Is there any reason to get a 22lr bolt gun?

.22's make great understudy guns for your centerfires. If you're as cheap as I am (unlikely!) it's nice to be able to keep in practice with .22's that more-or-less mimic the handling characteristics of your various centerfire guns. Want to practice with a receiver-sighted levergun like your 94/95/86/71/whatever? Set up a nice Marlin 39 with a similar sight. Feel that you need to experiment or practice with high-mag scopes, or low-mag scopes, or scout-mounted scopes, or red dots, or a laser? Set up a .22 for any or all of these configurations and have at it. Got a straight-pull bolt gun? Get a T-bolt as well. I have .22's set up all these ways, for all these reasons...so, I do actually need them...yeah, that's it...they're a necessity...:)
 
You really riled up the bolt action fan boys with your question.... :D

Two reasons. Ultimate accuracy and accuracy vs cost.

First there is the ultimate test of the words "match grade". Are we seeing 10-22's winning or at least placing near the top consistently in benchrest matches? It doesn't even need to be a major world competition. I'd settle for local and regional matches. If 10-22 rifles are doing so then there's a place for them.

But how much does it cost to get a 10-22 to that point? Or at a little lower level how much does it cost to get a 10-22 to meet or beat some of the low to mid cost bolt action rifles with reputations for excellent accuracy?

In a weak moment I recently bought a Tactical Solutions Xring. Arguably what many would consider to be what a 10-22 wants to be when it grows up. I was lured in by the amazing trigger and overall looks of the dark green anodising and green based laminate stock. Shooting rested from the bench with a decent scope I can get dime size groups at 50 yards. A short time later I tripped over a Savage Mk II BTV that fit me like a glove. It too gets me dime size groups at 50. But at about 1/3 the cost.
 
ive had alot of semi's and i emphasize the fact that i said HAD ive not found a semi worth keeping,i have a lakefield mk II and a TOZ 17 that i would put up in a pink's match any day against any semi, an old buddy has a old 22 single shot thats held together by a piece of coat hanger and electrical tape and he has shot the head of a moving squirrel at 125 yards while i was standing beside him,buy a bolt gun and shoot it till you know exactly where it hits everytime and you'll never ask for advice again you'll be giving it.

and p.s anybody up for losing there "match semi"
 
goosethegunnut said:
If you hunt they are generally lighter, and you learn quickly to make your shots count. And what he said^^!!
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Hunting with a bolt action 22 is a great experience. It slows down the hunt and makes you more selective on your shots. My first 22 was a Marlin model 80 given to me when I was 13 yrs old. One of my favorites. Also have a 1959 Marlin 39A lever action. I guess that's one of my fav's too. Oh well, can't have too many!
 
Bolt action are nice for a couple of reasons:

1) specialty rounds such as subsonic rounds or the 22 birdshot cartridges..These rounds lack the punch to cycle semi auto actions. 2) Oh and plus, you never can have too many rifles..
 
Why not? If you can afford it, it would be a fun gun for your wife (if you have one) to shoot without a fear of recoil, for your kids (if you have a set) to learn to shot on or for your friends (if you have any of those) to play with without costing you too much out of pocket.
 
migrant hunter said:
I'd like to see a fair and objective side by side comparison of bolt vrs match grade semi. I used to shoot an Anshutz 54 single shot rifle and I can't imagine a semi beating it. I have a 10-22 with a peep sight and a lakefield bolt action with a scope for the longer shots.
I only use them for gophers, and only then after about two boxes of .17 hmr when I start thinking "hey this is getting expensive"!
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I'm $1800 deep in my 10/22. The works. (barrel, bolt/reciever, trigger, scope+mount, stock) and it produces 0.78" groups @50yds. Well after all that, I bought a CZ 455 and Put a scope on it (2 days ago) for 1000$ done and its only seen 10 rounds so far but the one 5 round group I shot @50yds was 0.38"

I cannot wait to try my new bolt at 100!!
 
With a bolt .22 I find there is a more complete feeling of being part of the whole process of shooting. Less 'bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang - change mag.'

and more thinking about the last shot, where it hit, adjustment to your sight picture, ok… next one going in the chamber… corrections…. BANG.'

When I go plinking, i ALWAYS grab my bolt over my Semi now. I think the Semi hates me. haha.
 
eatredmeat157 said:
I'm $1800 deep in my 10/22. The works. (barrel, bolt/reciever, trigger, scope+mount, stock) and it produces 0.78" groups @50yds. Well after all that, I bought a CZ 455 and Put a scope on it (2 days ago) for 1000$ done and its only seen 10 rounds so far but the one 5 round group I shot @50yds was 0.38"

I cannot wait to try my new bolt at 100!!
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i bet you even shot that 0.38" group with high velocity ammo like CCI Mini Mags. My stock 455 outshoots my stock 10/22 by such a wide margin it's not funny.

I find when I shoot the 455 I am breathing and exhaling properly, squeezing smoothly and being surprised when it fires.

With my 10/22 it's bang bang bang bang etc. To be fair my 10/22 is stock and has that horribly heavy Ruger lawyer proof trigger.
 
geologist said:
i bet you even shot that 0.38" group with high velocity ammo like CCI Mini Mags. My stock 455 outshoots my stock 10/22 by such a wide margin it's not funny.
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It was in fact CCI mini mags!! They actually shoot better than CCI blazer in both the 10/22 and the 455. In fact, the mini mags also out shot the eley match grade ammo I tried!
 
My KIDD 10/22 shoots way better than my Ruger 77/22, Savage bolt gun and Browning T-Bolt that I had. My CZ455 with a Lilja match barrel shoots just a touch better than the KIDD on a good day. My new Anschutz 1827F will hopefully do better than all of them. Just because its a 10/22 wont make it less of a shooter if its done right. Make sure you find the right ammo for each rifle!
 
+1, proper breathing tech, smooth trigger pull with the CZ 455.

Spray and pray with the SR22 using Volquartzen trigger group (day and night vs. the Ruger Lawyer proof trigger). May stay on technique for first shot or two, then the finger takes over, empty 25rnd mag; resistance is futile :HR:
geologist said:
i bet you even shot that 0.38" group with high velocity ammo like CCI Mini Mags. My stock 455 outshoots my stock 10/22 by such a wide margin it's not funny.

I find when I shoot the 455 I am breathing and exhaling properly, squeezing smoothly and being surprised when it fires.

With my 10/22 it's bang bang bang bang etc. To be fair my 10/22 is stock and has that horribly heavy Ruger lawyer proof trigger.
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Winnipeg Toymaker said:
Yes ...more energy down the barrel as the recoil does not have to operate the bolt.
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This is actually not true.

Only a tiny portion of the energy available in a cartridge functions any firearm. Less than a third of the energy - 30% is imparted to the projectile. The amount to cycle a semi or full auto is not even measurable - far less than 1 % - and even that amount is not taken away from the projectile energy.

Get a copy of Hatcher's Notebook. Very worthwhile read.
 
I built a couple of heavy bbl 10/22s over the years and found that an Anschutz 64 sporter can hang with them just fine if not do better. Differences start to show at 50 meters. 25 meters and they all make little one hole groups. A match 64 or sporter to match 54 will generally shoot a lot better.

Differences start to show with Eley, Lapua and RWS ammo. Spend a few bucks on a mixed bag and shoot a few five shot groups.
 
You can bed a semi-auto like a bolt action, and you can put the same barrel on a semi-auto as a turning-bolt action. Many semi's are hammer fired, and although the reliability is there, the short lock time is not. More importantly, the chambers are more loose on a semi to allow subsequent rounds to feed. The base of the chambers are usually oval so that you can feed from a magazine below the axis of the barrel. You cannot get the maximum accuracy with this configuration, and I think this is weak link for a semi-auto .22 rim fire gun. The guns with the best accuracy have tight chambers, which need to be fed slowly and deliberately. There is the further opportunity of deforming the bullet in a semi-auto because of the direction of feeding and the speed of the forward motion of the bolt.
 
I have two semi auto rifles, the 10/22 and and older Winchester 490. That did not stop me from buying a pair of TOZs, a Mauser 350B, and a BSA made Martini small bore single shot rifle. And the same as jjohnwm mentioned previously, my Martini with match peep sights is the understudy for my Wichita 1375 bolt action target rifle. Variety is the spice of life.
 
First thing first.... One can never have too many options when going to the range... Or chasing the Saskatchewan army.

I have a 10/22 stainless match grade with a timney trigger and bushnel scope..... But I have to say that I love my extremely old CIL model 171 bolt action mag fed 22lr...

The 10/22 is great for the range and gophers... Not to mention the joy of going pop pop pop and sending lead down range. But I feel there is added value to a bolt action. Additional accuracy like you'd see in a large caliber rifle is negligible.... But I feel a bolt has additional training aspects when dealing with young new shooters. You can pause and instruct between shots. No eager beaver to go bang bang bang....

Plus anything gas or recoil actuated can eventually fail..... Bolt action is kiss method.... Lasts a life time. My CIL is older than me and will pop a gopher lithe anything on the market today.
 
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