Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Rimfires .22 autoloader recommendations

I've had six 10-22's, two nylon 66's, a Winchester 190, a Stevens 87, a Savage 64 a Squires Bingham and Marlin models 989m2, 995, a couple 75's and several 60's The Marlin 995 is the most accurate of all and very reliable. None of the 10-22's were what I'd call "accurate" for a .22 rifle out of the box, though a couple weren't bad after some work. The nylons were pretty damned pitiful in the accuracy department , though they were tough and dependable and made great coon guns.. The only ones I still have are the Marlin 995, the 989m2 and one 60. The 60 is dependable and will put 5 in an inch at 50. The 995 will put 5 on a dime and has been utterly reliable. The 989m2 has proven dependable and splits the difference in accuracy. I don't miss the rest and don't plan on buying any more.

My nylon 66 is damn accurate with open sights. I never tried it with a scope. I killed lots of rabbits, squirrels and more frogs, snakes and turtles than most can imagine when I worked on a minnow farm. I abused it, on purpose, to see if it would live up to the advertisements and to my surprise, it did. miles

The iron sights are pretty crude/coarse and make "damn accurate" pretty tough.. Don't bother trying a scope, It will only disappoint.

I never had a problem with the sights, but that is the reason that I got it cheap with hardly any use. miles

Best 1022 I ever had (6 or 7 of them) was the '67 Fingergroove.
I only did a Kidd buffer and Volq hammer and at 6X w a small front bag cranked 3/4" groups at 50yds with Blazer.
Current '67 standard can't do that at 25 yds !
But the orig stock I'm thinking was off, way too much tip pressure. So that has been addressed and awaits further testing.

Had a couple of 552's..........did OK, one liked Rem Yellowjackets.

Find yourself a used T/C Classic 22 or T/C R-55 model ( same gun) and save your $$ replacing Ruger 10/22 parts, barrel etc.

Doc

I have always contended that the ammo companies ought to give away free .22 autoloaders to every kid who wants one. A better device for expending mounds of .22 ammo has never been invented. Just think, free .22 autoloaders would be good for the economy: the ammo companies would get rich, LGS owners would get rich, Walmart would get richer, the people who made the rifles would get rich, and peace would reign throughout the land. We would become a nation of riflemen again, maybe, sort of.

Kids would start mowing lawns again to get .22 ammo money- making suburban America look spiffier.

Soda (and beer) makers would get richer because of the need for more empty can targets.

Lawyers would get poorer though due to less juvenile delinquency.

The .22 autoloader could, in truth, be the answer for our salvation!

This...^^^

I've owned and/or used marlins, remingtons, and winchesters. The 10-22 is the clear winner. And, in my experience they are usually plenty accurate out of the box.

I actually prefer the bolt action rimfires but the various .22 autos are a lot of fun and generally quite reliable.

6'7" here. 39" sleeve length. I like the 10-22s just fine.

For those only familiar with the old 10/22 standards............they made a 1" recoil pad that replaced the buttplate.
Been around for quite some time.
Can change LOP without any permanent mod.
If it's still too short after that..............well, what other factory .22 rifle is gonna fit ya?

The classiest plinker is, no doubt about it, a Browning SA-22. Even the Japanese ones are very nice, but the Belgian-made ones are especially attractive to my eye.

New ones are about $600. Nice used Belgians begin at about the same point and go up, depending on minutiae about sights and such. One of those is on my bucket list.

If you could find a used 10-22 with a good broken in trigger for $150 and added a Green Mountain factory contour barrel (don't use the barrel band) you would have a really nice .22 auto for around $300
Definitely one of the best "bang for your buck" options.
I've never done it but I bet that tuning a stock 10-22 could turn out a good shooter too. Sounds like fun if I had the time, and maybe I will in the future. But the GM barrels (and others) are very good quality and a big head start.
You'll still need to try different types of ammo though.

I have a Ruger 10/22 target for sale in the classifieds. This is the model with a laminated stock and heavy target barrel and improved trigger. This gun is new in box. I have another one of these rifles that I have been using for years. It will shoot 10 shot groups at 50 yds that can be covered with a quarter with CCI mini mags. I never bothered trying an target ammo in this rifle.

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbt...uger-10-22-target-model-nib#Post12085747

I've had'em all.

The Marlin may be the best shooting, cheap .22 semi auto ever. Trigger isn't that good, but I worked on mine with some improvement.

It's a 10-22 world as someone posted. No doubt. May be the best .22 auto design of all times.

The T/C was a nice gun. My beef was the design, allowing powder blow back residue to accumulated in the fire control area. In contrast, the 10-22 design isolates the fire control area from blow back residue. Otherwise, I like the T/C. I donated mine to a good cause; my cowboy action club had a fund raiser. To me, that was the highest and best use for that gun. They are nicely built with good materials and are accurate.

DF

Back in the day, the Remington Nylon 66 was the rage.

It's a really good gun. The "receiver" is just a sheet metal shrowd over the nylon skeleton, no metal to metal direct connection to the barrel. They still shot pretty well with scopes.

They were really tough, I have one, my son has one.

They're now selling in the $300-$500 reage, depending on model and condition. Don't think I'd pay that. but don't plan to sell the one I have. I doubt you could talk my son out of his. IIRC, he got it from a friend, paid $30 or so.

DF

I bought a nice used 66 about 30 years ago for $50. It functioned really well, as advertised, but otherwise had little to recommend it IMHO, since I don't have a barn or chicken coop to keep it in. After about a year, I sold it for $50 to another curious soul.

Should have stuck it in the attic, kept it around for a few years.

You'd have gotten more than $50.

I don't use mine, I have better guns in the safe. In fact my 66 isn't in the safe, just sitting in an open rack in my gun room.

I remember as a kid, shooting rats at the city dump. Man, have times changed.

We'd go to the dump at night, 66's, a brick or two of ammo and headlights. We'd shoot a full mag, killing rats wholesale.

Then, we'd turn off the headlights, load the 66's in the dark by feel.

By the time we got them loaded, the rats were starting to move.

Lights on, kill rats, light off, load guns....

Real entertainment for teenage lads.

And, pretty cheap entertainment. .22LR ctgs. were pretty cheap and plentiful back then.

Remington 66's were pretty good for that kinda hunting. No one got excited, gunfire at the dump. No one ever check it out.

Yeah, times have definitely changed.

DF

I guess that practice paid off.

Here's my partner in crime 50 years later.

Paid off for him, for sure.

So, Nylon 66's have their place in history and at the city dump...

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/12085126/2

DF

Another 66 story.

I took mine apart, had problems getting it back together.

Borrowed this bud's 66, promised him I would just take the receiver cover off to see how the parts fit.

With that one as a guide, I reassembled mine.

BTW, don't take one apart unless you're pretty handy with such things.

I told my gunsmith what I had done. He was most impressed and complimentary that I was able to put it back together, even with the other gun as a guide.

He told me, he gets them in a bag to reassemble from time to time.

Interesting design. Maybe a bit too interesting if you're putting one back together.

DF

If you want an accurate, reliable budget 22lr - buy a Marlin 60. If you want an inaccurate, unreliable plaything that will cost you more initially and you can sink even more $ into trying to make it shoot as well as a Marlin 60 - buy a 10/22.