bolt action 22's, what would you get?

what would you choose?

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right on, thanks for all the great replies. i would love to get a cz however a little more than i'd like to spend on a little ol' .22. so far the savage is winning me over for new, however the used market does seem quite attractive. the only thing i find is that its harder to find a a well looked after .22 and there are more beat up truck guns (maybe i just need to look harder). could anyone suggest a good model(s) of the yester generation to look out for (bolt action, mag feed...). thanks for all the help and keep 'em commin
 
Used .22

snowshoe said:
Why not look at the used market. There are a lot of old .22's around that shoot great.
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X 2. I scooped a Remington 541 T at the Kamloops gun show this spring for $275 in nice shape with 2 mags and Leupold bases and rings.

From what I've read the Winchester Wildcat (TOZ 78) is supposed to be a good shooter. I don't know if they are in stock yet. I haven't heard any first hand reports yet.
 
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i would love to get a cz however a little more than i'd like to spend on a little ol' .22.
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Whoa there! Rant mode on!!!!!

I'll give you the same lecture I give everyone else. That is the absolute biggest mistake, and you haven't even made it yet! Look at it this way. Joe Blow Hunter decides he wants a new hunting rifle. He'll go to the store, drop a $1000 on a rifle, $500 on a scope and another $500 on mounts, sling, ammo and a case. He'll take it to the range, site it in, shoot a deer and put it away till next year. Then he decides he wants a new .22 rifle. He goes to the same store, asks for the cheapest, yet most accurate rifle they have. He's going to spend $200 on a rifle, $50 on a scope, and buy a thousand rounds of ammo right off the bat! Why would you do yourself the injustice of buying a lesser quality rifle that you will use the most, and not consider a true heirloom piece? You will shoot a .22 rifle thousands of times a year, make your purchase count. :wave:
 
If the barrel is garbage because of a bad crown, bad bore, bad chamber, then how are you supposed to upgrade the rifle to make it to shoot better? I don't care how much you spend on a replacement stock, replacement trigger, bedding, whatever. If the barrel's no good it won't shoot. And like I said, each one I got was from a different production run. Head of quality assurance told me each time that they were from different batches so I shouldn't have the same problems again.

Crown #1
Savagecrown1.JPG


Like I said, looks like someone threw some 40-grit paper down, and twisted the muzzle in it until it kinda made a crown. This one had the pits about 3" down the bore from the muzzle, presumbably from the crowning *ahem* "tool" that was used.

Barrel #2
Savagebarrel2.JPG


Was rusted like that straight out of the box. Looked to me like it had been banged around against regular steel tools/parts/etc while it was in the shop. That's a new stainless barrel, rusting like crazy. Its crown was the best of the three rifles, but still wasn't that great.

Crown #3
Savagecrown3.JPG


This was the rifle looked after personally by Greg Sage, the head of quality assurance there, a vice president. Just as nicked up and grooved as the first one, if not worse. You can see some powder fouling in it that I could not get out because it was in such deep grooves. This one had the same pits in the bore near the muzzle end, and also had them in the chamber end. And it was looked after by the guy responsible for making sure the rifles meet their quality guidelines. It was just horrible.

Like I said, I got three different ones from three different production runs. This was over a nine month period this year. I can accept the fact that I may have gotten a lemon once. Maybe even twice. But three times, all as bad as the next? *shrug* Obviously it was possible. But I have my doubts about the quality of any of them after seeing three bad ones like that. Like I said, I know lots and lots of people have ones they're happy with. I wasn't, that's all.
 
i agree, however i also shoot my marlin 70 .22, both 12ga's just as much. don't get me wrong, i know what your getting at...i'm just not prepared to drop $500 on a grouse gun thats all considering my 30.06 only ran me 350 and seems to put meat in the freezer.
 
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Shorty - after reading numerous positive reviews about the Savage Mark II 22s I went into the local shop fully expecting to walk out with one - I left empty handed after seeing similar quality control issues with the selection they had in stock at the time (poor workmanship & rust on NIB guns). I'll never bother to look at them again and it's ruined the brand name for me.

/gc
 
When I set out to get a .22LR rifle I did a bunch of reading, both here, and over at rimfirecentral. And there's no shortage of people very happy with theirs, so it was my second choice behind the CZ. And it just happened to be that nobody local had CZs in stock, but at least one store had the Savage. I got it rather than waiting to order the CZ, just impatient to get out shooting, heh. So that's why I was so surprised at what I got, considering how many good ones other people seem to have managed to get. Oh well. Happy to have a CZ now, anyway.
grayrc said:
Shorty - after reading numerous positive reviews about the Savage Mark II 22s I went into the local shop fully expecting to walk out with one - I left empty handed after seeing similar quality control issues with the selection they had in stock at the time (poor workmanship & rust on NIB guns). I'll never bother to look at them again and it's ruined the brand name for me.

/gc
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The reports about current Savage quality are very interesting. I have a pre-accutrigger Mk II blued with heavy barrel and laminated stock. The crown, bluing and bore on mine are all faultless and it shoots almost as well as my CZ Varmint. Its unfortunate that their quality control seems to have slipped so badly.
 
I own a number of fine 22 rimfires, and some that are middle of the road. I handled several Savages locally, and could not get excited about the feel nor the finish of the metal. Price is good, and many are reported to be accurate, but my CZ 452 Americans (3) are not slouches in the accuracy department. I believe that the CZ is the best bang for the buck out there at present. The poster that bought a 541T Remington for $275 better take off his mask, since that is a theft if I ever saw one!! The going price for a 541S or early T is about $600.00 or a bit more. A late 541T or 541THB are available for a bit less, but still demand around $450 and they lack the match chamber. The used market does sometimes present a real bargain, so that is something to keep in mind. Research what is worthwhile on Rimfire central, and then go for it. FWIW, Some of the older Mossbergs are very fine rifles, if a bit homely. Shooters they generally are. Regards, Eagleye.
 
Rem 541 T

Eagleye;1802274The poster that bought a 541T Remington for $275 better take off his mask said:
Ya, I could hardly sleep that night. It is an early 541 T with match chamber and light barrel. Maybe that makes up for some of my foolish deals!
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Keep your eyes open for a Cooey Model 75 closet queen. I got one for 50 bucks and it's the most accurate .22 I've fired. Others have fired and they can't get over how accurate it is.
 
Fry said:
Keep your eyes open for a Cooey Model 75 closet queen. I got one for 50 bucks and it's the most accurate .22 I've fired. Others have fired and they can't get over how accurate it is.
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I have a dirty old cooey 39 like that,just irons on it but you just can't miss.Cost me $20
 
I have a new winchester wildcat and treated it to a bushnell trophy 3 to 9 x40 scope.A sweet little rifle to shoot ,quarter sized groups at 50 yards all day,love the way it feeds ammo and the way it handles.A very nice bolt action to shoot,at 250.00 new a good buy.
 
Hi

The Savage is a nice rifle, but some of the models can cost you a bit more than $250. Once you get up to the price of a laminate stock Savage you are at the price of a CZ.

Bob
 
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