What Is Your Favorite .22 Rifle?

[Schlitz 45]

I don't think I've ever met a 22 rifle that I didn't like!

[Scorch]

I love my 22 rifles! I own at least a half dozen bolt actions and 4 or 5 semis. I like my 22s more than any other guns I have. They're just fun! I can go out for a day of long-range sniping with my 541T or 77/22 Target, chase cans across a gravel pit with my 10/22s, or carry my old Winchester 1903 out for a day of retro fun. I recently passed my Winchester 52D on to a friend, so that one isn't sitting there looking at me when I open the safe. And my 22 handguns are also pretty high on my list of favorites.

[Hammerhead]

All time favorite?
CZ 452 Scout.
Tiny, good sights (rare these days), 1-1/2 MOA all day long.
All of my bigger and heavier and less accurate rimfires have found new homes.

[jmr40]

Over the years I've had a couple of the Ruger Target 10/22 rifles...the ones with the .920 barrel and I've really wanted to like them but I never got the accuracy you have with yours. (Post #1.) I see now Ruger has a 10/22 'Competition' in addition to their 'Target' 10/22...might be something to look into...like I said I like Rugers.

Check out this version. Same basic rifles in slightly different configurations.

https://ruger.com/products/1022Sport...ets/31166.html


https://ruger.com/products/1022Sport...ets/31167.html

https://ruger.com/products/1022Carbi...ets/31173.html

They have the target barrel, chamber and the 3rd option comes with the BX trigger. They are every bit as accurate as the target rifle, but with a lighter contour barrel. I have 2 of them. I don't even shoot at ranges closer than 100 yards with them anymore. 1 MOA at 100 is typical with good ammo. I often shoot them at 200+ yards.

I can never get pics to load on this forum or I'd post some.

But as much as I like those Rugers, my Tikka T1x is more accurate.

[Picher]

Yeah, my used, customized 10-22 also shoots better than it has any right to, especially at the price I paid! The Shilen bull-barrel was a great add!

J. Picher

[Rhodester]

CZ 452 Trainer

[Erno86]

My favorite benchrest 22 rifle: A brace of Martini Henry Mark II Internationals (One with a Vortex Viper 5-25x & one with Parker Hale peep sights) single shots.

My favorite in the offhand/standing field position: Single shot, bull barreled Martini Henry 12/15, mounted with Parker Hale peep sights.

My favorite 22 squirrel rifle: A scoped Yonkers Kimber Classic bolt rifle, with a 5 round magazine.

[joe45c]

Winchester 63. MODEL 63 #1.jpg

[Ricklin]

My most favorite .22 and proof a great .22 can have a bad trigger. I love my Walther (Umarex) G22 it is fun and accurate, and it is crying for a can. I hope to remedy that, modding the G22 may take up the length of the wait.

[bbqncigars]

My 10/22 with a B&C thumbhole stock, Kidd lightweight barrel, Kidd trigger, CNC bolt and Leupold 3-9x scope. It wears a can when there's nobody else on the range.

[Scorpion8]

Favorite? Ithaca Model 72 Saddlegun. Been with me since the 70's with a basic Weaver K-4 scope that is deadly. I have others that I love, Marlin 60's, Remingtons, etc but the Ithaca is my long-time 1st love.

[homesick]

40X

[Dead-Nuts-Zero]

Remington 552
CZ 452
Remington 572

Are my all time favorites that I shoot the most. CZ 452 is my serious target rifle while the 552 & 572 are my fun favorites when I want to burn up a few hundred rounds.

[Jim Watson]

Savage - Anschutz 54 Sporter.

After that, my beloved Ruger 77/22. Will shoot 1/4 MoA or better all day, as long as it gets fed decent ammo and the monkey pulling the trigger doesn't screw something up. But I am not willing to abuse it in a competition environment.

Strange, CMP Rimfire Sporter didn’t abuse my rifle. What kind of competition environment are you in?

[smee78]

My favorite 22 from a sentimental point is my dad's Remington 552 Speedmaster. It's the rifle I learned to shoot on.
My fun 22 is a Ruger 10/22 with a Krinker plinker AK-looking kit installed.

[cslinger]

You didn’t say favorite .22lr.

[tazbigdog]

HK MP5 .22LR
https://hk-usa.com/wp-content/upload...22-Rifle-L.jpg

[FrankenMauser]

Originally Posted by Jim Watson

Strange, CMP Rimfire Sporter didn’t abuse my rifle. What kind of competition environment are you in?

Precision rimfire. Currently only NRL22 (since we don't have another 'basic' precision rimfire match here until autumn).
Basically PRS style shooting, but with stages scaled for .22 LR and props that want to murder wood-stocked rifles.


Turned into my trademarked long post.
Short version is up there ^^
But if you want further reading:

The tamest and safest shooting position that a rifle will see is prone, whether supported or unsupported.
Everything else is off of, or through holes in, props - from cinderblocks, to used tires, to metal sawhorses, to ladders, to gravel-embedded buckets, to folding chairs, to tank traps with disemboweling bolts hanging out, and many more. And that is without including club stages, which are highly variable and might include props even more likely to cause damage.

It is about position building in uncomfortable and awkward positions, while maintaining concentration on what it takes to make a good shot. The majority of stages are using targets that are 1 to 3 MoA, from 35-100 yd (or 200 yd, if the range is long enough). Only occasionally do we get "treated" to a big target, like a 5" plate at 90-110 yd; but that is usually combined with some kind of terrible position to shoot from. Fairly often, you'll see 1/2" and 1/4" targets at 40-50 yd, and then a transition to, or back and forth between, a 1.5-2" target at 90-135 yd (the small ones are added fun when you *must* hit to move on).

You can download a pdf with the Course of Fire for July here, if you'd like: NRL22 July COF
I recommend checking it out and shooting your local match.
I just remembered that it does have a stage transitioning from a 35 yd KYL rack, to 60 yd 1.5" target, to 90 yd 2.5" target, for each target on the KYL rack - 1", 3/4", 1/2", 1/4".
June was considered one of the hardest courses in years, by nearly everyone that shot it. There was a lot to keep track of for target and prop order. You can find that in the archive at NRL22.org/downloads.

(Our) Club stages are often 250-380 yd, or 25-200 yd with multiple difficult position changes (5-12 targets). Last month, for example, we had 6 targets in a 120 degree arc, from 39 to 250 yd. However, the shooting position and prop positioning (tractor tires at bad angles, with benches and posts blocking LOS) meant that you could not see or shoot all six targets without making a very awkward transition to another shooting position, or two. And then you had to walk it all the way back to the start, with as many position changes. Challenging and fun. Most shooters timed out - including me, by one shot.

Also last month, I was one of only two shooters to score two hits (out of ten shots) on a 6"x6" plate at 378 yd, in 14-23 mph, variable and swirling wind, from the tips of a very awkwardly placed tank trap. (With my backup 10/22 - the primary rifle crapped out after three rounds on the first stage. ) The other guy with two hits was the match winner.
Three shooters scored a single impact on the same target. Two shooters scored impacts on a 12" gong. No other shooter connected with steel, even though they also had the options of the 12" gong (1 point - 375 yd), an 8x10" plate (2 points - 380 yd), and the 6x6" plate (3 points - 378 yd).

Anyone can walk a .22 rifle in to a 12" gong at that range, given time and enough ammo. But add a 10 round limit, a two minute timer, an audience, the competitive environment, a terrible shooting position, the necessity of knowing your ammo and rifle (my backup that I scrambled to calculate drop for!), no knowledge of the stage before it was set up, and everything else that stacks up in competition, and 378 yd with a .22 rifle gets much more difficult than 'let's just walk it in'. Much more dynamic and involved than punching holes in a 1.75" bullseye at 25 yd. That is why I enjoy it. I'm not trying to brag or put down classic styles of rimfire shooting. I am trying to explain why I enjoy it and was willing to delegate some rifles to taking cosmetic damage in these competitions. And, why I won't shoot my 77/22 in these competitions, unless I see a monthly course of fire that seems to minimize risk to the rifle.


CMP Rimfire Sporter doesn't really interest me. Too easy. Guaranteed hits, even if the score for that hit is not competitive. I like the binary world of "IMPACT!" or [silence - there is no call for misses]; as well as the weird surprises that show up - like breaking the trigger with your eyes closed for 5 seconds, while shooting left handed. (It was safe, with a spotter, don't worry.)
I'd be willing to try CMP Rimfire Sporter, just as the boy and I intend to shoot the next ARA Bullseye event, if we can make it.
But, it doesn't really matter. I just checked, and the closest place that hosts CMP Rimfire Sporter even once per year is 850 miles away.

[maddog613]

miss my winchester model 63 16 years old when i bought jt now im 85 years

[Kreyzhorse]

Hard to beat a Ruger 10/22. Mine is a Walmart grey stock version with a Bushnell slapped on it. Just fun to shoot.

[The Happy kaboomer]

ALL of mine. Iffen they weren't favorites. They wouldn't live here.

[Mannlicher]

For me, it’s my Marlin :39 Golden Mountie

[Ricklin]

Love the one your with. Don't know about you boys, but at least 1 .22 will accompany when I go to the range to shoot something else.

[stagpanther]

....378 yd, in 14-23 mph

I shoot 22lr at 250 to 350 yds quite a bit; no way I could make even 2 out of ten shots hit in those conditions without exceptional luck--you were doing great shooting!

[Pumpkin]

A plain old wood stock Ruger 10/22 with a receiver sight. Poor, poor, cheap man's M1 Carbine.
I have nicer bolt, lever and semi autos but there is something about that 10/22 that really does it for me.