Shopping for a new .22LR

General Firearms General Bolt & Lever Action Rifle
1

I have a Remington 510 Targetmaster made in 1947. Just a little single shot .22LR, but one of my favorite rifles to shoot. It is cheap to feed, and has amazing accuracy.

A few problems…

  1. It has open sights, and I’d prefer an aperture.
  2. It isn’t going to last forever at the rate I shoot it.
  3. I don’t want to shoot it out, since I’d like it as a functioning “wall hanger”.

So, I have begun poking around a bit to find a replacement for it.

I definitely don’t want an autoloader. I have a Ruger 10/22 that I probably haven’t shot in at least five years. Due to the nature of the .22LR cartridge, I really like having more weapon manipulation since it keeps me interested. I feel like I’m doing something.An autoloader doesn’t give me that.

So, a bolt action is pretty much what I am left with. (Don’t desire a lever action .22LR… no real reason, just not what I’d prefer.) So, what are my options? What have y’all tried and been happy with? Anything in particular to avoid?

I don’t want to dissuade anyone from sharing their ideas, but I have something in mind I’d like input on. This isn’t set in stone, I just looked this up last night- my mind is not made up by any means.

While acting as a volunteer rifle instructor at a scout camp last summer, I had some exposure to the CZ Model 513. Now, this is a youth rifle and is on the small side for me, but I was impressed with the workmanship. They seemed well built and accurate during the brief time I had with them.

I did a little research, and found that the CZ Model 452 is a full size .22LR marketed as a “military trainer”. After reading a bit on the model, I found one in stock locally and went to take a look. I liked it. Anyone have any experience with this model in particular?

Did a little more research, and I found a company that makes replacement front and rear sights so that you can have an aperture sight. The company is “Tech-Sights”. I’ve never heard of them, but I haven’t dealt with this particular niche very much. Do they make a good product?

I appreciate the help, guys, hopefully by Thanksgiving I’ll have come to a decision so I can take advantage of a black Friday sale.

2

I’ve purchased 6 or 7 (lost count) new CZ452 and 455 rimfires (22LR, 22WMR, and 17HMR) in the last 7 months…does that say enough? :slight_smile:

3

I bought my son a Savage MKII and we both enjoy shooting it. They are affordable and, like all Savages, are very accurate.

4

Sounds like your experience has shown the same results as mine- good product.

This is probably not a very common desire- but one of the reasons I like my Remington is that it is single shot. I have a very consistent rate of fire. It is a little slow, but is steady.

How well does the single shot adapter “magazine” work, if you’ve tried one? If it provides a nice feeding channel like my Remington has, I’d probably get one of those and forget the magazine for all except small game hunting. If it is more of just a magazine well plug, I’ll just set the cartridge on top of the magazine and be just as well off.

See Remington “feed tray” below.

5

I have seen and used a few Tech-Sight products…

I can recommend the 10/22 sights that Tech-Sight makes. I have seen thousands of rounds put down range using the 10/22 sights, and they are good to go.

The Tech-Sight AK sights that I saw were a total disaster, and I wouldn’t touch one with a ten foot pole.

Considering my experiences, I would be hard pressed to purchase anything other than the 10/22 sights unless I had a chance to look the sights over before purchasing them.

6

Is the issue with the AK sight a design issue or a quality issue?

I saw a photograph of one… and to me it looked like a dumb idea. The CZ sight looks very straight-forward… unless the quality is just bad, I don’t foresee a problem.

7

I still see minty Remington and Winchester bolt .22’s at gun shows for less than you can buy most new manufactured models.

Hard to turn down American made walnut and steel, that would cost 2-3X as much if they were made today.

Easy to put Williams aperture sights on many of them.

8

I’ve got a 40X headed my way right now. Any thoughts on reference sources for the old Remington and Winchester 22s? I like rimfirecentral for info, but I was looking for something more edited so that I could understand the different models, and what they actually may be worth.

9

I dont think its possible to “shoot out” a .22lr, is it?

Secondly, if you want cheap accurate fun, look no further than a savage mkII f. I bought mine for 100 bucks new at walmart. Chopped the barrel to 16" myself and it will stack round on top of each other at 50yds with Wolf MT.

10

+1 on CZ 452 as excellent accurate rimfire products. I’ve owned three of them (.17 HMR, and two .22 lr’s).

Problem with CZ is sometimes they can have quality control issues more so than other reasonable quality manufacturers. My dad had serious trouble with his CZ 453 Varmint, had to send it back twice and their slow, rather subpar service kind of gave him the run-around. Though CZ rimfires are accurate and well made, I got so disillusioned with their relative lack of adequate support in the US, I sold off my CZ’s. No offense to those who still own them: they are indeed nice rifles and I agree with you there. My issue is mostly with CZ USA.

What I’d recommend now in a bolt action .22lr, assuming you want a lower or mid-priced one, is to consider the Browning T-bolt. They are extremely well made, accurate to boot, and come in several different configurations (varmint, sporter, etc.), plus RH and LH actions. My dad has the LH .22lr, and it shoots like a laser (I have shot his extensively and am thinking about buying my own). Plus extremely well made, and Browning’s service in the US is usually decent (they treated me very well on an issue I had with my Abolt several years ago).

11

Agree, I have the Tech Sights on one of my three 10/22’s, and they are outstanding. I have a bull barrel and I used red loctite per their suggestion to permanently affix the dovetailed adapter onto the end of the bull barrel so I could mount the front sight (which by default, is only set up for factory sporter barrels). The adapter worked great, main thing to be aware of is to ensure that your rifle and the mounted dovetail adapter are level before the loctite sets!

12

I’m getting my money’s worth in this thread. :slight_smile:

One last point, I agree that if you can’t or don’t want to install the Tech Sights on a 10/22, Williams has two good options:

  • They have a less expensive set that will mount directly on a 10/22. This is the WGRS-RU22 model:

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=846604

  • They have their more expensive “target sights” which will involved a peep sight, plus a separate front sight, and the rear sight will have to be custom-mounted (includes drilling your receiver). I had a set of these mounted once, they are ok and precise, but also large and bulky and not really worth it for most shooters IMHO.

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=483133

13

Personally, i don’t have a need for one, so I haven’t tried one.

14

The design is simply retarded, and the quality is poor.

It doesn’t make any sense at all to attach a sight directly to a dust cover that needs to be removed every time the weapon is disassembled. Something like the sight Marc Krebs designed makes a lot more sense from a design standpoint.

The quality is quite poor on the AK sights - The one that I messed around with wouldn’t fit the weapon without taking a file to it, and even after that, the sight still wouldn’t fit correctly.

I wouldn’t hesitate to purchase sights from Tech-Sight as long as it wasn’t the SKS model or AK model…

Their other sights are good to go.

15

No, just keep your eyes open at shows and in newspaper ads. They often go for less than they should in my opinion.

16

The 452s seem hard to find now as they are being replaced by the 455’s. Is there enough of a quality difference that the extra effort should be put in to track down or 452 or is the 455 just as g2g?

17

As the 455 offers a few refinements to the 452, I don’t think you can go wrong with a 455.

18

I’d also check the CZ forum at RimfireCentral.com, they have a lot of the latest info on the CZ offerings, including pros/cons of the new 455 models.

http://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=18

19

My .22LR is a Ruger 10/22 in an Archangel Marauder Kit

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I know its not a bolt action but just an idea for that Ruger you have “laying” around

20

I’ve got one as well & it’s one of my favorite rifles. It has a cheapy 4x32 on it & I can sit with that rifle all day shooting at steel spinners & be be perfectly content.