.22 on a budget
- Thread starter cheechako
- Start date
"I want a budget 22. I'd love a CZ but they are too pricey."
"buy something worth a few cz's"
Man i love the internet...
I bought a take-down Ruger on sale last year just after Christmas and I think it was about $350 or so...... quite a good shooter right out of the box.
Bought a Toz 78 when they were available for about $125 new, mounted a peep sight and it's hard to miss golf balls out to as far as you can see them....
I would keep an eye on the E.E. for a nice old Mossberg , Winchester or Remington.....almost any bolt .22lr gun from the 60's and 70's..... should be able to find a good shooter with nice walnut and blued steel for less then a new 10/22.
Edit, took a quick look on the E.E. and saw mostly older semi auto's..... I'm sure the nice old bolt's pop up now and again for a fair price but they likely don't last long if the price is right.
I also bought a used Norinco "Trapper style" short barrel, bolt action CZ clone from the E.E. a while back and it's a good shooter for less then $200
Bought a Toz 78 when they were available for about $125 new, mounted a peep sight and it's hard to miss golf balls out to as far as you can see them....
I would keep an eye on the E.E. for a nice old Mossberg , Winchester or Remington.....almost any bolt .22lr gun from the 60's and 70's..... should be able to find a good shooter with nice walnut and blued steel for less then a new 10/22.
Edit, took a quick look on the E.E. and saw mostly older semi auto's..... I'm sure the nice old bolt's pop up now and again for a fair price but they likely don't last long if the price is right.
I also bought a used Norinco "Trapper style" short barrel, bolt action CZ clone from the E.E. a while back and it's a good shooter for less then $200
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Another vote for a savage mark2. I have a handful... Irons, long heavy barrel, short heavy barrel, youth stocks, Boyd's stocks, stainless or blued(kind of?) The choice is yours really.And I had a small warranty claim on one and they were great to deal with. You can get all that with the 10/22 as well. If you like to tinker I would say it's a slightly better choice.
It sounds like you figured out that you prefer manually cycled guns over semis. So right there I'd suggest that you focus on that idea and leave a semi for some other time.
The one other thing I'd urge you to consider is that you buy quality first. It'll cost a little more but you'll never regret it and in the end it comes out cheaper. Case in point.... Someone liked my Henry 001 so much that they bought their own lever rifle.... a Norinco. The lever and trigger never did smoothen up anywhere near to what the Henry was like right out of the box, never mind after a few thousand rounds. So he finally sold it at some considerable loss and what going to buy an actual Henry. Haven't heard form him since.
The basic round barreled H001 is cheaper than their octagonal barrel guns. But not where it counts. Mine is more accurate than I am even when shooting from a bag rest. And frankly for a rimfire rifle I prefer the lighter feel and balance of the round barrel over the octagonal.
Plinking with the Henry at one of the Caldwell 5 disc rimfire flip n' reset targets with the Henry is HUGELY fun. So much so that each Henry rifle should bloody well come with one of those targets in the box ! ! ! !
On the other hand if you want to dither around with some long range accuracy shooting then a good quality bang for the buck thing would be a Savage Mk II in some form and a scope. Then after it's sighted in start having fun out at 200 and 300 yards with it while learning to read the wind and compensate to get the hits on a smaller size target. Lots of folks have said that a rimfire at 200 and 300 is not far off what is needed to put .308Win rounds on targets out at 600 and 1000 yards. So that can have it's own share of challenges and rewards. Or if you can spare the slight extra coin then a CZ 4xx would not be a bad option. For a scope in that "good bang for the buck" I'd suggest Nikon rimfire scopes. They make a nice one with exposed easy to use target dials. And for a range toy that is shot from a covered over position so it'll never get overly wet I far prefer that to the capped over coin clickers.
thenerdboy
Regular
- Location
- NB, Canada
I hate to be the guy that suggests a rifle not on the list BUT the Savage Mark II is your best option. Myriad of different models that may be cheaper than the rifles you listed and probably more accurate out of box than the Henry or Ruger.
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Find a good used Cooey 39. You should be able to get one for a hun or a bit more and it will live longer than you will. If you get more money freed up later they are easy to sell. Cheap and reliable as well as fairly accurate although kids mostly dont care about that. Good luck in your choice. As a Range Officer with the clubs Youth Program I can tell you new young shooters just want something to shoot. They are not usually fussy about quality or accuracy. They will come into that later if they continue with the sport. As long as its fun.
If money is really tight you might look at a Norinco JW15A. These rifles are basically clones of the CZ452 and are available in both a compact model with a 13" barrel and and also with a 24" barrel for approx $220. I have a number of CZ rifles and I am considering buying the compact JW15A
http://www.firearmsoutletcanada.com/norinco-jw15a-22lr-24.html#.WefqsmhSybg
http://www.firearmsoutletcanada.com/norinco-jw15a-22lr-24.html#.WefqsmhSybg
I bought a JW15A Compact off the EE a few years ago just for the novelty of the 13"bbl. The previous owner did a great job of smoothing out the trigger. It's not going to win any contests for fit&finnish but is surprisingly accurate with cheap bulk ammo.
Mine wears a Simmons fixed 4x scope. It's compact and light enough to carry in the woods all day long....and not afraid of getting a few dings.
Mine wears a Simmons fixed 4x scope. It's compact and light enough to carry in the woods all day long....and not afraid of getting a few dings.
I have been looking at getting one of these. How accurate are we talking?
Can you hit a clay pigeon at 100 meters? 50 meters?
There are a number of accuracy tests posted on the Internet for the compact
This is for the 13" barrel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q94_1OvmOO8
This is for the 24" barrel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1U2oAIvYGo4
Yes you can. A clay would look pretty small @ 100 with a 4X scope..but put a 3-9X on there and you'd have no problem doing that with the JW15A I had. (backpacker) Would group about 3/4" @ 40yards without trying too hard, the distance I shot mine most. I'd regularly break clays @ 90 yards off a rickety rest.
