22lr for wife

desjardo

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Wilkie SK
I would like to purchase my wife a .22lr
This will be her first rifle so I am torn between bolt action and semi auto
I would like something she can target shoot at 100yds and enjoy shooting.
Reason for bolt action would be to get her comfortable before firing the 243.
I woulda like to stay on the cheaper end of things until I know she will stick with it.
 
if you are going to be practicing to use a bolt gun get the same thing. also, 100 yard accuracy will be better (usually) out of the box with a bolt. get a savage or CZ and she will be happy. if you can eat the ammo cost and want to practice long range i would strongly consider 17HMR too.
 
Buckmark rifle is pretty sweet, and good ergos for a lady.
My wife loves mine. But by the time you put an optic on it you're looking at $800+.
 
In the "reasonable" category there are a couple of decent bolt guns on the market right now in the mid-200 buck range.

The Mark II Savage's and Marlin St's are widely available and would be a decent bolt "starter" gun.

If you can find a shop with last years stock you may get one just under 200 bucks.
 
Get something that looks pretty and not cheap. Black plastic stocks come to mind.
A cheap looking and feeling gun will not inspire anyone to want to shoot it.
 
Marlin XT-22 I'd try, or everyone seems to be eating up those NS .22's that Canada ammo had as well, savage is an option too lots of them around to handle as everyone seems to carry them.
10/22's are super fun but ya won't be happy shooting targets at 100 with them stock.
 
What sort of range is it?
Outdoors? Off a bench? standing, prone? Bipod kind of shooting?
A bolt is great if you're shooting off a rest. But I find the MKII with a bull barrel a bit heavy and unbalanced for shooting standing up.
If it's not important for it to be a surprise you could have her shoulder a few at the gun store and see what she is drawn to with regard to fit.
 
If it's not important for it to be a surprise you could have her shoulder a few at the gun store and see what she is drawn to with regard to fit.

Bingo. :)
Fit is the most important factor, particularly as firearms tend to be designed to fit males.
Doesn't matter what type of rifle it is, if it doesn't fit her.
Went through the process with my rather petite wife, spent an hour @ the gun store finding what fit her.
 
It is an outdoor range.
We will be bench shooting
She really likes my 10/22 and asked for one with longer range.
I have a vtr 223/243 which I will work her up through.
But a decent 22 bolt is always fun.
I will take a look at the savage mark ii as I really like my savages and they seem to get the most use with the vtrs being the exception.
Thanks!
 
Well , I'm a woman . I have many rim fire rifles , new and old . The one I always go back to is my pre Remington Cooey 60 . Dependable , accurate and classic , it was in the low $100s when I bought it two years ago .
Also a piece of our history and easy to find for sale , parts are still available too .
That's the one I would suggest .
 
I love my Cooey 60 (it's a piece of Canadian history) and I also have a Savage MkII.

The Savage has the edge on accuracy, IMHO. Off the bench, the Savage is amazing. I got mine, with a fitted scope, for $169, brand new, a couple of years ago (non-Accutrigger, but with the shim & spring mod, at zero cost, it's a flawless trigger now). It looks like the prices have gone up since then, unfortunately - probably because the non-accutrigger models don't seem to be available anymore.

BTW - here's a target, shot off the bench, with my plain-jane, no-frills, non-bull barrel, non-accutrigger MkII F, during the sighting-in of my scope, to illustrate the potential of these rifles. I ain't no kind of rifle marksman, so this wasn't me...it was the gun. Hold a dime in your hand and look at it to appreciate how good this performance is for a cheap rifle!

target2small.jpg

target1small.jpg
 
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A savage bolt might fit the ticket and keep costs low.
I have to throw in a third option of a henry lever .22. Not only is it extremely fun to shoot but if she is short, the youth model is available and they are quite accurate.
 
I am going to vote marlin 795 with a scope, very light and manageable, my wife loves mine, probably her favourite gun to shoot, she is not a fan of recoil seems to fit the bill for her, she even likes to rapid fire a couple rounds now and again which she cant with my bolt guns, however she doesn't usually shoot 100yds, she likes 50, but the 795 is certainly up for the 100yd task, it is quite accurate considering the cost of it
 
My vote is going to go towards the Marlins. I'm probably bias since I haven't shot many bolt action 22s though.
Me and my girlfriend go out shooting gophers on a fairly regular basis during the summer and with her XT-22R and a centre point 4x32 scope she's able to make contact out to 80 or so yards with scary regularity.

We haven't done any groups out past 50 yards, but it was hovering around an inch.
 
Find a used CZ 452 Scout or 452 Lux... they come up often... you should be able to find one for $400-$450. It is accurate and well made... a keeper rifle, rather than a "throw-away."
 
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