Affordable (okay -- CHEAP) .22LR bolt action?

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Aguila Blanca

Staff
Looking for an adult-size, inexpensive, bolt-action .22 LR rifle for some experimenting. Armscor used to sell one, but it seems to be discontinued. What else is out there other than the Mossberg Plinkster?

Thank you.
 
H

hammie

New member
With deference to Claude Rains in the movie, Casablanca, we can "round up the usual suspects": There's Rossi (cheaper), Savage mark II (MSRP 270$), and Winchester Xpert (MSRP 320$).

Moving up, there are CZ 455/457, Ruger American, Bergara, and Tikka. But this group is getting beyond inexpensive. Howa and Springfield Armory have bolt action .22's, but I don't know if they have hit the stores yet.

In any case my pick would be your suggestion: the mossberg plinkster. I'm not acquainted with the current plinkster, but I've always had a fondness for mossbergs from a decades ago, happy experience with a chuckster (.22WMR).

I don't want to completely go off topic and bash savage, but the fit and finish of savage rifles (excepting the model 99) have never been what you would call superb. The aesthetics were easy to overlook because the "out of the box" performance of savage rifles was so good. However, in the last few years, the performance of savage rifles coming into our family has been disappointing. We've acquired a .223 hog hunter, a .17 HMR, and savage's version of a precision rifle chambered for 6.5 creedmoor. The creedmoor is okay, but we just expected better for what it is supposed to be. The accu-trigger on the hog hunter would occasionally (not often) lock up. Not a big deal, because I hate "blade" triggers, and planned to replace the accu-trigger with a timney. The lock-up just hastened that replacement process. However, I'm not sure if savage has declined in quality, or it is simply that the other manufacturers have just got better.
 
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J

jetinteriorguy

New member
I picked up a heavy barrel Savage B22 a couple years ago and it’s an absolute tack driver out to 100yds. I did have some extraction issues, I removed the extractor and dressed it up with a file and it works great. Then after that I got a Savage in 17HMR that had the same extractor issues. So I contacted Savage and they sent me replacements including the springs for both rifles. The replacements were much better quality than the originals, go figure. So I replaced them both and no more issues whatsoever and very easy to replace.
 
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eastbank

New member
i bought a nice winchester 72 (tube fed bolt action .22 in very nice shape) for 225.00 at a local flea market. they are out there, it just takes looking and jumping on it when you find one.
 
S

Spats McGee

Administrator
Define "inexpensive," please. My idea of inexpensive is quite different from some fellers' ideas of it.

Personally, I like the Ruger American Rimfire line. I've got 2 that I like a lot. One's your basic squirrel rifle, with a 22" barrel, a fiber optic front sight, and the polymer stock. The other is the Target model with the bull barrel and a laminate stock. The latter, obviously, is more expensive, but it's also more accurate. RARs accept 10/22 magazines, which I find tremendously useful, as I had about a half a dozen 10/22 magazines when I bought the first one. Also, note that the black stock module at the butt of the first one can be swapped for one with a lower cheek rest, if you prefer that. All you have to do is unscrew the rear sling swivel stud and out it comes.

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HiBC

New member
I'd hunt the pawnshops.

I like my Remington 513T There are a lot of old 22's out there.

Bolt guns don't have much to get finnicky.

Those Rugers do look interesting,Spats,
 
4

44caliberkid

New member
Since you said, “cheap”, I would agree that prowling pawn shops/ gun stores would be a good start. Make them a low ball offer, they probably only gave 25 - 50% of the value of whatever they’re selling.
That said, you can’t go wrong with a Ruger American, they are economical, not cheap.
 
S

stagpanther

New member
Playing with reloading .22LR
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Having been down that road--precision of components with minimal tolerances is essential if your goal is anything beyond casual plinking. Have fun and keep us posted.:)
 
A

Aguila Blanca

Staff
stagpanther said:
Having been down that road--precision of components with minimal tolerances is essential if your goal is anything beyond casual plinking. Have fun and keep us posted.
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I believe your goal was long-range accuracy/precision. My goal is ammunition that goes BANG. Nothing more.

I don't **NEED** another rifle, particularly not another rimfire. Except ... I expect most of my experimental loads to be sufficiently under-powered that they won't cycle a semi-auto action. So I'm looking for an el cheapo bolt-action .22 to use as a test bed. I might even consider a Crickett, but for some reason they want 100 bucks more for the "adult" model, which seems rather steep for 2 inches longer in the pull length. (Plus the Crickett is strictly a single shot, which obviously means it would be useless for evaluating feeding.)
 
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zukiphile

New member
I don't **NEED** another rifle, particularly not another rimfire. Except ... I expect most of my experimental loads to be sufficiently under-powered that they won't cycle a semi-auto action.
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You can turn a 10/22 into a straight pull bolt action by blocking the bolt handle with a thumb or index finger.

If feeding of weak rounds is a goal, a 22lr AR15 conversion bolt is pretty under weight and in conjunction with a reduced power hammer spring will cycle anemic rounds. I'd bet you could find a conversion bolt with a magazine for $150. Some people don't like the idea of sending 22lr down their 5.56 barrels.
 
S

stagpanther

New member
Sometimes it's about the journey!
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True dat.;) The number one thing I found in reloading 22lr is that tolerances are so minute--whether you're talking headspacing in the action and dimensions of cases to very small weight charges that range from min to max in just hundredths of grs.--precision is everything.;)
 
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