Best rimfire sporting rifle

[ronxae]

When I was 10 years old I shot a magpie 100 yards away with my Winchester Model 67A. No brag, just fact....I'm 70 now, by the way...

[Brotherbadger]

10/22.

[SaxonPig]

This would be my choice.

OK, may be at a slight disadvantage in rapid fire...

[geetarman]

The most accurate 22 rimfire I have is the Annie MPR64 as long as you feed it Lapua Center X. Lapua Standard, Midas and Wolf Target are only so-so.

HOWEVER. . .I also shoot a CZ452 and a Ruger 77-22 that will shoot VERY close to the Annie at 50 yards with just about anything you run through them and do it MUCH cheaper.

I have not tested the CZ and the Ruger with Lapua Midas yet. Will get that done this weekend.

I shot the best group of my life with the Annie last week when the wind was calm. Yesterday the wind was out of the north and was blowing the range flag sideways. The Lapua Center X also gave me the best 4 shot group of my life with one called flyer and the other ammos including Tenex were just all over the place.

I don't know why that should be so but there you have it. The Annie is a great shooter once you find the ammo they like.

[kilimanjaro]

Only fools fail to select the Marlin 39A for best 22 sporter.

SaxonPig, however, has chosen wisely.

[603Country]

My 39A and Win 9422 get most of the work these days, but my old 87D is a long time favorite. My Grandfather bought it for me in the late 50's. I can't even guess how many Water Moccasins and Red Wing Blackbirds I shot with that old rifle when I was a kid.

I'm pleased to see how many folks have an old model 87 and like them. Not too pretty though, are they?

[Doyle]

Of course, if you want a "pretty" autoloader you could always shell out the big bucks for a Weatherby XXII. Probably the prettiest autoloading .22LR ever made.

[Mosin-Marauder]

Ruger 10/22 trumps all.

[Erno86]

My Kimber Classic, from Yonkers, New York, came with a 5 shot factory target of .238" @ 50 yards --- though Kimber stopped producing this line of rifle --- and parts are starting to get scarce. The stock is made with AA Claro walnut.

My Martini Henry ain't so bad either.

[scottycoyote]

when i think sporting rifle, i think something thats easy to hunt with and take thru the woods, and deadly accurate. Based on that ive have to nominate my magnum research 1017 in 17hm2. I have prettier guns but for hunting its hard to beat.

[michaelcj]

Don't know what is the "best" but mine suit me just fine… by age:

Winchester 1890 ca.1892 .22wrf
Winchester 69 ca.1939
Marlin 39A ca.1943
Winchester 67A ca. 1953

Now if I could just find some ammo… [except the WRF, I have a case of that]

Mike

[Unlicensed Dremel]

Ruger 10/22 trumps all

Not a chance.

The answer, to the extent there is one, is Anschutz. But Cooper, Walther, Kimber, some others aren't bad at all. Neither is CZ.

Interesting, at one time I owned a T/C R55, which was a beautiful rifle (semi-auto), and I thought would be the end-all, be-all rimfire. But sadly and strangely, it was horribly inaccurate.

[SaxonPig]

I think the 10/22 may be a contender for the best all around 22 rifle. Mine is about 25 years old, a standard model off the shelf with no custom work, and shoots 50 yard groups that are a slightly enlarged .22 hole.

But you know me, I like the unusual. I like taking something out of the case that 12 guys along the line don't have. Like this...

[jmstr]

Currently I have 4 .22 rifles. If I could only have 1, I would be hard pressed to choose.

Ultimately, I'd probably have to stick to the Marlin 39A.

I think all of those who are trying to make a decision should READ a lot: especially this post- It stopped 6 years ago, and was revived.

Common interests and questions, and answers.

However, for even more insight, it would be good to read up on the pages linked to this one: Chuck Hawks Rimfire page

Scroll to the bottom to the selection advice for different purposes.

It may be years old, but is still valid ideas and insights.

[bamaranger]

The best .22 sporter is the one you can find ammo for........!!! Okay, I couldn't pass that up......

A .22 sporter to me is a hunting/plinking/hard working rifle. In the truck, in the boat, as common as a walking stick, and just as reliable. I am a 10/22 fan, but almost every one I've ever fooled with had to have some trigger work done to it to make it bearable. And the new 10/22 internals leave me a bit cold. Almost all semi's are a bit dependent on what ammo you feed them......though the 10/22 is pretty darn reliable very certainly.

But my "best sporter" is another Ruger, the 77/22, specifically the stainless synthetic model. Shrugs of rough use, low maintenace, and the manual action will cycle every time.

[geetarman]

Bamaranger,

I hear you on the Ruger 77-22. I have been a Ruger fan for a number of years and wanted a 77-22 for a while. I put it head to head with a CZ 452 and found it a little lacking. I took it to a friend who is a gunsmith and he glass bedded and pillar bedded the rifle. Out to fifty yards it shoots as good as my Annie MPR64 with any ammo you can load in the magazine. The Annie is REAL picky about what it likes ( Lapua Center X ) the Ruger and the CZ are not picky at all. The Ruger and the CZ both have trigger jobs and are both bedded but only the Ruger is pillar bedded.

I am taking the Ruger out on Friday to test it again with Lapua Standard, Lapua Center X, Lapua Midas and some Eley tenex. I am betting it will do fine with all including the Tenex. The Annie only likes the Center X.

[aarondhgraham]

Ruger 10/22 trumps all.

Nothing like brand loyalty.

The 10/22 is certainly one of the most popular guns out there,,,
But in no universe I know of can it be called the best,,,
I have a 50+ year old Mossberg bolt action,,,
It has outshot a bunch of the Rugers,,,
Even the highly tricked out rifles.

In fact I will restate that there is no "best",,,
No rimfire rifle out there is so much of a standout as to earn that title.

A person should instead ask:
What is your favorite/best performing .22 rifle,,,
And why do you consider it to be your favorite rifle?

Aarond

.

[Andrewsmith1]

I have 4.22lr and love three of them. I love my 10/22 Deluxe although I want to replace the stock trigger and maybe a few other part. I can shoot really well with my Remington Nylon 66 with open sights, but after a couple of shots with a scope on it I can't shoot as well. I have heard that is the result of how the scope mounts on the gun and the barrel moves a little relative to the stock so the scope adjust to the change to the slight shift in the barrel while it remains accurate with open sites. My absolute favorite that I own and have shot is a Mossberg Model 10 manufactured in 1934. It s a single shot bolt action and it is an absolute tack driver. When my eye sight was better I could hit a 50 foot NRA target placed at 50 yards within the 8-10 rings 90% of the time with open sights. It was my very first rifle other than air rifles. Sadly I can't fire it right now because the sear on the trigger is so worn that the trigger pull is in the ounces and it will go off if you sneeze while holding it. I have been looking for a replacement sear so I can shoot it again for about 6 years now and the ones I find that are supposed to work are the wrong part.I can do well with the Nylon 66 open sighted, but that first "real" gun that I got from my father (Who did some repairs and refinished the stock) and gae it to me for my birthday is priceless to me. I am going to have to find someone who can make a new trigger/sear before I shoot it again. Looking online the value is only about $20. I will never sell it so I would pay more than that to get it into safe shooting conditions. Otherwise it will have to hang on the wall because I am not getting rid of it.

[bamaranger]

Thanks Geet.

I got lucky on mine. About 15 years ago, it was 5-6 guns back on a rack in a shop, and had been there so long the paddle stock was sunbleached, and you could write your name in the dust on it. They'd had it for a long time. Turns out nobody would spend the cash for a 77/22, when they could buy a 10/22 for less, or a Marlin 60 even cheaper. I'd wanted a bluesteel/walnut one, but the shop owner pitched me a price I couldn't refuse. (only time THAT has ever happened).

I put a Volq sear in it, and the Leu rimfire 2-7x, and really believe it is one of the most worthwhile investments I have ever made.
Tried to shoot it every day, one mag, or used to, till ammo got scarce, but I still shoot it a good bit. Zeroed "on" at 50, it shoots about any ammo better than I can hold. I put a slim GI1903 sling on those funky Ruger shackles and can loop up with it. At 4x the top of the duplex post is "on" at 100, and the 6" plate across the road gets regular wacks. (from field type positions). Used to carry it regularly in the trunk for feral work, 'till they cracked down on that sort of thing.

Best money I ever spent

[SARuger]

My dad bought me my first rifle when I was 11, I'm 48 now. It was a Ted Williams 3T(Winchester 190?) I have shot at least 10,000 rounds of CCI Stinger through that 22LR and it still holds a 1.5" group at 100yds. I love that rifle. I have a Marlin 60 that is fun to shoot and I really like my new 10/22

[Ruger480]

There is no "best",,,

This was a marketing phrase created by the folks who couldn't compete with the Marlin 39A

[micromontenegro]

I'll give you a close up so you can be sure

[Doyle]

Used to carry it regularly in the trunk for feral work, 'till they cracked down on that sort of thing.

What? Your fed bosses don't like the idea of rangers using civilian weapons to dispatch critters? Sounds like they have some "control issues".

[geetarman]

I have an Anschutz that is VERY good as long as you feed it the ammo it likes. I have a couple of others that are close with any ammo you can load in them.

[Picher]

Anybody notice that the original post was April 1, 2008?