inexpensive target .22 rifle?

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omegapd

New member
Can inexpensive and target go hand in hand? Hope so. :D

I'm not really looking for something to knock my socks off, but want something to plink with that would be more accurate (preferably bolt action) than my Marlin 60, Winchester 190 and Stevens single shot .22


I'd prefer sticking with .22 LR but if you can convince me that the .22 Mag is much more accurate, let's hear it.

Thanks in advance.

EW
 
S

skeeter1

New member
Savage

Go here:

http://www.savagearms.com/

I think that's going to be one of the best, cheapest, and more accurate rifles you're going to find.

.22 Magnums, in my experience, are not as accurate as .22lrs, and don't offer the variety of ammo offerings.

Best of luck to you,

--Skeeter
 
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Glennster

New member
Are you going to shoot competitivly or just plinking?
At what range do you need to be accurate, 50 yards, 100 yards?
If you want to shoot varmints, a .22 is not much good past 75 yards.
The rifles you mentioned should be quite accurate, you may need to find a bullet that works good in the .22 you have. I'd try 5 or 6 different loads before I brand any .22 as '' not accurate ''.
 
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Picher

New member
All new "target" rifles that are worth anything are pretty expensive. Marln makes some pretty accurate rifles, especially the 39, but also the 25 and other bolt actions. The 880SQ is pretty accurate, but the plastic stock is nothing to brag about. The laminated stocked versions can be good shooters.

Used rifles are the best solution. The Rem 581 is probably one of the best shooters for the money. Mine was accurate out of the box, but after bedding, adding a second stock screw and free-floating, it became a real tack driver. A new barrel and some trigger tuning turned it into a benchrest shooter, but that need not be done for plinking or light target work.

The 540x is a fine target rifle that uses the same action as the 581 and 541. They can be had for less money than a 541S (or T) in most cases and shoot wonderfully. They can also be improved further by pillar bedding.

Probably the best buy in a target rifle is the H&R model 12 available from CMP. The price was lowered in the past year and perhaps the rifles aren't as new as mine was, but mine shot well, especially after bedding and re-crowning. It's a very heavy rifle, however.

You'd probably be very happy with a Marlin 39. Sometimes you can find a good used one. My 39A Mountie was a very accurate rifle and not too heavy to carry a lot. The regular 39s are pretty heavy rifles to be lugging around all day, but they shoot very well. They're not inexpensive, however.

Picher
 
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hksigwalther

New member
What is your criteria for 'inexpensive'?

My suggestion would be a CZ 452/453 for under $400.

If you want high accuracy without having to hunt for target or match grade ammo, get a .17 HMR.
 
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gfen

New member
If you're really not satisfied with what you've got, the low cost answer is a Savage, you can get a heavy bbl and their accutrigger in the neighbourhood of $250.
 
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buckster

New member
cz 452 221.00 at walmart

A cz is a quality rifle you can hand down to the kids. With or without a scope they are tack drivers.
 
S

skeeter1

New member
Nix on the Marlin 39

I have one, and the first shot goes dead-on. Once the barrel starts to heat up (and the magazine tube stays cool) it tends to string shots down vertically.

It's a nifty rifle, and I've had it for ~35 years, and I have no intention of selling it. It's great fun, but it's not a target rifle. If accuracy is what you're after, go with a bolt-action.
 
R

Red Tornado

New member
I haven't shot one, but the Biathlon Basic I saw looked and felt great. It had a heavy barrel and should shoot through the same hole all day. However, go to rimfirecentral.com and get some opinions there. There is loads of specific .22 info over there.
RT
 
M

maddog44

New member
Inexpensive .22 target rifle

Omegapd,
I have a Savage .22 bolt action with laminated stock and bull barrel. With target grade ammo and a good scope it is accurate enough to regularly kill squirrels at 100 yds. With a 4X scope it shoots sub dime size groups at 50 yds. I am sure it would do better with a more powerful scope. The barrel is already free floated and it cost me about $220. I don't see how you can beat it! The only modification I made was to file about .050" off of the trigger sear and this gave me a target grade trigger. This rifle is rather heavy, but it is DEADLY accurate if you are a tree rat! I highly recommend it.
P.S. The trigger work can be chancy, if you get this rifle, let a professional do this work because if you go too far, the weapon will be dangerous.

P.P.S. When I bought this rifle, the accutrigger was not available, so, you would probably not need to do any trigger work at all.
 
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