TheBassMan

Unless you are seriously getting into paper punching, or are not at all limited by budget, you really don't need the "best made" .22lr out there. Like rile1564 indicated, the really accurate 1/2" or less shooters like the Anschutz's, Kimber's, etc. can quickly run into the thousands of dollars.

For squirrels & rabbits & such, there are a lot of good guns out there that will get the job done. Basically anything that can consistently hit a 1" circle @ 25 Yds (minute of squirrel head) will work, although I personally like a little tighter groups than that. Which to recommend would really depend on your budget and "type of gun" preference.

In my, very biased opinion, the Marlin 39A is the best lever action out there. (No offense to the Winchester 9422 owners) I own a Marlin 1897 Century Limited (39A) with a Burris 4-12X32 and just love it. It's very solid, very acurate and just a pleasure to shoot.


For a semi-auto, my pick (although I don't own one) would be the Thompson Center 22 Benchmark.


For a bolt action (short of an Anschutz) it would be very hard to go wrong with a CZ 452.


Good luck in your search!

firstshot