best .22 rifle?
- Thread starter fishblade2
- Start date
.300 Weatherby Mag
New member
Find a brand new gun that will beat this Zastava Z5 in the under $250 category... Five shots of Federal #510 at 50 yards... Lets see your factory stock 10/22 carbine do this...
For Cool Factor and great accuracy:
Unless you have a Win. 52, 40X, Cooper or Annie I will beat you badly with this.... My buddy with an Annie is mad at me right now...
For Cool Factor and great accuracy:
Unless you have a Win. 52, 40X, Cooper or Annie I will beat you badly with this.... My buddy with an Annie is mad at me right now
...
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The great thing about the 10/22 is that the possible ways to customize it are nearly endless. You can put enough money in one to make it shoot well, but there are plenty of better choices if accuracy is what you are after. My CZ 452 shoots sub moa at 100 yards with several types of ammo and doesn't need expensive "match" ammo to do it. Other than putting a shim and lighter spring on the trigger, it is stock. There are other bolt actions that are good choices as well. Some cost less. Some cost more. Some cost a lot more. Generally speaking, a quality bolt action is going to outshoot a 10/22. Sure, you can change out the barrel, trigger, and whatever else and make the 10/22 shoot a lot better but you can also do those things to other rifles as well. The first step is to figure out what you want and what you are willing to spend. If you want a semiauto that can be heavily customized, the 10/22 is the way to go. If you want a tackdriver and are willing to pay for it, you have better options, imo.
In recent Olympic Style shooting events Anschutz has the most Gold medals, in the .22 bench rest games they are all custom built using actions like a Rem 40X, Annie 54, or Win 52, to name a few. At Camp Perry this year in the 2011 National Rimfire Sporter Championship CZ 452s pretty much outnumber all other brands combined by a 2 to 1 margin. Though for the last 3 years running the winner of the T-Class has been a Kimber Hunter, it makes me proud to own one.
100 yard groups with cheap Federal 714
100 yard groups with cheap Federal 714
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Danny Creasy
New member
I have a very accurate Kimber Hunter as well but for the life of me, I don't see how young Lucas Boord gets his to feed that reliably to keep winning at Perry. Mine shaves cases or sends them nose up into the barrel metal above the chamber, or the finicky magazine falls out while feeding because it didn't latch up satisfactorily. I love the rifle but it is a single shot sporter class bench rest rifle for me with a T-36 on top. Have tried four different Kimber factory mags and only the one that came with it is half way decent. If I had one reliably functioning mag, I would shoot my Kimber each year at Perry as well.
I have shot a CZ American with the factory trigger set to just over 3 lbs (required minimum via the rules) at Perry for the past four years. But, I have another lighter triggered American that has some new glass. I mounted a new Weaver Grand Slam 6-20X40 on the Brooks Kit triggered (13 oz release) CZ 452 American Saturday night in a set of high B Square air rifle rings and headed to the range Sunday afternoon:
I purchased a case (5000 rounds) of Aguila Std Velocity from the CMP Store North at Camp Perry a couple of weeks ago. I decided to zero the rifle at 25 yards in anticipation of next weekend's Rapidfire Rimfire Match (a timed speed shoot with handicapping for action types i.e. semi-auto, bolt, lever, pump).
The new scope is great. Head movement tests revealed the AO settings to be spot on. The duplex reticle has a fine crosshaired center with a 1/8th moa target dot. The clarity was fantastic. The scope tracked like a sidewinder missile. I shot several groups with a power change in between and observed no shift in POI - even a 20 to 6 change.
The Aguila Std Vel did well. With the scope dialed to 20 power, the final group of the day was this five shot one fired at a tiny emblem in the corner of the target paper. I also had fun shooting at the little vertical and horizontal numbers on the edge of the target (one can just discern a bullet smudge on the "6" in the upper left hand corner from one of these hits).
I finished up with some offhand rapidfire practice at 25 yards using a pig/circle steel spinner. Hits were fast and frequent (power ring set to 10X) with the spinner just slowing down as the next cycled round was in the chamber. Of my seven CZ rimfire rifles, this particular American has always been the easiest to cycle. 100% reliable at feeding and ejecting every type of .22 LR ammo ever tried in it. Not the most accurate CZ I own but a good shooter with a balance that seems to simply dance for me.
The Grand Slam is nice glass. Virtually worth as much as the rifle and that is what I have often heard recommended.
The best bang for buck in a .22 rifle is one from the CZ line of rimfires.
Danny
I have shot a CZ American with the factory trigger set to just over 3 lbs (required minimum via the rules) at Perry for the past four years. But, I have another lighter triggered American that has some new glass. I mounted a new Weaver Grand Slam 6-20X40 on the Brooks Kit triggered (13 oz release) CZ 452 American Saturday night in a set of high B Square air rifle rings and headed to the range Sunday afternoon:
I purchased a case (5000 rounds) of Aguila Std Velocity from the CMP Store North at Camp Perry a couple of weeks ago. I decided to zero the rifle at 25 yards in anticipation of next weekend's Rapidfire Rimfire Match (a timed speed shoot with handicapping for action types i.e. semi-auto, bolt, lever, pump).
The new scope is great. Head movement tests revealed the AO settings to be spot on. The duplex reticle has a fine crosshaired center with a 1/8th moa target dot. The clarity was fantastic. The scope tracked like a sidewinder missile. I shot several groups with a power change in between and observed no shift in POI - even a 20 to 6 change.
The Aguila Std Vel did well. With the scope dialed to 20 power, the final group of the day was this five shot one fired at a tiny emblem in the corner of the target paper. I also had fun shooting at the little vertical and horizontal numbers on the edge of the target (one can just discern a bullet smudge on the "6" in the upper left hand corner from one of these hits).
I finished up with some offhand rapidfire practice at 25 yards using a pig/circle steel spinner. Hits were fast and frequent (power ring set to 10X) with the spinner just slowing down as the next cycled round was in the chamber. Of my seven CZ rimfire rifles, this particular American has always been the easiest to cycle. 100% reliable at feeding and ejecting every type of .22 LR ammo ever tried in it. Not the most accurate CZ I own but a good shooter with a balance that seems to simply dance for me.
The Grand Slam is nice glass. Virtually worth as much as the rifle and that is what I have often heard recommended.
The best bang for buck in a .22 rifle is one from the CZ line of rimfires.
Danny
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for a semi-auto, definitely a Ruger 10/22. You can upgrade it and customize as much as you want.
For a bolt action. CZ 452/3/5 is a good choice if you are willing to tinker with it a bit. CZ makes a great gun but the stock trigger has a bit of creep. Also on mine the accuracy was sub par until i bedded the stock and then the accuracy was excellent. To fix the creep you can buy a trigger shim from Yo dave for 10 15 bucks. After those 2 tweaks mine shoots like a dream.
I got a 455 with 22LR barrel and 17 hmr barrel. Planning on getting the 22 WMR barrel soon.
For a bolt action. CZ 452/3/5 is a good choice if you are willing to tinker with it a bit. CZ makes a great gun but the stock trigger has a bit of creep. Also on mine the accuracy was sub par until i bedded the stock and then the accuracy was excellent. To fix the creep you can buy a trigger shim from Yo dave for 10 15 bucks. After those 2 tweaks mine shoots like a dream.
I got a 455 with 22LR barrel and 17 hmr barrel. Planning on getting the 22 WMR barrel soon.
Bamashooter
New member
So was my Ruger 10/22. Both of them. People who complain about accuracy must not be good shooters because I have been shooting them for 20+ years and they have always been accurate. I have yet to replace a part on either one. I dont know where this replace half the parts to be accurate garbage is coming from. Must just be ignorance or lack of experience with a 10/22 or just someone who doesnt like them and runs around badmouthing them. Either way saying they need an overhaul to be accurate is wrong.
Antique Shooter
New member
Unless you are going to buy an older rifle, Anschutz is right at the top for new .22's. I've had mine for a while, and have nothing bad to say. If your going to buy an older rifle, I have a Mossberg 42 M that shoots pretty darn close to the Anschutz. 5 shot group in one hole easy at 25yds. Somebody mentioned a Remington 581 another good choice. Older Marlins shoot pretty well also, and you can usually find them for under 200$
Antique Shooter
Antique Shooter
tahunua001
New member
I've owned 2 22s. one was a marlin model 60 I could shoot empty 22 casings at 50-60 yards but it had a nasty tendency of jamming. I have a 10/22 now that is crazy reliable but I have an archangel ar15 type stock on it that kindof ruins the accuracy. the 10/22 is the best for aftermarket parts and ruger has the best customer service but slightly lacking if you ever get the aftermarket stuff
The Savage Mk II BRG and other heavy-barrelled bolt actions with accu-trigger are pretty darned good for the money.
That said, every shooter should have at least one accurized 10-22! That doesn't mean it has to cost $600 to get there. You'll need a good match barrel, like the Green Mountain HB, and Volquartsen trigger parts.
If you're handy with tools and if you get, preferably, a good used Deluxe model, and use my bedding/metal working system, you can do it all to the remaining factory parts and get it to shoot half-inch groups with good ammo. It's a lot of work, but many people are enjoying fantastic rifles without spending much money. Check out the 10-22 Tips and Tricks Forum at RimfireCentral.com for some really great techniques.
I've seen lots of impressive-looking, expensive "put-together" 10-22's, but if the bedding and metal work isn't done correctly, they can't hold a candle to a carefully-modified "mostly" factory Deluxe model (or 10-22T).
JP
That said, every shooter should have at least one accurized 10-22! That doesn't mean it has to cost $600 to get there. You'll need a good match barrel, like the Green Mountain HB, and Volquartsen trigger parts.
If you're handy with tools and if you get, preferably, a good used Deluxe model, and use my bedding/metal working system, you can do it all to the remaining factory parts and get it to shoot half-inch groups with good ammo. It's a lot of work, but many people are enjoying fantastic rifles without spending much money. Check out the 10-22 Tips and Tricks Forum at RimfireCentral.com for some really great techniques.
I've seen lots of impressive-looking, expensive "put-together" 10-22's, but if the bedding and metal work isn't done correctly, they can't hold a candle to a carefully-modified "mostly" factory Deluxe model (or 10-22T).
JP
223 shooter
New member
Agreed ,I added a $150 Volquartsen barrel to a 10/22 Deluxe , an upgrade that turned the 10/22 into my best shooting 22lr rimfire rifle. The upgrade total - barrel + plus rifle was right in the range of rifles like my CZ American or Marlin 39.
Seems to me the 10/22 was selling remarkably well long before the aftermarket craze started.
No one seems to make a great fuss over a shooter customizing a 1911 and most of the work has to be performed by a pistolsmith. Yet when someone upgrades a 10/22 , feathers seem to get ruffled on these boards.
chucknbach
New member
Could be your standard of accuracy is alot lower than some of us. I sold my 10/22 'cuz it couldn't shoot. I expect and demand 1 hole at 50 from a .22 out of the box, then I want to go from there to get a smaller hole.
Bamashooter
New member
Well chuck I sure wasnt shooting one hole groups with my 10/22. What I was doing was shooting quarter sized groups with green tag ammo and either one of my rugers. Thats good enough for me. So I guess maybe Im not up to your standards. I do think its funny that you sold your 10/22 because it wouldnt shoot one hole groups.
my 10/22 malfunctions every kind of malfunction quite often even with factory mags. from brand new to the 10,000 round mark. not saying they all junk but mine is and my brother's 10/22 malfunctions pretty regularly too.
my sig 522 works 99% perfectly with any ammo. super accurate too. imo thats the best semi auto .22lr rifle. my brother in laws s&w 15-22(?) is pretty good but the trigger isn't up to sig standards.
my sig 522 works 99% perfectly with any ammo. super accurate too. imo thats the best semi auto .22lr rifle. my brother in laws s&w 15-22(?) is pretty good but the trigger isn't up to sig standards.
Best 22 is my fathers Springfield manufactured in 1922. he took crows at 300 yards with open sights off hand.
When he told me I didn't believe him but didn't say anything. we were walking across a field. he saw a crow on a fence post and shot it. The fence line was surveyed at 300 ft.
When he told me I didn't believe him but didn't say anything. we were walking across a field. he saw a crow on a fence post and shot it. The fence line was surveyed at 300 ft.