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Best 22lr for 1200.00

Nosler243Shooter

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Mar 31, 2010
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Alabama
I'm looking for a replacement for the CZ 452 I sold a few weeks ago. I would like to get something that would shoot 1 MOA at 100 yards. I normally shoot out to 100 yards on paper and to about 350 yards on steel. My CZ was very accurate at 50 but about 1.5-2 inches at 100. I have looked at CZ, Sako and Anschutz. Please help me pick the best rifle for by budget.
 
Annie with a 54 action, look for used. I have bought two, one for a $1000, one for $850. Both will shoot. One was a made in 1959, one in 2007. They will both shoot MOA easy in no wind!
 
For the money the Anschutz MPR would be hard to beat. Quite a few guys shoot them at my longrange rimfire matches. Heavy barrel, great trigger, magazine fed, easy to mount scope on with a nice wide stock for bags or bipod. I have some really small target racks out thru 197 yards and they perform very well. There are lots of nice rifles that fit in your price range but you may have to shop a bit to find a nice one for that money. The Win 52-C, older 54 Match and Supermatches, Rem 40X and even the lower priced H&R model 12 and CM-2 Vostoks perform right up there with the others at the longer distances.

Best thing would be to get behind all the different guns and see what you like, nearly all of the higher end guns will outshoot the shooter with the right ammo which is the limiting factor most times. I've got and shoot all the previous mentioned rifles at the various longrange matches and I don't feel undergunned with any of them. Do research scopes for your needs though, many do not have precise mechanics or enough travel to accurately adjust for distances ranging from 25 yards out thru distances some think are extreme. I machined 50moa mounts for nearly all my rimfires and use SWFA 16x or 20x fixed power scopes and can dial to nearly 500 yards. Good luck in your hunt.

Topstrap
 
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If you want a semi-auto, a Kidd (or Volquartsen) 10/22 with good ammo will shoot MOA out to 100. Otherwise an Anschutz is a safe bet.
 
There are two Kidd guns that shoot my long-range matches, one lighter and the other heavier setups. They shoot great but still don't shoot with the better bolt guns.

Topstrap
 
Sako Quad with the barrel of your choice? Or am I way off target? Maybe thats just what I want? I saw someone on the hide selling one in a case with all four calibers with a carbon manners stock and the image has been burned into may brain and I can't make it stop reappearing. Make it stop!!!!!
 
I agree that the Kidd, or any reliable semi, won't be competitive with the best bolt guns. The bolt guns can get away with a chamber that the semis would choke on.
 
CZ455 VPT (Manners stock)

Lilja barrel

I shoot <2MOA targets out past 300 with this setup and Lapua Center X ammo.
 
I figured the Kidd wouldn't do very well at that distance. It will buy a bolt action but I don't know which one yet. Would the Sako shoot better than a CZ precision trainer? I really wanted to try a Quad.
 
I have one of each, of the rimfires mentioned.

The Kidd Super will very consistently hit quarters at 100.
The Anschutz will hit Nickels. (64 and 54).
No wind. Decent match ammo.

After that, it's Tuners and Eley.

64-MPR for $1200 New.

AN
 
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Best 22lr for 1200.00 - Best at what? Shooting tight tiny groups from a bench at 100y? or shooting long distance match stages that require engaging multiple long range targets at varying distances with up to 20rds per stage and a tight time limit? A good bolt gun is going to excel at the former since the semi-auto chamber has to be loose to feed reliably. Even a old cheap single shot Vostok CM2 can do this but it is a heavy single shot tgt rifle and it is not clear if repeater capability or magazine capacity is important. A well prepped 10/22 with match bbl and trigger set into a good stock is going to fall under the $1200 limit most of the time and will zip thru a time limited stage of up to 20rds without even having to reload since 25rd after mkt mags are common for the 10/22 and non-existent for CZ/Savage/Anschutz or any other bolt gun that I can find. Not sure about Quad but is it under $1200? I was assuming that you mean the options must be new repeaters? Like the current John Deere mower add, "Its not how fast your shoot, it is how well you shoot fast". Huh? For example a Cooper Model 57 stainless comes to mine as a top of the line repeater but it totally blows the budget. Some of the Annies do as well but the ones that I want are closer to $1600 new. Some more and some less.

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The Kidd Super will very consistently hit quarters at 100.
The Anschutz will hit Nickels. (64 and 54).
No wind. Decent match ammo.

The OP was looking for a 22lr capable of shooting MOA or better at 100y. I just measured the diameter of a Quarter. It was about 0.9375" now if you scored it best edge that would be about 1.386" for the worst possible group that could still hit the tgt.

A Nickel measured 0.8125" which worst case you could hit it with two shots on each side and measure the group at 1.261" With 1.047" = 1MOA, the Nickel shooter is really only talking about 1.20 MOA unless he really means that he can hold all the shots inside of a Nickel sized circle. Then it would be capable of 0.776 MOA. Still if we score the Quarter shooter the same way with all the shots inside of the 0.9375" circle, it is grouping about 0.895 MOA, so technically depending on how one would score the ability to hit the two respective coins, either they both are capable of shooting under 1 MOA or Neither is and the difference between hitting a Nickel or a Quarter is less than the relative value of the two coins.

Keeping with the coin theme, my 2 cents is that I would rather be able to hit a penny or even a dime at 100y reliably with my precision 22 if possible in calm conditions and with whatever ammo it likes to eat. I suggest that you review the lists of rifles that were scored on the 6x5 challenge at the top of the rimfire forum. Look at those which fit your desired profile, repeater, capable of 1 MOA c-c at 100y average. Capable of <1/2 MOA at 50y. Once you discard the single shot tgt rifles, the list is fairly short but includes: Kidd Super, CZ/Lilja, Sauer, Sako-Quad, Mod 52, Anschutz 64, Anschutz 1827 biathlon, You might even be able to tune up a Savage Mkii to fit that profile if you are willing to spend $1200 on it. What about a Kimber Classic? What about a used customer Benchrest sporter class rifle. I have seen some nice ones available used for about $1200 and by definition must be repeaters and must be less than about 8.5 lbs (I think). Now I am speculating and I don't like to do that here. Half the fun of 22's is finding out. Get one and try it.

Irish

 
I agree with most everything that has been said thus far, so no need to repeat it. But a few things that could change the direction you go is do you want / need a repeater, is it $1200 for the rifle alone or is that with scope, rings, base, ect...? IMO for the accuracy requirements a bolt gun is going to be a must (as stated), but with your budget the direction I steer you may change a bit depending.

If you can do $1200 for only a rifle and don't need a repeater then my go to will be an Anschutz 1807, 1813, 1907, or 1913. They can be found on the used market in good to very good condition from $1100 & up. Champions Choice in Tennessee is always a good place to check, Homer and Charles occasionally get some excellent used rifles in. Other single shot options would be a 40X, or a Walther KK variant. Also one cool note is you can have the Anschutz 54 Match series action (18XX, or 19XX) converted to a repeater by Mark Chesebro.

As far as repeaters my first go to (in your budget) would be a CZ455 (buy the least expensive one you can find) and install a "drop in" barrel. I would personally get a Shilen Ratchet or a Benchmark from Dan Killough (great guy, great company, with a great gunsmith!): http://www.killoughshootingsports.com/index.php/barrels/cz-455-drop-in-barrels-22lr.html
Then purchase a stock or chassis of your choice depending on how much $ you have left over.

Just my .02 ENJOY!
 
Anschutz 54, Remington 40x, or Winchester 52 are all safe bets.
 
I've got a 64 MPR that I've had for years, with zero complaints. It's every bit as accurate as everyone says, once you find the ammo it likes (mine is partial to Eley Match; a buddy's likes RWS-50).

It's also fairly versatile in terms of set up. Mine's got a bipod and a scope as a trainer. But you can even put globe sights handstop on them and get into more traditional small bore shooting.
 
Another recommendation for the 64 MPR - I use mine for 100 yard bench and F class events plus position shooting events (50 yard off-hand and 100 yard prone) I topped mine with a Weaver Classic v 6-24x42 I picked up for $218 on sale. Mine likes Eley Match and I haven't bothered to feed it the more expensive stuff.