Lever action 22 recommendations

The Turks are making a bunch of different models of mag fed levers that are find of interesting but I have no hands on experience with them.

My favourites of the ones I have are in order, 9422,Mod39, and then the Bl-22.

The Bl-22 is a great gun, trigger's a bit on the heavy side but fine for a hunting type trigger. The action can be cycled with just a flick of your fingers without removing the thumb from the stock and is very different from any other lever action out there as far as the stroke.... this can be seen as a good or bad thing.

Henry has been the go to budget option for a while but the new Winchester (Made in Turkey) might give the Henry a run for it's money.
 
Rannok445 said:
I did see a used one of these with a "custom finish" that intrigued me. Pretty much just took off the black paint on the receiver and refinished the wood, but I am a fan of the look and it seems a good little rifle.
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The Winchester Ranger could be custom finished along those lines as well.... are you near a gun shop where you could go and handle different options?
 
Not the Henry. I have one and everything about it is nice except the accuracy. Two inch groups off the bench at 50 yards. I sent it back to Henry and they said that is acceptable. We have different standards. If I were a hunter, I wouldn't use this rifle to guarantee a humane shot
 
Incendiary said:
Sorry! I want to be able to hit a pop can pretty consistently at 75yds with a small scope. How about that?
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Most will get you there no problem.... even without a scope if you have reasonably good eyes.
Each barrel is unique and then there is the biggest variable the nature of .22lr ammo itself..... just get the lever action that appeals to you the most and works with your budget.

What have you got your eyes on?
 
Incendiary said:
Sorry! I want to be able to hit a pop can pretty consistently at 75yds with a small scope. How about that?
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That shouldn't be a problem, with a small scope, any quality 22 lever rifle should group 1 1/2 inch or better at 75 yards.

  • 22lr rifles are known to have a strong preference for one brand or another, of 22lr ammo, so this is important to know.
  • Also trigger control is very important, you will shoot much better groups with a nice, smooth and light trigger, than with a 12 lbs trigger.
  • And most important is your eye sight. I shot better groups 50 years ago.

And lastly, if you can't hit a pop can at 75 yards, take a larger can.
:)
 
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buy a lever action 22 for cheap plinking fun

Cheap needs a limit
Under $200 or under $1000?

Plinking fun needs a definition as to distance.

Under 25 yards is beer can accuracy or the occasional grouse head shot?
 
mephisto002 said:
That shouldn't be a problem, with a small scope, any quality 22 lever rifle should group 1 1/2 inch or better at 75 yards.

  • 22lr rifles are known to have a strong preference for one brand or another, of 22lr ammo, so this is important to know.
  • Also trigger control is very important, you will shoot much better groups with a nice, smooth and light trigger, than with a 12 lbs trigger.
  • And most important is your eye sight. I shot better groups 50 years ago.

And lastly, if you can't hit a pop can at 75 yards, take a larger can.
:)
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I'm used to the CZ457 which is the finest shooting .22 I have ever owned. So hoping for something pretty decent for accuracy.

Does anyone know the trigger pull on the Browning BL22 and if it was the same throughout production years?
 
Can-down said:
Most will get you there no problem.... even without a scope if you have reasonably good eyes.
Each barrel is unique and then there is the biggest variable the nature of .22lr ammo itself..... just get the lever action that appeals to you the most and works with your budget.

What have you got your eyes on?
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Mostly I want traditional lever gun lines. No funky pistol grip or hugely asymmetric lever loop.

And highly reliable/accurate. I usually put at least a thousand rds a year thru my .22s so not looking for something that needs regular repairs or will shoot itself apart.

Budget is less of a concern compared to reliability and accuracy. The BL22s I have seen used usually go around 800-1000 which seems like a lot. But if it checks all the boxes, maybe that's fair.
 
horseman2 said:
buy a lever action 22 for cheap plinking fun

Cheap needs a limit
Under $200 or under $1000?

Plinking fun needs a definition as to distance.

Under 25 yards is beer can accuracy or the occasional grouse head shot?
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Fair enough, cheap more refered to the ammo cost post rifle purchase keeping the plinking inexpensive. I don't mind spending a bit more for a nicer rifle. I'd say under $1000 is ideal.

The distance would mostly be up to 50 yards, but the ability to add a scope and go for some longer range shots would certainly be a bonus.
 
Incendiary said:
Mostly I want traditional lever gun lines. No funky pistol grip or hugely asymmetric lever loop.

And highly reliable/accurate. I usually put at least a thousand rds a year thru my .22s so not looking for something that needs regular repairs or will shoot itself apart.

Budget is less of a concern compared to reliability and accuracy. The BL22s I have seen used usually go around 800-1000 which seems like a lot. But if it checks all the boxes, maybe that's fair.
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If I was you I'd look at the new Turkish made Winchester Ranger, it's about as classic looking as they come right now and at around $575 well priced. If you see a used 94/22 for under a grand jump on it.... :)

The Bl-22's are nice in their own way but they are very different from most lever actions with their short stroke and trigger assembly integrated with the lever.

A Turkchester will be easy to re-sell for a small loss if for some reason your not satisfied.... the only catch is there are non in stock right now.
 
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rfhall11 said:
Not the Henry. I have one and everything about it is nice except the accuracy. Two inch groups off the bench at 50 yards. I sent it back to Henry and they said that is acceptable. We have different standards. If I were a hunter, I wouldn't use this rifle to guarantee a humane shot
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Most Henry rimfire lever guns will shoot under one inch at 50 yards with CCI Blazer 22 LR ammo.

Some are even better than that. Your rifle shooting a 2" group at 50 yards could be the ammo, the shooter, a dirty bore, or a number of other contributing factors.

A lot of rimfire rifles like specific ammo for extreme accuracy.;)
 
A friend of a friend of mine had a real scruffy 94/22 at the gun show last weekend. I mean it looks like it has gun leprosy or something, it's so....yeah.

But they had cleaned up the wood nice, and assured me that it functioned, and at half the price, or less, than a nice one, it was hard to pass up.

Man, it's now by far my favourite lever 22. Smooth, and a nice lever throw. A very satisfying gun. I'm just going to clean up and oil the metal, and throw a few coats of my old buddies "secret" stock oil on it that he gave me a bit of, and leave it at that.

For the record I've a BL-22, a Revel, and a Henry pump to compare it with. The Savage is nice, but has a very long lever throw. Browning is a work of mechanical art, as always. Henry is fun, but it's pot metal and cannot compare to steel.
 
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