nt group better than 4-1/2” at 100 yards with any weight projectile!
How did it group at 25 and 50yd?
 
I have a CZ455 and it’s nice. Swapped out the stock in the last week or so and haven’t shot it to see if it’s better or worse.

But I do think I like my Ruger American Rimfire more. :cool:
 
Ive got 2 Ruger 10-22
First gun I ever had (still have it!), what I learned to shoot on was a very early 80s model with wood furniture and a nice leather sling
Also have a takedown model.
They're not too expensive and a heck of a lot of fun to shoot.
There's about a billion and a half out there, so parts arent too expensive, great aftermarket too
 
I find myself once more in search of a new squirrel rifle. I last owned a Marlin mag fed bolt action, but I got it from a pawn shop and I think that the dang barrel was shot out of the poor thing! Well, an expensive lesson was learned. I was taken in by the walnut and steel, but it just wouldn’t group worth a hoot! I’ve been a bit leery of the synthetic offerings but am hoping that there’s still a great rifle out there for a reasonable price. What do y’all like?
Can't go wrong with a 10/22. I have several others that I actually like better (an old Remington fieldmaster!!!!!) but a 10/22 is hard to beat for reliability.
 
I have a CZ455 and it’s nice. Swapped out the stock in the last week or so and haven’t shot it to see if it’s better or worse.

But I do think I like my Ruger American Rimfire more. :cool:

You just go to Hell! :mad:

Or maybe you could just sell me that stock for what you paid? I tried to grab that, but couldn’t get there.
 
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S&W 15-22 or go for the Ruger Precision Rimfire, have a blast in the rimfire matches.

I've got both, plus the Marlin 60SS and the 795. All nice rifles.
 
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Marlin 795.
I sold one to my neighbor for his 14 year old daughter to use. I never had any problems, and it was always spot on and ran all the ammo without complaining. But she took a shine to it.
He bought a Nikon 22 rimfire scope for it and I dialed it in. Then I was pissed I let it go. It shoots quarter size groups offhand at 25 yards all day, even with rookie shooters.

The Ruger 10/22 is the AR of 22 rifles. You can mod it to the heavens. But I don't care for the rotary mags.

I've had two Marlin 60's. I sold the squirrel stock model, and kept the stainless fancy target model they make. It shoots fine and all that, but- I prefer mag fed, and two, the comb on these model 60's is obviously made for kids. It jacks your face up so high an adult needs mile-high rings to get a scope up at eye level.

I use a Savage model 64 for a backdoor varmit gun. I'll never get another one of these. It never sighted worth a damn, I had to get totally different sights (iron) to even get close to poa. It shoots soup cans at 50 yards now, but I had to put too much effort to get it that way. Plus it doesn't lock back on last round. Oh, and the red dot under the safety fell out. Savage sent me a new one. It's just a red plastic ball you mash into the hole. Disappointed in this one.

My 15-22 is my favorite 22 rifle. It's a great trainer for the AR platform, works good with all the ammo (except thunderbolts, which S&W even says don't use) and with a cheap sightmark red dot it pops the x-ring all day.

I'm gonna get me another 795. With a hundred dollar scope it performs as well as rifles costing twice as much. If you would have told me a $250 package would do this well I would've called you a liar. But it does.
 
Cz is a great shooter. The tikka t1x is also amazing for bolt action.

I have close to 40-45 thousand rounds from my savage 64. Still an accurate beast for rabbit hunting if you wanted a semi auto.
 
I've got an almost 20 yr old 10/22 that I purchased new. It has untold thousands of rounds through it and has never let me down. I did get one rotary mag give me some feeding issues (it was the one that was always in the rifle and thus shot more than any of my others) but after a quick cleaning it's been running fine for years since.
 
If you want cheap savage fvsr if you want pretty and higher budget CZ455
 
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