Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Rimfires Best 22 Bolt rifle under $1200

You got really lucky getting an A-bolt .22 that shoots well. From what I've read from other owners, they are a real crap shoot. Mine won't shoot worth a darn. I finally found ammo that shoots halfway decent at 50 yards, but it took a variety of brands, and even then I'm getting around 1" groups.

I'd go with a used anschutz 54. Can realistically be found in that price range.
You gotta keep in mind some people shoot one 1/2 inch group one time, post a pic..then claim their gun is an "easy half inch gun all day long"....
I don't claim to be Even remotely close to a rimfire expert but I shoot Annie 54 and 64, kimber 82, cz 452, win 52 and 75, RAR in .22 and mag And a few others. They will all without fail make me look bad if given the slightest of chance.
I tend to think 25 yards will tell you what the gun can do and 50 yards will tell you what you can do. Ammo is huge, wind is the devil.

Playing around at 200 yards blew my mind as to what the wind can really do to a .22..

Just throwin' this out there for those that may have tried it ... What can you expect from a 77/22 V-block with a premium, tight chambered barrel?

I definitely agree with those who post that one group is not "all day long." When I really want to know, I pick a day with no wind, or pay to go to an indoor range. I then shoot five 10-shot groups at 50 yards. It is also true that 1 MOA shooting, regardless of the rifle or range, requires pretty good bench technique.

Also, 10-shot groups are pretty tough sledding for any rifle. In reality, we are getting into an area where a better measure is Average to Center (ATC.)

well that depends from what i have seen. meaning besides the premium tight chamber barrel, is the 2 piece bolt tight, both locking lugs lapped to the receiver and is the bolt head & barrel milled and squared to the receiver? i don't have a premium barrel on either of my 2 M77/22's but my all weather model, bedded in the factory walnut stock shoots some stuff at 1/2" and some a bit more at 50 yrds. i have not checked the play in my bolt halves nor have i lapped the lugs any. i have a older blue & walnut model that shows some real use that i may play with down the road and swap a barrel or two into it to see what difference it makes if any. i haven't shot that one much yet so i really don't know what it is at 50 yrds consistently. too may other projects going on right now.

I have an off the shelf walnut stocked 77/22. I was near a rebarrel as it was not meeting expectations when I came across some notes on putting a shim in the split bolt to tighten up headspace. A 0.007" shim was the cat's meow, and it's a toss up between taking the Ruger or Anschutz to the squirrel fields. Ammo that works in one also seems to work in the other as well.

Thought there was word of changing the 77/22's to a threaded barrel, but I've not seen any or heard any reports on such. I think a reworked and tight chambered 77 would be a good unit, and their triggers are a piece cake to tune up as well.

All M77/22's made after Nov of 2011 or there abouts have threaded barrel to receiver fit. however there is still some new old stock out there and just because you buy something in the box new from a store does not necessarily mean it will be a threaded barrel to receiver model. most likely it will but not 100%.

.22 ballistics. 10mph wind at 200yds has about 18" of drift and 40" of drop! Wind is a huge factor in .22 accuracy. At 100 yards the drift and drop are about 5". Cut that in half for a 5mph wind and half again for a 50 yard shot and you still can mess up a nice group with a slight breeze. It makes it very difficult to tell what a .22 can really do in real world conditions. It also makes them very fun to shoot because it requires a lot of the shooter.

Centershot:

Yes for sure on the wind factor. I wish I could dope wind for my center fires with the same confidence I have using my 22's. But then again I'll do 8 to 10K 22 rds in a good ground squirrel season. If one can see or feel any breeze at all, it for sure has an effect.

There are conditions when one favors one side or the other on squirrels, and times like you mentioned where one is 4 or 5 inches off to lob in a hit. Then there are the truly rare days when one can actually aim at his target.

I ordered a Rifle Basix trigger for my CZ and will give it a whirl.

This is one of 2 groups shot @50y with a CZ 452 17hmr while cooling off my NULA center fire that I cannot get to group worth crap. Not a once in a lifetime group from the CZ. It can do this fairly often with CCI TnT's. I had a CZ 455 with a timney trigger and it did not shoot with my 1422's. The CZ 17hmr has been bedded and had the trigger worked over. I owned 3 Annie 17hmr's that were not as good of shooters as the little CZ. Goes to show that you never know. I looked at my old targets and my 54 sporters both shoot under .35" average for 5 shots @50y. This is with Lapua or Upper tier Eley ammo. I paid 900.00 for one of the 54 sporters.

Anschutz makes a fine little rimfire, but...

I inherited my dads Remington 511, drilled and tapped it, mounted a scope and just barely outshot the Anschutz sporter.

You never know.... I have owned 2 541s rifles that did not shoot with my Annie sporters. A Cooper, nice Remington, Win. 52 sporter, Oregon Kimber, kleingunther k22 or CZ 452/5 might individually be the best shooting .22lr ever. I think one would have better chance for exceptional accuracy with a 54sporter or a Cooper.

There is a group of mostly older guys at our club who shoot informal .22 benchrest at 50 yards. Most of the rifles are fairly ordinary sporter or varmint models. Savage, CZ, Anschutz, etc. Most of the rifles are capable of .5" groups at that range, with good ammo of course. That is not to say that all of the groups are that good, just that they are not unusual.

As others have noted, it takes a number of shots and multiple groups under controlled conditions to truly determine a rifle's accuracy. Three shot groups might tell something in a hunting rifle if they are repeatable on demand. Most are not. And most shooters are blissfully unaware of such things as sampling and probability, so the inferences and conclusions from their testing are questionable.

I'm considered the oddball in our bunch because I find shooting at 50 yards from the bench boring, so I shoot my .22s at 100 and 200 yards. 200 is very doable, challenging and fun. It's mostly about dealing with the wind, and good flags and learning how to use them is a must.

Dennis, go for that Rifle Basix trigger for your CZ. I got one, and it works well. Had a glitch with the first one, but the company made it right. Great CS, I'm happy to say.

Paul

Had the same experience with the 1 I once had. Was a pretty rifle, but No Bueno on the accuracy with about 15 different types of ammo I tried with it.

Had a Browning T-Bolt that was an average shooter too.

For the money being mentioned, I would definitely look at Anschutz or Cooper first and foremost. I had bad luck with a Kimber Hunter but I know there are some that shoot fantastic.

My CZs always shot well. (Laffin, hint, water)

That a 5 or 10 shot group?

Yeh, the triggers on my CZs are not so good. I will see if this RB trigger helps any. When I first got this rifle it seemed to shoot better than it does now. It has maybe 1500 rounds through it tops. I didn't think you could wear a 22 out?? Maybe I will check some bedding etc.

This is a 10-shot group shot with my Browning 52 at 50 yards using Fiocchi Exacta Super Match 40 gr at 1050 fps. Other SV brands do nearly as well. Even CCI HV HP, which I use for squirrel hunting, will shoot around .75" in this rifle.

My RB trigger came today. Too bad I am going out of town in the morning and won't get to install it until next week.

That Browning looks like it can shoot!

I have been able to coax a number of sub 1" groups out of my CZ at 100 yards and sub 1.5" groups at 150. With the rifle basix trigger and a bedding job, I can consitantly shoot those sub half inch groups at 50 yards now. I still wish I had something a step better.

What optics do you guys run on your rimfires?