I knew you were going to chime in when I read the thread title. And rightly so. You should expound more on your pump and lever guns.
@Crazy Carl this
@Slacker dude knows what he's talking about when it comes to rimfire racing with mechanical stuff. And weirdly enough, I was certain that a BL22 slicked up with the right sights would be the king, just due to the short throw of the lever.
But my Winchester 61A is faster. So sayeth the timer, and the timer don't lie. Sample size of two shooters (me and Slacker) at the time. Might be a hot stuff cowboy competitor that can do better with a lever, so I'll entertain the possibility that with practice and a better shooter the lever could be better. I mean, we ain't pros or nothing but we're pretty respectable rimfire mechanical nerds. Eh, maybe I should just speak for myself on that one. My credentials include spending a crap load of money on a custom 617 among other things lol.
For me though, the pump wins. My 61A is from 1951 and is in pretty much perfect condition. I love it dearly.