Best Starter Semi-Auto .22?

Drachenblut

Drachenblut

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Hello,

I've looked at a large selection of .22's currently for sale at most gun shops and "hunting stores" (i.e. Bass Pro) and cutting through all the rumours, fluff and here-say, I'd like to know the community's opinion on the best semi auto .22 for sale right now. I have no problem buying used or oldschool (Nylon 66 etc). The budget range is $450 and under, for those of you about to say "If you have a million bucks and want a solid gold .22, I'm sure you can have one".

Thanks guys, I'm a milsurp collector but want something fun that won't break the bank come spring.

Cheers,
Drach
 
Sounds like a Marlin 795 with a nice scope, rings, and a couple spare mags...all in that budget. Accurate, light, proper charging handle, last shot bolt hold-open, cheap (100% reliable) 10 round factory mags, etc. etc. Had a 10/22, got rid of it in favor of the 795 which out-shoots it... for roughly 1/2 the price.
 
I'm lookin' for a semi .22 myself and I'm thinking 10/22 for a lot of reasons... mostly because of parts and accessory availability. I've shot lots of em and never heard of one breaking.
 
I did the 10/22 thing. I was not impressed. Sold it before I wasted any more time and money on it. It was fun to shoot and fairly reliable with the proper ammo, but accuracy was nothing to brag about and it was over priced for what it was. I polished all the internals and installed a buffer bolt, heavy target barrel and a few other things. Huge improvement over stock, but I feel for the price of it it shouldn't of needed that much work to function the way I believe it should have from the beginning. Maybe I'm expecting too much but I won't be getting another one. At the time I did not own a .22 and I wanted to see what all the hype was about with the Ruger 10/22. Is it the best semi .22? I hope not. I'm sure it could be if your willing to put a bunch more into it in aftermarket upgrades and accessories (which are endless). I haven't tried any other semi's since but the marlin papoose has caught my attention and from what I hear performs quite well. I'd like to try a Remington 597 also. The semi's are fun no doubt about that, but the Ruger was not for me.
 
I am a strong proponent of 10/22's.

The barrels they come with seem to be hit and miss nowadays for anything over "good" accuracy, but if you go through one or two, or just invest in a quality barrel, a 10/22 will keep up with many high quality boltguns.

Add that to the fact that there is nearly unlimited options for personalisation, of which I feel the trigger and bolt release are most important, and you have got a fine starters platform.
 
Hard to beat the marlin 795. Last shot hold open,very light, cheap, c'mon do you really need 3999 aftermarket parts. Bought one to strip for spare parts for my Marlin papoose (trigger group,stock mag) and can't bring myself to parting it out. Half the price of a 10/22.
 
.22LRGUY said:
Sounds like a Marlin 795 with a nice scope, rings, and a couple spare mags...all in that budget. Accurate, light, proper charging handle, last shot bolt hold-open, cheap (100% reliable) 10 round factory mags, etc. etc. Had a 10/22, got rid of it in favor of the 795 which out-shoots it... for roughly 1/2 the price.
Click to expand...

x2 ,after alot of research i too picked up a 795 with a few xtra mags and am very pleased with it
accurate out of the box and no issues at all eats everything with no complaints
cheers
 
chadeech said:
x2 ,after alot of research i too picked up a 795 with a few xtra mags and am very pleased with it
accurate out of the box and no issues at all eats everything with no complaints
cheers
Click to expand...

I might add...every time I see a thread like this I feel awfully tempted to try and talk the OP into buying the 795 instead of the 10/22, but not because I think the 10/22 is crap...I really think it's just over-priced for what you get. I used to own a 10/22 (stock, save for a bolt buffer) and have shot a number of them in their stock configuration. I can honestly say that not one of them were as accurate as my 795 and all were nearly 2x the price. So, even if a 10/22 cost $150 like the 795 does, I'd still pick the 795. I also think that the 795 has nicer features that include an adult-sized charging handle that is totally functional with gloves on, bolt hold open on last shot (already mentioned) action-release button, etc. For the low price, you're not getting a walnut-ish looking birch stock or even 1/2 decent iron sights, but if scope use is in your plans and the gun will be shot allot outdoors, I think you'd be doing yourself a disservice NOT giving the 795 careful consideration anyway. I like the Marlin 60s too (same gun, only tube mag) but just prefer having a pocket full of spare mags ready to go.
 
I have a glenfield 70 (older 795 basically) and it has been 100% reliable.... I'm plus one-ing for 795!!

I too.owned 3 different 10/22's... key word is ownED...
 
2 things make a great rifle, reliability and a great trigger. 10/22's are great for reliability and aftermarket parts like high cap mags and such but it's hard to beat a Savage factory AccuTrigger if you just want an out of the box gun.
 
I'm not aware of any savage semis with the accutrigger.... but for a bolt action... your totally correct, they are sweet!
 
Hmm. Well, coming back to this seems a toss up between the 10/22 and the 795. Now, I once owned a 10/22, and I found it jammed and dirtied up quite quickly with "Big Box" ammo (Federal/Winchester/CCI Blazer 550 round boxes etc). The Marlin 60 or 795 seems like a great gun. Where could I get one in South-Central Alberta? (Calgary area)
 
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