What have been your lowest cost but amazing performance rimfires?
- Thread starter maifire
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Big Bad
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
I know that rifles are intended here, but I bought a second hand Ruger Mk2, bull barrel target model, very cheaply and it's just amazingly accurate, even in my hands. Of course having put thousands of rounds through it helps, practice-wise. Which of course is the huge advantage of shooting .22 rimfire.
Mine was great to but my eyes took a turn for blurryville. I've had to sell off all my open sighted rifles. I still keep my rossi 37 because I love the gun but it wasnt accurate to begin with
A mix of cci brands standard quiet mini mags stingers and eley match and practice tenxOut of curiosity, what brand of ammunition are you using?.......
Even tried blazer and wildcats. Brand doesnt make a difference
My old fv runs everything even shorts if you work the bolt slowly loading
adamthebad
Regular
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mossy 151m
Guess I'll be a bit different and put a pistol in the conversation.
My Glock 44.
I don't remember what I paid for it but I've never had a failure to fire or extract.
I ran almost 1200 rnds through it last summer before it was so dirty that it started having the odd failure to feed.
Yesterday I ran 400rnds of Blazer through it without a single issue. It hadn't been cleaned and had about 500rnds through it before that.
Incredibly reliable little pistol and happily eats whatever you feed it.
Just clean it a bit after about 700-800rnds and go again.
Awesome for a rimfire.
My Glock 44.
I don't remember what I paid for it but I've never had a failure to fire or extract.
I ran almost 1200 rnds through it last summer before it was so dirty that it started having the odd failure to feed.
Yesterday I ran 400rnds of Blazer through it without a single issue. It hadn't been cleaned and had about 500rnds through it before that.
Incredibly reliable little pistol and happily eats whatever you feed it.
Just clean it a bit after about 700-800rnds and go again.
Awesome for a rimfire.
Yup. Cooey 75. Don't remember exactly what I paid. I think $15-$20 used? I was 16Hands down...Cooey single shot. With a cooey repeater close behind. Both cheap, but reliable as heck and supernaturally accurate...
Almost too many to count; here goes. Cooey Mowhack and 78; Toz 8; CIL 180 bought as a basket case; Brno Mod 4 bought as a basket case with missing bolt; JW14 with a lot of work; Scorpio with no work; Zastava MP22 with a damaged stock.
These are the econo ones.
These are the econo ones.
Big Bad
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Our experiences differ. I've found mine to be pretty moody.
I've been consistently amazed at the accuracy available from the several Savage MkII rifles I've owned. They've generally been on a par with CZ/Brno guns for me, but at much lower prices...and that was the point of this thread, i.e. budget performers. None have ever caused me any problems either, and I've recommended them to several friends who also have gotten excellent results.
Another budget gun that has always blown me away with its performance is a Winchester-branded Russian gun (a TOZ78 I believe?) that was sold as the Wildcat model. This is a bolt action, not the current Wildcat semiauto. Mine is a heavy barrel target version that I got at LeBaron's somewhere around 20 years ago. It's got a very good adjustable trigger, good fit and finish, decent polish and bluing, and it came with 4 magazines (!). I don't recall the price but it was low; it was one of the clearance bargains that LeBaron's always had at the front of their catalog. I didnt know much about it at the time, but I'd owned a TOZ many years earlier that had been a shooter so I took a chance. What a hidden gem that turned out to be! I still have it and still use it regularly, scoped with an older Leupold 12x AO optic in steel rimfire rings. It spends its shooting life in luxury, shooting offhand off the back porch at a spinner target 100 yards away. Because of that, I should probably swap the scope for a standard fixed-100yd-parallax centerfire scope and use the AO Leupold on another rifle that might shoot longer or shorter; but this combo has been together now for over 15 years so maybe not. 
If it has a wart it would be the magazines. They're plastic, not particularly robust but all are still working; it came with 2x 5rounders and 2x 10rounders. I've picked up other TOZ mags over the years, some work, some don't, but I now have about a dozen functional mags for it and am always on the lookout for more. That alone should tell you how much I like this gun.
Another budget gun that has always blown me away with its performance is a Winchester-branded Russian gun (a TOZ78 I believe?) that was sold as the Wildcat model. This is a bolt action, not the current Wildcat semiauto. Mine is a heavy barrel target version that I got at LeBaron's somewhere around 20 years ago. It's got a very good adjustable trigger, good fit and finish, decent polish and bluing, and it came with 4 magazines (!). I don't recall the price but it was low; it was one of the clearance bargains that LeBaron's always had at the front of their catalog. I didnt know much about it at the time, but I'd owned a TOZ many years earlier that had been a shooter so I took a chance. What a hidden gem that turned out to be! I still have it and still use it regularly, scoped with an older Leupold 12x AO optic in steel rimfire rings. It spends its shooting life in luxury, shooting offhand off the back porch at a spinner target 100 yards away. Because of that, I should probably swap the scope for a standard fixed-100yd-parallax centerfire scope and use the AO Leupold on another rifle that might shoot longer or shorter; but this combo has been together now for over 15 years so maybe not.
If it has a wart it would be the magazines. They're plastic, not particularly robust but all are still working; it came with 2x 5rounders and 2x 10rounders. I've picked up other TOZ mags over the years, some work, some don't, but I now have about a dozen functional mags for it and am always on the lookout for more. That alone should tell you how much I like this gun.
Great thread. An accurate, inexpensive 22 gives you the warm fuzzies for sure. I went pretty 22 crazy over the last 15 years or so. One of the best features is that you can move them on very easily when you need space, the market never seems to have enough.
Some of my favorites are old Mossbergs with aperture sights (42M, 46, 146, 144), a CIL 190 with aperture sights, TOz 8 and 12, Marlin XT22 and 795 (wish they were still being made), Rem 511 and 512, Winchester 68, 69, and 121 (there's an oddball), Brno 2 and CZ 452s, Norc NS522 amongst others. Most very inexpensive on the used market. CZ 457s are also great, but quickly become an obsessive and sometimes expensive 'project' with barrels, stocks, etc. At least in my case.
BUT by far my favorites are heavy barrel Savage Mark IIs - currently have a BV with laminate stock and FVT (also with a thumbhole laminate stock, not original). These guys make it out to the range more than any others, they are an absolute pleasure to shoot with the extra bonus that they shoot dirt cheap CCI standard and Blazer very very well.
Some of my favorites are old Mossbergs with aperture sights (42M, 46, 146, 144), a CIL 190 with aperture sights, TOz 8 and 12, Marlin XT22 and 795 (wish they were still being made), Rem 511 and 512, Winchester 68, 69, and 121 (there's an oddball), Brno 2 and CZ 452s, Norc NS522 amongst others. Most very inexpensive on the used market. CZ 457s are also great, but quickly become an obsessive and sometimes expensive 'project' with barrels, stocks, etc. At least in my case.
BUT by far my favorites are heavy barrel Savage Mark IIs - currently have a BV with laminate stock and FVT (also with a thumbhole laminate stock, not original). These guys make it out to the range more than any others, they are an absolute pleasure to shoot with the extra bonus that they shoot dirt cheap CCI standard and Blazer very very well.
NovaScotiaMisfit
New member
I picked up a new Taurus TX22 a few years ago. Absolutely love that little plinker.. hehe. Hasn't given me any trouble at all.
Seems to be the same as your glock in that it will fire pretty much any .22 through it.
Scorpio EM332A from several years back. TLC required, 6 groove barrel with threaded muzzle desired. Shot amazingly well with SK and Lapua ammo... mostly crap with bulk HV ammo (which was a very strong hint of its lineage and potential). Won a LR rimfire PRS match with it years back against some very nice metal.
Simple mods to dress up the factory stock. Can run smooth and drive tacks.
for more money (not much more), Savage MkII FV.
Added some extras, so not really a budget rifle but it also helped me get on the podium
I competed with a Mossberg 144, Norinco Bruno 'American' clone, and a very old Bruno No4 in metallic silhouette. These cost very little way back when. A number of very old CILs came and went and these were great options for little money too.
Jerry
Simple mods to dress up the factory stock. Can run smooth and drive tacks.
for more money (not much more), Savage MkII FV.
Added some extras, so not really a budget rifle but it also helped me get on the podium
I competed with a Mossberg 144, Norinco Bruno 'American' clone, and a very old Bruno No4 in metallic silhouette. These cost very little way back when. A number of very old CILs came and went and these were great options for little money too.
Jerry
