Rimfire Rifles

[HOUSTON RICK]

The glaring missing piece (need) in my firearms collection are 22 LR rifles. I am looking at the Marlin 39A (yes, older one if I can find one), M&P 15-22, and the requisite Ruger 10/22. Anyone have any other favorites? Pictures and a reason for liking the gun would be most welcome. I am gathering information at this point, so I am not soliciting for offers to sell. I am not interested in any 22 chambering beyond 22 LR (ie, 22 magnum), but firing other 22 rounds in addition to 22 LR may be a plus. I would be curious to learn whether these rifles firing multiple types of 22 rounds make anyone's favorite list. Thank you in advance for your insightful and courteous replies! Wishing all here a safe and meaningful holiday weekend.

 

[Camster]

Anschutz sporters,Browning ATDs.Winchester 94/22s...the list can go on and on.....and on!

 

[Baggy Wrinkle]

I was lucky enough to find a 1950 Marlin 39A rifle with 24-inch barrel at a LGS about 10 years ago. The $325 I spent then was more than worth it. It is very accurate with the factory open sights and will shoot any and all .22 rim fire ammo. Everyone who shoots it loves it. I also regularly shoot a 1953 vintage 39A carbine with a 20-inch barrel and it is also a great gun. Both are very high quality firearms. Real heirlooms. My other .22 rifle recommendation is a CZ bolt action. Real wood stock with real blued steel action and barrel. Solid feel and accurate. Again, it will shoot any .22 ammo. Slightly more expensive than most, but will last forever.

 

[arjay]

The Remington 580 series was an inexpensive bolt action capable of moa accuracy with good ammo.the early versions came with a walnut stock,later guns had birch or it might be beech.This 582 will shoot sv into 1/2"@50 yards with a cheap 4x scope

 

[Drm50]

I was at a large outdoor trade days affair this AM. There were a couple Marlin 39s of older vintage and a Star Target Pistol that
I'm interested in. Both 39s were marked at $400, just a little
more than I wanted to pay. I have a dozen good 22 rifles and
39 is my favorite. The best to fire S, L, LRs. The only thing they
don't like is the truncated cone type bullets in some of hyper 22s.
Going back in AM, dealers will be hungry for sales when in the
11th hour.

 

[ChattanoogaPhil]

Among the ones you mentioned I have the 15-22. Most fun soda can plinker I've ever owned.

Once you got the autoloader in the safe, consider a bolt action. Savage is a fine and economic choice if you can keep the mods off it. As you can see I failed.

 

[S&W ucla]

I like my CZ 452 American 16" threaded bbl. 5 or 10 rnd mags, light and quiet Their current offering is the 455 synthetic threaded bbl. They also offer a 455 combo with user changeable 22lr and 17HMR bbls. Great guns and very accurate. The 455 varmint is good if you don't carry it around a lot. Any of those you mention are also nice rifles.

 

[britbike1]

Bought a Browning t-bolt from the Navy base exchange at Bremerton in 1967. Fits like a glove, 6 lbs, super trigger, quarter sized groups at 50yds off the bench with 4x scope. I do prefer shooting it with the peep sight it came with. It's a straight pull and shoots all size .22's. It came with a 5 shot clip and a single shot adapter which I use all the time anyway. Made for about 11 years, check them out. You won't be disappointed.

 

[PALADIN85020]

The now-out-of-print Remington Nylon 66 is one of my all-time favorite .22LR rimfires.

1. Virtually indestructible. One-piece Nylon stock.

2. Accurate.

3. More reliable than almost any autoloader made before or since.

4. Minimum care required. Alaskan trappers used them a lot.

5. 14-round tubular magazine protected by the stock, accessed from the butt.

6. Will accept tip-off scope mounts.

7. Very lightweight and easy to carry.

Most gun shows will turn up one or more - but they are getting more scarce as more and more people discover their utility, and collectors are driving up prices.

Here is a picture of the most prolific model, with the Mohawk Brown stock:

There are quite a few variations and spin-offs. Here is a chart I made up for collectors:

They can be customized, to a certain extent. Here's a "beater" that I converted into a "tacticool" model, scoped, equipped with a GI sling; the barrel is equipped with an adapter for a flash hider or suppressor. This is my knock-about rifle.

I can heartily recommend this rifle for both collecting and just plain fun shooting. A world record was set with over 100,000 hand-thrown wood blocks shot out of the air. No malfunctions whatsoever.

If you are interested in learning more about them, this article I wrote may be of some help:

http://smith-wessonforum.com/firearms-knives-other-brands/373000-story-remington-nylon-66-a.html

John

 

[TNDave]

The Marlin 39A is a great rifle. So are the CZ Americans. A Williams Foolproof rear sight is the way to go on the Marlin. Scope the CZ. I have learned a lot about 10-22s over the past two years. I used to not care for them but have learned the installation of a BX trigger, making sure all the screws are tight, and CCI ammo makes one into a pretty trick rifle.

 

[ky wonder]

I have a wide variety of rim fire rifles and yes I am partial to the marlin 39a as well,

but by far my most accurate one is an old Mossberg 44a us
it will send bullets through the same hole as long as you do your part, and has been doing it reliably since the 1940s
http://images.gunsinternational.com...i_100555011/100555011_96_AE80B073982A1EDC.jpg

the 15-22 smith is a fun gun and I have a small 4x scope on it and it is coke can accurate at 50 yds no problem, it is just fun to let it run

another one I own is an early Remington 552 speedmaster, it shoots it all shorts, longs and long rifles

http://image.sportsmansguide.com/adimgs/l/6/633962i_ts.jpg

I have a cz52american in 17hmr, great gun, http://static.productreview.com.au/pr.products/cz-452-american_4cf3a24bf2cdd.jpg

a heavy barrel savage b mag in 17wsm, a marlin ss 22mag bolt gun

love the gun and the round,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=lcubVkx2PA4

 

[rustythread]

The Marlin 39A is a really great rifle; gave mine to a grand-nephew several years ago.
What I 'm left with now is bolt-actions--a Sako 78, which is a real whisker picker; a Rem 541S, a pretty good rifle which I somehow don't much care for, and a Krico stutzen-stocked carbine with double set triggers. Used to squirrel-hunt with the Sako; don't recall ever firing the Remington or the Krico.
I'd recommend the Marlin for an all-around .22.

 

[s&wchad]

Yes, you do need some .22 rifles! Everything mentioned so far is a great choice.

I own semi-autos, pumps, levers and single shot .22's, but my preference is bolt actions. The Kimber of Oregon 82's and Remington 5XX series are nice rifles that shoot really well. Here's a few of mine.

The bottom rifle on this rack is an 82B Super America.

The bottom rifle in this case is a Remington 541S.

Custom Stocked 541S

Remington 514T Matchmaster

 

[27 Man]

I purchased my neighbor's CZ 452 Trainer at a recent swap meet. It has superb adjustable sights but I mounted a Leupold 2X7x28 mm scope on it. Talk about a tack driver! CZ is making some very fine firearms.

 

[fyimo]

Remington BDL 552 22LR rifle

CZ 455 Combo Rifle 22Lr & 17 HMR

 

[Wee Hooker]

I used to be pretty heavy into collecting 22 rifles. Particularly into the older , better built guns of the 40s through 60's. ( Read very little sheet metal and plastic.). I would often buy them for very (!) short money, refinish the (usually walnut) stocks, and reblue /touch up the metal. Regardless whether a rifle was made by Remington, Mossberg, Marlin, Winchester, Savage, Sears, Western Auto...... it was usually a thing of beauty once cleaned up and a true joy to shoot at the range. Eventually, my safes were overflowing so I gifted many to kids /new shooters where I could and sold a few (usually to fund new .22 projects or S&W revolvers).
Admittedly, I keep a few (special purposed) modern 22's in the safe these days but my favorites will always be the half dozen or so I keep from days of quality long gone.

p.s. Nice topic!

 

[mauser9]

Great pic of the Rem. 552. Always a favorite and quality built. Thanksfor showing

 

[thardgrave]

I have 3 .22 rifles, from long ago, that I still love. The first is a Winchester Model 62 pump action, that is an absolute classic and very fun to shoot. I also bought new an original Browning T-Bolt, like was mentioned earlier; shoots extremely accurately and was made in Belguim.....beautiful. And lastly, I have an older model Browning .22 auto; a smaller rifle, but very handy and fun to shoot.

 

[SilentKnight]

The Rossi Model 62 is an excellent rifle. It is a copy of the Winchester Model 62. I grew up on the Winchester Model 62 and it was accurate and fast. The Rossi is a respectable regeneration. Got my daughter the carbine Rossi years ago and it is still running. Figure my grandkids will learn on it. With practice, you could run these as fast as a semi. Good luck.

 

[.455Eley]

I agree with Paladin, I love my Nylon 66. It's the reason I've never bought a 10/22. I grew up shooting the 66 my grandpa gave me for my 7th Birthday. Between it and my Ruger Standard pistol I could shoot a brick a weekend, two if I had friends over. I don't ever remember either malfunctioning on me. The only thing, if you're a lefty, warmish cases from weaker ammo will hit your right arm sometimes.

I also shot my Dad's Winchester 94/22 quite a bit and really liked it too. I could hit soda cans from the hip with it and it worked every time. I had a Marlin 39A for a while but didn't ever care for it all that much. It was pretty accurate but also kind of finicky with ammo. I had a 1904-made 1897 that had the same problem.

Another .22 I really like as a cheap-and-cheerful knockabout rifle is the old Remington 550-1 autoloader. They can be had for under $200 and will shoot any length .22 short of magnum. My Great-Grandpa bought mine new in 1952 and it's at least had perfect function for me in the last about 15 years. Shorts will leave marks on my right forearm though. As you may be able to tell, I love .22 rifles more than about any of my other firearms and have quite a few.