Getting my first rifle. Mossberg 702 vs 10/22
- Thread starter mbps
- Start date
yes it is worth paying the extra 100$. if your budget is tight, i suggest you watch the ee for a used 10/22 that comes from a sellor with 100% feedback. if is it is claimed to be accurate and without issue go for it. in my experience some 10/22s cycle and shoot better than others.
Ok, I gotta poke: "it is worth paying the extra 100$" and "in my experience some 10/22s cycle and shoot better than others" do not jive. Those statements contradict one another.
I'd hate to have paid that extra $100 to find that the one I got was one of those that didn't shoot better than others.
The one I had earlier this year needed paper shims on the pins to stop the entire trigger group from rattling and moving backwards when I pulled the trigger. Yeah, I know there are aftermarket pins available to fix that problem, but I should not have to order aftermarket pins on a $400 rifle.
I will admit that the 10/22 I had looked sharp -- stainless, birch stock, good-looking sights. Put a Weaver TO-9 rail on it and a scope and it looked really good. Action tightened up with paper shims and it shot just fine. But the poor initial quality -- the thing RATTLED when you picked it up -- really cheesed my sausage and I did not want to get into a parts replacement/upgrade spiral.
If you want to build your own 22 rifle with quality parts that you pick yourself from the wide range of stuff available, a 10/22-type is the way to go. But start from scratch and don't sink all that money into a factory 10/22 that will end up like great-grandpa's axe: where the head has been replaced twice and the handle's been replaced three times, but hey, it's still the same axe.
Said it before and I'll say it again: the Stevens 87 is a fine rifle!
of the two you mentioned 10/22 all the way!
I had a 10/22 and it ate thousands of Federal bulk rounds flawlessly, was it accurate? I'm not sure, almost every time it got shot it was mag dumps of 25 round BC steel-lip mags at vegetables or water bottles and such, but that got boring and I sold it and bought an accurate bolt gun.
I think the next semi-auto .22 I get will be a Marlin 60...
I had a 10/22 and it ate thousands of Federal bulk rounds flawlessly, was it accurate? I'm not sure, almost every time it got shot it was mag dumps of 25 round BC steel-lip mags at vegetables or water bottles and such, but that got boring and I sold it and bought an accurate bolt gun.
I think the next semi-auto .22 I get will be a Marlin 60...
A lot of us who are casting votes for the 795 went down the 10-22 road initially. That was certainly the case for me. The 10-22 I got was such a steaming turd, I've avoided anything with the Ruger label since.
I had an emotional link to the 10-22. Back in the late 70's, early 80's, if grampa let me shoot his 10-22 (as opposed to one of the Cooeys that was lying around), I felt like I'd been handed Excalibur after practising with a wooden stick.
The years went by, and for whatever reason, I just never got one. Finally picked one up about 3 years ago and... It was a horrible gun that should have never made it through QC on soooo many levels. By the time I got it shooting half reliably and semi-accurately, I was just done with it. Turned me off semi-auto .22s altogether, actually. Picked up a 795 early last year for $175 on sale and the difference was night and day. Reliable out of the box. More accurate out of the box.
I now have two 795's and a Papoose, and all three are just great little guns. The 10-22 sits in the cabinet, un-used, un-loved, and not missed. Some day I plan on "doing something" with it (probably go full tacti-tard on it, partly out of a warped sense of humour), but in the meantime I have a couple of 795's that I don't need to even worry about, they just work.
The 10-22 wins over the 795 in its simplicity. It's just a far easier gun to tinker with. And there are more aftermarket options for modding it. Those are both strong points in favour of the platform.
But for a gun that just shoots well out of the box?
795. It isn't even close.
Shooter_01
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Durham Region, Ontario
Agreed. It's certainly not been my experience.
I think it's mainly just a feel good story.
I must have got lucky with my 702, aside from upgradability it does everything my 10/22 does. Both cycle fine with proper ammo, both are gopher patch accurate. 10/22 is a bit nicer to carry due to the flush mag, 702 fits smaller hands better. 10/22 mags are everywhere though, 702 not so much but they are available.
I think Ruger's approach to the 10/22 these days is "they're just going to mod everything anyway so slap it together cheap". Why put the effort into quality from the factory when the consumer just replaces with aftermarket parts?
Let's see how your recommended gun shoots folks!
I'll set the bar with my Remington 597:
Let's see how your recommended gun shoots folks!
I'll set the bar with my Remington 597:
prairie lover
CGN Regular
- Location
- southern MB
i have a modded 10/22 that will shoot with just about any 22 out there accuracy wise. 16.5 inch fluted green mountain barrel. sk match hv hp 10 shot groups in .5 or less. absolute heaven in a gopher patch. its got some other goodies in it but nothing super expensive at all. you couldn't find a better gopher gun imo than how I have it set up. I also have a plane jane carbine with nothing more than a power custom trigger, and some kind of bolt buffer, has a red dot on it and shoots plenty well, pop cans at 50 yards every time. both guns are rock solid reliable. the ruger factory light barrels have very sloppy chambers for improved reliability which means they are very picky as to what ammo they like, usually 40 gr shoot better than the lighter cheap hp.
the green mountain barrel is excellent, I have also had a ruger factory heavy barrel, its quite good but the green mountain is better, and way less temperamental as to what ammo it likes and don't like.
the green mountain barrel is excellent, I have also had a ruger factory heavy barrel, its quite good but the green mountain is better, and way less temperamental as to what ammo it likes and don't like.
shoot them both you will become a believer , the ruger has its place if you want to mod and go tacticool its your way to go
if you want to hit center on what your aiming and like the 795 feel then its your way to go
and a lot cheaper just doesnt have the humpty dumpty after market mods available of the ruger
So you have owned and shot one 10/22 and have two 795's just to be clear...
I have owned more than fifty factory 10/22's... and that does not include dozens of builds from scratch that were non-Ruger.
I have also owned and shot half a dozen 795's... on that basis I restate that I do not believe that the 795 is more accurate out of the box than a bone-stock Ruger 10/22 that still smells like cardboard. As always ammo is the key with every .22 particularly semi's as function comes into play as well as accuracy... proper ammo, proper action care = proper function and all with good accuracy...
You have two 795's... maybe it is time to try your second 10/22?
Maybe I've been lucky in life...but I've had good luck with any semi auto 22lr's I've acquired.......Cooey 64b, 10/22, Marlin 795, Remingtion 597, and Buckmark rifle. They've been so good I've kept them all.
I agree with Hoytcannon, that sometimes you need to find the ammo the works best for your rifle.
For general 50yd plinking some of the rifles do fine with any ammo.
You can't really make a bad choice. You can get a lemon rifle, but for the most part all the rifles are good.
Sounds like this is your first 22lr rifle, so don't worry, buy one and go shooting, have fun. Once you get into the sport you'll ALWAYS find you want another/different 22lr to add to your herd....and eventually you'll have tried many. They all have their unique perspectives in the world of rimfire, and all are fun to own and shoot.
I agree with Hoytcannon, that sometimes you need to find the ammo the works best for your rifle.
For general 50yd plinking some of the rifles do fine with any ammo.
You can't really make a bad choice. You can get a lemon rifle, but for the most part all the rifles are good.
Sounds like this is your first 22lr rifle, so don't worry, buy one and go shooting, have fun. Once you get into the sport you'll ALWAYS find you want another/different 22lr to add to your herd....and eventually you'll have tried many. They all have their unique perspectives in the world of rimfire, and all are fun to own and shoot.
I have owned one 10/22, but shot many. Own 2 795's, and actually shot far fewer of them.
My emotional attachment was to the 10/22, which is why I bought one (boring story - basically used to borrow grampa's back in the late 70's early 80's). The one I bought was a thorough disappointment. Kind of made a point of "giving a go" with other 10/22's when I could - which is often enough, because they're so common.
I found that my 10/22 was not the exception, but rather the rule, for the basic carbines that have come out in the past 6 or 7 years. During "The great American gun buying panic" Ruger chucked QC out the window in favour of cranking them out as fast as possible to make a buck.
Older Rugers, different story. 10/22's from 2010(ish) and before tended to be much better made, better fit and finish, the extra notch or two in QC that isn't present lately.
And the higher end ones, either from Ruger or the custom builds, can be very nice shooters.
The 795 I bought on a whim because, why not, for $175 on sale? Might as well give it a try. And out of the box, it was plenty accurate, as well as 100% reliable. Picked up a Papoose shortly after, and then a "spare" 795 to leave stock as a basic knockabout (I've since upgraded my original 795 with a Boyds stock and Dip Trigger/Guard).
The 795 feels cheaper, with that cheap polymer stock. It's not an inspiring gun, in terms of looks or feel. But it just plain shoots better, both of the ones I have, than any of the newer 10/22 carbines I've tried.
That's just my experience. If your experience is different, so be it.
