Accuracy of 22LR bolt guns?

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Flakbait

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My stock Ruger 10-22 would used to shoot 1.5-2 inch groups at 50 yards with a variety of ammo...So like many I did some modifications.

After installing a bull barrel, aftermarket trigger assembly, new stock and $500+ later my gun shoots the same ammo in sub inch groups. But my 5 lb gun has gained a few pounds. That's fine with me but hardly ideal for handing off to the kids as they grow older to go toting around the woods chasing squirrels and rabbits.

What kind of accuracy do you normally acheive with 22 LR bolt guns? Can can share your experiences?
 
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CZ American with a 9 power el cheapo scope and Wolf ammo mostly around 1/2 with a few 3/8ths and 1/4's mixed in and a occasional 3/4 just to keep me humble.
 
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Not from a bolt action rifle but a falling block single shot Winchester low wall. Admittedly, this 50 yard five shot group was accomplished exactly once in a row under ideal conditions.

Just being a bolt action doesn't guarrantee that the gun will be accurate.
 
I have the entry level Savage Mark II GXP , wood stock bolt action combo pack with scope from Dick's Sporting Goods, since replaced with a sweet Nikon ProStaff 4-12x40mm BDC. ANYWAY lol, it is AMAZINGLY accurate. No heavy or bull bbl, no aftermarket anything , but just amazing.


Got it for $149.9 sale price rather than $199 and this is such a sweet , pleasure to shoot rifle its accuracy is just red wax on the whiskey bottle.
 
50-yards, prone, iron sights, slung in. I think this target was fired with RWS Target Rifle. The rifle is an old Winchester Model 52, pre-A.

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Savage 93-TR-10x Bushnell

My Savage .22 F-class trainer will plunk CCI hi-vel and some bulk .22 (rem golden's) into 1.5MOA-2MOA at 100 regularly. In ideal conditions, the CCI will approach 1MOA, but not consistently. I have not shelled out for high dollar .22 ammo but the potential is there for 1MOA, at least 1.25 MOA at 100 I believe.

Don't know what a 50 yd group would look like, have not shot same. We do topple 12 ga empties, at 100 from bench and bags, pretty consistently. A real hoot.
 
I shot this yesterday. I've been primarily a handgunner, but love to break out a .22 rifle now and then, so here's 25 yards with my iron sighted CZ 452 UltraLux, seated, and using a military sling.


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My Winchester Model 69A that my dad gave me when I was 11 is an amazing little bolt action rifle. It will shoot sub MOA at 50 yards using an aperture sight. From 1" to .75" are not uncommon groups with most decent ammo.

It was my dad's first rifle that he purchased in 1947. It's a classic bolt action that will be passed on to my son when I'm gone. I have no doubt that it will serve him as well as it has myself and my dad. He may have to arm wrestle his mom for it though. It's the rifle I taught her to shoot with and she loves it as well.
 
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Out of 1/2 dozen or so 10/22's I've never seen one that wouldn't group around 1" at 50 yards bone stock and my 6 lbs home brew ($250 added) will do dime sized groups. As they go out Rugers back door they are not the most accurate but are more than good enough for hunting and do exactly what they are designed to do. It doesn't take bull barrels and tons of money to improve em. For about the price of a CZ (total, gun and mods) you can have a gun that will shoot with the best sporter bolt guns and be semiauto to boot.

But that's neither here nor there. It is a rare day indeed that a bolt gun from Savage, Marlin or CZ won't out shoot a factory 10/22. If you want one, handle some and pick the one you like best in your price range.

LK
 
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I have a 10/22 that been to Randy for a fluff/buff on the bolt and trigger, Green Mtn barrel with upgraded V-block, thumbhole stock and excellent Swift Premier 16X scope.
At best, with Wolf Match ammo, it's a half inch at 50yd, with a first shot flyer left out of the score.
My CZ Varmint, with the same scope, and a $14 trigger job, can't open up a half inch at 50yds.
I got my son a CZ 452 Scout...same accuracy, smaller package.
I'm done messing with 10/22's....they're fun, they're money pits.
CZ's shoot.
I just got a Savage-Anschutz 164 Sporter that has amazing potential.
I can't wait to get a scope on it and see what it can really do.
 
For lower cost bolt .22 go with a Savage MKII with the adjustable Accutrigger and floated barrel.

For middle of the road cost go with a CZ 453 with it's adjustable single set trigger.

I went with the Savage and spent the rest on scoping it. It was a tough choice because that CZ felt good.

Higher price ranges I know nothing about.

Oh and in answer to your actual question about their accuracy. I don't measure MOA and what not. I'm just out plinking, but I am amazed at the Savage's accuracy with the cheapest bulk ammo. IMHO you can't go wrong with the Savage.
 
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My Anschutz will do 1/3-1/2" for 5rds at 50yds with high quality ammo. Cheap ammo goes into about an inch at that distance.
My former Marlin 925 would do 1-1.5" at 50yds with good or cheap ammo. It didn't perform appreciably better with high quality ammo. Most Savages that I've fired are about the same.
The few CZs that I've shot are closer to my Anschutz in terms of accuracy.

The trick is that you have to spend money for good .22 accuracy, and it usually comes at the price of weight due to stiffer actions and barrels. I'd just get the kids a 10/22, a Marlin bolt or auto, or a Savage Mk II. Any of those will serve for plinking.
 
My Kimber with a number of ammo brands will do a single ragged hole of about .300". But that rifle is not cheap and I did get what I paid for. A $900 to $1000 ballpark gun with a $450 scope on it- you'd expect accuracy. And this Leupold-Kimber does deliver. However, one of my Charles Daly Zastava imports can also do the same but with only a couple selected ammo brands and the cost of that rifle was $200. It is true I did have some Charles Daly imports and then the Remington item that did not perform this well. But there was and is only one low cost rifle in particular that shoots nearly every bit as good as one costing 5 times the price.
 
Accuracy with a .22 rimfire is more ammunition related than rifle related. Yes, some rifles will be more accurate than others.
BUT If you take the time to try out many different .22 rf ammo brands, and types, you will find the ammo that YOUR rifle likes.
The differences are quite large. At 50 yards, the differences can and will be like 2.5" groups and .5" groups. Same rifle, different ammo.
My Kimber 82g target rifle, from a bench will shoot .25" groups at 50 yds with Eley match ammo. It will the same day, shoot .75" groups with Wolf ammo, You don't want to know how big the groups got with Remington ammo.
I spent two days on the bench with about 30 different "match grade" .22 rf ammo's to learn what MY rifle liked and shot best with.
If accuracy in a .22 rf is your goal, almost any decent quality bolt rifle will give your excellent accuracy IF you do your homework & find what ammo YOUR rifle likes.

YMMV
Roger
 
my son shot this group at 50yds with cheap ammo in a ruger SS 77/22 with a 1x4 leupold. and has head shot many squirrles with it. eatbank.
 
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Rimfire rifle accuracy used to be a lot better than it is these days. If you look at the NRA web site's National Records page, you'll see that most of the smallbore ones set up through the middle 1980's are still in effect. Prior to then, the best smallbore match rifles with a good lot of ammo and a McMillan or Hart barrel shot under 1/2 inch at 100 yards and well under 1/4th inch at 50 yards. What happened in the mid '80's permeated throughout the small bore ammo companies.

An explosion at the Eley ammo plant in Great Britian killed a couple of folks. It was caused by a batch of priming mixture detonating for some reason. To make the stuff safer, its chemistry got changed. The other ammo plants followed suit. Since then, the best ammo now shoots not nearly as good. Top competitors now throw a party if they find ammo that'll shoot 3/4ths inch at 100 or 3/10ths inch at 50 yards. Usually, the best shoots a little larger test groups. Eley Tenex along with RWS R50 and R100 are the ones winning the big matches these days.

Rimfire barrels these days are hard to find that really shoot well. I know a couple of current an former Olympic team members that recently tried out 3 or 4 barrels to get one that "drives tacks." And they don't last as long as they did before that explosion in the mid '80's. Top shooters used to rebarrel at about 50,000 rounds; now it's around 30,000 rounds. Some think the reason's the priming compound has more abrasive stuff in than it used to.
 
I have a 10-22 with an aftermarket bull barrel that will shoot good ammo into 3/8-1/2" or so 5 shot groups at 50 yards. Even with the 4-12 target scope and heavy Hogue stock it weighs about 7.5 lbs. About the same as a scoped big game rifle, so it is a good rifle to practice with from field positions.

My bone stock 10-22 will still shoot 1" groups as long as good ammo is used. The cheap stuff won't shoot under 2". It weighs a bit over 6 lbs scoped.

The CZ American will match the custom 10-22 in accuracy and weighs 7 lbs on the nose including a much lighter 2-7X scope. If it had the same scope as the bull barreled 10-22 it wouldn't be much lighter.

All are fun guns to shoot, have their role, and none are for sale.
 
Accuracy of bolt action 22s can range from just good to amazing. I built a 10/22 a few years back that would shoot 3/8" at 100 yds if I did my part, but it had a $400 Lilja barrel on it. So find your price range and pick one up Savage and Marlin shoot pretty good, Ruger and CZ just flat shoot, and of course Anschutz and Cooper are in a very select group of rifles.
 
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