Cheap 22LR semi

Thanks again all, very useful. I think at the moment I have shortlisted to the 597 Heavy Barrel or the 795. The Remington is exactly $100 more, maybe I will wait for that to go on sale.
I am off Ruger. The VLEH is no longer listed on the Cabela's site - that is because I had the last one for my first proper rimfire venture. When I found that one of the screws for the rail was just spinning in its hole, I had it returned (no, I didn't strip it - I was diligently following the manual and using my Fat Wrench with the right torque set). I was happy to have a refund rather than replacement as it was out of stock with the intention of redirecting the funds to another option. Being anti-Ruger now may be a sweeping generalization but once bitten and all that...
 
K-Roc said:
10/22 can sometimes go on sale for $300. For a cheap end 22 it seems to be the winner.
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I disagree. 10-22s are not the most reliable guns out of the box (some run great, others require tinkering) and this can quickly take you above the $300 limit set.

If you want to buy something and then throw $1000 worth of parts at it to make it better, then the 10-22 is the best option, because most others don't have much (if any) aftermarket parts support. I could see me getting a 10-22 in the future for this very reason (they can be made very accurate with enough money and non-Ruger replacement parts) but I wouldn't buy one without the intention of modding it.

My vote goes to Marlin. Im a big savage fan boy, but I don't like the 64. If they put the accutrigger on the 64, I'd say go for it, but they dont, so...

I hear good things about the Remington as well, but its hard to go wrong with a Marlin 22lr.
 
Another vote for the remington 597 HB. I have used the stock clip and have a remington 30 rnd as well now. Close to a 1000 rnds now and no fail to load or eject. I can fire as fast as I can and run 25 in the big clip no problem, and the hold open feature is nice.

I sanded the stock down to remove the molding ridges and filled the hollow stock with expanding foam. Then sprayed it with krylon fusion black and wet sanded with 1000 to flatten the finish. Now it's better balanced and feels as good as it shoots.
 
I'll give another vote for the marlin. I've got a marlin 60 and it is a tack driver and very reliable. I did put a Boyd's stock and mcarbo trigger spring kit in her and will shoot under 1/2" groups at 50yds.
 
I have a Ruger 10/22 and it is failure free and a beauty to shoot. I picked it up new for $350. The ten round mag gets old in a hurry though. I picked up a used Remington 597 for $120 and a few 30 round mags for another $30. There is some good aftermarket support for the 597 to turn them into a reliable gun for less than a Ruger and your mag capacities are way easier to deal with.
 
I decided to go with the 597 HB, was less than $290 on sale. Yes, the 795 was also on sale at the same time for less than $200 but I figured (hoped...) the more expensive 597 will be better. In this sort of price range it may well be a matter of luck regarding what comes out of the box being any good or not but in any case, it is not exactly a massive investment so if I don't like it I can just get a 795 next time it is on sale and give that a whirl too. Maybe I should have just got them both this time! Thanks for the input all.
 
Well, what you waiting for. Go pick up the 795 too so you can try them both out.;) I am sure you will be happy with whatever you had picked. But, they are addicting....
 
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