Bolt Action .22LR

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Thermal23

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Hello
I realize this is a topic that a lot has already been written about, and I have enjoyed reading through a number of older threads. If this seems redundant please feel free to skip, however if some enjoy debating the merits of a rifle choice for a bolt action .22LR please chime in!

I'm looking for a bolt action .22LR. It will be my first bolt action and that's a large part of the plan - to learn them. I am sticking to .22LR for ammo cost to allow a much higher round count for learning and experience. Centerfire will come in time. Below is my "scope" for this project.
Use: Range use, target practice, firearm experience
Cost: <$750 before tax for the rifle & picatinny rail. I have a scope - which will be upgraded in time.
Essentials: reasonably accuracy with good accuracy potential desired, reasonable useable/comfortable
Preferences: heavy barrel, wood stock, 10/22 magazines, DIY interchangeable barrels, decent factory stock, aftermarket upgraded stocks available.
Options considered & prices I have access to:
  • Savage Mkii FV-SR @ $400
  • Savage B22 FB-SR @ $450
  • Ruger American Rimfire Target Laminate @ $760 (just over budget)
  • CZ457 Synthetic @ $550
Current Thoughts (subject to correction from input!):
  • Mkii FV-SR - part of me feels I should go with this for lowest sunk cost and get some experience on a .22 bolt gun to inform other decisions in the future without significant investment.
    • Good: seems to have a good reputation for accuracy, and has a stock and rail at what seems to be a great price. It's a very known product.
    • Bad: Factory plastic stock doesn't have a great reputation for fitment and I really don't like the magazines. The barrel is not easily replaceable. Made in Canada which seems like a bonus for any collection.
  • B22 FV-SR: - this is a minor price increase but I'm unsure about this gun.
    • Good: Reports seemingly indicate that it has kept good accuracy, but has a better stock than its predecessor. Tang mounted safety.
    • Bad: this is the rifle I have the least info on. The barrel is not easily replaceable. The stock is still plastic. I'm unsure about the magazines - they are rotary and 10 rd (why couldn't they just use 10/22 mags! arggh). Made in Canada.
    • 12.5% increase in cost over the MKii
  • Ruger American Rimfire - I love a lot about this but am concerned the accuracy potential is lower than all the others. It's also the highest cost and would be a more costly mistake.
    • Good: Uses 10/22 mags and feels nice. Laminate stock.
    • Bad: reports indicate the accuracy potential is the lowest on this list and the barrel is not easily replaceable.
    • 90% price increase over the MKii
  • CZ457 Synthetic - It seems 457s are a very common answer to a bolt .22 question. This one is priced remarkably, but isn't quite what I want. Buy it and upgrade it with time? Use it as a proof of concept and sell it to move into something event nicer? Or use something cheaper to prove what I want and dive straight to higher price point 457 when the time comes?
    • Good: Best reputation on the list for accuracy, interchangeable barrels, large aftermarket parts and stock availability. It's a very known product.
    • Plastic stock, thin barrel
    • 37.5% price increase over the MKii
and then the "other" option - don't buy anything and wait to get almost everything I want in one platform - such as a CZ457 varmint which comes with a heavy barrel, nice wooden stock and all the good parts of a 457.

Ok the floor is open! Thanks in advance!
 
calmcat said:
How far are you planning to shoot? Ruger american rimfire will give you a lot of room to grow, but it's not really precision rifle.

Also - Check out this channel
https://youtube.com/@pursuitofaccuracy?si=fp34XZpQ8_g9xzbz
Click to expand...
Good question. 50-100 yards for sure. I would love to use this rifle to expand into 150-200 yards to allow me to learn more about wind and the various challenges that I don't know anything about.
 
tiriaq said:
Why buy new? There is a host of vintage bolt action .22 rifles out there.
Click to expand...
A fair point. I guess I'm the most comfortable with new at this point. Perhaps it's perspective. I'm a tradesman, and at this price point I'm not used to looking at used tools. Maybe I need to learn to explore that for firearms, but I'm not there yet.
I'm already seeing differences between trades tools and equipment and firearms.
 
Heavy barrels never made sense for a 22. Even a pencil barrel will never get hot enough to start flexing under that minimal recoil. I would not make that the reason to skip out on a CZ 457 for a Savage.
 
I'd suggest re-considering your ideas about buying only new. Guns in general, and rimfires in particular, will far outlast you; you will never "shoot out" a .22 barrel. And the notion that researching and reading and asking questions will help you select a gun that is perfect for you is not reasonable; the only way you will know what you like and what you don't is by handling and shooting various models.

Shooting guns belonging to other folks at the range is a huge help, but the fact remains that you will likely buy and sell a number of different guns before you even know what you want. If you buy only new this will be costly, as you will likely lose money on every gun you buy new and then sell used a short time later. If you buy used guns carefully you will often find that you can try them out, use them for a bit and then sell them for not much less than you paid for them, if any at all.

Out of the options you list, I'd personally say that the CZ is the "best" of the bunch (although I'd prefer an older version like the 452 off the EE), the Savage MkII is the best value in terms of performance per dollar, the Ruger is completely lacking in any kind of appeal and the Savage B22 is a complete unknown to me. But that's all just personal opinion and is worth exactly what you paid for it. :)
 
Thermal23 said:
Hello
I realize this is a topic that a lot has already been written about, and I have enjoyed reading through a number of older threads. If this seems redundant please feel free to skip, however if some enjoy debating the merits of a rifle choice for a bolt action .22LR please chime in!

I'm looking for a bolt action .22LR. It will be my first bolt action and that's a large part of the plan - to learn them. I am sticking to .22LR for ammo cost to allow a much higher round count for learning and experience. Centerfire will come in time. Below is my "scope" for this project.
Use: Range use, target practice, firearm experience
Cost: <$750 before tax for the rifle & picatinny rail. I have a scope - which will be upgraded in time.
Essentials: reasonably accuracy with good accuracy potential desired, reasonable useable/comfortable
Preferences: heavy barrel, wood stock, 10/22 magazines, DIY interchangeable barrels, decent factory stock, aftermarket upgraded stocks available.
Options considered & prices I have access to:
  • Savage Mkii FV-SR @ $400
  • Savage B22 FB-SR @ $450
  • Ruger American Rimfire Target Laminate @ $760 (just over budget)
  • CZ457 Synthetic @ $550
Current Thoughts (subject to correction from input!):
  • Mkii FV-SR - part of me feels I should go with this for lowest sunk cost and get some experience on a .22 bolt gun to inform other decisions in the future without significant investment.
    • Good: seems to have a good reputation for accuracy, and has a stock and rail at what seems to be a great price. It's a very known product.
    • Bad: Factory plastic stock doesn't have a great reputation for fitment and I really don't like the magazines. The barrel is not easily replaceable. Made in Canada which seems like a bonus for any collection.
  • B22 FV-SR: - this is a minor price increase but I'm unsure about this gun.
    • Good: Reports seemingly indicate that it has kept good accuracy, but has a better stock than its predecessor. Tang mounted safety.
    • Bad: this is the rifle I have the least info on. The barrel is not easily replaceable. The stock is still plastic. I'm unsure about the magazines - they are rotary and 10 rd (why couldn't they just use 10/22 mags! arggh). Made in Canada.
    • 12.5% increase in cost over the MKii
  • Ruger American Rimfire - I love a lot about this but am concerned the accuracy potential is lower than all the others. It's also the highest cost and would be a more costly mistake.
    • Good: Uses 10/22 mags and feels nice. Laminate stock.
    • Bad: reports indicate the accuracy potential is the lowest on this list and the barrel is not easily replaceable.
    • 90% price increase over the MKii
  • CZ457 Synthetic - It seems 457s are a very common answer to a bolt .22 question. This one is priced remarkably, but isn't quite what I want. Buy it and upgrade it with time? Use it as a proof of concept and sell it to move into something event nicer? Or use something cheaper to prove what I want and dive straight to higher price point 457 when the time comes?
    • Good: Best reputation on the list for accuracy, interchangeable barrels, large aftermarket parts and stock availability. It's a very known product.
    • Plastic stock, thin barrel
    • 37.5% price increase over the MKii
and then the "other" option - don't buy anything and wait to get almost everything I want in one platform - such as a CZ457 varmint which comes with a heavy barrel, nice wooden stock and all the good parts of a 457.

Ok the floor is open! Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
Have a look at the used market, a lot of the rimfires made back in the day are far superior to the mass produced overprice junk they are selling today. Many were made in an era when quality was everything. I personally would not buy anything new, check out the used gun sites like Gun Post for instance.
 
I have a Mk 2 FV-SR and unless you're willing to try and track down a Boyd's stock (and then pay for it), I'd recommend the B22. Excellent rifle but cheap stock on the mk 2. The B22 looks like it fixes this.
 
I agree with the above comments on the used market. Our sport is experiential so we buy stuff, shoot it, like it:keep, don't like it:sell. If you watch your pricing you don't lose money. I've probably owned 50 22s, mostly bolt guns and many on here would be in the hundreds. I'm a big believer in gun shows as well as the online marketplace. Gun shows give you the chance to look/see/ feel. My two current favorites are my Toz 17 from the USSR in the 70s and my Norinco jw25a from the original batch. Both will shoot better than I can hold. I have a $100 Lakefield Mk1 that shoots 3/8 inch groups at 25 yards with a $30 scope. Etc.

Don't overthink it.
 
jjohnwm said:
I'd suggest re-considering your ideas about buying only new. Guns in general, and rimfires in particular, will far outlast you; you will never "shoot out" a .22 barrel. And the notion that researching and reading and asking questions will help you select a gun that is perfect for you is not reasonable; the only way you will know what you like and what you don't is by handling and shooting various models.

Shooting guns belonging to other folks at the range is a huge help, but the fact remains that you will likely buy and sell a number of different guns before you even know what you want. If you buy only new this will be costly, as you will likely lose money on every gun you buy new and then sell used a short time later. If you buy used guns carefully you will often find that you can try them out, use them for a bit and then sell them for not much less than you paid for them, if any at all.

Out of the options you list, I'd personally say that the CZ is the "best" of the bunch (although I'd prefer an older version like the 452 off the EE), the Savage MkII is the best value in terms of performance per dollar, the Ruger is completely lacking in any kind of appeal and the Savage B22 is a complete unknown to me. But that's all just personal opinion and is worth exactly what you paid for it. :)
Click to expand...

Lots of great advice, especially ^. Don't overthink it. Of the ones on your list, I also agree=CZ and would pass on the Ruger myself. Any used (and discontinued) CZ452 would should as well/better than anything on that list if I were a betting man, and should definitely never be considered a compromise vs. something like a Savage MK ll FV-SR.

Speaking of that rifle, I think I had one from the first batch that and suspect it might have been built 3 minutes before the buzzer on a Friday. But it was fun to shoot, and I know more now about how to get a rifle TO shoot than I did when I had it. Dreadful stock geometry for scope use, but you can buy an excellent aftermarket cheek riser that fits perfectly and the bolt knob is comfortable to use. It was compact, good for shooting off a fencepost, and wreaked havoc one frigid winter when my buddy had an infestation of barn pigeons trying to escape the cold. =CCI-Quiet 22 for the win.

And..to save some ammo and maybe even a bruised ego, shoot at least your first 1,000 rounds @ 50 yards and get to know the rifle's potential before wind really has it's way with a relatively slow moving, beer-can-shaped projectile. Groups are fun, but if you have a good or private place to shoot outdoors, get some reactive targets going too. Pumpkins are fun, on a warm fall day, the pumpkin goo attracts flies. Even more fun. lol

And by "1,000" I mean 2-3.
 
OP:

I don't understand how a "not easily replaceable barrel" is a negative in any manner. It is nearly impossible to wear out a 22rf barrel. The chances you will need to replace the barrel in a cheap entry level 22 is virtually zero. The question as to why you would want to replace a barrel in a cheap entry level question is ........ 🤷‍♂️

Also not sure why you would be looking for 10-22 mags? I've used a lot of mags in the last 40 years and honestly find the OEM 10-22 rotary mags the most difficult to load. A basic 10 round "stick" mag is the best choice. Metal is better than plastic.

In 22 rimfire you mostly get what you pay for. The cheap rifles are cheap for a reason. If you want performance and accuracy then you will need to step up and buy a nicer and thus more expensive rifle. The old saying, "buy once, cry once" most definitely applies here. I started out with a very cheap Russian made .22 bolt gun and was having a great time w it until a friend lent me an Anschutz 64. After that I was ruined and couldn't go back to a cheap rifle w a cr@ppy trigger.

A good trigger makes all the difference in both accuracy and the shooting experience. Cheap, beginner rifles mostly do not have good triggers.

As CZ allowed one of its subsidiaries to get involved with the lieberal govt scheme to steal our firearms, I will never recommend a CZ. You should take a look at the Bergara rifles. They are very good and fairly reasonably priced compared to an Anschutz.

Goo98 said:
Heavy barrels never made sense for a 22. Even a pencil barrel will never get hot enough to start flexing under that minimal recoil.
Click to expand...
Ya, all those professional shooters and match winners and champions all use heavy target barrels for no reason. :rolleyes: You clearly have no idea why target rifles use heavy barrels.
 
There are five Anschutz Model 190 rifles listed on GnuPost for reasonable prices under $1000. For the price there is no better 22rf rifle available. The 64 action is solid and Anschutz triggers are amazing.

PS you don't need a magazine for range / target shooting.
 
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