Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Rimfires which 22 mag to get...

I'm looking at getting a 22 mag for quieter beaver removal duty and narrowed it down to two guns.

Gun #1 is a used marlin 882 SS bull barrel and plastic stock at a store for about $389.

Gun #2 is a new ruger american blued barrel for $374.


My dad had an older marlin 22 mag that shot great so I like that idea, but the ruger has some good features. I'm not sure ifmarlin spare magazines will be an issue soon.

Whats your recomendation and WHY?

The Ruger is going to be lighter, and probably shoot just about as well. No flies on the HB Marlin though. Those are nice rifles. I like the magazine on the Ruger, and know they shoot well enough, plus it's lighter than the Marlin. Both are pretty utilitarian. For the reasons mentioned, I'd get the Ruger, that's how I'd roll.. Good luck!

Out of those two whichever handles best in your opinion. I like the Marlin better than that particular Ruger. Both should work well for beaver removal

I would leave both and look for a standard barrel 882 with walnut or laminated stock. I don't care for the heavy barrel versions. Had one, didn't like schlepping it around, got rid of it. My 882 blue/walnut is the most accurate .22 mag. I've owned out of about a dozen I've had over the years. My brother has the laminate stocked version and it's also very accurate. Mine is consistently sub MOA with a good lot of its preferred ammo.

I have a Marlin 882SV and it is very accurate, so that is my recommendation.

In total, I have 6 Marlin bolt actions in .22 MAG that are all as accurate as the ammo available allows. Marlin now offers a 4-round magazine that doesn't protrude as far as the old 7-shot magazines and that makes the rifle easier to carry in one hand, due to the balance point, when you're afield.

If you don't care for the stock there are often both hardwood and laminated wood stock for sale on eBay and there is always Boyds. My 882SV is currently is a laminated stock from a Marin 917V.

I recently purchased a CZ 457 American in 22 WMR because because of it's traditional style & wood stock... but if i had to choose a "real work" gun it would be the Ruger American... handled one at my local farm store and loved it...

As a shooter of both, the Ruger for field work, the Marlin for bench use. The Marlin is more accurate, the Ruger is close enough for dispatching varmints. The Ruger carries better, the stock is more aggressive for wet hands and has the flush fitting magazine. Personal preference, the stock profile pulls up a little better for snapshots for me and the trigger is adjustable with a safety blade. The Marlin stock hss some texture with a smooth profile and has the protruding magazine, it is ok offhand. Marlin 22 WMR magazines are available on ebay for $30, it is the 22LR magazines that are harder to find now. Rifle Basix makes a much better trigger for the Marlin.

I would go with the Ruger American - it's lighter and for me handles better that the heavy barreled Marlin, the mag sticking out of the bottom of the is also a negative to me. I really like the tang safety on the Ruger also.
I expect that either one will be accurate enough for your stated use. If you can handle them side by side the handling will likely be the deciding factor.

drover

Good advice here, IMO. Being a lefty, I kinda kick myself for not picking up a lefty CZ 452 back when they were around $300-350 new, but then I think of why I passed on it. On the bench it would have been fun, but it wasn't comfortable to me in the hand. Also had a Ruger #1 in .338 Win. Mag. that grouped like a precise varmint rifle, but when tip-toeing through the woods after elk, it stayed on my shoulder because it wasn't comfortable carrying in the hand for more than 60 seconds. Determine your main style of hunting those beavers and how you want to carry the rifle, then make your choice.

And by-the-way, all of my rifles are either Rugers or Marlins, and my latest 30-30 is both! I would be torn between the two as well, but if I was a right-handed person I would lean toward that Ruger.

FWIW: i would choose the Ruger. I’ve had one for years and it is very accurate. Good trigger, good magazines, good handling.
Best accuracy is with Hornady 30 grain Vmax.
This Ruger American rivals my 77/17 for accuracy, which is saying something….. good luck!

I've been looking at one of them for $599, but the lower cost alternatives make it more appealing for the farm truck or ATV.

The cz would compliment my 452 well... tempting.

My dads was a early 70s plain walnut stocked 882 that I can't talk my brother out of it....

I may have to look for a birch stocked beauty before I buy.

Little higher in price but I'm really liking the Bergera I picked up last fall. Great factory trigger, smooth action. Shoots lights out with CCI 40 gr hp

There is a laminate Marlin in the classifieds right now that is a fantastic gun

This one?
https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbt...n-883ss-stainless-laminated-22-wmr-rifle

The early tube fed version Marlin .22 mags with the standard barrel weight have been the most accurate and dependable.22 mags I’ve ever owned.
Like BlackHeart, I don’t care for the heavy barreled versions. No need for it in a .22 mag. Useless IMO, unless you just like lugging around extra weight. Yep

ordered my CZ from an online seller (a first for me), $496 + $15? ship IIRC... guy even sent me pics of the wood so i knew what i was getting... even after the $30 FFL Transfer fee i saved $75+ over buying local, better wood too!...

If I could only have one rifle in .22 MAG, it would be an 883S or 983S. I think that a person who was a reasonably competent hunter could subsist/survive with one of those two rifle if he/she lived where the game was found in cover and the ranges shorter.

My "adopted" brother is a disabled Viet Nam vet, PTSD, who has been a subsistence farmer/fisher/hunter for the last 45 years. His preferred all-purpose firearm is a well worn 883S. I've given him several rifles and shotguns over the years, but he almost always takes the old 883S when he might need a firearm.

The OP asked about and listed 2 different rifles he's considering. Yet everyone wants to suggest something totally different. The funny thing is a simple Mossberg 640K Chuckster will probably outshoot most of what you guys have suggested, and cost a lot less than anything suggested. Especially when comparing it to a Bergara B14 and the like.

well, not! everyone... i believe i suggested the Ruger American...