Need a .22LR that will eat anything

[Botswana]

Here's the requirements -

Autoloading rifle:
Magazine fed
Not finicky about ammunition
Under $250

Nice-to-haves:
Shorter than 20" Barrel
Aftermarket stock support
Aftermarket magazines of 20 rd or more

So far I have looked at the
Ruger 10/22
Marlin 795
Mossberg 702
Remington 597

The Mossberg's aftermarket support is nil and the "tactical" Mossberg .22 is just a clamshell around the 702. Would be interested but there is a common complaint about the magazine seating. So the base 702 is of interest but I think I might be stuck with just what I find.

The Marlin looks promising and is cheap, but I have read it is very specific about ammunition. If so, it's out. I like the overall gun but I don't like picky eaters.

The Remington is probably my favorite, but 1st and 2nd generation stock magazines have a bad reputation. I wonder if they have fixed this.

The Ruger is what all else appears to be measured by. However, I dislike the propreitary 10 round rotary magazine as many people have reported extended magazines sometimes do not seem to fit securely.

Mostly I'm curious if any of these are picky about ammo and I just don't know it yet.

[the rifleer]

I think that the 10/22 is your best bet, but I have never seen ANY .22 auto that is super reliable. .22 ammo in of it self is not reliable compared to centerfire. Sometime i pull the trigger and get a click and its cause the primer didn't go off. I have that problem in different .22's with different ammo.

The closest you will get to 100% reliability is with a bolt action or single shot.

[111t]

It seems to me you're describing a 10-22. They're pretty reliable especially if you keep them clean but the occasional stovepipe is unavoidable. If you want the higher capacity magazines, I would look at the actual ruger 25rd mags. (bx-25?)

[Powderman]

I don't have a recommendation for a specific rifle to fit your description--although I would look seriously at the 10/22 or the Marlin Model 60.

However--if you want to increase the reliability of your .22--be it rifle or handgun--a hundred fold, then get acquainted with a Bore Snake at the range.

If I'm shooting a bunch, I'll first run a Bore Snake down the bore. Here's a tip: dip the brushes and a little bit forward of it in Hoppe's. Then, take a small section about 2/3rds down, and put some good oil on it. One pass through the bore will clean, dry and lubricate it.

Afterward, about every 50 rounds or so, run the same Bore Snake down the bore. The oil left in the bore and chamber will help to minimize buildup of lead and fouling--and what does get deposited will be swept out with the Bore Snake.

Once in a while, take a .25 caliber bore brush and work it in the chamber ONLY. This will loosen up any fouling there.

Remember to wipe and clean the feed ramp on a regular basis--and make sure your extractor is clean as well.

[Rogervzv]

I have several 10/22s and cannot remember the last time I had a stovepipe or other feeding issue. These rifles are extremely reliable in my experience. I shot two of them yesterday (zeroing new optical sights) and put 500 rounds through them. Not one single misfire, stovepipe, or anything.

As far as aftermarket support goes, for the 10/22 it is almost infinite. Enhanced iron sights, stocks, triggers, extractors, etc. are all out there. No limit to how much dough you can plow into a 10/22. But out of the box they are darned nice rifles.

I usually shoot Federal Blue Bulk 525 and I have never, not once, needed to clean the rifle while at the range. Never has the rifle been dirty enough to affect reliability. I typically shoot about a box of ammo (525 rounds) per range session. I am confident that I could double that and not have enough dirt to affect reliability. Ammo does differ. Winchester Golden is much much dirtier in my experience and may eventually require a bore snake if you are shooting enough of it. The Winchester was very reliable in the 10/22 by the way. Just dirty.

[Botswana]

So, it sounds like if I want to avoid feeding problems due to the magazine in the 10/22 that I should stick to the actual Ruger magazines for high capacity. Good to know, I did not know Ruger actually made anything other than that silly 10 round rotary.

Also, good advice Powderman. I've been thinking about a bore snake, partly due to other rifles I own and it seems I just need to get one already. I actually have a .25 caliber bore brush so I already have what I would need to do what you suggest to the chamber.

I do understand that a semiauto .22 will never be as reliable as a lever or bolt action and that rimfire ammo is dodgy. Just trying to reduce the likelihood that it won't fire.

I find some requirements, mostly in pistols, for ammunition to be oddly specific.

[1DrnkMxR]

My neighbor's daugther.....just kidding, my vote is for the Ruger 10/22.

[loose_holster_dan]

^^HILARIOUS^^

[BPowderkeg]

Need a .22LR that will eat anything

NONE !! of the former recommended rifles will "will eat anything", "anything" being the key word here you will need to look for an old Remington 550-1, i have one and it WILL eat anything from CB's to high velocity .22LR......, why ? it has what is known as a "floating chamber", if you can find one in good condition and buy it, keep the chamber clean and lubed. OK ?

just do a search for Remington 550-1, here is a start.

http://www.google.com/search?client=...w=1048&bih=549

[MikeGunz]

My 10/22 with the valqaurtsen exact edge extractor is about as reliable as a 22 can get in my opinion. Usually out of bricks of 500+ whether is be federal, winchester, or american eagle, it will only have 1 or 2 miss fires. no FTEs or FTFs

[Art Eatman]

A Rem 550 and I think the 552 will feed shorts, longs and long rifles. If the I-want is for long rifle only, many will feed any brand.

Many .22s are picky about which ammo gives the tightest groups.

[chris in va]

Too bad you are limited to a semiauto. My Henry feeds everything and a lot more fun than a bullet hose.

[ZOOM2X]

I'm a newbie but have done a lot of review reading. I bought the Ruger 10/22 takedown and 4 BX-25 mags. For ammo I am going to order a bunch of CCI Mini-Mag while they are on sale (but backordered) at Midway. I will use up my existing supply and then go CCI all the way.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/130...ead-round-nose

read the reviews on CCI and see what you think

I'm still debating scopes and reading--- probably one of these:

Nikon: http://www.midwayusa.com/product/694...-reticle-matte

Weaver: http://www.midwayusa.com/product/734...-reticle-matte

Leupold: http://www.midwayusa.com/product/435...-reticle-matte

[Jo6pak]

about every 50 rounds or so, run the same Bore Snake down the bore

I couldn't tell you how many of thousands rounds have been thru my 10/22 in the past few months.
Neither can I recall the last time I cleaned it, or the last time it malfunctioned (beyond a dud cartridge)

[Botswana]

As always, great feedback and I can usually count on a wide variety of opinions and information.

This time, everyone seems to be saying 10/22. I did a lot more research and looked very hard at reputation of the different rifles, brands, and what kind of stupid money I can put into the guns.

The Marlin 795 is nice and cheap. Fairly solid if picky about ammo. I think the cheap price would be offset by the need for higher end .22 LR ammunition. I hate to sound cheap but the price difference would get eaten up in less than half a year. That and if I were to get serious bout kitting it out as a cheap project gun (ie: tacticool or "tactifool" as I call it) options are limited.

The Mossberg 702 is like an even cheaper but even worse support version of the Marlin 795. Non-starter. You can get the Tacticool version for $300 and make your .22 look like an AR but there are constant complaints about the magazine seating. I'm sure my sons would love it but I think the frustration of feed problems would limit the enjoyment.

The Remington 597 was by far my favorite but it looks like there are quality problems. Is this a theme with Remington rifles? I always thought of them as a solid brand due to the 870 shotgun and some of their bolt-action rifles. Sounds like they are not so hot in the semi-auto arena. I never could confirm if they fixed the issues with the magazines and there is surprisingly little enthusiasm for the rifle despite having nearly the aftermarket support of the 10/22. I'm wondering if this is one of those products that people buy as something of an "off brand" but never really get excited about it.

So the winner is clearly the Ruger 10/22, even though I hate those ridiculous 10 round rotary magazines. I'm still not sure if the next purchase is a .22 pistol or rifle, but if it's the rifle it will be the Ruger 10/22. Appropriately enough, there are 2 Rugers at the top of my list for the handgun purchase, so I may be getting a Ruger one way or another.

[dos0711]

Ruger makes a wonderful 25 round magazine for the 10/22 so be sure to factor that in...

[essohbe]

My 10/22 ate everythign except Remmington Thunderbolts and after i changed the extractor and got Butler Creek steel lip mags they function fine now.

Get the Blackdog Drum mag and change the plastic feed lips to metal ones.

[Caliber]

def go with the 10/22 I own about 7 of them and only have problems with few "cheap/bulk ammos" mostly the ammo's fault with the 2 of 10 shots not firing sorta thing. but a Bolt action-22 you can shoot whatever the hell you want no problems

[Theohazard]

Why do you hate the rotary mag? That mag design is one of the reasons the 10/22 is more reliable than other semi-auto .22s.

[bigfatton]

Why limit yourself to an autoloader? Bolt and lever actions are going to give you that reliability that you're looking for, as well as increasing your accuracy, and in my opinion, fun. I'm a strong advocate of my Browning BL-22, which, as you want, will feed shorts, longs and long rifles, in any order in the same magazine. Also has a large magazine, though it's tube and you seem to want box.

[Botswana]

Didn't realize the rotary mag made the difference for feeding. It seems like an overly complicated design, but I guess Ruger has been using it forever.

The desire for the autoloader is because I am using it to teach my son to shoot and we're also planning on tacticooling the hell out of it. Initially this is just a range toy, but long term I might want to use it as a camp/varmit gun and if it is going to see field time I want it to be as reliable as possible.

Actually, reliability is important at the range to. Shooting is fun but having firearm issues just causes frustration. Still, it will be good for him to learn how to clear a jam. He's sure not going to get many opportunities with my Jericho.

[Edward429451]

Then you should get the 10/22 because no 22 is as easy to tacticool it out or to make into a target rifle. I put mine in a Butler Creek folding stock, extended mag release, peep sights, handguard, and flash hider. I did nothing to the barrel or fire control group because it is just a plinker and small game rifle. I also bought a pile of 30 round mags for it, but interestingly enough became attached to the 10 round rotary mags for actual use beyond range because they (work) fit flush, making it very handy.

[bigfatton]

Yeah the 10/22 seems like what you're looking for then. Lots of aftermarket options to tacticool it up a lot, and I've not really heard anything bad about rotary magazines.

[4V50 Gary]

10/22.

[Botswana]

Went out to buy one and couldn't find one. Work has been kicking my butt to. If this keeps up, I may have to finally break down and just order one online. Never done that before, but I really want the 10/22 before my next range day.