Thought this might be a nice change for the GD section of our forum. Lets talk about guns!!! Since there is no area specializing in .22 rifles on the forum I thought I would throw something out to the group here.
I have a Marlin Bolt Action .22LR that is well used (as in Beat To Hell), and still hits accurately, but it is an old rifle. I have been thinking about getting a new .22 semi for general plinking. I am also looking at possibly using it to teach people the basic fundamentals of shooting without breaking the bank. The “cultural” atmosphere regarding the best .22 semi automatic seems to be the Ruger 10 22. Everyone I know has one, and no one can tell me why they bought it, prefer it, or suggest it.
Any thoughts from those among the M4C crowd regarding the best semi .22 on the market?
From my personal observations with the Ruger, my 45 year old dirty Marlin bolt action jams less often in one session then a clean Ruger. I’m not convinced the Ruger is the best semi on the market. It may shoot fast but it chokes on ammo like nothing I’ve ever seen, and the mags are a pain in the ass to load.
Ruger 10-22’s are decent guns but far from the best. Where the 10-22 shines is when you start customizing it because it really is the ultimate .22 for that. If you just want to leave it stock though, the 10-22 is not terribly accurate or reliable.
If I was going to buy a semi-auto .22, I would either buy that Ruger with the intent of completely upgrading it to a rifle worth owning, or, more likely, buy this- http://www.cz-usa.com/products/view/cz-512/
I LOVE my rimfire CZ and am itching to try out their semi-auto offering. I can’t recommend it from personal experience except from with the company overall but it is what I would buy.
I have a variety of 22 rifles and generally recommend a 10-22 over any current models.
BUT my favorite is a Remington 550. It was the first automatic that shoots shorts, longs and long rifles interchangably. It is an all-steel walnut-stocked heavy tube-fed rifle that justs points naturally and shoots great. I think they quit making them in the early '70’s and replaced them with the Model 552, which Remington still makes.
My first “real” job was patrolling levees on a rice farm to kill nutrias. The nutrias would make holes in the levees which would eventually wash the levee out. I did this for about 2-months and shot about 4000 rounds. I ended up killing 2 nutrias and about 200 snakes. I remember killing 22 snakes in one day. At the end of the summer, I could hit misc. birds (kerlews, starlins, blackbirds, etc) in flight about 3 out of 5 times.
I did all this with a borrowed Model 550. Been in love with them since.
the 10/22 is kind of like the ar15. maybe not the “best” design, but certainly a known entity, and really a pleasure to shoot. oh yeah, and huge aftermarket.
Well, I guess I don’t expect a lot out of a semi-auto .22LR carbine… I just expect it to shoot everytime I press the trigger and not jam…
My primary Ruger 10/22 I bought when I was 16 years old (now 44) and I still shoot it all the time. It has NEVER jammed or failed me, ever… I paid $89 for it then.
What more can anyone ask for if PLINKING and fun is what you ask of it…
I would say 10/22 because of its relatively low base cost and huge aftermarket support. If it doesn’t turn out to be what you want exactly you can change it to make it so. I think even more than the AR its the ultimate tinkerer’s gun.
I will say factory accuracy is hit or miss. I’ve seen some factory Ruger barrels that shoot fantastic. Unfortunately for me, my factory barrel shot groups that looked like something out of my 590 12 gauge. A new TacSol barrel fixed those issues though.
I will say that just like with other guns you need to find what ammo(s) work best and sometimes you will run into one that your gun doesn’t like or shoot accurately. Is it going to be less forgiving with ammo related issues than a bolt action–perhaps–but mine never “chokes” on ammo repeatedly as you say. Just the occasional dud round which is more of a rimfire issue than and particular rifle models fault.
ETA:
From this perspective; especially if you’re talking about very young shooters; I would say the bolt action may be the way to go vs. the auto-loader. Makes it easier to give them a round at a time and control the situation; minimizing the possibility with a new shooter of a rapid “bang, bang, bang, bang, oh shit!”
The 10/22 is a solid gun, mine has been pretty reliable…but I don’t shoot it anymore.
I’ve got a CZ bolt that gets a lot more use (manual actions to me are more fun with a .22…I can work a bolt, lever, or pump with speed and have a lot of fun) and I’ve got a S&W M&P 15-22 on layway (cheaper to buy the 15-22 than to put the 10/22 into a Nordic chassis setup, and I’ll be happier with the 15-22). I wouldn’t be surprised if I hardly every shoot the 10/22 again in my life (but not interested in selling, it was the first gun I brought with my own money and the first decent quality gun I owned).
Best accessories for them (if you are an iron sight guy) is the TechSIGHTS. Cheap, high quality, lots of fun (I do prefer to replace the aperture with an A2 aperture piece, or an A2 same plane). Other than that and an extended mag release (standard on the newer guns, aftermarket on the older guns), mine is stock. One thing I’d consider doing with the 10/22, if I was in the market for one, is buying a blued carbine version and making an M1 Carbine look alike (there is a cool little M1 style stock), and there’s somebody (Nodak spud?) who makes M1 Carbine style sights, but the TechSIGHTs are also a great option for this type of project.
I would vote for marlin model 60 or 795 that can be purchased for 100 bucks with the current rebate. Hard to be out of the box accuracy of the marlin rifles at a fraction of the cost.
Thumbs up for Tech Sights here, too. If you’re going to run iron sights on a 10/22, I prefer a rear peep.
Nodak Spud is indeed one shop that makes an M1 style rear peep. IIRC it only fits on their their own 10/22 style receiver due to the shape of the top surface. Other non-Ruger receivers include MOA, Volquartsen, Kidd, Tac-Sol, and probably several others. Your options for making a pimptastic 10/22 are pretty much limitless.
I’ve got an old Norinco TU-33/40, basically a Chinese knock-off of the CZ action in a stock mimicking the old G-33/40 Czech Mauser mountain carbine. It’s been a great gun, ever since I was a kid. I’ve taken squirrel, groundhogs, birds, rabbit, you name it. I plan to teach my boy to shoot with it when he’s old enough.
The only downside is that they can’t import them anymore. You can still find them around on Gunbroker from time to time, but the prices are pretty rude. I’m glad I got mine when I did.
Don’t even think it. During the last ammo shortage nonsense I couldn’t even find any .22 because my local Walmart store manager is an avid shooter and he was buying all the .22 first before it even made it on the shelves.
Mac have you thought about an M&P15-22? I don’t have one yet but it’s high on my list to get. I like all the discussion about other models and since the 15-22 has several threads all its own so I won’t derail this one but it seems like it would be total viable for teaching new shooters plus has the added benefit of being a low cost trainer for your AR.
What do you guys think of the Savage bolt action rimfires? I’ve also been looking at those as a more affordable option than a CZ. I’m also torn on another .22LR vs getting a .22 WMR or 17HMR but that’s a whole other discussion:D
