Best lever action .22

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I am interested in purchasing a lever action .22 and would like to know what the cgner's think are the top notch rifles. On other net forums it seems as if the marlin 39A and the Henry are the main ones. Any info would be great.
 
Winnie & Marlins are the best (can't speak for newer ones but the ones from the 70s & 80s), hands down. Better fit & finish and general quality control.

For substantially less $$, I recently picked up a Chaparral version from Marstar, one of their specials. Couple bricks though it and so far, so good - no jams, hits every steel target we point it at. Other than the stock needing oil and some minor cosmetics, it's a nice rifle.

Henry also makes a nice .22 Lever
 
I had a Winchester 9422M in .22 Mag that I sold in 2003 in favor of a Ruger 10/22 in .22 LR.
The .22 Mag ammo was getting too expensive and you don't need a lot of power to kill a ruffed grouse.
If I thought Winchester-USA was destined to go out of business in 2006 I would have kept it.
It was a smooth cycling and accurate firearm and looked good too.
I use a .22 LR for "partridge" cause I broke a molar on a lead shot in partridge stew a few years back and now I shoot'em in the head with a .22 LR. With the auto-loader you don't have to disturb your sight picture working the action. If you miss you hold the vertical cross hair on the neck and keep squeezing til the bird drops. No more broken molars. I very seldom have to shoot more than once. I mounted a 1.75x-4x33mm Bushnell Trophy scope ($149,95) on the 10/22 instead of the usual crappy Simmons scopes (about $40) the gun shops want to push on you and I never miss (well, very seldom anyway;)).
I like the Win 1892ish looks of the Browning BL-22 but way too expensive.
 
I love my little Henry, it shoots great, but it does feel cheaply made.

Nicest I've ever handled/shot was the Browning BLR 22.
 
I love the older Marlins - particulary the Mountie version.

x2 on the Mountie. The standard 39a (24" barrel) is a nice rifle in its own right, but the shorter barrelled Mountie is a real treat, only perhaps to be trumped by the 16" 39TDS.

While both the Marlin 39a and Winchester 9422 aren't terribly common, the Marlins seem to be a little less expensive.
 
The nice thing about the mountie is the shorter barrel.....I've grown to prefer the pistolgrips though and a shortened pistol grip Marlin 39 is pretty nice.
Marlin22007.jpg
 
I tried a friend's Browning BLR-22 once, very nice indeed.

I think it's a BL-22, not BLR-22. The browning is a nice little gun, well made and solid. I prefer it to the winchester or Marlin. I haven't tried a Henry. But none of the lever 22 rifles I have shot were exactly tack drivers. The browning was maybe marginally better but still most bolts and semis I have shot were more accurate.
 
I either own or have owned 1 or more of each of the Henry, browning,mossberg, marlin, winchester and norinco. The older marlin is my favorite and the browning a close second. The levermatic and 9622 are not on that list yet......
 
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"BEST" is subjective, I do not like the newer Marlin lever's... the older 39A's were an excellent gun... if you can land a 94/22 go for it... tough to do these days... but Henry's are wonderful guns too, they are very smooth and great little shooters... I have a Golden Boy and a Frontier in LR... love shooting them... You would not regret buying a Henry.
 
I have the Henry Golden Boy and a Winchester Model 150.

Both are great rifles but I actually prefer the Winchester (But that is mostly due to the fact that a Winchester 150 was the first rifle I ever used - so I have a sentimental attachment.)
 
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My vote is for the Browning BL 22 best one I have handled. Fit and finish is excellent and very accurate as well.

Fit and finish are very nice on the BL-22... and I like mine alot, but I would part with my Browning before either of my Henry's when it comes to actually "shooting" the gun.
 
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