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matt491

matt491

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I'm in the market for my first rifle for some longer range shooting and want to start out with a .22

I've heard great things about the 10/22 and have been told I can't go wrong starting with it, however, I'm finding a few other rifles for sale that seem to be great deals too.

I'm specifically looking for opinions on the Marlin 981T. If anyone has any opinions on other .22 rifles I should be looking at, I'm open to suggestion. Bolt action or semi-auto doesn't matter to me. I'm looking for something that will be easy to use and relatively accurate out of the box.

Thanks
 
If accuracy is important, then forget a 10/22 unless you want to spend a fortune building it up to something useful. A Savage Mk.II is probably the cheapest accurate .22 you will find, above that are the CZ's and used CIL/Anschutz models.

There really aren't any truly accurate semi's out of the box unless you want to spend money.

Mark
 
Okay, taken into account. But what makes a bolt action more accurate than a semi?

And any thoughts on the marlin I mentioned? or the brand in general
 
I have a 10/22, and accuracy isn't a problem. Right out of the box it will group under an inch at 50 yards, however I must admit that with a lighter trigger pull it would get better.

If you want to buy a 10/22, I would get a used one which works well, as the new one I bought FTE's at least two or three times for every ten round clip. Some folks get a new one which works properly, others (like me) don't, so why take a chance?
 
The 1022 is ok but it requires many extra parts to make it shoot. barrel, trigger etc. Out of the box,,,you cannot beat the Savage Mark IIs. Deadly without additions. some older .22s can also give the accuracy that you are looking for. Anchutz is one but rather costly. I personally have tried many different brands and have settled on the 1940s Marlin 81 DL. It has been the most accurate .22 I shot out to 200 yards ( for a cheap, non-super gun for less than $150.). Primarily at gophers as I do that at least monthly during the summer. thousands of shells thru them and nary a faulter. You will find the bolt action guns tend to be more accurate than the semi autos as a lot of movement happens when the action reloads itself. My opinion of course.
 
matt491 said:
Okay, taken into account. But what makes a bolt action more accurate than a semi?

And any thoughts on the marlin I mentioned? or the brand in general
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Way less moving parts. Tighter tolerances, better lock up. Lots of factors make bolt guns more accurate than semis in the world of rimfire. As mentioned above it will take a lot of money to meet the performance level of a Bolt gun from a Semi.

The Marlins are nice rifles. My suggestion would be to handle them and see if the rifle fits you. The CZ is hard to beat out of the box for an accurate .22. It likely will need nothing but an optic to shoot really well.

For value, the Savage is the best deals out there. Any of the Mark II series. They even come with a heavy barrel version.
 
So bolt action is better.
Marlin or savage and I can't go wrong.

Funny when I spoke to the gentleman at my local hunting shop, he said the 10/22 was the only way to go and wouldn't even talk about or comment on any other rifles.

Glad I didn't listen to him and make a purchase that day. Sounds like I would have regretted it.
 
lots of profit margin in a 1022. Plus the options that you will need to make it a "target" shooter will be several times more than you pay for the original gun.

Good choice in waiting for opinions. I do not own nor want to own a 1022 I have held and shot many and seen many "target" models at our range. Many were out shot by the cheap junk that other people had..many times it is mainly the shooter as the "higher priced" guns are "more accurate"...not so. a lot depends on the shooter knowing his equipment and how it shoots.
 
matt491 said:
I'm in the market for my first rifle for some longer range shooting and want to start out with a .22
I've heard great things about the 10/22 and have been told I can't go wrong starting with it, however, I'm finding a few other rifles for sale that seem to be great deals too.
I'm specifically looking for opinions on the Marlin 981T. If anyone has any opinions on other .22 rifles I should be looking at, I'm open to suggestion. Bolt action or semi-auto doesn't matter to me. I'm looking for something that will be easy to use and relatively accurate out of the box. Thanks
Click to expand...

The new Ruger 10/22s have decent accuracy out of the box. I saw one (scoped) at the range a couple weeks ago and if remember correctly, it was getting about 1 inch at 50 meters. Now this is phenomenal performance IMO, because my long gone 10/22 couldn't hit a proverbial barnside at any distance:D

Now my Marlin 581T and Savage MKIIF get 3/4 inch groups with Wallyworld Winchester bulk, Dyna or Xpert, at 50 meters.

I possess average shooting skills at best, mind you.

FYI, my CZ Style and Varmint get 1/2 inch groups under similar conditions. All groups were shot with mid-quality scopes.
 
matt491 said:
So bolt action is better.


Funny when I spoke to the gentleman at my local hunting shop, he said the 10/22 was the only way to go and wouldn't even talk about or comment on any other rifles.

Glad I didn't listen to him and make a purchase that day. Sounds like I would have regretted it.
Click to expand...

There is a chance it would have worked out for you, but there is a larger chance that it would have been a huge pain in the ass trying to get a $300 rifle to work properly.
 
I think its ethernal debate - accuracy of bolt vs semi. I thought bolt action it a touch more accurate until I bought Remington 597. Mine is rather expensive "Yellow Jacket" that runs for around 500$ but it shoot on par with my Savage MkII. In 3p format Remington 597 actually outshoot SAvage MkII purely on better ergonomics of that Yellow stock. Some older 22's are often very accurate guns as well, for example you may shoot Mossberg 152 one day and see close to 1MOA groups. On the other hand every 10/22 I handled and shot disappointed me one way or another, although they could probably be made into good rifles.
 
And that's what I'm getting across the board. "The 10/22 can be made into an accurate, fun rifle".
As I'm new to shooting rifles and target shooting, I wouldn't know what to do or how to do it to make a rifle accurate. And I can't afford major upgrades like triggers and such for now. I basically want an out of the box, throw a scope on it and have some fun at my local indoor range gun.

Marlin or Savage sound like my winners. We'll just see who responds to my pm's faster on here.
 
matt491 said:
Okay, taken into account. But what makes a bolt action more accurate than a semi?
Click to expand...
That is a very intelligent question you are asking.
The chamber is what makes a 22 bolt more accurate than a 22 semi.
The bolt action 22 guns have a much tighter chamber than autos and that
is the main component in the receipe for their accuracy.
If you cut a tighter chamber in a semi, the gun may be very picky on ammo,
meaning that with some ammos, it can (and will) have cycling problems like
feeding, chambering, extraction, stovepiping, etc.
In a semi, usualy tighter the chamber, more picky it will be regarding ammo.
Some ammo brands may not work at all.
Of course, in order to alleviate some of these problems,
there are some things to be done when cutting the chamber in a semi.
Some people call these things tricks, other people view them as compromises.



The fact that the ammo found on the market
has major dimensional differences
makes the things even more complicated:
The 22 ammo is ready-ammo only (you can't reload for it) and that
means that you have to find on the market the ammo that your gun likes
accuracy-wise AND cycling/reliability-wise.
Don't be surprised to find that your semi shoots tight groups with some ammo
but has some (minor) cycling issues with it,
or find an ammo that cycles like butter but shoots not so great groups.


So, yeah, get a bolt action, especially if you say you want to go long range.
 
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22lr said:
I think its ethernal debate - accuracy of bolt vs semi. I thought bolt action it a touch more accurate until I bought Remington 597. Mine is rather expensive "Yellow Jacket" that runs for around 500$ but it shoot on par with my Savage MkII. In 3p format Remington 597 actually outshoot SAvage MkII purely on better ergonomics of that Yellow stock. Some older 22's are often very accurate guns as well, for example you may shoot Mossberg 152 one day and see close to 1MOA groups. On the other hand every 10/22 I handled and shot disappointed me one way or another, although they could probably be made into good rifles.
Click to expand...

22lr always has keen accuracy insights :cool:, and I'm certainly not the one to throw in comments on that front....:)...but if I may add this? :yingyang:

A .22 is a fun firearm, too! :rockOn:

It's potentially light (and virtually recoil-less, again depending on the specific firearm) :cool: , inexpensive to feed (read: good for cheap shooting, too! :D) and, as most know (and love :evil:), free of magazine-capacity restrictions when in none-semi-auto-handgun form :wave:....

So, I guess what I'm trying :redface: to say :pirate:, is that you ought not to immediately deprive yourself of the fun of the whole "plinking-aspect" that the .22 has to offer, either :p - and there are many "older" firearms that offer both aspects, too! :cool:
 
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From my internet research I discovered a lot of beginner silhouette shooters like the CZ 452/453 series for good bang for your buck. As mentioned above the problem with semi autos is the chamber and also some match ammo does not have enough force to properly cycle the action. Also I have read that the wax lubrication may gum up a semi auto action. And for silhouette shooters having shells fly at an opponent's face isn't good :).

Other favorites are the Remington 541 s and t, winchester 52, and anything anschutz (this list is far from comprehensive). I just picked up a Weatherby Mark XXII which is basically an Anschutz 64 action with a Weatherby stock.

I picked up a 10/22 as my first .22 but I immediately sold it because the stock is so short. I think the stock is half way between a youth and adult size. I started crunching the numbers and to change the stock, barrel and trigger to get it to shoot like a CZ would be a small fortune. Some people enjoy those sort of things, but I didn't want to bother.
 
If you want to punch holes in paper in tight little groups go for a bolt. If you want to go plinking and have fun shooting cans, frying pans and the like go for a semi-auto! Bolt will always be more accurate but the obsession with accuracy can become that "an obsession". I find when shooting paper I get disappointed if my groups aren't as tight as I think/want them to be. When plinking just so long as I hear "ting" "ting" I feel satisfied without wondering where the "ting" came from on the pan!
 
The worst trigger.

I have a 10/22 and I can honestly say that it's the worst trigger I have ever seen, which doesn't mean very much because I have no experience with similarly priced semi's. But it's bad enough that I've been looking into replacement triggers and the best deal I've found so far is $195 for a Timmey's (if that's how it's spelt) which is about $35 less then what I paid for the 10/22 in the first place. So now I'm wondering should I replace the trigger or the rifle? If I find that the Marlin, Remington, or whatever else has a better trigger, I may well just get a new rifle. Does anyone have any experience with the Browning T-Bolt?
 
358 BLR said:
I have a 10/22 and I can honestly say that it's the worst trigger I have ever seen, which doesn't mean very much because I have no experience with similarly priced semi's. But it's bad enough that I've been looking into replacement triggers and the best deal I've found so far is $195 for a Timmey's (if that's how it's spelt) which is about $35 less then what I paid for the 10/22 in the first place. So now I'm wondering should I replace the trigger or the rifle? If I find that the Marlin, Remington, or whatever else has a better trigger, I may well just get a new rifle. Does anyone have any experience with the Browning T-Bolt?
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Go to rimfirecentral.com there are DIY hammer and sear work walkthroughs you can do to bring it down to 2.5-3 lbs. The second cheapest option is order a voquartsen or power custom hammer ($40ish). By just replacing that part it will bring it down to 2.5lbs however the creep,overtravel and overall crappy feel will still be there. Check out http://www.rimfiresports.com/merchant.mv?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=RSC&Category_Code=TPRK
 
I had a regular 10/22 about 10 years ago. Yes the trigger was bad, A gunsmith friend just put a lighter spring on the trigger for me and made a big difference. Certainly not a target rifle, but I could do head shots on grouse at 50 yrd with a scope. Good little gun, but I sold it. Definitely has a Fun factor to it. Someone on the EE has a 10/22 Target model for sale. I think he's asking around $300. I don't know what they are new. Laminate stock and heavy barrel. Maybe they have done something with the trigger by now. I doubt you could buy much of a target rifle for $300 or so. But maybe.
 
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