Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Rimfires I need a good 22lr bolt gun. I is cornfused.

There are so many options out there these days. I really don't know where to begin looking. I was thinking a plane jane Marlin 25n.

What I want doesn't seem to be available off the shelf. I want a 16.5" bull barrel in a stiff stock for shooting in a hunting mode with a tight sling.

I am so excited about my 10/22 I tricked out and it is a sweet shooter too but in PA you can't hunt with an autoloader.

Help me think outside the box! I like short barrels. But what about this CZ American everyone raves about?

DixieFreedom,

You may want to look at the Kimber SVT if your wallet is fat.

http://www.kimberamerica.com/kimber22.php

The CZ's shoot well and are affordable. I have a heavy barrel Anshutz with a 64 action that I am fond of for squirrel hunting. Good shooting.

Bob

CZ 427.

The Kimber SVT seems to be an excellent choice according to this write-up.
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BQY/is_1_47/ai_67717289

Dixie, How about a used, but not abused, Ruger 77/22? Throw away the factory barrel and install one of the many premium 16.5" bull barrels available from Midway, Natchez, et al. The trigger on a 77/22 can be adjusted to a very clean, crisp 2lbs. A little barrel channel work on the stock would be in order to make room for that fat tube but other than that, you'd be good to go. RS

The 77/22 will also interchange magazines with your 10/22. I have a box-stock 77/22 and love it.

Great looking little rifle, the Ruger 77/22, and a good rabbit gun, but if you are also into accuracy, it will give you nightmares. The clamp on barrel with its .004� clearance, the sloppy chambers and the two-part bolt design will never make this gun accurate.

Installing a new barrel is not the answer unless it is threaded in, or pressed in. The bolt design cannot be changed, even tightening up the two halves of the bolt by installing a bushing and a new pin will not get rid of the annoying flyers.

Adjustment to the trigger is not an easy thing and should be done by someone with experience.

Installing a .920-barrel in a standard stock requires routing of the for-end and leaves very little wood, making it look scanty.

If you like the gun enjoy it the way it is.

Al,

I cannot agree with your conclusions of the 77/22, mine is a box stock 22 WMR which shoots very well, the only changes I've made was to add a different spring to the trigger. Either I got one of the few good or you got one of the few bad.

Dixie,
I recently purchased a CZ 452 "Style". It is the one with the electroless nickel finish, and plastic stock. I can't say that the stock would rate as "stiff", tho it certainly is stiffer than the plastic Remington short-action stock I have been messing with lately.
I would suggest you look at the 452 varmint.
Varmint
It is a blue gun, with a wood stock. It has a 21" "heavy" (not bull) barrel. And comes without sights. They could be easily added, as well as the barrel shortened if you so desired.
There is also the "Scout",
Scout
that comes with a 16" sporter weight barrel, with sights. It does, however, have a 12" length of pull. You MIGHT find that a bit awkward. It could easily be lengthened with a thicker buttpad.
As far as performance, I'm still wringing mine out. I am just now around the 1000-round mark, so it's not thoroughly broken in yet. But I will say this. The only .22 rimfire rifle I've ever owned, that would shoot with this one, was a Remington 540X I had years ago. When I'm "humming" at the bench, and feed it the ammo it likes, 1/2" to 3/4" groups at 100 yards are almost routine.
I don't think you can find a rifle in the price range ($300) that will CONSISTENTLY shoot as well as the CZs. I'm not talking about highly modified target guns, but comparing off-the-shelf products, side by side.
I definitely recommend you take a look at them.
[color:"red"] Federal Gold Medal Target - 50 yards - 1098fps - Es 31 [/color]
[img]http://img42.photobucket.com/albums/v130/Bug91/CZ%2022%20Chrono%20Testing/Federal_Gold_Medal.bmp[/img]
Well, the image won't "come up", but you can cut 'n paste to get there.

Bug

I looked at the varmint link, looks interesting. What about secure mounting of the scope? Seems like the only option is to adapt to the factory groove/rail for tip off mounts?

The CZ is probably the way to go BUT...those ruger rings really are nice...

Can a proper weaver base be affixed to the CZ? You know the regular type with the cross slots.

I don't think I can afford a Kimber right now.

Kimber 22lr rifles

You want the Kimber SVT! This gun has a heavy 16" stainless fluted barrel and grey laminated stock. It is a bolt action with 5 round magazine. I have wanted one for years.

Conrad

Dixie,



I don't know what your budget is, but if your looking at a new 77/22, its gonna run you about $400 ... the Kimber Hunter (I think their lowest grade ... same mechanics as the classic, but lower grade wood ... still has the same accuracy gaurantee) is about $125 more. I know its more than 25% more but maybe something you want to think about instead of the $700 Kimbers. Personally for me it would be a hard choice, since my 77/22 WMR shoots really well, not to go with another Ruger.

I'm sure I'll get laughed off the board, but I suggest you look at the Savage line. I have one of the BV's, and I think it is a wonderful little shooter. I installed a Rifle Basix trigger, and it trips around a pound or so. The 21" barrel seems to offer a perfect balance for offhand shooting, at least for me. With Wold ME or MT, it ...... well, lets just say it will do the job better than I ever thought it would. Check it out here http://www.savagearms.com/markiibv.htm

I have to agree with Avagadro on this one, I bought a used 77/22 several months ago and just took it to the range Sunday. With the cheap Remington and Winchester ammo I was getting .5 inch groups at 50 yards. Needless to say, with the hassle it took me to get this gun when I bought in the Classified section, I was very pleased. Even my 10 year old daughter, who was shooting for the first time, was keeping everything within 3-4 inches.
Scott

One fellow at my gun club wanted what you want some years ago. His solution was to bob the barrel on an old M44(?) Mossberg, recrown it, scope it and find a load it doted on.

Made for an odd-appearing rifle at the time, but he said he wanted a short bull barreled rifle for squirrel hunting and by God that's what he got when he was done. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I'd have to agree with the 77/22 "haters" myself. In over ten years of running the ranges at our gun club, could count on the fingers of one hand how many of them were out-of-the-box accurate by any standard, either in 22LR or WMR.

Coupla years ago a guy showed up with the varmint model in 22WMR...pewter finish heavy barrel, laminated target stock. Said he'd paid $50 or so to have the trigger slicked up and had a Leupie of some sort on it. I fired five rounds through it at his insistence and got about an inch and a quarter group at 100 yards....from a Bald Eagle-type rest and rear bag. Best he did was a tad larger and he was shickled titless with it (that, after he had done considerable testing of available loads, according to him). Considering what he had invested in that thing, I'd sooner have had a Marlin heavy barrel at half the cost and as good or better performance.

Probably know a half dozen people with 77/22s and none of them are up to braggin' on theirs either. Great looking rifles though, can't fault 'em on that. Love to have one that'd shoot.

I bought a CZ 452 American .17 HMR last year and it's my favorite rifle of all time.. If you go to rimfirecentral.com there's a strong group of CZ lovers there.. and lots of information to be had..

A guy called "Brookie" offers a trigger kit for $14 that is easy to install and will give you a sweet trigger.. ( reduce creep and trigger pull )..

That's my $.02 .. Don't want to add to your confusion, just passing on personal experience..

Good luck..

Al

Personally I am not a �Ruger hater� and don�t know anyone who is, but it�s a shame that Bill did not take the extra step in designing his 77/22, this could have been a great gun, right up there with the other quality .22�s and for a lot less money. It would have rivaled the10/22 in popularity (but for the right reason), a nice, accurate, good-looking .22 with lost of potential.
Again, it�s a great looking .22 rifle and if your shooting is limited to the occasional plinking session, great, go for it.

I have a Ruger 77 22 Mag and a CZ452 in 17HMR. They are very close in design to the 22 RF. I did trigger jobs on both and bedded them. They are now both very accurate, and good looking rifles. I think that either the CZ or the 77 in 22 RF would need some trigger work to get them where you want one. If I were in your shoes, I'd consider either one, even with the expectation of having to do some "tuning. They are both very nice rifles and I couldn't pick one over the other. I have many other Target 22 Rimfires including a Suhl, Anchutz Model 54 Match Target and a Remington Model 37. They are all great for target shooting. Unless you want to spring for an Anschutz 1710D or a Cooper, either of which is TOP drawer, I'd recommend either of the ones mentioned. I never owned a Cooper, but did own a 1710D Anschutz. It is stellar, with a good trigger out of the box. Guys who own both Cooper 22RF sporters and the Anschutz 1710D seem to like the Coopers a little better.
Don

I find that a 22mag or 17hmr is more usefull then a 22lr. I shoot a lot of ground squirrels and have to make a lot of long shoots. The 22mag and 17hmr have a lot longer effective range and can really nail the squirrels. I know that 22lr is cheaper, but I generally fire no more that a hundred rounds a day or about $30 worth of hmr or mag ammo.

CZ sells a varmint version of the 452 American with a slightly shorter and heavier barrel.

You could get what you want by purchasing a used 77/22 and replacing the barrel with a 10/22 target barrel. Get the 77/22 with the laminated stock and open up the barrel channel so the barrel will fit. I think that you will not have to do anything else, but am not sure. Hopefully someone else knows.

Conrad

Conrad .... just outta curiousity ... what WMR ammo are you shooting at $15 a box? My 77/22 loves MaxiMags ... is ok with the MaxiMag V+ .. and really hates winchester WMR ammo (all these are about $7-8/bx). Does CA tax ammo? Just curious.