Semi Auto, .22 or .17 for gopher hunting

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Farmb0y

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I'm wondering if anyone has a good suggestion for a great .22 or .17 rifle that is semi automatic, and that has the look and the feel of a M16/M4.
I have also asked for help in the Newbie Section

I was looking at this T/C R-55 Benchmark Semi-Auto Rifle but it's kind of expensive for my liking. What's the difference on pricing, for the .22 rounds and the .17 rounds. Whats the better bang for your buck.

Please help

Thanks
Brendon
 
Brendon
50 .17 cal HMR will run you about $16.00,
50 .22 bullets will run you about $3.00 if you buy the expensive ones and if you buy the inexpensive ones which in most peoples guns still kill gopher they will run you about $1.99. Most gun companies are having better success at building 17's in bolt action guns, so you may want to be wary about a semi-auto in 17, and the selection in 17 bolt guns is very good in most stores,some of the better brands to look for are CZ,Savage with Accu-trigger,Marlin. The concensus on the best ammo is the Hornady 17gr V-Max available in bricks of 500 for about $130.00 or boxes of 50 for about $16.00.
Semi- auto .22 Rugers are tough to beat, Marlin make a tube fed nice rifle that is under apprecited in my opinion, model 60. And bolt .22 CZ is the best bang for the buck when it comes to accuracy and re-sale value, Savage make some nice.22's as does Marlin, Stevens an off shoot of Savage make a real budget type shooter but if its anything like their center fire guns , they offer tremendous value for the money
Tasco make some OK pieces of gear in the $100.00 rage, plenty good enough for most guys rimfire rifles. There are lots of scope choices and the sky is the limit as far as how much you can spend. FS
 
I got around $250 to spend on a rifle. I was looking for something that looks like a M16 or a M4, and i would like a bi pod also( ok? im a lazy guy ) Thank you for the in depth reply
 
I own a squires bingham 16r .22lr slightly modified that I want to sell. I painted the wood O.D. green. The rifle has a telescopihg stock, and I put a 4x 32 air gun scope on it that seems to function well at 50 yards, have cary handle, front sight, and bird cage flash surpressor on it with 1 10 rnd mag.
 
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Can you even get parts for the Squires anymore??

I'd go with the Ruger 10/22. Parts are abundant, you can make it look pretty cool, and get a bipod for it pretty cheap.

I put the collapsable T6 stock found near the bottom of the page here and a bipod from a local sporting goods store, and it cost me about $180 on top of the price of the rifle. Works good.
 
I would also recommend going with a Ruger 10/22. Since gopher shooting can involve shooting hundreds, if not thousands of rounds in a day, the price of 22 ammo is a lot cheaper than 17 ammo. There are so many aftermarket parts available for the 10/22 that it makes it one of the best choices in a semi-auto 22.
 
Farmboy -

For $250 you're not going to get a quality rifle w optics that looks like a tactical gun. BUT - $250 will get you into a new 10/22. Go with the Ruger. You can always add accessories later - and any stock Ruger will take hi-cap mags. I have a 50 round drum for mine and you can buy 25 round banana mags anywhere. Its cheap to shoot (I buy 550 rounds of federal hollowpoint at Ukrainian Tire for $15.00 (that works out to about $1.36 for 50 shells). I also love my .17 but if you're new to shooting, the Ruger is a great first gun. You won't regret buying a 10/22.
 
10/22 is lots of fun and HawkTech Arms has the cheapest prices for aftermarket parts, and they offer free shipping to Canada. I ordered a buffer and an extractor from them on the weekend. Should be even better when they get installed.
 
Thanks for the support, but, I have a .22 right now, Its a really old one, i don't know who makes it, or what model, but it's a pump, and its got the tube under the barrel thats your magazine. you can fit around 10 shots in it it think. But anyways, so your saying the Ruger .10/22 is a good gun, and i can mod it, if any of you know some stuff about paintball it's sort of like it.... I would like for it to look like an M16/M4. And i cannot find any mods that make it look like that, with the barrel, stock, and grip frame/trigger frame, and the magazine.
 
:rolleyes:
OK, then get your restricted and buy an AR15 and put a .22 insert kit in it. LOL

Other than the Squires (which I personally think are poor quality) You won't find anything in Canada that can make any .22 I know of to look like an M16...

Krinker plinker "sorta" has that look... But thats about it.

EDIT: Of course there are some kits I've seen in the US, that aren't available here that do a pretty good job..
 
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Farmb0y said:
What about the CZ American? I've heard from some people that they are good.
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They are. But if you are talking about the 452 they are not semi auto, do not look like an m16, and are not anywhere near $250.00. They are very reliable and accurate though.

If you are talking about the 511. It is a semi but it's not anywhere near your budget either.

I'd have to go the same as the rest. Buy a 10/22 and a 25 round mag and go shooting.
 
Well, I can spend over $250, it's just that i thought i was going to get a good one around there. So, I think im going to go looking around for that one now.
http://www.cz-usa.com/product_detail.php?id=53 This one.

Does anyone know an online store, or a store in Regina Saskatchewan, that has this gun, does TnT Gun Works have this?
 
By the way, looks doesn't mean anything to me, as long as it has performance. It would be nice for it to look like that but it doesn't have to. I want a bi-pod though.
 
CZ would be a good choice. For gopher hunting I would definatley get th .17HMR. About $12 for that round and only $2.50 or so for .22 but well worth it for the .17
 
Farmb0y,

Drop the M16 look-alike idea, you'll just end up with something that looks cool but isn't much good for anything else. Get an Airsoft for that.

The 10/22 is a great gun, lots of mods and parts to pay and play with, but in the end you have a .22LR that's only good out to around 80yds or so on varmint, which is fine if that's your intended range. Ammo cost is a great plus but that should be weighed against what you really want to do with your rifle.

The CZ 452 would be my choice for varmint. Waaaay accurate, affordable, and good almost out to 200yds on varmint, hits them quite hard up closer, and shoots flat out far. Also you don't have to spend as much time and effort getting it up to snuff at the outset.

In the end the two guns will likely cost around the same ammount. You'll be tempted to save a few bucks and buy cheap, we've all done it and as much as everyone will caution you not to it's ultimately something you learn the hard way. All in both guns will realistically cost around $1000 with scope, rings, extra mags, sling and some ammo. It might sound like a lot now but I guarantee you one of two things, a year from now you'll either be happy with an awesome rifle and have no regrets, or looking to dump a useless gun and spend the money again on something decent. My cousin in construction used to say "I don't make enough money to afford cheap tools".

Go over to Rimfirecentral, tons of advice and info. there. Here's some links for you I've found on my quest for a .17HMR CZ 452 Varmint if it's something you might consider. I already have a 10/22 so my opinion may be a little biased.:)

http://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/
http://www.varmintal.com/17hmr.htm
http://www.cz-usa.com/products_rimfire_rifles.php
http://www.muelleroptics.com/products/lists/rimfire-scopes.html
http://www.wholesalesports.com/onli...egory_id=10110018030482/~pcategory=1011001803
 
Scott_N said:
Since gopher shooting can involve shooting hundreds, if not thousands of rounds in a day,
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How many gophers can you shoot in a day? Take 1 shot and make it count. :D ;) then again, peppering the poor f@cker with 25 or 30 rapid fire rounds could be fun too I guess.
 
CyaN1de said:
How many gophers can you shoot in a day? Take 1 shot and make it count. :D ;) then again, peppering the poor f@cker with 25 or 30 rapid fire rounds could be fun too I guess.
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What??? You mean you guys don't go shooting gophers just to hear your rifle and watch the action cycle? Am I the only weird freak who does this?

Seriously, challenging yourself or your buddies to a "best of" competition is giggles of fun. Although I rate my day smokin gophers based on number of rounds fired. Usually in the 600-1000 range is a good day.

TDC

ETA: I have both the CZ452 and the 10/22. I love the 17 but can't stop shooting the 10/22. For a first gun, the 10/22 is by far the best choice.
 
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Well, i have a unlimited amount of gophers, and my dog, after i shoot the gopher, goes and breaks them, lol, crunch crunch crunch. And they usually run around in packs of 3-5, so i want a semi auto with a big mag, preferably a box, so it doesn't stick out the bottom so much, so i can shoot when im laying down.

What about this, Krinker Plinker.

Or do you still think it would be better to get this.

http://www.cz-usa.com/product_detail.php?id=53

And invest in this gun, with a scope, and bigger magazines?
 
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