Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Rimfires List your top pick for best shooting and handling sporter

Not classics, but my Tony Kidd and CZ 452 American will shoot right up there with the best of them after having gunnies tweek them out to be their best. My 39A shoots good, but it doesn't throw them into 1-hole, like the others. If I found a really nice lefty Remington 541S/T, it would probably come home with me.

On a side note, I saw a nice old Colt Woodsman .22lr in one of the local pawn shops I haunt here in south FL. It was at 2J's Pawn on Stirling Rd in Hollywood FL, in case anybody's interested. They wanted $999 for it, but I just throw them an offer. They've got another S&W revolver collector as their accountant, so I typically don't find any really nice old S&W revolvers in there because he sucks them all up. I've been looking for a nice model 10-6 bull bbl for several years now. But they are like hen's teeth down here. The only ones I ever see are beat to crap or have been stored improperly.

1873 22 long…

A matched pair of CZ 452s, each with 18oz triggers.

My Annie 1416 with nice tiger striped walnut handles better than the 54 action Annies I have used, and shoots better than I can in the field. My CZ 453 is as accurate as any Anie 54 I have shot until volume gets to the point where the heavier barrels have advantage. I also have 2 CZ 452's that I feel are the best all-around guns at the price that I ever bought.

The Remingtons 580/581/582 were relatively inexpensive but boy do they shoot above their price point. I turned one into an exceptional shooter that I call my "wannabe" since it is a mixture of 581 and 541T components. The Rem. 547 is one I wish I would have bought when they first came out, but I do have a Rem. 504 which the 547 emerged from. That 504 has always shot quite well, handles nice, and came with a 3 screw trigger.
The Anschutz rimfires have always been known for superb accuracy and have maintained that for all the years they've produced. That is some record. Of them the early Savage/Anschutz 164 has always been favorite design for me, but while I don't have a 164 I do have a 164M, the 22mag. version. That rifle carries real well, is quite accurate, and has a nice trigger. Sako is another company that has done a remarkable job all these years with their rimfires. I've had several in the past and foolishly sold them, but still have 2 Sako Quads, one in synthetic and the other a Hunter version in walnut.

I was remiss in not including another of my favorites along with the M2 Springfield. Winchester/Miroku Low Wall .22:

Easy Peasy....CZ 457 Premium

I bought a used Kimber K22 Hunter a few years back and it's rather hard for me to find any faults with it. Trim and well-built, but feels like a real rifle.

This 2nd hand, and slightly altered, Ruger 10/22 seems to meet all but No.6, if No.2 isn’t limited to fancy wood and polished blue:

The aftermarket Ruger BX-Trigger and Hogue stock certainly help.

Lots of varying preferences! Just goes to show "there's an ass for every seat!"

Kimber Classic. Best all around .22 I have owned.

1. Best shooting
2. Best looking
3. Best handling
4. Most desirable
5. Best bang for the buck
6. Collectible
7. Good trigger

A Kimber of OR Model 82 will meet criteria 1-4 and 6-7 with lots of room to spare. #5 and #6 would not seem to be mutually compatible unless you look at the vintage Remington 5xx models and Winchester 75 for #5

Since that last statement about 5 and 6 will be contradicted by folks boasting about buying a one of a kind $3,000 rifle for $150 at an estate sale run by a clueless widow, I'm going on the assumption that we're talking about something one might find at normal firearm emporiums.

In modern rifles, the CZ 457 in different flavors will meet 2, 3, 5 and 7, especially 5 and 7, and very likely to tie with others in #1.

Too many items to expect from one rifle.

For items #1, #3, #6, and #7 - a Kimber of Oregon Cascade. Not because they were match grade accurate but because the rifle with the Cascade stock is a very shootable rifle.

drover

Thanks Jim. So the Savage mkII doesn't make the cut? ha ha..

That's a beauty.

I saw a real nice 452 last weekend, but damn they wanted $700 for it. It was a semi heavy barrel with real nice wood. At this point, I think I'd rather buy a 457 American with select wood, and hope it shoots good, or acceptably well.

Holy Ballz thats a dandy Classic!
Hard to find much more perfect than that

Getting back to the List:
#4 Most desirable

Mine would be hands down a Dakota Model 10 in 22LR
Fun to Dream

It's a very strong competitor for #1 but I'm not sure about #2...

Ha ha. I love that.. I am not crazy about the plastic stock on mine. The drop at the comb is way too low too. I think if I found a nice stock for it, it wouldn't be too bad, but I don't want to spend money on a rifle that is not worth it. I despise going upside down on anything. As you probably already know.

I really like how you dream.
SS336's Kimber Classic has a much nicer stock than mine and I thought mine was nice.