Any recommendations for a high quality, tube fed, bolt action 22LR? The only current offering seems to be the Marlin.

IMHO, YOU COULD NOT DO ANY BETTER THAN A REAL, VINTAGE JM MARLIN.....

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'Nam 1968-69.DAV,VFW,NRA Inst.

Thanks Joe. So, would that be the 881 or earlier?

Blue would be M-781 or earlier. Older guns had better triggers IMHO.

Beware! Some Marlins had backward safeties: Forward to safe and rearward to fire. I have one of the aforesaid (M783 in 22 WMR) and consider it and treat it like an unintentional discharge on countdown. I don't know if the stainless 881s were like this.

Nearly every gun co made some kind of tube fed 22. The Remington 512 comes to mind and decent examples which will last a lifetime can be had relatively cheaply. Real walnut stocks and craftsmanship may not be in style now but I love it.

Winchester, Savage, Stephens too.

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On the whistle draw and fire 6

I would vote for a Remington 582, if you can find one. Marlins are great too.

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Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220

Remington 512 or Winchester 72. Lots of them around, but many have been used hard. Should be able to pick one up fairly reasonably if you look hard.

+1 for the Winchester 72/72A. Essentially the same gun as the 69/69A except the latter was magazine fed. Later versions (1955ish) had grooved receivers for scope mounting. Great rifles, I've still got the 69A I bought as my first gun back in 1963.

Jeff
SWCA #1457

I'm sutprised old Mossbergs haven't been mentioned.
Have owned more of them, than other brands.
They were always accurate and reliable.
My personal favorite tube fed .22s are the Mossberg 151M(b) and the Remington 552, though they are semiauto, not bolt.

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What would Jim Cirillo do?

My Remington 512 is going strong after nearly 80 years (it was my Granddad's before me).

I'd also suggest the used rack.
Some real nice ones can be found.
This is my favorite for a few reasons it is a Remington model 34

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Paul
S&WCA #2726

I have a Remington 512X that I've had for over 50 years. It is very accurate and will shoot groups comparable to some of the best 22's available. If you run across one in good shape I would not hesitate.

Thank you everyone. Now I can start a search on the models you listed.

Any of the earlier Remington .22s (assuming they have been reasonably well cared for) will be better than anything new you can buy today. When it comes to older .22 rifles, I am in awe of anything with Remington stamped on the barrel. My personal favorite is a Model 550-1 semiauto.

I started buying them in the early 70s and still have a bunch. 511s and 512s and 510s are my favorite off hand shooters. I have some 513s also. You can make a magnum out of a cheap 510 without a lot of trouble. Love those longer 27 inch barrels on the older ones.

I'll second the recommendation for any of the older Remington tube fed bolt action 22s. I lusted after them in my youth because they were good rifles with solid reputations for accuracy and reliability.

As an aside, I'm not sure why you are looking for a tube fed bolt action .22 LR. One caution I always mention is that tube fed .22 LR rifles are among the hardest small arms on the planet to clear and then positively verify that it is in fact clear.

It's all too common for round to get hung up in the tube and not eject when the shooter is clearing the weapon. When this happens the rifle gets put away and when next picked up the action gets opened and the chamber inspected, the action then gets closed a round is chambered, the trigger gets pulled and a new hole appears in something or someone.

It's even worse when the magazine follower is brass as there is little visual difference between the follower and a .22 LR cartridge.

This makes a tube fed .22 a poor choice for newer shooters.

I never gave much thought to that.
My first firearm was a tube fed .22 lead squirter.
I treated it like any other firearm and made sure it was empty before putting it away.
Yank the tube.
Smack the butt with my hand several times with the bolt locked open.
Cycle the bolt repeatedly.
Slowly release the bolt while holding the trigger, to release the hammer spring/hammer slowly (so as not to leave it cocked without dinging the breech).
Reinsert mag tube.

Then again, "Every gun is always loaded" was always drilled into my head as a kid.

Not disagreeing with you at all.
A buddy of mine blew out my passenger window with an "unloaded" Tokarev 25 years ago, so....

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What would Jim Cirillo do?

The Remington 512 Targetmaster is a wonderful gun. I got one this summer made in 1942. Color case and bluing is near mint. Nice walnut stock. They are not drilled and tapped or grooved for a scope. The Remington 582 is nice too, and has dovetail scope groove. I have one of those too that I bought 40 years ago. The stocks are hardwood, not walnut, and are finished in a sort of blonde color.

If you decide to go for a semi auto, the Remington 552 Speedmaster ( older gun) is a nice buy. Got my eyes on one now. They also came in a BDL grade.

The most economical of the 3 would be the 512. I got my 512 by accident. I was after a 510, which is the same gun, but single shot. Great gun for a youngster!

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Pete
I ain't no fortunate son

Older Remington, Winchester, Savage/Stevens, Marlin, Mossberg,,,,lots to choose from on the used gun rack in tube feed bolt action 22's.

There are more obscure makers too along with foreign imports/

No magazine to loose, no separate magazine to reload and usually quite a large capacity to the tube feed models compared to the
'clip' feed editions.
Those little detachable box magazine can be very pricey if you have to replace them.

The problem of a live round getting stuck in tube feed mechanism and going un-noticed is real.
Mistaking the gun for being clear and unloaded and instead that stuck round being fed into the chamber later and firing off in an 'I didn't know the gun was loaded' moment.

Working with hundreds and hundreds of used tube feed 22's sent in by customers for repair at the factory, the #1 safety rule with those was before doing anything,,load a Dummy Round 22 in the tube and cycle the action.
That Dummy Round MUST eject out into your hand before you do anything with that rifle.

I can't tell you the number of tube feed 22's that didn't cough up that Dummy Round. A live round was stuck in the mechanism, usually the feed throat blocking it.
Another reason each repair bench had a 3" thick laminated hardwood block directly in front of the non swivel bench vise.
Just in case.

I have not encountered the last round hang-up problem in the tube fed lever or pump action 22's I have had. Is this just an issue with the bolt actions? Are some models more prone to it than others?

OP, have you looked at the Henrys?

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Tony

Model 72As can be found for not a lot of dollars if you take your time looking.

I am a Winchester addict so here is my late 72A that is grooved for a scope. I now have a Redfield 4 power on it. The perfect field gun. No lost magazines, load once, shoot all day.

It's usually an issue due to the rifle not ever being cleaned, including the inner & outer magazine tubes or the feed throat system.
Dirty ammo run through the rifle by the hundreds and thousands of rounds, never any maint to the gun down in the mechanism,,even a drop or two of oil.

There's lots of springs, a carrier, follower, ect in there and it all has to work just right. Careless or just indifferent handling leads to dents in the tube, rust in the follower spring.
It only takes one time for a round to stick and hold back for the shooter to think the rifle is empty only to have it snap forward after the bolt is closed the final time and the round is then right there ready to be loaded the next time the action is operated.

It's just awareness that is needed, and that should be there when any firearm is in hand, not just a tube feed model.
But a tube feed of any sort is particularly prone to that sort of potential problem.
Even a pump shotgun or tube feed L/A rifle can have a round stick part way up in the tube and go un-noticed, the gun appears unloaded.
Only to dislodge and be fed into the chamber later as the action is worked on that unloaded firearm.
The 'unloaded gun' then fires.

At least the tube feed 22's you can run a dummy round through the mechanism and out into your hand to confirm there is nothing else in there.
Something you can't do with a closed ended tube feed like on a pump shotgun or LA centerfire.
Those brite colored followers for the latter are a good idea for a visual check for an empty mag tube. MAny of the tube feed 22's have them too now.

The Remington 34 means a great deal to to me. I have the one Mom had when she was growing up in Northeastern Montana. When I was a pup, maybe 5 or 6, she taught me to shoot with that Model 34. To be honest, "shoot" is quite the exaggeration. At that age about all she could do was teach me to pull the trigger and (hopefully) not hurt somebody. I have a photo of me learning on that 34. The butt stuck out from my armpit by a good 6 or 8 inches. Fairly amusing. There was Mom showing me the ropes. That 34 will never go anywhere except to a family descendant.

IMHO, A MODEL 781 WOULD BE THE BEST CHOICE, THEY MAY BE DIFFICULT TO FIND. DO A GOOGLE SEARCH, AND CHECK THE AUCTION SITES. GUNS AMERICA HAS A NICE ONE LISTED RIGHT NOW. TAKE A PEEK, AND REMEMBER---YOU SNOOZE, YOU LOSE ! ! !

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'Nam 1968-69.DAV,VFW,NRA Inst.

If you don't have a dummy 22 round here's another way to check. Pull the inner magazine tube completely out. Cycle the bolt all the way back. Take a 22 cleaning rod and run it all the way down the outer magazine tube until you see the tip. At that point; you are assured the magazine tube is empty.
N.B: This is also a good opportunity to swab the outer magazine tube out with some solvent and oil lightly

Jim

I have a Winchester 72 with a peep sight that is very accurate and a
Rem 512 that is grooved for a scope although it doesn't wear one at the
present time. I also have a Stevens 66 that is somewhat clunky in
operation but is very accurate for a cheap rifle. It has the typical
hardwood stock with the black painted forearm tip and it cost me all
of $55 at a local auction. I have never had a problem with emptying
magazine tubes as others have reported. Tube fed bolt action .22
rifles can be real bargains.

I have a 95% 512x for about 40 years. I have seen maybe 2 more.

Alwslate I have one of the same 66B as you with the peep sight. The B is for buckhorn.
It is very accurate as well.

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Paul
S&WCA #2726

+ another one for the 512. One of my most used and appreciated pawn shop finds. It is in excellent condition with the exception of some sun fading on one side of the wood. Possibly it was a truck gun or sat in a rack near a window? Nice ones can be found cheap as they apparently made a bunch of them. Mine is the version with the nice big bore type rifle sights. I also have a very well used one I inherited from my FIL that came with a factory peep sight. He was an avid squirrel hunter and while not at all rusty it has very a worn finish and blueing. Great guns.

I had an older Marlin bolt action with a box mag. I had a newer model with a tube and the new one was MUCH better than the old one. It was an XT. I gave it to my daughter's bf. It was a very nice shooting rifle. My older model was a 925 which looked better but it wasn't as accurate and it had firing pin issues.

IMO too many people are about nostalgia when it comes to guns. A beech stock just isn't a lot better than a synthetic stock IMO. And you don't have to worry much about a synthetic stock warping if you get caught in the rain. And yes I have seen that happen with other wood stocks. For a primary squirrel hunter the XT is hard to beat IMO. I have much nicer .22's but I use one I don't have to worry about ruining or dropping in a river or whatever when I go hunting. As long as it will hit what I shoot at I'm good with it and the XT will certainly do that.

I got the itch for a bolt action .22 with a tube magazine a year or two ago, I found a nice Winchester 72 that fit the bill and is a wonderful shooter. I've also been looking into the Ruger American Rimfire, it's a bolt action that uses 10/22 magazines, I'm not a fan of the stock though.

I wonder if the new XT will fit in an 881 walnut stock? Probably have to relieve a bit for the new trigger, but is the hole spacing the same? Anyone know?

I like Ruger products, but there are no black plastic stocks in my safe, and the wood stock looks like a fence post IMO

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Pete
I ain't no fortunate son

I have my father's Mossberg 46B and a Marlin 81. Both bolt/tube guns. The Marlin has a grooved receiver for scope mounts.

The 46B later got updated to a 146B.

Parts available for Mossbergs from Havlin's Sales.

Miss my Marlin 783 22 magnum with gold plated trigger. Great figured walnut too. Was stolen and am still mad. Bought new in 72 with scope and sling for $75.

Theres a Talo exclusive with a wood stock that looks much better than the standard one. My only issue with that is it uses a stainless barrel and reciever whereas the regular one is blued.

Admit I did buy a Ruger American compact 22 mag. 3 years back. No regrets as I like the light weight and 18 inch barrel for the woods. Always been a walnut lover but Ruger did a good job on this one and stock not flimsy. Like the rimfires satin bluing instead of the matte on the centerfires.

First choice is polished blue and walnut. Second choice would be walnut and stainless. last choice would be walnut, and the dull matte unfinished looking bbl that is produced a lot these days. Almost like brushed steel with blue

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Pete
I ain't no fortunate son

I am not fond of real short bbls, especially if it does not allow the cartridge to reach maximum velocity. I like the rifle look as compared to a carbine. Just me I guess

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Pete
I ain't no fortunate son

I received my Remington model 582 for Christmas in 1966. I still have it as it was my first firearm. Not having the other brands nor models to compare their features, I am at a disadvantage to say which is better, but after 52 years I would never part with it.

I hope you find this helpful.

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I am a sheep dog!
1601 (ret)

I have a Remington 512 and I like it. Made in the 1950's I think. Smooth, buttery action. Groups well but shoots high at 25 yards. A fine old gun.

On the used market you can easily find Glenfield bolt action .22s. That was a brand owned by Marlin as I recall. I cannot recall if they were tube fed or not.

Henry does make a bolt action .22 but it is not tube fed. Their lever guns are tube fed and would definitely be on my list if I wanted a .22 caliber rifle.

A 512 has an adjustable rear elevator with slide step notches from the factory.