Best AMERICAN MADE .22LR Bolt Action Rifle?

Winchester 52's are oft times cited as the finest ones ever made. But their accuracy's been bettered by several; Anschutz, Walther, Hammerli among others.
 
Another vote for the Marlin/Glenfield 25. It may not be the absolute best, but certainly is one of the best for the money and will give far more expensive rifles a run for their money.
 
.22 bolt in USA

All the US rifles are excellent .If you can check them all out,then make your decision.My favorite bolt that I use is a Winchester 69Aand then the Remington 510 single shot Match Master.I also have a Ruger 77-22 that I am not very fond of.:)Cliff
 
If we are talking accuracy,Cooper, very expensive, something i could not afford, so I went with CZ(not American made)but fantastic accuracy out of the box.

Squirrel hunting accuracy bolt (lower cost) Marlin,my 981T is fun, shoots shorts long and long rifle.
 
Did you really think about that, before you typed it? "Two-piece bolt" and "non-match chamber" are terms that apply to the great majority of the bolt action .22 LR rifles on the market - not just the 77/22.
Two-piece bolts and/or "non-match chambers" are found in most or all models from Marlin, Savage, Winchester, CZ, Remington, and Kimber. (And I'm sure I missed a few manufacturers.)

...Just the same old, unsupported, regurgitated, anti-Ruger internet crap.
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I speak from long experience with rimfires and a great many accurizing projects, including several that have been posted on a well-known rimfire board for several years and recording more than 20,000 hits. My accurizing jobs have turned in remarkable accuracy, including my own 10-22 that shot an average of 10 consecutive 5-shot groups at 50 yards that averaged 0.37".

That said, I've also worked at trying to get the 77/22 to shoot "very" well and with factory barrels. It's been quite disappointing. Though made of high-quality materials, the two-piece bolt is not made to precision levels and doesn't fit in the action particularly tightly. I've heard of only one 77/22 that was extensively modified that shot reasonably well in rimfire benchrest competition, but didn't win any matches, as I remember.

Compare that to the Remington 540-series rifles that, modified, were used extensively as Sporter-category rifles that won many matches before advent of the custom rimfire action rifles that typically result in winners, but cost upwards of $3,000, some closer to $10,000.

That said, the 77/22 is a nice rifle. If a person wants a reliable rifle that shoots 1"-1 1/2" groups with non-match ammo at 50 yards...go for it! I just expect more out of my bolt-action rifles, especially those that cost what the Ruger does. I also expect that if I do some basic accurizing work on one, that it should group under 3/4" at 50 yards with non-match ammo, but ammo selected, by trial of various brands/types.
 
best rimfire

My Winchester 69A is my only rimfire rifle. It is used for squirrel. It is so old, it doesn't have a serial number and I did have to spend twenty bucks to have it tapped for a scope. Weaver still makes the special bases that fit on the receiver and barrel of this model. It shoots half inch groups at fifty yards with a 1-3x hunding scope (perfect power range for squirrel hunting situations I think) admittedly though a bit of stoning of the trigger components was necessary to get her to sing. Today's Savage has the same extraction, ejection, lock-up and an awesome trigger so if you're set on a new rifle, I'd go there. I don't know if the barrel is better but I heare of amazing groups being shot with them. I'd think twice about those light, synthetic stocks for a squirrel rifle that is already very light. Real world squirrel hunting might prove this out for you as it did for me.
Enjoy.
Be safe.
 
1944m1garand said:
If you can get a Winchester 52 sporter, do it. Best .22 I own. They are pricey, but worth every penny.
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Couldn't agree more.....

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One of the best .22 rifles I've handled and fired is a "Revelation" I repaired for a friend who'd found it at a yard sale.
The rifle had been found leaning against a tree after being forgotten or lost years before.
The scope was full of water and there was moss inside the bore and in the action, with deep pitting and much of the upper receiver deeply rusted away.

Suprisingly despite the moss and a water line in the bore, the bore cleaned up just fine. The waxy lube of lead bullets had protected the bore.

This rifle appeared to be a redesign of an autoloader.
The bolt body is non rotating, and the bolt handle is part of a rotating sleeve. The bolt remains enclosed by the receiver in operation.

Rather than a striker the action has a hammer such as you'd find with a semi auto. This allows a light crisp positive trigger pull.

Once I dried out and repaired the wood, refinished the exterior, then found a replacement rear sight and mounted a new scope on it, the rifle proved to be remarkably accurate.

IIRC "Revelation" was a store brand of the "Western Auto" chain stores.
I think this rifle may have been made by Mossberg.
 
A Canadian rifle might be ok with me. And we have lots of their Enfields.

Canada bought lots of US-made F-101, F-104, F-18 Hornets, C-130s, among many other mil. and civilian aircraft types, and are offering us the Trans-Canadian oil pipeline. (however...).
It is a very noble act that we try to buy US products.
 
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Try a 580 Remington, my Uncle has 1 and its a tack driver. Its a single shot though. The 581 has a clip and the 582 has a tube I think. My Uncle also has a Winchester Model 52 and that 580 shoots just as good.
 
I have a Rem 581 with a Lilja barrel and thumbhole stock that shoots 3/10" groups at 50 yards with match ammo. It helps that the scope goes to 32x and the trigger is just under 16 oz. It's converted to single-shot at this point, but I have the materials to get it back to operate with a magazine.

It doesn't get much use these days, so I may sell it at some point.
 
Lots of older model 77/22 rugers came with iron sights. I thoroughly enjoy my 77/22 and would not trade it for any other 22 bolt gun. I have multiple ruger centerfire rifles and the 77/22 is the perfect practice gun for me. All of the ergonomics are as close to my centerfire rifles as i could ever get.
 
Don't be hung up on "new"......the finest .22 bolt action ever made was the Winchester Model 52. It meets all your requirements other than being out of production.
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I agree about the quality of the 52, but the OP specifically said he wanted a rifle for small game hunting.

I love my 52, but it's really heavy and I'm not going to lug it around in the woods. The original 52 sporters and the Springfield 1922s are also fine guns, but they are collector's items now and I'm not going to drag one through the woods hunting either. The repo 52 sporters would be an excellent choice, but they were made in Japan.

To the OP: This scope fad isn't going away anytime soon. Try one, you'll like it. Get a Ruger or a Cooper if you can afford it or a Kimber if you don't mind buying used and put a good scope on it.
 
(bolding added) I'm looking to get an American made .22LR bolt action rifle. I need this to be very accurate for small game hunting. I've read that CZs are very good, but I really want to invest in something made in America. How are Marlins? I want a really good rifle, so I'm willing to spend good money on it. I have a Ruger 10/22 and it is not all that great, and even after putting TechSights on it, it still doesn't perform where I'd like it to. I blame user error along with the semi-auto system being inferior to a bolt action's accuracy. I want it to be a wooden stock, bolt action, and have good iron sights on it. I'm looking to purchase a new rifle too, so all the older models are not an option for me. Thanks for any advice you can offer.
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American made.... for normal people that means Remington, Savage, Marlin, Ruger, and I guess Cooper and Kimber if you are willing to spend those kind of bucks.

People are finding the newer Marlin's trigger better and the 22's well made. I would certainly look at the XT line. http://www.marlinfirearms.com/Firearms/xt/XT22.asp

Savage Mark II would be my primary recommendation but it is technically made in Canada. US/Canada... pretty much same thing to me as compared to German, Chinese, Japanese, or Czech made.

I don't have any experience with the Ruger 77/22. I doubt I will buy one since they are expensive and the stock just looks like a walnut 10/22 stock fashioned for a bolt action rifle. (I have a Ruger 10/22 Deluxe.) I hear mostly good things about them but I would rather spend more for a Remington 547 (or find an as new Remington 541-S or 541-T). They are pretty easy to find.

If you are firm on the USA manufacture and no budget was stated but still keeping it "reasonable"... my suggestion is to find an as-new Remington 541-S or 541-T. They are fine rifles with an excellent reputation for accuracy and quality. They would make a great small game gun. I use mine for that.

If money is a big issue, I would look at Marlin. I would not get a Remington 504 in 22LR even if you find one new in the box. Too many were duds. I have a Marlin 983 (22 WMR) and it is a fine rifle but the trigger could stand some work. The XT series have adjustable triggers.

I love the Remington 547, but at $1000 it is expensive. But you can expect them to shoot pretty well.

Kimbers... yeah, always wanted one when the 22's were still made.

Cooper... would love to own one, but the cost is an issue for me.
 
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natman said:
...I agree about the quality of the 52, but the OP specifically said he wanted a rifle for small game hunting.

I love my 52, but it's really heavy and I'm not going to lug it around in the woods. The original 52 sporters and the Springfield 1922s are also fine guns, but they are collector's items now and I'm not going to drag one through the woods hunting either. The repo 52 sporters would be an excellent choice, but they were made in Japan.
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It's true that the majority of 52's had heavy target barrels, guess I was thinking more along the lines of the Sporters. Agreed they are becoming highly collectible....but there's nothing quite like popping some squirrels with the ol' peep sights. Old thoroughbreds like these shouldn't be couped up in metal box.

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It's true that the majority of 52's had heavy target barrels, guess I was thinking more along the lines of the Sporters. Agreed they are becoming highly collectible....but there's nothing quite like popping some squirrels with the ol' peep sights. Old thoroughbreds like these shouldn't be couped up in metal box.
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Definitely made in the USA and certainly meets any quality requirement, but somehow I don't think a rifle that's very rare, has been out of production for over half a century and costs in the mid four figures is exactly what the OP had in mind. ;)
 
It's only a single-shot,,,

It's only a single-shot,,,
But my Henry Acu-Bolt is freaky accurate.

I'm older than dirt with bad eyes,,,
But a Lady at my rifle-pistol club once put,,,
Six rounds of Federal in a dime sized circle at 50 yards.

I purchased mine 3 years ago,,,
Then it came with a cantilever mount and a cheap 4X scope,,,
The scope was adequate but it was nothing to write home to Momma about.

Now I believe it only includes the mount,,,
But the stock Williams Fire Sights are very nice.

Also like Rainbow Demon said,,,
Some of the older Mossberg bolt-actions were surprisingly accurate.

I have a Mossberg 340-KC that I inherited from a friend,,,
340-KC_1.jpg

With the long barrel and peep sights it's as accurate as my CZ-452 Trainer.

The Standard Catalog of Firearms values it at only $100 in excellent condition,,,
If you ever stumble across a clean specimen like mine for that price,,,
Snag it up because it will outshoot a lot of modern made guns.

Just some different options for you to peruse.

Aarond

.
 
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