Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Rimfires Most desireable .22?

What are some of the most desireable, collectable (or valuble) .22 RF rifles?

I normally don't pay much attention to .22 RF, though I do have a couple Winchester (M61, 63, and 9422). Are any European makes particularly sought after?

For myself a BSA International MKIII. Took a few years to find a good one. Anshutz is another one.

Remington 40-x sporter single shot or repeater.

Original Win 52 or 75 sporters, Win 52 E International?

"Desirability" is in the eye of the beholder. They can be pure high end, or just plain interesting or nostalgic to a buyer. A well-made , well-designed firearm is always interesting, and desirable. It doesn't HAVE to be rare or expensive, or " investment grade. " I enjoy my Winchester 310. It's just a nice well-made, accurate, simple, and relatively low-cost rifle.

I recently sold a nice Win 52c target rifle ( not a sporter), and shooting my Anschutz 1411 more. The reason? It's easy to put a scope on my grooved receiver Anschutz 1411. I didn't want to drill and tap my Win 52c. The Win 52c may be more "desirable" and have more upside collector potential than my Anschutz 1411, but TO ME being able to easily mount a scope on my Anschutz makes it more desirable.

To thine own self be true. Own what floats your boat, and meets YOUR criteria for "desirability.".

One I had to have was a Win model 63.

Steyr Zephyr

Most .22 shooters don't know what this is.

Winchester 1873

Collectors grade Kimbers. Stunning and Big $$

Yeah, Winchester '73 .22 Long Very Desirable !!!

I stand by H&K's--270 and 300

The Zephyr is a beautiful and very accurate .22 bolt action rifle. I want one.

Winchester 52B Sporter, Springfield 1922 M2 and Anschutz 64 Mannlicher with DST.

Depends. Desirable in what way?

My picks/opinions:

For flat-out accuracy, Anschutz, Winchester 52B/C/D/E, BSA International, IMO. I've used them all and have settled on an International for the long haul.

For aesthetic nostalgia, Springfield M1/M2, Winchester 52A, Stevens 417 Walnut Hill. I love my M2 and Walnut Hill for their accuracy and for being products of my favorite era in gun making, but when the chips are down and I need to "dot the i", I reach for a top-tier gun above. Remington 37 fits in there somewhere too, as well as all the 52 Sporters.

Don't overlook the custom jobs put together by the .22 pros in the 30's-40's. A Ballard, Win 52, Stevens, etc. with a Johnson barrel for example will hold its own with the new stuff and has a certain coolness factor.

Hunting/plinking rifles: the sky's the limit, bounded only by your personal tastes.

Steyr Zephyr: definitely on my "some day" list!!

Autoloaders, chassis rifles, etc. etc. leave me cold. Mere machines without character or soul (to apply human traits to an inanimate object).

As posted above most desirable varies. If talking about a single most universally well know brand for quality in rimfires non model specific I’d go with Anschutz. I’m not always a fan of the stock configurations and more European look Vs classic American style or wood quality for dollar spent. But across a variety of shooting sports Anschutz is universally recognized as a gold standard brand in the rimfire world.

At the moment it seems the Remington 40X Sporter F grades are pretty close to the top of the heap. You can expect to pay in excess of $10K for one if you can find one...

The Winchester 52C sporters are going up in price recently and have gone from around $2.5K to around $5K in the last few years. 52B Sporters are also climbing, but aren't nearly as rare as the 52Cs and are priced accordingly...

Colt snake pistols are getting out of reach for most collectors these days. Expect to pay $2.5K or more for a nice Diamondback if you can find one these days...

I wouldn't call Anschutz a collector even though they are one of the best rimfires made at any time... since they are still made and you can still order one from the factory any way you want it... still a bit pricy, but affordable compared to the others mentioned..

There’s only a couple I haven’t seen talked about yet that I can think of really and that’s the Dakota 22 and the Anschutz Cooper.

Lots of fine rifles already listed. I will add one, Remington 513s.

Manny

I got a Steyr Zephyr for Christmas 1969. I wanted DSTs but go the single trigger becausse my Father felt that DSTs were dangerous under the best of circumstances.

Something like an engraved Sedgley High Wall. 52 sporters also fit the collectible bill. Canyon Creek 1700 series Anschutz. Engraved Colt Woodsmans and D-backs.

Then there's NFA stuff like Tippman 1919s, AM 180s, and 10/22 conversions.

Collectable and desirable, IMO, may not be the same thing.

I had a 40X sporter (with a mag), chamber was too tight for regular ammo, went down the road. Now as a collector, it's an expensive rifle and if I had kept it, would have made some money. But, if I don't like'em, they go down the road.

Had a Win 52 sporter, an older one, not the new one. It was accurate, just too heavy, it went down the road.

I had a Kimber of Oregon, nice rifle, was accurate, just not as accurate as the above or the one below.

Now, I have a Cooper Classic with Kahles rimfire scope. It's the best of them all and it's a keeper.

Trigger is exceptional, accuracy is first rate, as accurate as any listed above. It's not heavy, and it's easy on the eye. The Kahles rimfire may be one of the best rimfire scopes, but you can't find them. I'm fortunate to have this one.

DF