I vote for the Remington 597 stainless. It's impervious to the weather, shoots well, and is relatively inexpensive. Just make sure you get the aluminum, not plastic, magazines.

When I was a kid I shot a Winchester M-67. It had a short barrel and a short stock. It was great walking across the desert with a pocket full of .22 shorts and stopping to take a shot every few steps. The M-67 was my mothers gun, and my daughter learned to shoot with it, and now my grand daughter is using it.
My favorite is my Winchester 62a.
There is a lot of cheap fun to be had with .22's.

My Grand daughter enjoys shooting her Henry Youth 'Mini-bolt'
.22 single-shot and her Pink Crickett .22 single-shot.
My 10/22, Marlin 39A, and Remington Black Apache are too big
for her to handle yet.

586L-Frame

DLC’s Henry Mini-Bolt, Pink SS Crickett & Ruger 10_22.


DLC’s Marlin 39a (Right-side).


DLC’s Remington Nylon 66 Apache.




x

Dunno...So many good .22's, so little time.. And money..
There are many that are nice shooters. The 39A should be good.
I like Nylon 66's.. But they are starting to get more rare, and good
ones more pricey. As far as the lower end, I've had a Model 60, and
I have a 10/22 now. Everyone raves about the 10/22, and I have to
admit I haven't had any real problems with it, but I think I liked the
old Model 60 better.. I think it was more accurate out of the box.

And I liked the old wood look of the Marlin vs the black tactical zombie
killer look my 10/22 has right now.. :/ I'd like to get a good walnut
stock for it, but have been using the black stock because it was cheap.
The plus to the 10/22 is there are a zillion parts out there for it.
Mine has had the Power Custom trigger mods, nylon bushing, etc, etc..
So the trigger is great. But I think it could have a better barrel than
the one I have, which is just a stock sporter barrel. It seems just
so-so.. :/ I think that old Marlin was more of a tack driver with their
factory barrels. But you can't quite modify one of those like you can a
10/22.. Or easily anyway.. You can swap parts and totally change a
10/22 into a totally different looking gun in about one beers time. :/

Anything in the Remington "targetmaster" or "Sportmaster" series of bolt actions such as the 341, 41, 510, or any of their derivatives are excellent choices and usually very affordable and extremely accurate.

Winchester 90's, 62's or 9422's are also some of the best choices, but are more expensive, but legendarily accurate.

Out of "new" guns currently available, the Savage series of .22 bolt actions are extremely accurate and very affordable. Not pretty, but they will light matchsticks.

I'm just not a big self-loading fanatic, although the 10/22 is a very reliable piece, it isn't what I'd recommend for a first .22.

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Lost it all in a boat accident

I bought a Thompson .22 Classic when they first came out. Walnut and steel appeal to me..and it shoots as good as it looks.

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"Give me Liberty..."

winchester model 74 auto in .22 short.... nice full size rifle, accurate and fun for "plinking" in the backyard with out disturbing the neighbors
followed by a winchester 1890 pump all for the same reasons..:-)

Love the rimfires. There is nothing like a 22. I will never forget the Christmas that I got a 'Ted Williams' semi auto. Must have shot 15000 rounds through that. Years later, sold it at a garage sale after I bought a Kimber Model 82 with a stainless barrel...one of the best investments I have ever made. That baby shoots holes through holes.

About a month ago, I found a Belgium Browning on GB that was local. Went by the shop and made the guy a deal. Always wanted a little take-down 22. Sweet gun!!

Now, I am collecting revolvers and the K22s are all over my list:)

I have a 39M and like it a lot. One of these days I will find a 39a to go with it. I had a Winchester 9422 once and traded it off because I liked the 39M better. I also have a Ruger 1022 a Remington 597. You can never have enough .22 rifles. The 597 is perfect to send with my son when he goes to his girlfriend's familys deer lease.

Gary, now that you mention it . . . . . .

The Mountie pictured below is one of the guns I bought after hanging around in the background at my local NAPA, watching someone trade it in. I bought it for $145 about 15 years ago. It was "finish challenged," so, on a whim, I sent it to Checkmate in Florida and had a matte nickel finish applied. The butt-plate was missing the white-line spacer, so I "fabricated" one from one of the wife's place mats. She still doesn't know where that place mat went. I have yet to get around to re-doing the wood. Having too much fun shooting it.

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Georgia On My Mind

For plinking and for kids...the Henry H001. Inexpensive, smooth action and very accurate. I bought it as an understudy/practice gun for my 30-30's. It really depends on how big the child is though, find a rifle thats suitable for their size so they can get the basics down.

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NRA Life Member

I've shot a ton of prairie dogs over the last couple of years with a CZ 452 Varmint rifle. It's short, handy and will hold an inch or better at 100 yds. with ammo it likes on a calm day. The one I have the most fun with, though, is an old Browning Semi Auto wheel-sight rifle. That's the one that ejects out the bottom. If you have long sleeves on your shirt, it will send hot ones right up to yourelbow where they will for sure leave a mark! Don't ask me how I know this. It's such a slim little rifle, though, and an absolute joy to plink cans and rocks with.

My favorite is the Remington model 121 Fieldmaster pump. I have a couple of them and my son an I have enjoyed shooting them for years. Both are original and in excellent shape. One is from the late 30's and the other from the 40's and work like new.

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Bob

Ruger SR-22 Autoloading Rifle

T/C Contender with a 21" 22LR Match barrel - Sweet

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In dog years I'm dead.

I started out both of my sons out while they were small on this model 62 carbine. Now that they've moved up to bigger sized guns I've ended up shooting this one a lot more . . . it's a hoot to shoot.

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- Change it back -

Faulkner, that carbine is just plain nifty!!

Faulkner,Tell me more about yours.I wasn't aware of the short barrel version.I just picked a '48 a couple of weeks ago.Just a shooter but it makes me happy.

DG

Bought my young teenager an lever action
Henry in 22lr. We have had a lot of fun with it and no malfunctions.

When I graduated High school, my parents bought me a winchester 9422, excellent gun I wouldnt part with.

I have a mid 80's Ruger 77/22 (bolt action) that I like. The rear sight isn't too good, so I put a scope on it. It uses the same magazines as the 10/22.

I also think a good single shot is worth a look. However, most youngsters want to progress to a semi auto fairly quickly.

I recommend one of the semi autos already mentioned. Load one round at a time in the magazine.

If a bolt action is desired, the CZ is hard to beat.

My father gave me this Winchester Model 250 when I was 12. It was my first and for many years, only gun. I added the scope a few years ago and am embarrassed to admit how little I shoot it. It hold 15 LR's, 18 longs and 21 shorts. It is still in nice shape, about 90%, after nearly 50 years. I'll probably never sell it, just wish I had a son to pass it on to. (o;

Aaron I just bought a CZ 452 American. This rifle is amazing. It is very accurate and the action is smooth. CZ makes other models that that are cheaper but the quality is still there. Don

Discount Guns for Sale - Buds Gun Shop

25 rounds at 50 yards using Eley Sport.

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"Don't worry be happy"

I love your picture, this is what mine usually looks like:

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Don't need no stinkin' sigline

This was my first:

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Don't need no stinkin' sigline

Blaze away, but I always liked the Model 66. Lots of shots, decent accuracy, and a real jackrabbit killer!

Count me in as a Ruger 10-22 fan. But my most favorite is an old Rem. 12-C NRA pump from 11/28 (thats 1928 for you yunguns) with Lyman tang and flip globe. Dad bought it used and thought it inferior to his Savage 23AA Bolt. I still have both and they are the nuts!

I have to say my Marlin 39A with a Skinner Peep sight is mine also. Behind that my Marlin 60 I just put a synthetic stock and big scopoe on. Looks real cool but have not shot her yet.

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Good life will not Heaven get!

my personal favorite is a 56 marlin 39a mounty that was built with a 16" barrel instead of the normal 20" barrel, this old gun has seen 50 years of hard use, 1000's of rounds and will still get picked from the safe when a 22 is desired

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/j...r/DSC00120.jpg

but the original question was about a guy wanting to help his friend find a gun that he would enjoy and could teach his son to shoot with,

i have owned almost every gun listed here through the years and they are all great little guns, however many are now pricey for the novice gun owner

if i was to give someone advice on a entry level gun that is priced at a reasonable price, and would be fun to shoot. i would point him toward buying the Henry youth model 101 lever gun.

, these little carbine lenght guns are shipped with the large lever and are a blast to shoot, affordable, and while they might not last 100 years like the old winchesters and marlin 39s, they would serve well as a starter gun that could be enjoyed by both the father and the son, they are much smoother than a new 39a, and only time will tell about there durabity

i own many rifles, and i got one of these several years ago to teach my youngest son on, and it was a very good gun that served well, and now 20 years later i have heard my son state that he wished he had not traded it off, and i also have often thought the same thing

so i would join with others here and recomend the Henry

Winchester M/63, you can drive nails with it.

Hands down, my CZ 452 American

Well, the 10/22 is the only rimfire rifle I own. Not sure how great it would be for a beginner.

The bolt release, for starters. In stock form it requires a bit of 3 handed fumbling. Fortunately the fix is a fairly simple mod.

The mag release takes some getting used to.

My wife is not too crazy about mine (I absolutely love the 10/22 myself) and I plan on maybe getting a bolt gun for her to learn on.

Remington 582 with 6X18 leupold. Works for me!

My parents bought me a Winchester 9422 for my high school graduation back in 1973. Its been a great gun and will never get rid of it.

Someone needs to mention Marlin's M-795, especially the stainless version. Good gun, good value.

That or the Ruger 10/22. Best 2 semi-autos on the market.

For a first gun I always sugest a bolt action. That way they learn accuraccy over mass lead down range.

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Good life will not Heaven get!

I have had examples of every action. bolt, lever, auto and pump. If anyone cares here is my thought.
Bolt, fine to learn on, usualy should be the most accurate but far heavier and cumbersome than need be.
Lever, nostaligic, yet the lever like the bolt is a overkill in working a action, more than we need for the little 22 cartridge.
Auto. Fine for a advanced shooter/hunter, but it invites spraying and praying and bad habits for a new shooter.
Pump: My all time favorite. You can shoot as fast ACCURATELY as a auto, actualy moreso. The winchester 61 I am showing I grew up on. Dad bought it in the late 1930s, I learned on it, had many other 22s in my middle years, but I inherited this one and have rediscovered it still makes the best sense of all that I owned! This one has the rare octogon barrel. Dad at 6ft 5" added a wood LOP as he did to all guns he owned (or pad) due to his heigth and long arms. Fits me perfect too.

Here are a couple other winchesters I have. The 1890 was "customised" before I got it with that stock with the cheek piece and pistol grip. It was in 22 wrf so since it was already messed with I had it rechambered to 22 wmrf. The 63 is right at the end of production about 1956 or 1957. Somehow I found it new in the box with the hanging tags back in the 1990s!

CZ452 is one of the most accurate guns you will ever find off a shelf. Add to that the bolt action and it is a great gun to transition to a big game rifle.

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Front sight and squeeze

Best .22 depends on what the judging criteria is, but I have some favorites.
Anschutz makes a wonderful rifle. I have an OLD heavy barrel single action that will literally put 10 rounds in one hole at 50 feet. But my kids can't hold it offhand.

Savage makes some fun and light .22's with their awesome accu-trigger. I have three of these, one with a thumbhole stock in a kids pull length.

Ruger's 10/22 is accurate and in a customized form with target trigger and bull barrel can be quite accurate.

Remington's 541T is a sharp shooter that can be had for under $700.

And I have 4 .22 pistols that are a hoot to shoot!! So I fit the gun to the chore. One of my friends is a nationally ranked .22 match champion so when I shoot with him I use my Anschutz (he set it up for me). When I shoot with the kids (the most fun anyone can ever have!!) I typically load and set up targets, blow up balloons etc., and sometimes get to fire a few through a pistol.

If I could only have one .22? Probably the 10/22. Customized though....

Thanks every body,all my favorites were here from when we lived out in the country in N.E. Ohio.Win.74 short,&Win. pump carb.

Yep........

i like the 39a, 10/22, nylon 66, and my sig 522.

I like Winchesters:
Model 1890
Model 1906
Model 52
Model 56
Model 57
Model 61
Model 62
Model 63

Springfield Model 1922

Remington
Model 24 and 241
Model 37
Models 510, 511, 512, 513
541
40X

Browning automatic

Marlin Model 39

Remington 541 Bull Barrel bolt gun. The stock looks like a BDL's stock and its accurate as all get out.

Jungle Work

I bought a used Marlin 39A in 1954 35 bucks. Gave it to my son so have a 10-22 now. Sure miss the old Marlin however.

I have a bunch of .22's including Kimbers and one of the new Weatherby/Anschutz bolt actions. But my favorite is a Remington 552. It feels right, looks good and shoots where I point it. I got lucky and have an uncommonly accurate one. At least the guys over at Rimfire Central haven't been able to match it.

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Regards, Ron
USASA 1965/69

I have a Browning T bolt and an Izmash 'Biathlon', either of which would do the trick. Both are uncanny accurate, and have wonderful triggers. The Browning is a lot lighter, if the trainee is of small stature.

I have a Marlin 39M with an old Lyman receiver sight that I like a lot. In fact I like it so well that I sold my 9422 shortly after I bought it. I also have a 10/22 that I built that is a lot of fun to shoot.