Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Rimfires Accurate Budget 22 Semi-Auto?

I've gotten involved with a group that shoots bowling pins one night a week, rotating through various types of firearms. In a few weeks, it will be 22 rimfire night. My wife is perfectly happy to loan me her stock 10/22, but I wonder: Does anyone make an accurate 22 semi-auto that is reasonably budget friendly?

Budget semi auto a 10-22 is tough to beat. Sky is the limit for add ons or customization. Might check out the used gun rack in a local pawn shop or gun shop . I picked up a Winchester 490 semi ( mid 70s Canadian made for Winchester). Stuck a 3-9 Nikon I got off the classifieds here on it. It shot surprisingly well.

The discontinued Marlin 60s have a good reputation for out of the box accuracy.

When Marlin was still in business I recommended the 60s for the guy who wanted to buy it and shoot it and the 10/22 for the guy who wanted to spend more money to upgrade it and chase smaller groups.

Look for a Marlin 60 in pawn shops.

^^^This^^^

What is your budget exactly? I've been seeing a lot of good 10-22's from $250-$350 used. For a really inexpensive, yet accurate semi auto 22lr, I'd look at a Savage model 64. They always shoot well. Used Remington 597's shoot great and are fairly inexpensive. Savage A22's shoot very well too. Some guys are suggesting the Marlin 60, but that is tube fed. Not your best option in competition oriented shooting. Those guys may not know that? A magazine fed rifle is always the best way to go in this type of shoot.

I have a Smith and Wesson 15-22 that's pretty dang accurate. I have a red dot on mine which helps me be a bit more accurate than using the irons. 25 round magazines and mine has been 100% reliable so far.

Yep. If reloads are required for the competition.
Brownells use to sell a speed tube Reloader for tube fed 22 lr rifles. But even if you could get one, it still wouldn’t be as fast as changing detachable magazines.

"Budget" means different things to different people. It's also important to mention whether you want open sights or something to scope.

An aluminum arrow can be used as a speed loader.

How far away are these bowling pins?

I’d show up with my old 15 shot squirrel stock Model 60 and think that I’d be the limiting factor.

OK, some useful suggestions. Thank you!

Reloading time doesn't matter in the score, and a tube feed is manageable, though it might hold up the other shooters, waiting on me to get ready to fire. I had thought of getting a piece of aluminum tubing and using it as a "speed loader", like the aluminum arrow suggestion....earplug in each end, diagonal cut on the rim end. Yeah, a detachable magazine would be better.

The pins are about 12 yards away. For 22 night, they cut the tops off the pins and shoot at those, so a 22 has enough power to knock them off the table, but of course they are harder to hit.

Maybe the 10/22 is the right answer. Seems like only day before yesterday that you could pick one up for $179 if you watched the sales. I should probably try it once with my wife's gun, and see if I like it. First time for 22 night will be a learning experience.

The Ruger PC9 was a blast on PCC night.

Then when it comes time to unload, it's always a hassle. Magazine fed rifles are always faster and safer even. At my club, we don't care much, but it is an inconvenience to the other shooters as well. Not that I really cared either way. We never shot bowling pins with our rifles, but have shot a lot of golf ball shoots. I'm sure the same principles apply. Whoever gets all the pins off the table or all the balls off the strings wins. Probably working with 5 pins on a table. Our club shoots pins with pistols. Keeps us from getting rusty, since I personally don't shoot my pistols much beyond those games.. Hopefully it's head to head competition. Those are always fun to watch. Guys can really lose it when they have to shoot against someone else.. Kind of like they do if they get buck fever.. If it were me, I'd put a red dot on your wife's 10-22 and run it and see how it does. 12 yards for a rifle is very short range and the 10-22 is plenty adequate to make solid hits at that range. I'd expect 5 pins off the table in about 3 seconds or better.

I’d avoid anything with a “match” or “bentz” chamber, as they are more likely to gum up and cause you trouble, and serious accuracy wouldn’t seem to be needed for pins. OTOH, a good trigger is always helpful, and Ruger makes the BX1 for the 10/22; cheap and decent, if you don’t want to fiddle a stock one yourself.

The Marlin 795 is basically a Marlin 60 that uses a detachable magazine rather than a tubular magazine, but I don't know what the magazine capacity is.

Agreed... I have had a M60 for 2-3 decades and it's always shot very well. I gave it to my son a few months ago since he always like to shoot that rifle.. When I bought it (used) I paid about $60 for it. ..

The dang thing just keeps achugging along.. Very simple to maintain. Ejector's easy to adjust if it fails on occasion, and parts can still be found - although it's rare to need any..

You'll be shooting at a 21 MOA target (2.55" head diameter at 12 yards) so pin point accuracy isn't the top requirement. (Pin point, get it? )

Any .22 semi-auto that's in good working order will work. If the rules call for open sights then a longer barrel would obviously be better for the longer sight radius but a consistent trigger squeeze will be more advantageous in competition than a gnat's hair more accuracy, so a decent trigger is probably the main criterion that you'd want to look at in the equipment.

That's where a 10/22 might stand out from others since the trigger pull can be improved in a variety of ways, from cheap up to the sky's the limit.




If'n it were me I'd use the excuse to get a 10/22 LVT, 'cause, ya know, any excuse for a new rifle is a good excuse...

Good reasonable post Jim. I have to ask the op, though, are they shooting at the butt end (2.75" actually) or the body, which is 4.75" wide (approximately 41 moa)? I'm not too sure why they cut the top of the pin off? Generally when we shoot pins with pistols, you just set the pin at the backside of the table, so the 22lr will have enough energy to knock the pin off the table. A well hit pin only requires 1 shot to take it cleanly off the table. We shoot at 13 yards with our pistols, so pin point accuracy is not required, but with all games it is nice to have a good shooting weapon. It gives you an edge. Here are some pins I shot with my pistol to show what kind of accuracy I get at the distance we shoot:

That was 13 yards with my medium bore ( I use 9mm or 40S&W), pins set at the middle of the table.

The accuracy of my 22lr pistols, at that distance are about equal to that. So, with a very accurate weapon, you can afford to be a little more sloppy as you speed up in a head to head type competition. As with anything, there is a fine line there. You can run on the ragged edge and not miss, resulting in some damn good times (for me, that is about 2 seconds). Or you can go too fast, above your skill level and lose or miss the targets. The op's shoot sounds like it would be fun. Also wondering if they limit mag capacity in this shoot. Sometimes my club will limit us to 5 rounds per mag, but you can reload a mag if you need to. The better shooters don't reload and will hit all 5 pins. We do this sometimes when a guy wants to bring his revolver out and give it a try. Anymore info the OP can add? Anyone here have a video of the pin shoots they attend? One thing I've noticed is you find out what works and what doesn't work. That goes for firearms. I've seen many pistols get all choked up, as well as their owners. It's always fun though.

I just had an excuse to order a stainless LVT. It should show up by the end of the week.

Nylon Remington.

Just kidding, hard to beat a 10/22, factory triggers leave something to be desired, ruger offers a upgrade for about 80 bucks, other more expensive options abound.
Trigger and mag/bolt release are worthwhile IMO

One of our sons bought a model 60 and was happy with it. He just added a home made sling and was off hunting rabbits and ground squirrels with it out of the box. I listened to his advice and bought a model 60 with a laminated stock at Walmart for $160 normal price. I did add a low end scope I had around and bought a low end sling for it and off we went to shoot and hunt.

There is a simplicity with the model 60 as it is a "buy it and shoot it" rifle. Simple plain and enjoyable.

I have built many 10/22's with restocking them and adding match grade barrels and found them to be a delight when shooting or hunting. I was able to work on the triggers in those rifles and the final product was a very accurate rifle with a lifetime of shooting ahead for it. Those 10/22's will group extremely well with premium ammo and the group sizes are about a 1/3 of the group sizes with the model 60.

HOWEVER, I never really bought the model 60 for it's accuracy, which is ok for hunting purposes, but rather like a trip back to the teen years of simply having a 22lr rifle to take out hunting and enjoying it.

A model 60 should serve the OP well at the distances he will be shooting......if he can find one. I would think that since they have been discontinued those that own them are less likely to sell. Good luck

Answering the question of why they cut the tops off the pins.....

Before too long the pins are pretty badly shot up. Cutting them off below the neck gives a new flat base, and a lighter and smaller target for 22s.

Another vote for the Ruger 10/22. They are the most adaptable option with huge aftermarket support for all kinds of parts and upgrades. I have several, which I have used in various matches including Steel Challenge.

A basic model is about $300 new when on sale. They are so ubiquitous that if you look around you can probably find a used one for a good price.

I have a 10/22 and like it, but there are a lot of 10/22 clones out there that can probably be had cheaper like the Winchester Wildcat. However, if it shoots anything like my Bergara BMR bolt action you might want to look at the Bergara BXR. It's around $550 most places, and you might find it a little less right now.

it'll ruffle some feathers but every Marlin model 60 or variation of is always outshot in a 10/22 I've seen

CZ 512 outshoots any other semi.
And will function with subs.

For now, I have settled on a solution.

My wife hasn't shot her 10/22 for years. She offered to let me make a few mods to it, and to use it for the pin shoots.

So the BX trigger, a Picatinny rail, and a red dot are on order. I wiped some stain on the stock to cover some light scuffs that the grandkids put on it. I'll add a sling, and that will be what I use for the time being.

Thanks, everyone.

Sounds like you hit on all the necessary points to make a 10/22 shoot better. Enjoy!

I am a 10/22 fan, have four of them. While the BX trigger is a good upgrade, a Volquartsen hammer in the original trigger group is better and cheaper. Anyone with decent mechanical skills can install one in half an hour.

Oh NOW you tell me! [wipes GSR off hands, puts stock trigger group in spare parts bin].

After while I'll have to give my honey's 10/22 back, so that is good to know. Thanks.

Thompson Center makes a nice in expensive semiautomatic 22lr rifle.

As others pointed out, the 10/22 is hard to beat at that price point. But Thompson has one upped the game, with some nice improvements and pretty much full 10/22 accessory compatability. So yes, I think that is an ideal choice.

Problem is that I can't find one to buy.

There is a used one on UtahGunExchange, but the seller won't respond to text, and phone calls go straight to voice mail, and I don't get any response there either.

I'm headed down to Orem on Friday. I'll check Gunnies while I'm there.... maybe Gallenson's in SLC along the way. But it is starting to feel like there is a 10/22 in my future.

A CZ512 will shoot rings around nearly any .22lr Semiauto that hasn’t been massaged in some way. They aren’t ammo fussy and are generally priced well. I wouldn’t overlook it if you come upon one.

5 round Mag, you’d spend more time reloading than shooting.

i use my ruger 10/22 , I dropped in the ruger bx trigger and changed the sights to Williams Ace in the Hole set, which is a red fiber optic front sight and a ghost ring rear peep sight, very fast and accurate.