2marshall8

I'm new to guns and and interested in where people go in arizona to hunt small game with a .22? Does this occur? Also what gun & scope would you recommend for a beginner to guns along the .22 line?

thanks
marshall

HighDesertWolf

arizona is 1/8 private land 1/3 indian reservation and the rest of the state is huntable state land. in other words you cant hunt just about darn near anywhere. grab ya a arizona hunting rules and regs panflit which is available at any walmart take a look through it it will show you where you can hunt.

where abouts in AZ do you live? I live near Dewey, AZ and behind my property there are 10,000 + acres of the prescott national forest which is huntable and across the hiway there is another 10,000+ acres of the prescott national forest which is also huntable.

HighDesertWolf

as for a good 22 for a beginner you couldnt go wrong with a ruger 10/22 you can get the basic 10/22 at about any retailer between $149 to $179 new or can get a good used one for around $100. as for a scope a simmons or trashco (tasco) 4x32mm scope will be perfect.

2marshall8

I live in the heart of Tempe. on Mill and Southern. I'm a city boy but love the outdoors, originally from Illinois. How far away is Dewey from me, a few hours drive?

Thanks for the advice on the .22's. Do you hunt with a .22 for small game at all? Are the rifles you listed sold @ wall-mart?

thanks

HighDesertWolf

I live in the heart of Tempe. on Mill and Southern. I'm a city boy but love the outdoors, originally from Illinois. How far away is Dewey from me, a few hours drive? Tempe is about an 1 hour and 30 minutes from me. I'm originally from the midwest too Kansas City, Missouri to be exact I moved here about 3 years ago.

Thanks for the advice on the .22's. Do you hunt with a .22 for small game at all? Are the rifles you listed sold @ wall-mart? Yes and yes.

gogiggen

I'd go with the ruger 10/22 with a 25 $ fixed 4 scope. Or at wal-mart look at the marlins--model 60. The 10/22 seems to jam with cheaper ammo so I really recommend the marlin, even though many will differ with me. But it really is a good gun, Ive had mine for years without problems. Either one is a good gun, but the 10-22 can be made a truly personalized gun. The marlin 60 is my personal favorite though.

wyotimberghost

I really like my 10/22 with open sights. I don't really like scopes on 22's, and don't recomment them for a gun that you just want to hunt and plink with. I have found that the Remington Golden Bullets are the best value for the 10/22 and I don't have nearly as many jams as I do with the Federal or Winchester brick ammo.

HighDesertWolf

I had a marlin mod 60 also and found it not to be nearly as accurate as my ruger 10/22's but i did determine what was causing the lack of accuracy as the rounds were feeding the chamber they werent quite lined up with the mouth of the chamber and the edge of the chamber was sheering a chunk out of the nose of the bullets as the force of the bolt was chambering the round. I took the model 60 to 3 gunsmiths after they all examined the gun they all basically said the samething that this was normal and that there wasnt really nothing that could be done about it. A buddy of mines model 60 also did this.

later I traded the model 60 on a marlin model 995 which was detachable magazine version of the model 60 in a stainless barrel and synthetic stock. It too had the same problem as my mod 60. Another problem i've had with the marlin 995 well not really a problem kind of a normal deal with most guns, just my 10/22's would still function flawlessly after 1000 rounds with no cleanings anyway the mod 995 would start to jam regardless of the brand of ammo after id put 200 to 300 rounds through it. Ive flat out had it with marlin 22's, compared to a ruger 10/22 they are IMO junk!!!

The problem I had with the marlins is a problem I have never had with any of the 6 ruger 10/22's Ive owned. To this day I have never had a ruger 10/22 jam, even caked in burned powder and lead fouling they would still function flawlessly. Ive witnessed a 10/22 being completely submerged in water and it fired 10 consecutive rounds while under water. while squirrel hunting I had one of my rugers leaned against a tree while taking care of business a few feet away and it fell over into some mud after cleaning it up as best as I could it still functioned. The 10-22 is the AK-47 of .22 rifles just with alot better accuracy.

At this point I wouldnt own anything other than a ruger 10/22.

gogiggen

wolf, I also like the 10/22 for all of these reasons, but I am speaking of my own experiences. I have had my marlin for over 10 years and it still shoots as good as the day I owned it. I really like it. I have had bad experiences with 10/22's, but they still are a very good gun---keep in mind this is all perosnal opinion

kelbro

My 10/22 has never jammed with any brand of ammo. It does take some experimenting to find which ammo it likes best. Mine is much more accurate with the cheapest Winchester stuff than the Remington gold bullets. I agree that you don't really NEED a nice scope but if you and your rifle are really accurate, you can place the shots where you want them and not damage the hides.

The 10/22 is a lot of fun and very accurate but every now and then I still like to take my 1906 out squirrel hunting. I grew up shooting that little pump and it is still as accurate as my old eyes will let it be.