I need help Choosing a 22 mag rifle
 

Marlins seem to be the cheapest decent 22 mag rifle. Is this correct? I can get a 83 TS for about $180 and a 25 MN for about $170 including tax. The MN is clip mag 7 shot, birch stock. The TS is a sythetic stock tube mag 12 shot. I am leaning towards the TS. Any problems with tube mags for 22mag? Can you clean them if they get wet? Both rifles appear to have the same bolt action, barrel, etc. Anything else under $200 in a 22 mag bolt action? I' d like to order the rifle around the end of the month. Thanks!!!

RE: I need help Choosing a 22 mag rifle
 

You should be able to pick up an 882 for $200. I have the bull barreled model and its a tack driver.

RE: I need help Choosing a 22 mag rifle
 

Ryan,
Do you think that it is worth the extra $20-$30 to get the walnut stock? Because the 25 MN is basically the 882 with a birch stock and the 83 TS is the 882 (883) with a synthetic stock and tube magazine. But it is $20 cheaper. The Tube mag also holds 12 vs. 6 bullets. Any advantages of the clip mag vs. the tube mag? I think I would actually like the synthetic stock as it doesn' t get beat up and won' t warp.

RE: I need help Choosing a 22 mag rifle
 

Clearanceman,
Yeah I know we all practice gun safety, but I dislike having a firearm that you can look down the bore while you load it. Sure you should check the chamber and point the bore as far away from your face as possible, but I bet there' s not a tube mag fed 22 out there that hasn' t inadvertently been pointed in a bad direction while being loaded at one time or another. Don' t get me wrong, I own 2 tube mag 22s, but I prefer to set my 22 down and load the seperate clip. Just my 2 cents.

RE: I need help Choosing a 22 mag rifle
 

Thanks! Is there any other reason? Just wondering because this is a bolt action. I would think it would be pretty hard to cycle the bolt before you load it. I can' t imagine that I would cycle the bolt so the weapon is cocked and then feed bullets in the tube. Usually, you load and then cycle the bolt. But I was wondering too if the tube can be detached and cleaned if it gets dirty. I borrowed a buddy' s tube fed .22 LR semi auto one time and it looked like hell but man did it shoot. That sucker was a tack driver. So I guess the tube doesn' t effect accuracy at all. Is this right?

RE: I need help Choosing a 22 mag rifle
 

I was in the same situation last year and decided to pick up a Savage instead. http://www.wholesalesports.com/images/savage/167906.gif
I really liked the feel compared to the Marlin. I picked it up for $299 CAD. that means you could probably find it for $180 US I' m guessing. The one big reason I liked the clip as opposed to the tube loader was the amount of ammo you will use. It' s no lie, we usually don' t make our shots count as much when we know we have 10 more to back up that one. The ammo is double the price of a .22 LR and it adds up if you shoot as much as I do. I topped mine off with a Simmons 3-9 .22 Mag scope and it' s great out to 150 yds. You really should feel both guns before you buy the Marlin, I really liked the Savages synthetic stock and heavy stainless barrel, you can' t go wrong for the price and it has worked flawlessly. The fiancee got me a bi-pod this year for Christmas so I' m primed to head out for gophers as soon as this weather breaks.:D Good luck on your choice! JDinAB

RE: I need help Choosing a 22 mag rifle
 

Thanks! I will investigate! Yes, I also got a .22 mag in 3-9!!! I have one on my 10/22 and it is great scope for the money.

RE: I need help Choosing a 22 mag rifle
 

JD, I did some searching. Thanks man! Looks like the savage is cheaper and a lot cheaper if you just get the blued barrel wood stock. Or maybe the stainless steel synthetic but without the bull barrell. How' s the trigger?

RE: I need help Choosing a 22 mag rifle
 

Find yourself a (not new, oh my gosh) Mossberg 640KA " Chuckster" . Bolt action. Built SOLID. Tack driver. The " Chuckster" was the longest barrel model.

Anyone?

RE: I need help Choosing a 22 mag rifle
 

I have a CZ 452 in a 22 mag with a Simmons 22 Mag 3X9 scope on it, I love this rifle, check out the CZs they are great rifles.;)
http://www.cz-usa.com/

RE: I need help Choosing a 22 mag rifle
 

Cool.. This board is great.. I only thought I could get a marlin, now I have 4 options to check out.

RE: I need help Choosing a 22 mag rifle
 

Clearanceman,
I knew my gun was going to be used and used hard so I went with the stainless/synthetic stock combo. I prefer clips over tubes, and even though you have more choices now, my vote is still for the marlin. Good luck in your decision.

RE: I need help Choosing a 22 mag rifle
 

clearanceman,

I bought my son a 25MN last year.....................it' s not a bad little gun. Dependable & shoots pretty well.

One question you need to ask yourself is why you want a .22WMR. The ammo for it is almost twice as expensive as a lot of the .22LR on the market. Personally, if you' re just wanting to plink & play, the LR would be a much cheaper choice. Plus, if distance isn' t a big factor for you, LR tends to be more accurate too.

Just a few thoughts.

RE: I need help Choosing a 22 mag rifle
 

Ryan, even over the Savage? Why or why not? Mark, I already have a heavily modified 10/22 LR.. match barrell, clark trigger, special stock. But no 22 mag in the stable.

RE: I need help Choosing a 22 mag rifle
 

The trigger is good...when I compared the Marllin, Remington and Savage, they were all pretty comparable. Remington was better but also a couple hundred more. Like I said for the money I really liked the feel of the Savage over the Marlin (that goes for the stock, action & trigger). I have a Winchester 9422 in Wintuff that I absolutely LOVE, but I really haven' t picked it up since I bought my .22WMR. It really makes my .22 seem like a BB gun. Go check out the guns this weekend and let me know what you think. JDinAB

RE: I need help Choosing a 22 mag rifle
 

Thanks! The Remington is more then, huh? I wondered about that. I know ruger is more. Do you know if the basic model savage (93f) is drilled and tapped like yours is? I will probably get the one you have. That bull barrel looks like a good way to go. BTW, is the barrel on your gun shiny stainless or Matte stainless?

RE: I need help Choosing a 22 mag rifle
 

JD, I can' t even find if Remington makes a bolt action 22 mag. Looks like auto or pump. I would rather have a bolt action.

RE: I need help Choosing a 22 mag rifle
 

JD, Walmart has the Savage 93F for $149 plus tax. If it can take a scope that is probably the way to go. Clip mag like yours sythetic stock, blued barrel. No stainless and no bull barrel, but I don' t really care about the stainless I wanted the Synthetic stock more and it has that. The bull barrel would be nice but not for $40-$50 more..

RE: I need help Choosing a 22 mag rifle
 

JD, did you have any trouble with the mag release on the savage? Gun tests said it stuck down at a 45 degree angle and cut their hand twice when using the gun in the field.

RE: I need help Choosing a 22 mag rifle
 

I gotta make sure I answer all of these one at a time:
the base model is not tapped as far as I can recall, but it does come with sights(mine is a bare barell).
It is more of a matte stainless (I' m at work so thats the best I can recall off the top of my head.)
Sorry, the Rem. is an autoloader (I was originally looking at that or a 10/22 but the price was just too high so that' s how I found the Savage)
No problems with the mag. release on my end. It' s not sharp so I' m not sure how they did that. It was a little stiff from the start (new out of the box) but it' s great now. I figured better to be stiff then loose and drop clips.
One word of advice....get 1 or 2 extra clips, their pretty cheap (now) and it' s always impossible getting one for a good price 10 years down the road, when you lose your one and only. Let me know how it goes. JDinAB

RE: I need help Choosing a 22 mag rifle
 

I found out that the receiver on the blued model is grooved so it will take 22 rings. I still can' t decide. The savage is $21 cheaper than the marlin and it has a synthetic stock. However, gun tests says that the balance isn' t as good as the marlin and that the stock butt is slippery. The marlin has a birch stock which I think is pretty much worthless. However, it has the more non slip butt plate and gun tests says it is very well balanced. It also holds two more rounds which is nice. This is tough! What do you think about the stock on the savage as far as scope alignment. The comb is straight so it isn' t high like the marlin, supposedly you get less check contact.

RE: I need help Choosing a 22 mag rifle
 

like I said...works great for me! As for the stocks, I love wood but it really made the guns look cheap. Really like the synthetic for this kind of gun. I don' t have to worry about babying it as much as a wooden gun. The reviews are opinions of a few but I really think you should go feel them yourself...one man' s Marlin is another man' s Weatherby...are they readily available to you or do you have to order them? I scoured the net for reviews and pondered for days until I held them all in my hands and shouldered them, I made my mind up in 5 minutes. Funny how that works sometimes:D

RE: I need help Choosing a 22 mag rifle
 

Yes, that is the problem the marlin is available and I have checked it out but the Savage is not available in person so I would have to order it and hope for the best. I hate having to do that.