The Best .22 Ever Made

[boykinlp]

I remember looking at a Remington catalogue when I was a kid and thinking to myself how cheap they looked. I guess I was a blued steel and walnut fan way back then. I haven't changed my mind. Some of my .22's.

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Exactly, the longest production run .22 rifle ever.

Some early 39's-the father of the modern 39A- and 1897's-the 39A's grandpappy. I love Marlin cased colors.

View attachment 759424

Exactly, the longest production run .22 rifle ever.

Some early 39's-the father of the modern 39A- and 1897's-the 39A's grandpappy. I love Marlin cased colors.

View attachment 759424

Those case colored Marlin 39’s are stunning!
Larry

 

[tygar]

S&W M41!

 

[BB57]

Superior is a strong word.

It was purposely chosen.

 

[mikegc]

A couple of Browning Medalists:


A nice S&W 41:

Everybody needs a 10/22. My wife gave this to me for Christmas in 1970 upon my return from South Vietnam:

Here's a very different Ruger:

A Colt is nice to have:

And, then, there's my favorite:


Mike

 

[Terry G]

Ruger, 10/22 and Ruger MKII Target for accuracy. Mossberg for best deal on a .22 $20.00. A lot of fun? Pick one.

 

[barbarosa guns]

Few people know that when the injection mold that made the stock wore out it was going to cost Remington a million dollars to replace it so that is why they discontinued it. Their replacement plasticky .22 rifle had a horrendous trigger pull and was ugly a sin and flopped in the marketplace faster than a cat can jump off of a hot tin roof. The money Remington blew on the replacement rifle could have paid for a couple of new molds to make more Nylon 66 rifles.

I've been running a Nylon 66 since I was maybe 10 and Im 71 now. When I say "run", I mean it leans against the wall next to the back door so as to increase the likelyhood of my dispatching yet another accursed ground squirrel, a creature that lives to tear the insulation out of human habitats.
i recall in the early 70s working for animal control for the city of Dallas and they had two Nylon 66s that were used to eliminate feral dogs that ran along the Trinity River bottom in southwest Dallas and were also taken along to put down troublesome racoons people would catch in their HavA Hart traps the animal control dept would provide them with and I recall getting some surprised looks when I would get head shots on those feral dogs at what I am now guessing to be about 75 yards down a steep embankment, off hand of course but that gun was and remains something like an extension of my arm.
As for durability, I cannot even estimate the number of rounds Ive put through mine. Tens of thousands I am very sure and the only thing Ive replaced has been the tubular mag spring and I just did that because.........well because Id been shooting the rifle for 30 some odd years and I thought "maybe ya oughtta change that spring". The rifle has never had ftf issues not related to sub par ammo quality and I think I've done a full cleaning maybe 4 times, possibly just 3 and again "just because". When they came out, I started running two boresnakes through the barrel ever so often. One using Hoppes #9 which I would run through then allow to sit for a time followed by the other boresnake using whatever light gun oil I happened to have. To be honest I never obtained any benefit to this practice and of course .22s arent really known for heavy lead fouling unless one uses really sub par ammo.
Whatever, a scope came with the rifle but it long ago ceased to comply with zero change attempts so I took it off and have been using iron sight since......well, Nixon was President. Nice gun that is like a family member almost. Also Remington must have really known how to chrome metal back then as my very old 66 has no, zero issues with its chromed finish. No flaking, no discoloration. Weird huh?

 

[MelvinWalker]

This thread has three bushels of apples and oranges going.....Best .22 rifle? Best .22 Pistol? Best .22 revolver? Best .22 lever action?

Probably needs to narrow a little.

 

[Freedom Fighter]

I Like my 66. My first one I got for $10, you could barely work the action. I took it apart and found it was filled with some foul-smelling DIRT. Cleaned it out with gas and a garden hose, blew everything out with compressed air, just a touch of lube (wiped down), reassembled. Worked just fine. Not my fave .22, but I found it accurate (for what it is, we're not talking Anschutz here)) and reliable.

 

[blackdeuce]

I had a Ruger 10/22 as a kid.

My boys had Henry lever action and a CZ 452 bolt. They shot the heck out of the Henry.

 

[Beau254]

Ruger 10/22, I have 4 of them. I still have the one my Father bought me about 1968 or 1969 I was in the 8th grade. (It is a duplicate serial number) Now it is a collector's item!

I would say that’s the best semi-auto .22 rifle
Best .22 Revolver: S&W K-22
Best semi-auto .22 pistol: Ruger MK Series
Best Lever .22: Henry
Best single shot .22 rifle: Winchester 67

 

[.357magger]

1931, First Year H&R 199 Sportsman Single Action. A tack driver in its day to this day.

This trim shooter is a delight in the hand and ALWAYS makes me smile when I pick it up.

 

[mule69]

It was purposely chosen.

It is all in your mind.

 

[Gamecock]

At that time, I chose the Mossberg 351C over the Mattel Nylon 66. I don't regret the choice. I certainly wouldn't argue that the Mossberg is the best semi- ever, but I still think it better than the 66.

 

[1961MJS]

Smith@Wesson Model 41

Hi
I've had a friend who shot for a USAF Bullseye team a LONG time ago. He passed away before 2010. He said that he had 3 Model 41's with him at matches. He said that IF he shot all 90 rounds with one of the 41's, he knew not to bring it to the next match. I THINK this would have been a pre-1985 pistol. Of course, he was shooting at 50 yards slow fire and 25 yards timed and rapid fire.

A second friend who also shot bullseye had a newer build Model 41, that he used at all of the matches that I shot against him at. Obviously a more reliable pistol. That's a 50/50 proposition.

Later

 

[-BTM-]

I grew up with these ads

 

[MelvinWalker]

I would say that’s the best semi-auto .22 rifle
Best .22 Revolver: S&W K-22
Best semi-auto .22 pistol: Ruger MK Series
Best Lever .22: Henry
Best single shot .22 rifle: Winchester 67

That list would be really close to mine...I would differ on the single shot .22 though. I always remember the Winchesters had some ejection issues because of the way the ejector was made. I would go with the Mossberg M42 series...Stunningly accurate...Enough to train WW2 infantry shooters with marksmanship...I have two, one of them US Property marked.

 

[Cotis]

Well, you’re wrong, that’s all.

You know what they say about opinions, the smell and all. The nylon 66 is a mighty fine .22, but the best ever? Nah...

 

[BB57]

This thread has three bushels of apples and oranges going.....Best .22 rifle? Best .22 Pistol? Best .22 revolver? Best .22 lever action?

Probably needs to narrow a little.

Since its not, and since you brought it up:

Best lever action: Winchester 9422, with the pre micro groove Marlin 39 coming in a close second.

Best revolver: The S&W Model 17 (or the K-22, your choice).

Best Semi Auto Target Pistol: High Standard 107 Victor in a near tie with the Citation Supermatic.

Best .22 LR precision rifle: Its a toss up between the Begara B14R, and the CZ 455 Tactical

Best Production Sporter: The Winchester Miroku made Model 52 B and C reissue sporters. With the Kimber Model 82 and CZ 453 fighting it out for a close second.

 

[ol777gunnerz]

The best ever made: my Stevens Walnut Hill 22lr, it had the Olympic chamber which seats the bullet in the rifling. It would hit my 3 inch gong at 100 yds. every single shot using a shooting rest, due to the weight of the rifle.

 

[bigggbbruce]

I have my Dad's Colt Woodsman Match Target. Accurate, not picky about ammo. Nothing better than one of the best production 22lr Target pistols.