.22 is sounding better and better, how about some advice

[beergut]

a 22 is great, and if you tune them up right they shoot really, i tuned up a 10/22 and can usually get dime sized groups at 100 with bulk federal. guys at the range could not belive it they were looking it over pretty good.

 

[22lr]

a 22 is great, and if you tune them up right they shoot really, i tuned up a 10/22 and can usually get dime sized groups at 100 with bulk federal. guys at the range could not belive it they were looking it over pretty good.

...and I can put them all in one hole at 200 yards with bulk remington thunderbolts. Forgot to mention its my Savage 64B with iron sights. No one believe me for some silly reason don't know why.

 

[Eagleye]

a 22 is great, and if you tune them up right they shoot really, i tuned up a 10/22 and can usually get dime sized groups at 100 with bulk federal. guys at the range could not belive it they were looking it over pretty good.

I do that most of the the time too, but my equipment is different. I'm using a 40X Remington or an Anschutz 54 Match and Eley EPS Match or Lapua Midas M/L ammo. Regards, Eagleye

 

[Ardent]

...and I can put them all in one hole at 200 yards with bulk remington thunderbolts. Forgot to mention its my Savage 64B with iron sights. No one believe me for some silly reason don't know why.

I do that most of the the time too, but my equipment is different. I'm using a 40X Remington or an Anschutz 54 Match and Eley EPS Match or Lapua Midas M/L ammo. Regards, Eagleye

I'm usually unable to push a pencil through my 100 yard groups, I like to use Winchester Wildcat (I sort out the loose cartridges) and my Norinco .22LR. You really don't need to pay for performance. The Remington 597 apparently will shoot similar groups as well.

 

[MapleSugar]

The .22 LR is an excellent choice!

You can practice extensively, and work on the fundamental skills of marksmanship economically.

I picked the LH CZ 452 American fitted with Burris 3-9x40mm Ballistic-Plex to simulate my LH Rem 700 BDL fitted with the same scope.

I bought a Ruger 10/22 to be able to have some sheap semi-auto fun with.

I want to get a LH CZ 452 Lux to practice shooting solely with the open sights.

If I get a .22LR pistol, it will be a Browning Buckmark 5.5 Target.

Those four .22LR firearms would do me fine for the rest of my life. It would only be if I got really serious about biathlon or target shooting that I would look at an Anschutz.

 

[buffdog]

Shooting at 200 yards

...and I can put them all in one hole at 200 yards with bulk remington thunderbolts. Forgot to mention its my Savage 64B with iron sights. No one believe me for some silly reason don't know why.

You also forgot to mention those one shot groups again!
.

 

[KDX]

I'm usually unable to push a pencil through my 100 yard groups, I like to use Winchester Wildcat (I sort out the loose cartridges) and my Norinco .22LR. You really don't need to pay for performance. The Remington 597 apparently will shoot similar groups as well.

I took an old Cooey out with iron sights and figured I would try it at 100 yards. I'm blind in one eye and can't see out the other so I figured I would put it on some bags and use the spotting scope behind it lined up with the barrel and see how I could do. My right arm is a little shorter than the left one so I had to tie a piece of string to the trigger because I couldn't reach it. After picking the lint off of a pocket full of various ammo I proceeded to put some rounds down range. It took a bit to get the barrel and scope lined up properly (a carpenter's square and level helped) and when I did get it on paper it was looking pretty good. I had a 11 shot group (it's all the ammo I had left so I figured I would just shoot 1 big group instead of 2 smaller ones). I hobbled the 100 yards there and back to put up a fresh target (it took about 9 minutes each way and 6 staples to hold it on because of the wind). After I got my breath back I put them all into a space you could just about cover with your average North American house fly. If the fly was bow legged, it probably would have covered the whole group. That gun definitely is a keeper.

 

[ebruder]

I'd keep an eye on the EE...

I got a Brno #4 off of it for a song... awesome, older, gun... great price... great fun.

Also, with .22's... the ammo selection has alot to do with the gun's accuracy... and while more expensive stuff probably tends to do better... it's funny how a particular gun will like a particular ammo better... your gun may not be as fancy or expensive as your buddy's... and it may prefer less expensive ammo... it's all about finding the gun/ammo combination that works best... Look at the postal match scores... Jack M1A usually wins with federal bulk pack ammo that you can easily get at Canadian Tire...

EB

 

[lackeyse]

A .22 is certainly a great gun to have around and a lot of fun to shoot. I was in a similar situation than you a while back - wanted a 7mm rem mag. for moose but thought I would get a .22 first. Ended up doing some research and landed on the CZ 452. Ended up buying about 3 or 4 new .22's until I finally got my 7mm. I shoot the 7mm the odd time but am much more dedicated to my .22 shooting. I also discovered that there is really a lot of potential for travel and international shooting with the rimfire (and air rifle) - In fact I will be going to India in October.

.22lr is the standard caliber now adays and .22 shorts and longs are fading away. You will be quite hard pressed to find any shorts or longs for sale now adays and .22lr is the standard for manufacturing.

Bolt action is certainly a great choice and generallly speaking will give you better accuracy than the other actions.

For hunting 70-80 yards is about all you want to do with the .22lr. This may not sound like a whole lot compared to shooting big game out to 3-400 yards but depending on what you are going to be hunting you should be able to get with in that distance or closer if you shooting game such as grouse, etc. For target shooting some people (such as eagleye on this board) are shooting thier .22's out at 200 yards with good results. It takes an accurate gun for it not to be too frusterating though and a calm day. The effect wind has on it at that distance is fairly substantial.

The brands you should stay away from would depend on how much you are willing to pay. My favorites are CZ and anschutz (along with certain models of other guns such as Win. 52, remington 40X, etc but you are going to be paying top dollar for these).

I would really take a look at the CZ 452 though. Very well made, exceptionally accurate and overall a very good gun. At around $450 they may be a bit more expensive than you were originally willing to pay but In my opinion they are well worth it and will last a long time. If you really don't want to spend that much Savage puts out a couple on the cheaper end that, although in my opinion are not quite as well made, still shoot relatively well and should serve your purposes fine.

Good luck!

Excellent advice. I have two bolt Savages a .22WM and a .22LR Both bought brand new in the last 3yrs. They are alright but they don't compare to my CZ452. The CZ is more accurate and built better. Mind you the CZ is approx. $200 more.

The .22WM with the DM doesn't cycle worth a darn. I have 5 spare DM's and none of them cycle properly. I litterly have to punch the bolt to get it to close. This has been a problem right from brand new.

My Savage .22LR has the accu trigger and I still prefer the trigger on the CZ. It cycles better than the WM but not nearly as smooth as the CZ. As far as shooting accuracy goes the CZ wins hands down.

 

[Grizzlypeg]

If you enjoy shooting a lot, you'll get a lot more fun for your dollar with a 22. Personally, I prefer bolt action guns for the accuracy. CZ452 is a great gun and gets you into something of quality for a mid range kind of price. Go to the gun store and handle some, see what you like. I have a heavy barrel target rifle and a sporter weight gun. I've tried both in the field, and the lighter rifle is so much more enjoyable to use for hunting. The added accuracy of the pure target gun, going down from around .450" groups to .250 groups makes no difference on the gophers, but the added bulk of the gun takes all the fun out of it.

 

[Nonus]

Friend of mine was calling me a wussy for shooting a .22 all the time. I told him it is way too expensive to shoot anything else. If you like shooting a lot of ammo then a semi is the way to go, if you want to shoot 200 rounds tops an afternoon get a bolt action.

Just be careful with some .22s cause they are rather small and might be awkward to handle.

 

[Headshot]

I tend to favor the bolt action .22's as well. The semi's are fun but I tend to spend to much time loading mags when I use them. A good Brno/Cz is my personal choice. I have a model 2 Brno with a VX1 3x9 that I will never sell. Another good choice would be the CIL Anschutz if you can find one. You can also find the Norinco.22, which is a good copy of the Brno, for well under $200. Yes it's Chinese and the fit is a little rough but if they are bedded they will shoot with the best. Good luck.

 

[bogie]

Like a lot of the people here I own a number of rifles and at this time almost half of them are 22lr. I have a CZ452 leftie that is a delight to shoot and a BRNO CZ trainer for the other half. I had a 1022 but sold it for something more accurate. Sounds like some are but mine was not after being tinkered a fair bit. The CZ shoot very accurately but then I have a Winchester 1906 takedown pump, I am waiting for a Winchester 9422 lever 22 to come in and I also have a 22 centrefire (223) to play with. The pump and lever are my fun guns and they are way more fun to shoot than my 1022. Semis just dont do it for me. That is the joy of the 22rf world-there is so much choice and they will all shoot fairly well. Mine all seem to really like CCI Minimags so I just buy lots of that when I can get a deal. Keep in mind you can always sell it if you dont like it. It tells you something that there is a whole exchange here just for rimfire eh? Go crazy and have some fun. Buy used and check it out-if not sell it for what you paid. Whats wrong with that?

 

[dannymat]

Buy used and check it out-if not sell it for what you paid. Whats wrong with that?

Woah woah woah
I didn't spend all that time classes to buy guns just to get rid of them, even if i hate shooting it i will keep it just for the sake of keeping it.
Can never have too many guns.
As for guns i saw this nice little marlin in the SIR catalog, any thoughts on marlin guns?