Let's discuss .22 caliber rifles

[JJMarsh]

Greetings to all firearms enthusiasts!

I'd like to hear your opinions and experiences with .22 LR rifles. This caliber has long earned its popularity due to its versatility - whether it's target shooting, small game hunting, or just practice sessions.

Which models do you consider most successful and why? What ammunition shows the best accuracy and reliability? Are there any maintenance specifics that beginners should know about?

Let's share knowledge and experience - your advice could be very valuable to other forum members!

[stagpanther]

I consider 22LR the foundation of my shooting; always go back to it for fundamentals. I have a couple of CZ 457's which shoot very well when I'm on my game (and the wind Gods let me off the hook). One day (if I live long enough) I will build a custom action 22lr rifle. I'm sure other brands work really well too, IMO it has more to do with the ammo you feed it, and barrels tend to favor one brand over the other; in fact two identical rifles from the same manufacturer may have different preferences. My basic ammo regimen is Norma Tac 22 for "casual plinking" and the top shelf stuff from RWS, Eley and Lupua for chasing accuracy/consistency. Rimfire and Frankenmauser are two other hardcore 22lr shooters on this forum who could give you their advice.

[rc]

An older Aluminum trigger guard 10/22 is a wonderful choice for general all around 22 rifle but if you want accuracy above all else, the CZ 22 rifles are hard to beat for value! 22 Ammo is lot dependent and there is no brand I can swear is always better but traditionally Remington has been generally bad but I admit I haven't bought any of the Remington ammo produced under current ownership.

[tangolima]

I now start my range session with 50 rounds of 22lr on soda can at 150yd. It is a great tool to train wind reading. Its limited wind bucking capability is what makes it great for such purpose. Why beginning of the session? It is because wind is stronger.

Ammo used to be Aguila super extra hv. Now it is CCI Blazer HV. Pretty good for the price. My rifles are affordable old guns. One Marlin bolt action and one Mossberg auto loader. Optics are also budget (cheap) types. 4x fixed is my favorite.

-TL

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

[ballardw]

Originally Posted by JJMarsh

Greetings to all firearms enthusiasts!
What ammunition shows the best accuracy and reliability?

22 LR rifles and pistols are known for performing a bit, to quite a bit differently, depending on brand and model of ammunition. If you are looking for match accuracy then one of the match types of ammo would be the place to start but cost might just drive you to look for other brands for practice. If the rifle is for casual shooting with potentially lots of rounds in a session then try as many makes and types as you can to determine the preferences of that particular rifle.
Semi-autos may not like one particular load to the extent that it will frequently fail to feed or extract/eject properly. Don't be surprised if a friend claims Brand XXXXX ammo is the best for particular model rifle and find out that your same brand rifle doesn't like it.

If a manufacturer recommends use of "standard velocity" or "high velocity" ammo it is a good idea to pay attention to that.

Note that some of the extreme high velocity rounds have longer cases and may have feeding problems because of that.

Don't expect sub-MOA accuracy at 100+ yards from a $100 rifle though you might get lucky.

[bamaranger]

OK, .22 rifles.....

First off everybody (not literally of course) should have one. But if you're a shooter, there ought to be a .22 rifle in your rack. Heck, probably more than one. One of the staples of gun writing back in the day was "pick an X (number) rifle battery". Surprisingly, some of the well know bore polishers did not list a .22 lr. I'm more than a bit suspect of any shooter that does not have one. Most really good shots I know have several. Despite the rising costs of our sport, .22 lr ammo is still the cheapest shooting. That provides affordable practice, which we all need,... frequently. The cartridge allows zero recoil practice, which helps develop good shooting habits like proper trigger control, and combats and helps defeat bad habits like anticipation, hard to diagnose solo with larger cartridges. Finally the .22 lr is relatively quiet, you can shoot a lot of .22 where one might not shoot much else short of an air rifle. And a .22 short low velocity is really quiet (more on this in a bit).

I'm not a .22 lr competitor, so I'll keep my mouth shut in that regard. I hunt very little with a .22 lr , never hunted squirrels much. We hunted rabbits ahead of beagles and a .410 shotgun was the usual tool, though dad took a .22 rifle on occasion, just for grins. I hunted groundhogs as a kid with a .22, 'till I got something bigger. When working, I carried a .22 lr in the patrol rig trunk, ( a bit outside of policy) and many rangers and wardens that I knew did same. It was a useful tool to ethuanize unsavable animals and to eliminate destructive pests like ferals, beaver and nutria. Cheap ammo, quiet, effective and no paperwork for discharging a service weapon.

The .22 rifle for me these days is a trainer. There was a time when I tried to fire 10 rds every day at a steel plate here on my place at 100 yds, and the rifle was zeroed for that purpose. I'm busier in retirement than I was working so I don't shoot .22 that much presently, but the .22 in rifle and pistol keeps my trigger finger and brain in the game. If I rifle hunt (deer) it is frequently with a bolt rifle and so a Ruger 77/22 stainless synthetic is my trainer and most shot .22. It also shrugged off neglect and heavy use in the trunk of the rig. I couldn't begin to count the rounds through the durable little rifle, and all the critters I've dispatched with it would cause a PITA person to faint. Only thing I've done to it is install a Volquartzen sear, as the factory trigger, though passable, was improved with a simple parts swap. The spring that came with the parts kit went to another fellow with the same rifle.

Probably as good a time as any to discuss the type of .22 rifle. I'm a big believer in an "adult" .22. Meaning, full sized stock for a grown up, good trigger, and decent optic, proportional to the rifle. I like a bolt rifle for this role, as it replicates the rifles I hunt with, and some can feed .22 short quiet CB or .22 long quiet CB reliably. The 77/22 fills that bill for me, but there are others as well. These are not starter rifles and cost more than a box store budget rig, but are worth the added dollars. Other candidates might be the Kimber, the Browning T-22, a Win M52, or one of the CZ's . I've no experience with Euro rifles but there are no doubt good examples of what I am trying to describe. You are looking for a good trigger, accuracy reliability, and a good fit. Buy it once and shoot it for the rest of your life, then leave it to your mature kids or grandkids to shoot. Remember, you are training to build good shooting skills, and suffering through monster trigger pulls, and burning through a brick of ammo in an afternoon is not the purpose of your serious, lifetime, adult .22.

For a plinker and GP type .22 the following seem appropriate. Most (all?) Ruger 10/22's seem to need trigger work these, as did most Marlin 60's and many of the boys .22 rifles of days gone by. So too the Remington Speedmaster and Fieldmaster, though there were adult sized rifles and fairly reliable. The 10/22 can be tweaked to a good trigger and tuned to an exceptional level of accuracy with aftermarket parts and there are over the counter are accuracy models as well, but I cannot speak to the factory trigger on them. I own and shoot some of these rifles , but do not put them in the same class as a lifetime .22. The semi's and pump may not feed shorts and longs, some do. A surprise in this category has been the Henry lever. The trigger is passable, dimensions acceptable and it's more accurate than I am. I find the tube loading a bit cumbersome, but once stoked, it holds a lot of beans for good fun and decent practice. I put a Willilams peep and Skinner blade on mine as leaf and blade sights are a struggle these days.

A big disappointment was a Savage Mark II heavy barrel. I bought it as a F-TR trainer, had it's big scope doped for 100 and 200 yds. The bladed trigger was great, and it shot bulk ammo well and accuracy ammo very well. But.... the magazines were AWFUL. The rifle would not feed reliably from the start. I went thru 5 magazines, including two sent to me by Savage....free...., and still thoroughly frustrated, gave the rifle to bamaboy. He's frustrated now too!

Ammo. As many know, a .22 can be ammo particular just like any other rifle regards accuracy and function. Not a competitor, I cannot comment on match grade fodder. One common complaint of bulk .22 is failure to fire. For me, the budget Winchester ammo was the pits in this concern. Again, across the broad spectrum of my rifles, CCI standard velocity ammo shot the most
consistently, accuracy and ignition wise, but I never bought a lot of it. Remington Golden Bullet HP despite many detractors always worked OK for me. In recent years I do believe its quality has declined, but now that Remington has been reborn, perhaps it will come back. When .22 ammo got scarce, I bought and shot what I could find. You may find that your semi .22 may like a certain brand more than others. I have an early .22 Ruger revolver that will not chamber a variety of .22 ammo, goes in about 3/4 of the way and stops. Good to know before embarking with ammo that will not chamber.

Cleaning. I think you can overclean the bore of a .22. While I do not neglect any of my rifles, the bore of a .22 gets a simple pass or two with a quality rod and patch when accuracy suffers. I don't think my 77/22 has ever had a brush down the tube . I've heard it said that 22 bullets are coated and that lends itself to limited fouling, but the bore will be left dry and rust and corrosion prevention measures still apply. Cleaning from the breech with a quality rod is made easiest with a bolt rifle, another advantage of the system. If you HAVE to clean from the muzzle, use a quality rod and a muzzle guide, though I cannot think who makes one specific for a .22. I like a clean, hard, one piece steel rod, but others do not , preferring a synthetic. Avoid the common, soft aluminum take down rods which catch grit, may not be true and can wear your crown and batter the bore. The bolt face extractor and receiver innards are easily cleaned when the bolt is removed, (without tools!) yet another advantage of a bolt rifle. I've got no preference on solvents and lube, but use TRW25B on alot of my guns as a rule for lube.

Geez, that's a long post.

[JJMarsh]

Appreciating all the great .22LR discussion here! As the OP, I’ll add this resource for those researching options – here’s a curated selection of .22 rifles https://gritrsports.com/shooting/fir...les/22-rifles/ with specs. The bolt-action section is particularly worth exploring for precision fundamentals.

[JJMarsh]

Originally Posted by ballardw

22 LR rifles and pistols are known for performing a bit, to quite a bit differently, depending on brand and model of ammunition. If you are looking for match accuracy then one of the match types of ammo would be the place to start but cost might just drive you to look for other brands for practice. If the rifle is for casual shooting with potentially lots of rounds in a session then try as many makes and types as you can to determine the preferences of that particular rifle.
Semi-autos may not like one particular load to the extent that it will frequently fail to feed or extract/eject properly. Don't be surprised if a friend claims Brand XXXXX ammo is the best for particular model rifle and find out that your same brand rifle doesn't like it.

If a manufacturer recommends use of "standard velocity" or "high velocity" ammo it is a good idea to pay attention to that.

Note that some of the extreme high velocity rounds have longer cases and may have feeding problems because of that.

Don't expect sub-MOA accuracy at 100+ yards from a $100 rifle though you might get lucky.

Good point about high-velocity rounds having feeding issues. Have you found any semi-autos that handle them reliably? My 10/22 jams with anything over 1,200 fps unless I tweak the extractor.

[JJMarsh]

Originally Posted by tangolima

I now start my range session with 50 rounds of 22lr on soda can at 150yd. It is a great tool to train wind reading. Its limited wind bucking capability is what makes it great for such purpose. Why beginning of the session? It is because wind is stronger.

Ammo used to be Aguila super extra hv. Now it is CCI Blazer HV. Pretty good for the price. My rifles are affordable old guns. One Marlin bolt action and one Mossberg auto loader. Optics are also budget (cheap) types. 4x fixed is my favorite.

-TL

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

Great training approach! Using .22LR at 150 yards is an excellent (and affordable) way to build wind-reading skills. I do something similar with my old Marlin 60 – the arc on those HV rounds really shows wind drift.

Have you noticed much difference in wind bucking between Aguila and CCI Blazer? I’ve found Blazer’s 40gr HV surprisingly consistent for the price, though it tends to drift a bit more than standard velocity in crosswinds.

[tangolima]

CCI has lower MV standard deviation. Other than that, they are quite similar.

HV should do better than SV in cross wind, as flight time is shorter. The issue is trans sonic instability, which is debatable. I choose hv partly because of its higher energy. It kicks up more dust to make spotting easier.

Flight time for 150yd is about 0.4-0.5s, equivalent to center fired at 500yd. I usually would feel the wind at firing line, supplemented with flag at mid range, to come up with a wind estimate, with little attention to wind at target. Hold and fire. If miss, there will be no more than 2 quick follow up shots based on the poi. Then I will need to wait 30s before next attempt, so that I will need to read the wind again.

-TL

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

[stagpanther]

There's been a few comments here on this thread regarding use of high velocity ammo vs "slower" ammos. I'm not going to debate that since that ends up in a quagmire generally--but you do need to be mindful that tolerances in 22lr are much smaller than in regular centerfire cartridges. You stick a very high velocity or lengthened 22lr into a tight bentz/match chamber and you might end up picking little fragments of brass out of your face.