Best .22 out there ??
10-30-2012, 01:30 PM
#2
Spike
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Northport,AL.
Posts: 24
I love my Ruger 10/22. Very dependable and accurate. The upgrades are endless with this gun. I would say stay away from the Mossberg plinkster. I looked at one for my son and was not impressed to say the least.
10-30-2012, 01:41 PM
#3
Super Moderator
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Trumbull County, Ohio
Posts: 9,519
I also am a huge fan of the Ruger 10/22. I maybe wouldn't call it the best in any one category. But across the board I believe it is the best out there. Take care of it and it should shoot any ammo you feed it well. Mine doesn't jam ( The only time I had jamming was because my magazine was dirty, my own fault) It is plenty accurate. Easy to clean, has a good price tag, is a good looking little gun, and has more aftermarket things available than anything I've ever seen. I've shot chipmunks-coyote with mine, and plenty of targets and cans. Put more than 10,000 rounds through it one year (possibly have multiple years with that many rounds, but only kept track one year.) Great gun. Some people here don't care for them, and that's ok. But mine is consistent, accurate, and pleasure to shoot. Hope that helps.
-Jake
-Jake
10-30-2012, 01:52 PM
#4
Fork Horn
Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 228
The 10/22 is my choice as well. It may not be the most accurate out of the box, but they are accurate enough for general plinking, hunting, etc. Put a VQ extractor in and they are extremely reliable. They are just great guns all the way around. If you want to ever make it more accurate or customize it in any way, you can.
The Marlin 60's another popular choice and are decent, but the experience I've had with them leaves me liking the 10/22 much better. Out of the box, they seem to be slightly more accurate on general. I'm talking 1-1.25" groups at 50 yards instead of 1.25"-1.5" groups from the 10/22's, so not a huge difference. They seem to have quite a bit more problems firing and ejecting properly when dirty which is a turn off for me. The next and biggest thing they have against them in my opinion is the scope rails built onto them. The grooved receiver on it uses the .22 style rings which have a tendency to slide on the rail. Especially on later Marlins that have shotty quality control as some of those didn't have the grooves cut straight. This is a pretty common issue if you search around online. If they would ditch this design and go with a drilled and tapped receiver so you could use the bases of your choice it would get a lot more recommendations from me.
The Marlin 795 is a cheaper magazine fed version of the Marlin 60 as well.
The other issue with Marlins is since Remington took them over, they are having a lot of quality control issues. That's just another reason to go with the Ruger over a Marlin.
Savage also has some great choices. IMO their 64 isn't quite up to par with the 10/22, but it's a good gun if you don't want to customize it and just want to shoot it.
If you want a bolt action instead of an autoloader, the Savage Mark II's are a great way to go imo. In fact, it's probably the way I'd go.
CZ also has some very nice bolt action .22's if you are looking to spend a little more.
There are lots of older guns from Remington, Marlin, Savage, etc that are excellent values.
Overall, there are soo many good .22's out there, it's hard to recommend just one. It really depends on what you want to do with it, but if you want a good do everything gun, the 10/22 is it.
As for which ones to stay away from, I don't know that I've really used any I'd say are horrible. IMO the Remington 597 is my least favorite of current production .22's I've used, but even it's still decent. It's just not up to par with the competition. As for the Mossberg Plinkster, I was going to buy one at Walmart one day, and the lady working there who surprisingly seems to really know her stuff and had been good to me in the past told me that she would be glad to sell me one, but that she was going to tell me about her experience selling them. She told me that every single one she had sold, the owners had come back with problems, and that she would recommend going with one of the other choices they had. This scared me off enough that I didn't buy one as this lady has never lied to me before.
However, I got online and while reading some bad things, I read a lot of good as well. Then a friend bought one, and his shoots very well. He has killed lots of squirrels with it. Is it the highest quality gun out there? No. It feels cheap, the trigger is horrible, but it shoots accurately and seems reliable. That said, I've not had enough experience with other ones to tell you if he just got a bad one and the lady at Walmart was right, or if she had just sold a few bad ones in a row and they generally were good.
The Marlin 60's another popular choice and are decent, but the experience I've had with them leaves me liking the 10/22 much better. Out of the box, they seem to be slightly more accurate on general. I'm talking 1-1.25" groups at 50 yards instead of 1.25"-1.5" groups from the 10/22's, so not a huge difference. They seem to have quite a bit more problems firing and ejecting properly when dirty which is a turn off for me. The next and biggest thing they have against them in my opinion is the scope rails built onto them. The grooved receiver on it uses the .22 style rings which have a tendency to slide on the rail. Especially on later Marlins that have shotty quality control as some of those didn't have the grooves cut straight. This is a pretty common issue if you search around online. If they would ditch this design and go with a drilled and tapped receiver so you could use the bases of your choice it would get a lot more recommendations from me.
The Marlin 795 is a cheaper magazine fed version of the Marlin 60 as well.
The other issue with Marlins is since Remington took them over, they are having a lot of quality control issues. That's just another reason to go with the Ruger over a Marlin.
Savage also has some great choices. IMO their 64 isn't quite up to par with the 10/22, but it's a good gun if you don't want to customize it and just want to shoot it.
If you want a bolt action instead of an autoloader, the Savage Mark II's are a great way to go imo. In fact, it's probably the way I'd go.
CZ also has some very nice bolt action .22's if you are looking to spend a little more.
There are lots of older guns from Remington, Marlin, Savage, etc that are excellent values.
Overall, there are soo many good .22's out there, it's hard to recommend just one. It really depends on what you want to do with it, but if you want a good do everything gun, the 10/22 is it.
As for which ones to stay away from, I don't know that I've really used any I'd say are horrible. IMO the Remington 597 is my least favorite of current production .22's I've used, but even it's still decent. It's just not up to par with the competition. As for the Mossberg Plinkster, I was going to buy one at Walmart one day, and the lady working there who surprisingly seems to really know her stuff and had been good to me in the past told me that she would be glad to sell me one, but that she was going to tell me about her experience selling them. She told me that every single one she had sold, the owners had come back with problems, and that she would recommend going with one of the other choices they had. This scared me off enough that I didn't buy one as this lady has never lied to me before.
However, I got online and while reading some bad things, I read a lot of good as well. Then a friend bought one, and his shoots very well. He has killed lots of squirrels with it. Is it the highest quality gun out there? No. It feels cheap, the trigger is horrible, but it shoots accurately and seems reliable. That said, I've not had enough experience with other ones to tell you if he just got a bad one and the lady at Walmart was right, or if she had just sold a few bad ones in a row and they generally were good.
10-30-2012, 02:05 PM
#5
Typical Buck
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: West TN
Posts: 847
Me 2 on the 10/22. Utterly simple and dependable as all get out!
My sons have a Browning BL-22 that is obviously a nicer gun but I can't say that it outshoots my 10/22. My sons like the BL-22 for hunting but for outright plinkin and bustin stuff/play they like my 10/22 because they rattle that trigger and spit the lead.
My sons have a Browning BL-22 that is obviously a nicer gun but I can't say that it outshoots my 10/22. My sons like the BL-22 for hunting but for outright plinkin and bustin stuff/play they like my 10/22 because they rattle that trigger and spit the lead.
10-30-2012, 04:18 PM
#6
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Alberta Canada
Posts: 1,081
I am partial to the Marlin golden 39 lever action. It functions flawlessly, is light,easy to strip and is minute of gopher. Holds a pile of shells too. I have had so many 22's that I have lost track. Weatherbys Anschultz etc, and all have been traded or sold. The Golden 39 stays.
