Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Rimfires New to rimfires, NEED ADVICE

My wife wants me to buy a .22, luck guy huh? Anyways I've of course played with 22's off and on all my life but never paid attention to what kind they were, most were 10/22's I know. So the question is aside from the 10/22 what do you think are good, reliable autoloading 22's? I've found a few models on a local online classified that I'd love feedback on. I'm not looking for match quality or anything fancy, just reliable and accurate enough for rabbits, chucks, and squirrels. Here's what I've found so far:

Marlin 60 with simmons 3-9x32 scope-$150
Mossberg 702 plinkster chrome finish-$165
Savage 64F-$119

Thanks to all, this will be a big help. All comments welcome on these rifles and other suggestions you have out there, I'd like to spend $200ish, of course less if I can get away with it.

Marlin 60's have been made forever, are pretty reliable, and generally more accurate than they oughtta be. I had both a 10/22 and a 60 at the same time. The Marlin was more accurate, but the Ruger was made better, in my opinion. This was about thirty years ago, so the opinion applies to rifles of that era. Don't know if they changed since then.

Hard to beat the Ruger 10-22 for a reliable, cheap, plinker. I've had several of the marlins and they all tend to gum up after awhile and won't feed and/or eject reliably.

I'd second the Marlin 60, they shoot very well for what they are and they'll last a couple of life times if they're taken care of.


Rugers 10/22 quality has really gone down the tubes in my opinion.


For a very accurate and nicely made .22 take a look at the CZ's. Not as cheap as they once were, but put together very well and will shoot as well as most rifles costing 2-3x as much.

Thats why they make cleaning kits, same could be said about the M4 and M16's but the military still uses them. If you take care of it, it will take care of you.

I wouldn't recommend anything mad by Mossberg but that is my PO.

the 10-22 has a good reputation as does the Marlin 60,I had a Marlin but I had to get rid of it because NJ considered it an "assault weapon" because of it's 17 rd tube.

if you aren't hung up on an auto,look at the Remington 572,it's a pump and it shoots s,l,lr.
I have one and it is the most accurate off the rack 22 I have ever shot.

It has nice big rifle sights too.

good luck with your new toy.

BTW,Browning makes a sweet auto,light fast and bottom eject

If you're looking at a 10/22 ... look used, I'm not fond of the new ones I've been seeing. Tons of crap out there if you ever want to "toy" with it!

Never had one, but several friends of mine have had the 60 ... nice rifles for the moola.

Might wanna look at the Marlin 39A too. Very nice and fun rifles!! but maybe a little more than you want to spend.

good luck and let us know what you got!!

thanks for so many quick replies. I'm pretty set on staying with autoloaders, sounds like the marlin 60 is fairly liked, anyone have experience with a savage? I probably would prefer a 10/22 but their price range is a lot broader and often more than I want to spend now. Thanks for the help, keep it comin.

68W

The guns you are looking at are all fine guns, but dont over look some of the older ones. 22's last several lifetimes with even poor care and an old Remington 511 is one hell of a gun plus you can shoot shorts, long and long rifle. I shoot shorts in my back yard and there quiter than a pellet gun.

Does not need to be a 511 but give a look at the old ones, there cool and a peice of history all rolled into one.

I don't own a Marlin Model 60. Folks I know shoot them and love them. I keep looking and handling the stainless steel version with black composition stock at Walmart. I like it. Has a very good heft and feel to it. It would be my suggestion in your case.

On the Ruger 10/22 front. I own a 10/22 Deluxe that I bought in the late 1980's to replace my Weatherby Mark XXII for plinking outings. It is a fun little rifle and I feel is a good choice if you intend to hunt small game (such as rabbits) with the rifle. I think it is worth the extra money for the walnut stock unless you want to customize beyond the trigger.

Haven't heard anyone say anything at all about the Savage 64. No ones ever used one? Everyone hates them? how about the Marlin 795?

Still lookin, a 20 yr old 10/22 with 3-7x42 scope and 2 mags was posted and sold in less than a day yesterday for $150 in good condition, snooze you lose I guess, I didn't look on the classifieds for one day and the deal I was waiting for slipped by me. Dang it, I'm sure another one will come by.

have fun,
68W

I would get a 10/22 if you insist on an auto-loader.

I prefer bolt actions because of bolt flying back and forth as you shoot an auto-loader.

68W -

The best auto in that price range may be a Remington 552 Speedmaster. I own 1, have shot a few others and I can tell you 2 things - as a group they are very accurate, and they function with anything besides CB caps. In fact I tested mine with a paper lunch bag full of loose mixed 22 shorts, longs & long rifles, of different velocities. It went through the entire bag without a problem. And it shoots extremely well. With CCI standard velocity it will shoot groups about the size of a fingernail @ 25 yards, with Federal Gold Medal it is remarkably better.
I just saw a clean used one sell locally for $160 with a junk scope on it. They are easy to spot - they have the bolt handle on the left side of the barrel just in front of the reciever, which is a convenient place to have it. They are a nice, adult sized 22 though so they tend to sell quickly.

Start looking for one. I am sure you will like it.

Kragman1

I finally got one! Nothing special, but its all the fun I was looking for. $195, Ruger 10/22 with a cheap Tasco 3-7x20 and a Butler Creek 25rd mag. Its used but several years old with minimal rounds fired, so it looks pretty pristine. Best part is it has the all metal trigger group. So far I got it zeroed, and it shoots true and cylces ammo like a champ.

Rabbits and Rock Chucks beware!

thanks for the help guys, you stopped me from settling on some cheap rifle under $100. I'm very glad I waited and ponyed up a little more mula.

68W

Check out the TC Classic. It is the best semi-auto 22lr made.

Save your money and by he best there ever was. A clean model 63 Winchester is the best I have ever seen or owned. They don't lose value if you keep them in good shape,they shoot better than any other .22 auto I've ever seen.

It's hard to beat the 10/22 simply because of all the aftermarket products for it. The base gun is darn reliable, and you can easily customize it into an almost infinite variety of rifles.

I have a Marlin 60 - the trigger is horrible and I'm not fond of the tube magazine. Shoots very well, though. If you don't mind the tube and can handle a shoddy trigger (which is probably fine for small game), I'd recommend this one.

I have four CZ 452s, and I love three of them. The odd one out is the Scout, which has the poorer sights

I'm not fond of stock 10/22s. I haven't ever used a Savage .22lr.

I also have a T/C R-55 Benchmark semi-auto, which IMO is a poorly built gun. Machining marks on the barrel, feed problems, has to be cleaned after at most 200 rounds... it also doesn't shoot as well as others say it should. It's not bad, but for the money, I expected better. T/C support won't get back to me about the feed issues, either.