What are some common .22 rifle brands and models for accuracy?

[cncwhiz]

I have a Marlin model 60. I like the gun, but I wonder if I will be chasing my tail trying to get it to shoot accuratey. I know that some of you serious guys are shooting dedicated target rifles with heavy barrels and such. I was just wondering what a good affordable option might be?

If I would be better suited with something you guys may suggest, I might sell the model 60 and move up to it.

Also, what range is common for target competition with these? I would assume maybe 100 or 200 yards at the most?

 

[peaceatwar]

Savage Mark ii TR with a Nikon 3-9 BDC. Shoots groups all day long at 50 yards that I am impressed by. I shoot it out to 200 yards regularly.

 

[bschneiderheinze]

CZ I had nothing but bad luck with savage CZ's are bulit better and shoot better

 

[Quarter Horse]

CNC, you need to provide more info. The dollar range is roughly $250.00 to $4000.00. You mentioned competition, are you planning on competing and if so which pursuit? There is broad range for glass, just like centerfire, whats the budget? Are you willing to pay for ammo that is five times the cost of regular bulk so that you can realize the accuracy of a sub MOA rifle?

Peaceatwar's suggestion is great if what your looking for is a rifle/scope that will allow you to improve your performance, particularly in unsupported positions. With selected ammo, it will be sufficiently accurate to evaluate your progress with the exception of shooting prone.

 

[Merlin O]

Take an hour and read a few pages of various threads in this Forum and you will have a hell of a lot better idea what to ask and what you want ...........

Start with bm11s post - Snipershide Rimfire 6 groups of 5 (30 rounds) challenge thread.... and receive enlightenment....

 

[HitFactor]

I picked up a sweet shooting Anschutz this past summer for my wife. 1416 is the model number, I think. Cost was a little north of a thousand, maybe 1300. Very accurate and she says it's pretty. I put a Zeiss on it, only to find out she doesn't have a clue how to look through it.

 

[slm9s]

Check out the rimfire sections of benchrest.com. It all depends on how serious you want to go.

 

[jbell]

Also rimfirecentral.com is a great place for quality info. But if you truly want some good suggestions let us know a price point and any specific requirements like Quarter Horse mentioned.

 

[steve123]

One of the nicer affordable 22's are the old Savage 141 series, basically a rebadged Anschutz 64 action. I've had 3 of them throughout the years and they were all great shooters.

 

[BERTMAN77MK2]

Anchutz or Remington 40XB or a Skunkworks custom

 

[lte82]

Anschutz 1903 is a good starter for about $1500 w/ basic sights.

At the top end, a Feinwerbau 2700 is a good one, along with the Walther kk300, anshutz 1907, 1913 or 2013. Those will be in the $2000-$4000 range depending on stock, sights etc.

Whats your budget?

 

[cjd223]

I noticed you live in central Alabama. This club Central Alabama Gun Club - CAGC has a .22 Sniper Match like we have at Brock's Gap in Hoover. You will see a variety of rifles at the match. A good entry level rifle is the Savage MK II or CZ. Both are capable of winning. My wife shoots a Walther KKM-UIT. I bought it for less than $700. OTOH a Ruger 10/22 can be built for about $600 that is very accurate. You can find a good used Anschutz 54 for around $1,000.

 

[seg_steve]

Savage Mark II and CZ 452.

 

[cncwhiz]

I noticed you live in central Alabama. This club Central Alabama Gun Club - CAGC has a .22 Sniper Match like we have at Brock's Gap in Hoover. You will see a variety of rifles at the match. A good entry level rifle is the Savage MK II or CZ. Both are capable of winning. My wife shoots a Walther KKM-UIT. I bought it for less than $700. OTOH a Ruger 10/22 can be built for about $600 that is very accurate. You can find a good used Anschutz 54 for around $1,000.

I have been to the Central Alabama gun club as a guest, very nice range. However, several attempts at trying to join have been unsuccesful. Seems they are very strict on their member base.

Thank you for the good info folks. To be honest, I would say a budget of about $500 is all I want to spend, and I don't even want to spend that lol. What would be nice is if I could find a good used heavy barrel rig that is just the action and barrel. I could probably swing the cost (if I sold my Marlin first), and then just add a stock and other accesories down the line. I seem to do better with gun purchases if I can build them from parts, slowly over time. It helps ease the pain a little :lol:

I know that cost is always a factor in nice guns, but I was in for a real shock when I came to this forum in the interest of getting into long range. It is something I really want to do, but I just can't believe the money that is tied up in some of these rigs. My intention with the .22 idea was to maybe pick up a decent one, and shoot it while saving for a big gun. I don't know if it is a safe bet or not, but I feel like shooting a .22 at distance could really teach me alot about the external ballistics (something I;m really going to have to start learning to understand if I plan to shoot a big gun at extended distance). I thought my little Marlin .22 would be a decent gun to do this with, but I see now that you guys are shooting some really high dollar rigs.

I guess the main question now is can I shoot my little Marlin with the simmons scope and learn while saving for the big gun, or would I be better served with a nicer rig?

I'm trying to take anything I can out of the equation of the learning process. If the Marlin is a poor rig to try and learn with, I will sell it and try to get into something a little better. I'm only going to do it if I need to though.

 

[Chard]

Without spending a ton of money, the CZ 452/453 will keep you entertained accuracy wise. Nice build quality for the money.

 

[cncwhiz]

Without spending a ton of money, the CZ 452/453 will keep you entertained accuracy wise. Nice build quality for the money.

While I might entertain a new one, I would rather just buy a used rig if I could save a little money. Where would I find a good used rig? Like I stated earlier, I would really rather buy just the barrel and action, since I will likely buy a good stock for it.

 

[mtrmn]

I have 4 Ruger 10/22's, a Remington 552, and a Marlin 60 I won at a gun show. The Marlin 60 (pre-Remlin) will outshoot all the others hands down and does very well for an out-of-the-box cheap 22. I know that none of these guns are precision shooters like you seem to be looking for, but put a decent scope on that Marlin and try whatever different types of ammo you can lay hands on. You may be surprised just how good the old Marlins will do. And don't automatically rule out the bulk ammo til you try it. It all depends on what your gun likes.
Again, before I get flamed, I am well aware that you are probably looking for higher quality, more precision rifles. Just don't unknowingly throw away a diamond in the rough.

 

[Twisted .308]

under $500 ??
This > CZ-USA CZ453 Varmint SST 22LR $475.00 SHIPS FREE
Just my 2* and usually not worth beans but .....
Save up and buy something closer to your budget limit Brand new. ......ask yourself why is X-Brand used gun for sale and why ? Unless you really know the seller or get reliable feedback on the rifle .......Are you inheriting someone else's headaches ? example, Only guns I have ever sold were not up to par and I wasn't gonna drop more coin on them to try and make shooters out of poo ...
CZ's for the money are pretty damn accurate and well made , also has a single set trigger and adj for pull weight ..Good Luck

 

[Badshot308]

cncwhiz, what ammo are you shooting? You stated 1.5" groups at 50 yards in your other thread. For a semi-auto plinker and bulk ammo, that's really not that bad. To achieve the results you see the guys getting with the expensive rigs, you need to shoot the match grade ammo. Eley, Lapua, RWS, Wolf, etc., is what you want to start trying if you're not using that already. You'll never get to the level of a target rifle with the 60, but you may achieve results that are satisfactory for your purposes just by switching ammo. $15.00 a box ammo might be hard to swallow, but it's garbage in, garbage out whether it's a Marlin 60 or an Anschutz 1913. Rimfires are also very picky as to what load and what lot they like. Even the most expensive target rifles don't always shoot best with the most expensive load within the line. You have to get small sample and test. Then buy a decent quanity of what your rifle likes.

 

[cncwhiz]

cncwhiz, what ammo are you shooting? You stated 1.5" groups at 50 yards in your other thread. For a semi-auto plinker and bulk ammo, that's really not that bad. To achieve the results you see the guys getting with the expensive rigs, you need to shoot the match grade ammo. Eley, Lapua, RWS, Wolf, etc., is what you want to start trying if you're not using that already. You'll never get to the level of a target rifle with the 60, but you may achieve results that are satisfactory for your purposes just by switching ammo. $15.00 a box ammo might be hard to swallow, but it's garbage in, garbage out whether it's a Marlin 60 or an Anschutz 1913. Rimfires are also very picky as to what load and what lot they like. Even the most expensive target rifles don't always shoot best with the most expensive load within the line. You have to get small sample and test. Then buy a decent quanity of what your rifle likes.

The only ammo I have right now is Remington 22 Thunderbolt with the ball nose, and then Remington 22 Golden bullet with hollow point. Can't rmemeber the weights off the top of my head.

I noticed people talking about good ammo, and I'd like to try some. Where can I find these good ammo brands? I have a Bass Pro, Academy Sports, and of course walmart. I also have a small outdoors store that may have it. What should I be looking for exactly? I'd like to try and find it locally to begin with before I order. Ordering is not out of the question though.

 

[mtrmn]

The only ammo I have right now is Remington 22 Thunderbolt with the ball nose, and then Remington 22 Golden bullet with hollow point. Can't rmemeber the weights off the top of my head.

I noticed people talking about good ammo, and I'd like to try some. Where can I find these good ammo brands? I have a Bass Pro, Academy Sports, and of course walmart. I also have a small outdoors store that may have it. What should I be looking for exactly? I'd like to try and find it locally to begin with before I order. Ordering is not out of the question though.

It may take a while to get it, but you can still backorder at Midway on most brands of 22 they sell. I put a backorder on Remington Subsonic HP a few days ago. 500 rds about 35 bucks. I get much better accuracy out of it than I do the Remington ammo you listed. CCI is better but they won't let me backorder any of the sub HPs in it right now....

 

[cncwhiz]

I checked midway right after I posted that earlier..Seems pretty much everything is out of stock. If I knew a good one to choose, I would go ahead and order and just wait. I'm not sure which to choose though. I think I may try some ammo first, and if the 60 doesn't shoot much better, I'll then look into getting it sold to ge a better rifle.

 

[Badshot308]

Well, there are a few online sources that I've been using. Bruno's Bruno Shooters Supply: Rimfire Ammo although they have pretty expensive shipping, Champions Choice Champion's Choice - Product Catalog - Ammunition has a good selection and their shipping isn't as bad, Graf & Sons Graf & Sons - 22 Long Rifle when they have something in stock has cheap shipping, Killough Shooting Sports Eley Match .22lr Ammunition will list the ammo by lot number and velocity. That Remington Thunderbolt and Golden Bullet stuff is crap for accuracy. Stuff I would recommend trying would be Lapua Center-X, Eley Match EPS, Wolf Match Target or Match Extra, RWS R-50. Try a couple boxes of each and see how the Marlin does compared to the Remington stuff. Just remember to clean the barrel before switching between different brands of ammo. The different types of lubricant used on the bullets has a lot to do with their accuracy. Once the barrel is cleaned, it may take 10 to 15 rounds to season the barrel with each load before you get your best accuracy.

 

[Rynham9]

Well, there are a few online sources that I've been using. Bruno's Bruno Shooters Supply: Rimfire Ammo although they have pretty expensive shipping, Champions Choice Champion's Choice - Product Catalog - Ammunition has a good selection and their shipping isn't as bad, Graf & Sons Graf & Sons - 22 Long Rifle when they have something in stock has cheap shipping, Killough Shooting Sports Eley Match .22lr Ammunition will list the ammo by lot number and velocity. That Remington Thunderbolt and Golden Bullet stuff is crap for accuracy. Stuff I would recommend trying would be Lapua Center-X, Eley Match EPS, Wolf Match Target or Match Extra, RWS R-50. Try a couple boxes of each and see how the Marlin does compared to the Remington stuff. Just remember to clean the barrel before switching between different brands of ammo. The different types of lubricant used on the bullets has a lot to do with their accuracy. Once the barrel is cleaned, it may take 10 to 15 rounds to season the barrel with each load before you get your best accuracy.

Tag. Thank you.