Most accurate .22LR under $750?

I have a love-hate relationship with my CZ 452 Silhouette (my most accurate CZ rimfire): Love it because it is a perfect rifle for offhand target practice. On the other hand I hate it because this rifle always "talks me out" of buying an Anschutz whenever I take it to the range.

Kody
 
What makes a 22 accurate? typically the barrel. What many folks don't realize is the accurate 22 barrels that shoot extraordinarily well are choked, meaning the inside diameter of the barrel gets a little smaller at the muzzle end, this caused the bullet to squish a little and form a perfect seal, so the gasses don't slip past the bullet base, and start the bullet wobbling when it leaves the barrel. CZ's have a tighter bore diameter than most other makes, which makes them more accurate for the most part as the bullet seals the bore. Target rifles of course are hard to beat. One of the most accurate 22's ever discovered was a $200 savage that just had a zinger of a barrel, and shot ragged holes with a multitude of ammo.

the norinco everyone is raving about has a choked barrel. they copied Anschutz for a reason. They are the best buy for an accurate rifle under $600, CZ makes very accurate rifles, the 16" barrels from CZ always outshoot the longer barrels, as they are a little stiffer and have lest rotational torque so they shoot better. The most accurate of all CZ's is the scout.

My 2 cents. from years of studying, learning and listening to others.
 
It seems that Anshutz target rifles is where the bar is set but a good one is in the 3k neighbourhood. There are a lot of decent .22 riffles out there as everyone can see from the thread. I own Savages, Marlins, Rugers, Henry's, CZs etc. Heck, I even have a Norinco, Mendoza and TOZ and if you find the right one or perhaps with a bit of work but hopefully not a lot, even they can be decent shooters. Last year, I picked up a gem that surprized the heck out of me. It is one of those rifles that I refer to as a sleeper (to use a car term). It is a wolf in sheep's clothing because the first time I had it out at the range, I punched 10 rounds of Winchester 333s in to 1 hole at 50 metres, with iron sights... well it was a Lyman aperture sight and I shot it from a bench, on sand bags but still, with 333 bulk ammo... dang! I am not even that great of a shooter. So the rifle I picked up for $450 was a Marlin 2000. Pre Remington, these are by far one of, if not best rifles Marlin ever made. Infact Marlin lost money making these. These things are so underrated being that they are the only rifle that will give an Anschutz a run for their money. Mine came with the Lyman peep sight and interchangable apertures, three 5 round magazines, a 10 round magazine, summer biathlon kit, hard case, European rail, QR attachments and an extended bolt handle. This one had a synthetic blue stock, adjustable butt pad and a bull barrel and it was in very good to excellent condition.

These rifles are out there if it is something you are interested in and you have a bit of patients. When I bought mine, a couple of other 2000s came on the market at the same time. They are heavy and they kinda have a strange look to them but I did a lot of reading about them before searching for one. I didn't believe the myth that they are Anshutz killers but for $450, I took the chance and now I believe! And it does have a 11mm dovetail for a scope but I have not put one on. Can you imagine what one of these things could do with a scope! That's my pick for a sub $750 .22 rifle.
 
Savages are decent. Although if it were a competition I'd happily compete with my Mossberg 151Mb.....If only I had kept it. Beats out the Savage and CZ crowd any day.
 
My 1937 Savage 3b was free. It spent decades hunting grouse, and rattled around under the seat of my great grandfather's pickup. It shoots a ragged hole @ 50m with $50 redfield glass.
 
CZ's have a quality that should last to see them in your will . . . not that we want to go that route!
Finding the right ammo makes all the difference. My CZ455 American will shoot under an inch at 100 but that is the last box of those CCI MiniMags.
Otherwise the CZ455 Varmint will outperform but the ammo search continues.
A new shooter at our 100 Metre 22 BR shot a 50/50 with a Varmint.
I hate to think of the rifles traded away because there was not enough time to find the right ammo combination but many were qualifiers for the original post.
Here is one on the EE: http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum...ADD-PHOTOS-***
And it would be delivered for less than $600. My son has one and it will rival my CZ's.
I think they are great guns but Steve's comment reminds me of a saying . . . you will never win a pi$$ing contest with a skunk!
 
ill throw in a marlin xt ,out of the box hard to beat ,,add a stock i think its one of the best
added pics because some need to see this is at 50 yards


 
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I love these threads, 91 comments and only 2 people can post a picture of the groups to back their opinions............
 
Thats because one rifle may be awesome while the other is crap.
You pay for qauality and the name just like a car.
What you may like, I might hate.
Man up and either ask people to try theirs or go to the store and feel them yourself.
 
I never paid more than $150 for ANY .22 rifle.

My current 'collection' consists of

Walther Sport Modelle - DSM version
Walther Modelle 2 - my dad's, so I guess that doesn't count since he bought it in 1930
BSA Martini Intl MkII right-hand
BSA Martini Intl MkII left-hand
BSA Model 2 take-down, prolly the only one in existence
Mauser ES350B
Anschutz Model 1409, bought for scrap value from a club needing money

Needless to say, the Anschutz shoots marginally better than anything else, but it's a VERY close-run thing between it and the Martini's.

tac

PS - I can send a five-shot 50m group from my Anschutz to an email address, but I can't post anything directly here.
 
Ar180shooter said:
"I'm old and have a lot of guns, therefore I'm right."

Talk about making someone chuckle...

I'd gladly meet up with you and have a shoot off, my stock CZ against any stock Savage .22lr of yours. Of course, you may be on the other side of the country from me as you don't list your location, so this may not be practical.
Click to expand...

oh great.... lets all have a **** measuring contest....
 
Savage Mkii or Norinco NS522. Both are incredibly accurate rifles. I own the norinco and enjoy it a lot, out of the box it'll shot near MOA with anything but bulk. Smooth action, stock is comfortable, hammer forged barrel. Mkii is considerably cheaper, can be had with the accutriger and a bull barrel for less than the NS522. I chose the 522 because it's a great rifle for a project as it's got room to improve for cheap, free float barrel, pillar and bed, trigger ect.

Cons, NS522 mags are as common as a unicorn, mkii has a very low comb. Regardless though I think you'd be happy with both rifles. You could get either and still have change for a nice optic and be under your budget.
 
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