.22 Rifle Discussion

J

jawilder

Joined
Jun 27, 2006
Messages
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With all the chat recently about chosing various guns for survival I thought I'd start one on the good ole faithful .22 rifle. Now granted, I'd rather have my Remington 870 in the woods should the Fit hit the Shan but I think a good marksman with a .22 would not go hungry.

Here are your choices:

Marlin Model 60
MSRP: $179 Gunbroker.com average NIB price: $100
More of these rifles sold than any other .22 on the market. I currently have one and love it.
Available in .22 lr.
photo_60.jpg


Remington Model 597
MSRP: $188 Gunbroker.com average NIB price: $164
Started out with problems in early production but recently fixed with change to metal magazine.
Available in .22 lr or .22 Mag.
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Ruger 10/22
MSRP: $298 Gunbroker.com average NIB price: $219
Very dependable semi auto rifle with many aftermarked options to choose from. Complaints that it's not as accurate as Remington or Marlin. Also many complaints about such a small stock on base model.
Available in .22lr
278L.jpg


Which would you pick and why? Do you own or have any experiences with these already?
 
My only experience is with the Ruger 10/22 and I own a pair and love them... I am a pretty good shot with the 10/22 up to about 35-40yds tops and to me in the field that is far enough to pop squirrels/rabbits etc. or for any survival situation + if I can't hit the item w/ 6 50rnd clips something is terrible wrong
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The 10/22 is at the top of my list. I have had several .22s from the Remington Nylon 77, Marlins, Bolt and NEFs...

I currently have two 10/22's. One rebuilt by me. Carbon fiber barrel, aluminum bedded, folding stock, trigger slicked and scoped. I have made extremely long hits with it. Easily customized to any configuration that you want from lightweight carry compact to fully customized target gun. Take a look at Rimfire.com. They are nuts over the 10/22.

The other is still stock with plans to go...

Over the weekend I was on a retreat with a group of students from the school I train at. A couple of us set up a range and let new shooters experience firearms for the first time. Out of all the guns on the table (over a dozen) they kept asking to shoot the 10/22 at the water bottles out to 50 yards...

Have you looked at the 10/22 pistol called the 'Charger' that Ruger came out with? Similar accuracy, same action....
Badge54
 
I have a model 60 and it's really fun, but I would definately prefer my papoose break down, it actually fits in a backpack.
The ruger is expensive enough before paying the same again on a new barrel and perhaps a folding stock, out of the box accuracy should be a given.
Why worry about customization when all I really want is a gun that shoots straight?
 
The only one of the 3 that I have shot is the 10/22. It was very accurate and the aftermarket has millions of parts that you can modify them with. The only thing I do not like about them is the magazine design. For some reason I seem to have a knack at jamming the rotary magazine but I believe this is a problem with cheap mags and not the rifle itself.

My vote would be for the 10/22.
 
Can I vote none of the above?

I've tried the Ruger, Marlin 60, Marlin Papoose, and I didn't like any of them. The Marlin was a bit of a little PITA to clean, as was the ruger. I sold them off.

What I have had for many years is two Marlin 39's. One 39 mountie from the 70's, and a 39 TDS. Both have shown better accuracy, and easier to clean and maintain with a simplier break down. I've settled on those two rifles as my "go to" guns. With either one, I wouldn't feel bad being stuck out in the boonies someplace.
 
The Marlin Model 60 is far less glamorous than more modern detachable magazine designs like the 10/22 and 597. However, Marlin's micro-groove rifling and the tubular magazine make for an accurate and reliable set up. It is also a very slim/trim design. If I was going to use a semi-auto for survival/hiking it would be a model 60 (and I own a 10/22!).

However, for hunting/survival use I was always favor manual action designs - especially manual action tube fed designs. Marlin offers a tube fed bolt action that is exceptionally accurate, durable, and reliable. The reason I favor tube feds is that they will feed anything from a .22 short CB to the longest hyper-velocity rounds and everything in between (.22 short, .22 long, and .22 long rifle). Marlin also makes the lever action model 39 which is a classic and perhaps the ultimate in fast, accurate, small game hunting carbines. I believe Taurus may be making pump and lever action .22 rifles at this time as well and they seem to get good reviews, plus they are available in stainless steel.
 
Why a semi? I dig on the bolt guns in .22. Got a great little Savage MkII bolt gun that's been very handy in the woods. Very light, very accurate.
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Marlin makes a good gun i started out with one and put countless rounds through it and did horrible things to it and it never missed a beat. that being said i've had a lot more experience with 10-22's and i would highly recommend one, great little gun that will probably outlast you. if possible try to shoot each one and see if one fits you better than the other. good luck,
 
I've posted it before, but here's mine.

RUGER001.jpg



Ruger 10/22 with butler creek folding stock, Simmons 22mag scope, SWR warlock supressor, Bolt lock from a guy at rimfirecentral that locks the bolt shut during firing, several power custom internals, braided paracord sling.

I used to have a Marlin 60 but the feed ramp kept shaving lead and eventually causing it to jam.
 
The Marlin 39 is a great rifle. The only downside to it is that it is a very heavy rifle.

I love my Ruger 10-22, but any magazine fed rifle will immediately become a single shot if you lose the magazine, which does happen. You would still have a single shot, though.

I like tube fed rifles for that reason. I think it is harder to lose the feeder tube than a small magazine.

If it were me, though, I would be happier with a good .22 handgun. Much smaller and more compact, though a little more difficult to hit with.

Andy
 
i prefer the model 60 over the 10-22 for one reason. the model 60's i have owned were less picky accuracy wise than the 10-22's i've owned. the 60 shot good with just about all brands. the 10-22 only shot good with cci mini-mags.
 
randytee said:
i prefer the model 60 over the 10-22 for one reason. the model 60's i have owned were less picky accuracy wise than the 10-22's i've owned. the 60 shot good with just about all brands. the 10-22 only shot good with cci mini-mags.
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Agreed. Marlin has been using that micro-groove rifling for a long time for a reason. The model 60 is a classic! It just works. The only problem with the new ones is that the sights stink! the front sight is far too thick.

However, My 10-22 became much less finicky when I switched to a stock without a barrel band. The 10-22 responds really well to having less tension (or even free floating) the barrel. If anyone is interested, I built my idea of a no frills survival 10-22 a while back and I would be happy to post what gear I picked, why I picked it, and how it worked out.
 
I grew up with the Marlin; it was the only gun in our household for many years, and was the first "real" gun I ever shot. It was sorely neglected but remained functional, and it's still knocking around my dad's place somewhere.

I have an unmodified 10/22 that I received as a gift maybe 15 years ago. I enjoy it's compactness and reliability, and it is accurate enough for my marksmanship skills. I'd like to experiment with adding peep sites to it some day.
 
I've owned a shot all 3 in the past, so here's my 2 cents worth on each.

Remington 597.....Off the table, I hate that gun. Jammed a lot and accuracy on mine was lame.

Over the years, I have owned 4-5 Marlin 60 variations and 4 Ruger 10/22's.

Marlin 60.....Cheap, reliable and more accurate than the 10/22 out of the box, but a little more delicate internally, but not sure that it's enough to matter.

Ruger 10/22..Typically less accurate than a Marlin 60, but will eat ammo all day long without jamming. Internally, they are VERY tough and a fairly simple design. Easy to completely strip down to clean, and there is an amazing amount of after market gizmos for them.

Of those 2, I would not be afraid to use either one for a survival gun, my personal .22 rifle is a Marlin 702 Plinkster, which is the box magazine fed version of the Model 60, because I got it on sale for $79.00.

matthewdanger mentions something that my experience with the 10/22 bears out also. They seem to be a better gun with that stupid barrel band removed. Mine had better accuracy without it.
 
I have had a 10/22 for years. I love the stock, it is heavy for a small rifle which in my opinion makes it a dream to shoot, virtually no recoil. I have never had a problem with accuracy with the factory sights, it is a very accurate rifle. I also like that the factory mags when in place are recessed up into the gun, no magazine hanging down. The only problem I have ever had with it is poor feeding from non ruger magazines.
 
I have several 10/22's, but my favorites are a LH Remington 581 and a LH Savage Mark II.
 
I currently have the Marlin 60, Springfield 87A, and Remington Viper 522.

I am currently looking for a .22 Magnum that won't break the bank with a semi auto. I am thinking of either the Marlin 925 Mag or the Marlin 983. One has magazines and the other has a tube. Which would you suggest and why?

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photo_983.jpg
 
I saw this the other day and I think it would make a great survival gun if your not hung up on a semi auto. Yes it is a youth model but is is only 3.3 pounds and short. It also has the accutriger and peep sights.

http://www.savagearms.com/cub.htm
 
jawilder said:
I currently have the Marlin 60, Springfield 87A, and Remington Viper 522.

I am currently looking for a .22 Magnum that won't break the bank with a semi auto. I am thinking of either the Marlin 925 Mag or the Marlin 983. One has magazines and the other has a tube. Which would you suggest and why?

photo_925M.jpg


photo_983.jpg
Click to expand...

I am in the market for the same thing and I would definately go with the tube feed, has the hooded front sight, it gets easy to load up fast, wont rust as it's brass, won't be lost easily, and I think it looks cooler.:p

My marlin 60 was hard to take apart and clean, granted, but it was probably at least 10 years old when I got it and had never been cleaned. The bolt buffer was in pieces when I opened it and it still worked great with the pieces bouncing around in there. Learned a lot replacing that piece.
you can get away without cleaning a .22 for a long time, and the fouling in the barrel greatly improves accuracy in a lot of cases.

My first choice would probably be my CZ american 452, dead accurate with the cheap federal bulk, bolt action to help conserve ammo, (essential for a survival .22 I would say, as well as having less to break down.)

I have laso considered those youth sized .22s, the one bigox just posted looks pretty good, 33 inches and an accu-trigger.
My next "big" gun is going o be a savage bolt action in .308 I think.
 
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