Best .22?

D

Deerslayer

Joined
Oct 12, 2000
Messages
24
I was wondering what would you all suggest for a .22 rifle? I am currently trying to decide between a Marlin Papoose, and a Ruger 10/22, suggestions?
 
A .22 rifle is, I think the most useful firearm that you could own. I have 6 .22 rifles 5 .22 handguns, and I can think of at least several more in each category that I would like.

Both rifles you are looking at age good. Marlin is a fine old company that makes more rifles than any other company in the US. The Ruger name speaks for itself.

I have an old Marlin M-2 .22 auto that I have had sense I was 14 or 15. It was the most accurate .22 that I owned until very recently. The Marlin takes down for easy transport. and should be a very good value for the money.

About 2 years ago I bought a Butler Creek heavy target barrel, a fiberglass stock, and a 3 to 9 variable scope for my Ruger 10/22. The Ruger is a bigger rifle, and does not take down easily, and mine was not especially accurate as before I did the upgrade. There are several advantages to the Ruger, the first is the ability to swap barrels, fast and easy, no special tools, no gunsmith. There are a host of aftermarket products available for it. Look in Brownell's or Cabella's catalog and you will get an idea. Extra or replacement magazines are easy to find as well.

My 10/22 with the new barrel and stock will shoot a 10 shot group that I can cover with a dime at 50 yards with ammunition that it likes.

Lately, I find that I am a lot more interested in old second or third hand guns than I am in New pieces. The used gun racks are always my first stop in each of the gun shops I regularly haunt. Keep you eyes and your mind open and you will surprised what you will see.


Mike


 
If you want a great bolt action 22 that will drive tacks, look at the Remington 541T heavy barrel. NIB, it might cost you $350 to 400, but will shoot as well as rifles that cost a lot more(like Kimbers, Anschutz, etc.). At 50 yds, mine will put 10 shots into a group that can be covered by a quarter with any ammo I try, and my eyes are not that good anymore. I have a Burris 4x12 compact scope on mine.

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Danbo, soul brother of Rambo
 
10/22...currently in use in Isreal as supressed sniper rifles to pick of mob leaders.

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-Marine, Peace Officer, Gunsite EW1 Graduate.
 
If you are limiting your choices to those two, take the 10/22. If you are not limited to those choices, take the 10/22, it's really a fine little .22, light, handy, reliable, fits most folks well and can be "dressed up" from a huge selection of aftermarket accessories, from flash supressors??? & folding stocks to heavy barrels, drop in trigger jobs that really work well and oversize target stocks. Mine has a Hogue stock & barrel, Volquartsen trigger and will dump a 10 round magazine into a dime size group at 50 yards all day long.
 
.22s definitely are a blast, and there have been a lot of good recommendations here. I too like the Remington 541T, but have to admit that as far as inexpensive fast shooting fun is concerned, the Ruger 10/22 is hard to beat. And with all the aftermarket upgrading and customizing that's available for 10/22s, you can work your way up to a real tack driver as well. You may also want to take a look at the new semi-auto .22 rifle that was just announced by Thompson/Center. I haven't seen any reviews yet (and won't believe them anyway, at least until Gun Tests does one
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), but this looks like it could be a real winner as well.

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Semper Fi

-Bill
 
I like my Remington 541-T slim barrel with a Weaver V16 (4-16 AO). It shoots dime size groups at 50 yds with cheapo PMC std velocity ammo(triangle on the back, not the G).

I had a decked out Ruger 10/22T with a thumbhole stock, but the 541T out shot it.
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Marlin makes a nice clip fed mid weight barrel bolt - (880SQ) that is nice and is pretty darn accurate as well. Less than the 541T.
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I love bolt actions anyway even though I am a LEFTY!
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I saw the ad for the TC steel receivered semi-auto and that should be sweet - time will tell.



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Ray 'md2020'

ATKI member #A001042
 
I vote for my CZ, ZKM 452 Model 2E Deluxe. Half the price of the Remington and it don't need no bull barrel to shoot dime sized groups at 50 yds. Old world craftsmanship. Otherwise, get the Ruger.

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Hoodoo

I get some pleasure from finding a relentlessly peaceful use for a combative looking knife.
JKM
 
I'll cast another vote for the 10/22. I've had a couple of Marlin .22's and they were fine guns but the 10/22 is hard to beat.

I've never handled a Papoose but, if easy breakdown is important to you, you may want to consider an AR-7. A word of caution regarding the AR-7 -- there have been several manufacturers & quality control can sometimes be an issue. My Charter Arms AR-7 needed some gunsmithing before it would feed reliably. I can't comment on the quality of current manufacture.

Good luck with your decision.

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Cheers,
Brian

He who finishes with the most toys wins.
 
Go with the Ruger. There are a lot of aftermarket parts to customize it to your liking. Also, there was one more rifle I would suggest. It is a AMT small game hunter II. It was AMT version of the 10/22, but it had i believe a 24 inch bull barrel, and a smooth trigger. Apparently, AMT discontinued this rifle in the late 80's early 90's.
 
Hey, BCAFFERY, HOODOO, and ISLANDER, I was wondering if any of you had links of where I could view the guns suggested in your comments? I would like to take a look at them. Thanks
 
I just bought a Ruger 10/22 last week. It's pretty high quality, as far as I know.
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[This message has been edited by chief dignitary (edited 10-28-2000).]
 
I bought my CZ from Magnum Research, Inc. Don't know if they have a web site but here is there address: 7117 University Ave, N.E., Minneapolis, MN 55432, Phone: 612/574-1868. They will send you all the information you need. Do a search and you may find they have a web site. I dunno.

Here's another suggestion: if you can find a BRNO 22 bolt, you will really have something. These are very old reconditioned guns that are marvelous. They were selling for a reasonable price 5 years ago (probably around $200 or even less) but people were snapping them up and they were going like hotcakes. Any one that has one would probably rather chop off their hand rather than sell it. I believe MR was importing them as well. They were made originally in Brno which I believe is a sister city to Uhersky Brod where the CZ was made. If you happen to find a source for these, PLEASE let me know!


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Hoodoo

I get some pleasure from finding a relentlessly peaceful use for a combative looking knife.
JKM
 
Here's a picture of the AR-7, as you requested:
campgun3.jpg


More information can be found at AR-7 Industries. I do suggest that you check a firearms discussion board, such as The Firing Line, for opinions on the current manufacture before making a purchase.

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Cheers,
Brian

He who finishes with the most toys wins.
 
I own a Ruger 10/22 and really like it. Another good .22 is Ruger's bolt action models. They are very similar in weight as a larger caliber rifle so are excellent for practice. Kimber makes a very nice looking gun but are rather expensive.

Bob
 
BCAFFERY, I want to say thanks for the picture, I am seriously interested in the ar-7 now, It looks spectacular, I am questioning its durability though. Thanks again.
 
Sorry for the late post..I haven't come across any pics of the complete rifle only pics of the parts. As for the AMT no luck on pics
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. You might try your local gun store or email one to inquire about it.
 
Do the Ruger 10/22 thing.......IMHO Ruger is the best bargin for the money. You can make it into about anything you want to. I've got 3 of them and wouldn't have any other semi-auto .22. I've got a new-in-the-box ArmaLite AR7; a couple of us bought them but they had feeding problems with them so I didn't even bother to shoot mine. My favorite 10/22 has a Magnum Reasearch carbon-fiber/compensated barrel; Powers Ti fire control parts, Tasco World Class 8-32X50 target scope, Butler Creek synthetic stock with integral bi-pod, and an Accu-Pod attachment on the sling-swivel stud on the butt of the stock that triangulates the rifle and provides a rock solid bench-rest and 140 minutes of elevation. This rifle shoots 3/4" 10 shot groups at 100 yards. Can't beat it........
 
Deerslayer, durability shouldn't be an issue with the AR-7 but feeding problems may be. Dawkind mentioned problems with the Armalite production models and, as I mentioned, I had problems with my Charter Arms model.

It's your choice of course but, unless the weight difference is significant to you, I would go with the 10/22.

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Cheers,
Brian

He who finishes with the most toys wins.
 
HooDoo, I had a Brno Model 1 .22 bolt action for a couple of years and I tried just about every brand of rimfire ammo from $0.99 - $6.00) and I wasn't able to get really tight groups with it.
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I was lead to believe when I purchased it from a local retailer/gun distributor (Lew Horton's) that it would do 'miracle' groups.

I paid $250 for my Rem 541T w/ a Leupold VX-III 3.5-10A0 about 5 yrs ago. This was my BEST buy to date.
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I had been eyeing the Sako .22LR prior to that, but didn't need to after I got the 541. Sometimes we get lucy.
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Best shooter that I've used were some DCM style .22LR that were on loan from our government when I was in high school (a while ago....LOL). Remingtom 513T w/ Redfield peep sights was the one I chose. We had some Winchester's but the other kids grabbed those before I did, but its didn't matter because it is generally the shooter who wins matches, not the rifle.
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.22LR are a lot of fun to shoot. Pretty amazing what they can do at less than $0.03/round.

I like peep sights, but use scopes most of the time.
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What do you guys generally use?




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Ray 'md2020'

ATKI member #A001042
 
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