Who likes .22s?

kamagong

Gold Member
Joined
Jan 13, 2001
Messages
10,937
I do. My first gun ever was a .22 pistol, a Ruger 22/45. I like my 1911, but I knew before I even bought it that I would not be able to shoot .45ACP very much because of the cost. So I decided to get a .22 pistol that I could use for practice and cheap shooting. I have not been disappointed. The 22/45 is fun, accurate, and a blessing in disguise when it comes to introducing to others to shoot. My fiancee is not very fond of guns having been raised in a anti-gun family. Despite her upbringing though she thoroughly enjoys shooting my Ruger (the only bad thing is that I don't like being outshot with my own gun). She is a bit scared of centerfire pistols, but when it comes to the .22 she'll shoot it all day.

I just bought a .22 rifle this morning. I wanted something to complement the Garand I ordered from the CMP. So I did a little research and came across the CZ 452 Trainer. It's a bit different from the Garand, being a bolt action and all, but this CZ has excellent iron sights. Since I'm going to be using the irons on the Garand, the CZ seemed a good choice.

I can't wait to get it home. I know that I bought it for cheap training, but something tells me that I will quickly grow fond of this little rifle and learn to appreciate it for its own merits. And even if I don't I'll always have a good gun to introduce newbies to shooting. :thumbup:
 
I do. My first gun ever was a .22 pistol, a Ruger 22/45. I like my 1911, but I knew before I even bought it that I would not be able to shoot .45ACP very much because of the cost. So I decided to get a .22 pistol that I could use for practice and cheap shooting. I have not been disappointed. The 22/45 is fun, accurate, and a blessing in disguise when it comes to introducing to others to shoot. My fiancee is not very fond of guns having been raised in a anti-gun family. Despite her upbringing though she thoroughly enjoys shooting my Ruger (the only bad thing is that I don't like being outshot with my own gun). She is a bit scared of centerfire pistols, but when it comes to the .22 she'll shoot it all day.

I just bought a .22 rifle this morning. I wanted something to complement the Garand I ordered from the CMP. So I did a little research and came across the CZ 452 Trainer. It's a bit different from the Garand, being a bolt action and all, but this CZ has excellent iron sights. Since I'm going to be using the irons on the Garand, the CZ seemed a good choice.

I can't wait to get it home. I know that I bought it for cheap training, but something tells me that I will quickly grow fond of this little rifle and learn to appreciate it for its own merits. And even if I don't I'll always have a good gun to introduce newbies to shooting. :thumbup:

Kamagong, I think you are on the right track all the way. I have a Ruger Mk1, I love it, great pistol, although I don't know how it compares to yours; but I just think Ruger .22's are excellent.

I bought a CZ 452 last year. In my experience, it is a great rifle, very accurate right out of the box. It's a sweet shooter, once you start working with it you will never regret your purchase. There are other great .22's, like the Ruger 10/22, but you'll always like your CZ 452.

I went through basic training and three years of army duty with an M-1, an excellent shooting rifle, wish I had one today. And you own a 1911, another good choice for a classic pistol.

You are hitting all the right notes :D You are buying all good quality firearms, you'll be happy with all of them.
 
I like them too. A lot.

Inexpensive = shoot more. It was an issue a few years ago. It's far more of an issue today. Shooting properly develops skill, and shooting properly more develops more skill. Popping off with the old rimfire won't make you a master and may not be exactly applicable to your service weapon but they (and airguns, for that matter) will get you back into shape after a lengthy vacation and will maintain those skills a little better than dryfiring will. Actually holing a target is far more enjoyable than dropping the hammer on a thumb tack in the wall as well.

Be creative. When I lost my 600 yard range, I made the most of a 200 yard one by switching to rimfire and scaling the target down accordingly. (Clay pidgeons, in this case.) All I'll say is that you'd better have that wind dope down pat. Those little bastards are only all too happy to fly where they'd like, not where you'd like. A firm hand and steady nerve are required.

Poppers meant for centerfires are also fun. A perfect hit will drop one, maybe, but not everyone is perfect. I certainly am not. Do your best and be ready for that very fast second (or third, or fourth) hit to knock it down, and bask in the warmth that comes from the centerfire shooters admiring your skill.

I can't see anyone losing proficiency from playing the rimfire game, but most of us can definitely learn a thing or two from it.

My 22/45 is probably the best purchase I ever made. It took another $40 to fix the sights but if I'd had to pay another $40 for the sights to be correct from the factory, it still would've been a bargain.

Watch out for female shooters. They tend to pay attention. That's probably why they also tend to do well at this.
 
.22's are great! I have an old Cooey .22 bolt rifle made by Winchester in Canada and I have a .22M 9422 lever Winchester that looks like it has had a rough life (It has!) but shoots like a rifle worth 5 times it's purchase price.

Not much to add to what the others have said, you can shoot one all day, ammo is inexpensive. Ammo is small to carry and 500 rounds takes up no space to carry in the field. I believe it is one of the most effective rounds ever.

Here in Australia the .22 and 12G shotgun kept people fed throughout the Great Depression. Many the bunny and kangaroo ended up in the pot, that fell to the humble .22.

Today it is still the most popular round used in the remote communities and the 'outback'.
 
Count me in as a .22 fanatic, as well as my better half. Pretty much all we shoot is .22's because of many reasons. Cheap, so we shoot alot, maybe 1500 to 2000 rounds a month. About 4 to 5 bulk boxes of Federal 550 round packs. We have some .22's that are older than our kids, and we've tought two more generations of family on them. A couple of old Marlin 39's, a couple of Smith and Wesson K22's. Karen sometimes will carry her S&W 317 when woodswalking, and I'm not above tucking an old kit gun behind my hip.

We love rimfires!
 
Of all my guns, I have more 22s than any other caliber. They are almost too much fun. The ratio of fun per round is certainly higher than most other rounds these days.

I've got two CZ452s, a Special and an American, and they are both phenomenal values. The sights on the Special are nothing like a Garand's, but they are just about as good as open sights can get. I did replace mine, incidentally, with a Williams' receiver sight, but I haven't really gotten a chance to put it through its paces.
 
Of all the firearms I own the 22's get shot the most by far. Cheap, quiet, and accurate!
 
I have three .22 guns. A Ruger 10/22 DSP, Ruger Single Six .22/.22 WMR and a Beretta U22 Neos. Got them in that order. Good guns. Am looking into getting a Red Dot sight or scope for the Neos and possibly a silencer. Mostly for plinking when out camping.

Will probably end up with the red dot or scope first, then a Henry or Marlin Lever gun. Then someday when I have lots of money I'll get the Silencer. And yeah they are legal in the state of Utah. :)

Heber
 
A taurus 94 revolver with a horrendous trigger pull and the tendency for the trigger to stick, a 10/22 I've had for nealy thirty years(and still love) and a Marlin Papoose survival rifle that is the ugliest gun on the planet and really easy to take kayaking or camping.

The best advice for any .22 owner is to try as many different kinds of ammo with your indiviidual firearm.
 
Then someday when I have lots of money I'll get the Silencer. And yeah they are legal in the state of Utah.

Hmmm, I just use the old Winchester Zeds or an equivalent Australian brand Highland low 'Pop' round.

Not a lot of noise made by them and still able to take medium to small game with a bit of accuracy.

Silencers I reckon are overated for the .22, by the time the pill comes out the silencer will have robbed it of a lot of velocity. So why not just use the low velocity quiet rounds to start with?

Oh and my old .22 Cooey cost me $50 AU... Talk about cheap thrills!
 
You want to talk quiet ammo? Try the Aguila Super Colibris if you can. Out of my Rossi single, they sound like I'm dropping the hammer on an empty chamber!

Not great for hunting, but they make for fun plinking.
 
Aguila ammo is rare as the proverbial rockinghorse poop over here.... I had heard interesting things about the Aguila high velocity .22 ammunition also. :thumbup:

Using Zeds or the Highland low velocity rounds all I hear is the bolt going 'clack' too, nice! We also have a Cane Toad round that is used just for shooting Cane Toads, now there is a worthy way to spend spend some time.
 
post some pics!

I'm planning to get the same model CZ 452 Mil trainer, I heard its practically a "baby Mauser".

Where did you purchase it and what was the price?

Turners is going to sell me one for 309.99.
 
I haven't picked up my Trainer yet. As I'm sure you know, California mandates a ten-day waiting period before you can take possession of a firearm. It's been ten days, but who has the time to go to the gun shop during the week? I'll be picking it up on Saturday though, and weather permitting, will test it out that morning.

$310 is a good price. Not the best, but then again we pay more for firearms in this fine state. You can find the Trainer cheaper online, but after you factor in shipping and FFL fees you're right back to $300. I got mine for $300 before taxes and fees. I lucked out and found a good dealer twenty miles away from my house here in the Bay. He was the only one who had it in stock, and mine was a pretty good looking specimen.

I'll post a few pics when I get it.
 
My Czech mates. The American (top) is wearing a Swift 676 4-12x40 A/O. My Special (bottom) currently has a Williams receiver sight mounted on it, but it's not in the picture.



As I recall, the Special was about $250 (in 2005) and the American $350 with taxes last year.

I'm planning to get the same model CZ 452 Mil trainer, I heard its practically a "baby Mauser".

You might have heard of the CZ Zastava (Serbian these days, I believe) rifles that are currently being rebadged as the Remington Model 5. Zastava makes a number of Mini-Mausers that Remington sells. CZ 452s are made by CZ Brno (Czech), a much better manufacturer, in my opinion.
 
Back
Top