I’m looking to buy a .22 soon and this will be my first gun. It will primarily be used at the range and mabye some varmit hunting.
I would like bolt action, but don’t really know where to go from there…
I was thinking about .223 Remington as I have heard some good things about it.
Price range is anywhere from 400-900.
I want to get the best gun possible in that price range. I want something that can shoot very tight groups and is reliable.
If someone could guide me in the right direction it would be great.
Any help is appreciated, Thanks.
p.s sorry for my newbie(non-existent) knowledge on this subject.
[quote]tmay11 wrote:
I’m looking to buy a .22 soon and this will be my first gun. It will primarily be used at the range and mabye some varmit hunting.
I would like bolt action, but don’t really know where to go from there…
I was thinking about .223 Remington as I have heard some good things about it.
Price range is anywhere from 400-900.
I want to get the best gun possible in that price range. I want something that can shoot very tight groups and is reliable.
If someone could guide me in the right direction it would be great.
Any help is appreciated, Thanks.
p.s sorry for my newbie(non-existent) knowledge on this subject.
[/quote]
If you want a .22 cal (rimfire) I would take a look at the Marlin Bolt action in .22 magnum
If you want a .223 (centerfire) for target shooting take a look at the Savage 110 with heavy barrel. It sells for about $500 in the states w/o scope.
.22 rimfires are way cheaper than the .22 centerfire(.223, 22/250 etc). If you plan to shoot a lot and don’t plan to reload or hunt, go with the rim- fire. If you can reload and/or want to hunt go with the centerfire. The 223 Remington is probably the most economical in the centerfires because you can pickup MIL surplus relatively cheaply.
Savage makes a very nice, super accurate rifle and will save you bucks.
I would imagine you are not an experienced shooter. If that is the case, go with a .22 LR. Marlins are great. However, I do love my Ruger 10/22 Target, although it is semi-automatic and I dont know if that is what you want or can own.
If I could do it all over again, I would have started on a .22. .22’s build good shooters because of how underpowered they are(the flinch is a nasty beast) and because you can get 5000 rounds of ammo for around $100. With the right ammo, .22’s are great for shorter range varmint hunting too.
Since I shoot a lot, I will try to help you out here.
First, if you want a target rifle, get a target rifle. You can use a target rifle to hunt with, but usually a hunting rifle doesn’t make a very good target rifle.
Look around before you buy. Gunsamerica has a pretty good website that has lots of different firearms. For .22s, you might want to check out Ruger, Remington, Kimber and Winchester. A Ruger 10/22 can be made into a fairly good target rifle. You also might want to think about buying a .22 used, if you can find one that is in pretty good shape. It really is hard to shoot out a .22 rimfire barrel.
Get someone to help you out at first. Join a shooting club. Learn to shoot correctly. It is a lot more enjoyable when you know how to do it right.
As far as centerfire goes, get something in either .223 or .308. Since I am guessing you don’t reload, ammo for these 2 calibers is plentiful and fairly inexpensive.
If you have any questions, go ahead and ask, I will do my best to answer them.
As others have stated for a raw beginner a 22. bolt action is good to learn on and for small game. My first at the tender age of nine was a single shot Ithaca 22. lever action. For Rabbits, I now use a Winchester 22. Mag lever action with scope. I like it because I can take head shots on Rabbits out to sixty or more yards and it’s got the power to take a coyote out to a hundred yards or more.
If you are talking a dual purpose varmint, deer, antelope, gun something like a 243. would do quite nicely.
I currently own a Savage Steven’s Favorite falling-block single shot .22, and I am in love with it! It is plenty accurate and you really learn about shot placement when you only have one shot! It’s a great plinker and I have had a blast hunting squirrels with it. The old-school look of it gives it a lot of character, too.
Go buy yourself a Ruger 10/22 Target model, a decent scope, some high caps and a bunch of ammo. That should be about $500, for everything. For general target practice and shooting stuff the .223 is going to be way too much gun and too expensive. It is also not an effective caliber for hunting, unless you are hunting coyotes or spend a bunch of money for a varmint gun.
[quote]tmay11 wrote:
Forgot to add that my local range does not allow magnum rifles. “Due to the limitations of our backstop”.
How much more can I expect to pay for ammo if I buy a centerfire?
Also, if i’m not going to be reloading then is there any advantage to a centerfire(for my purpose).
Thanks for the help.[/quote]
They may not consider a .22 mag a magnum for the purpose you stated. Certainly a .223 has considerable more energy.
The centerfire is more utilitarian. You can hunt game with a centerfire rifle, larger then small animals. It’s also going to me more accurate at longer ranges. The .223 while small is reliable out to 200-300 yds.
I might suggest you go to the range and ask to shoot someones rifle. Look for a .308 cal. (7.62mm) It’s plenty big enough for medium size game. Ammo is cheap and the round is very accurate. Recoil is negligble.
The Savage 110 I mentioned before is chambered in both .223 and .308.
[quote]tmay11 wrote:
Forgot to add that my local range does not allow magnum rifles. “Due to the limitations of our backstop”.
How much more can I expect to pay for ammo if I buy a centerfire?
Also, if i’m not going to be reloading then is there any advantage to a centerfire(for my purpose).
Thanks for the help.[/quote]
A 22 Mag is still a rimfire and would be alright. In regard to your questions centerfire ammo can get quite expensive. A box of Federal premium ammo depending on caliber can get from thirty to forty dollars or more per box (20 rounds).
It sounds like you are a complete novice and with your shooting range limitations a 22 would be a good choice. Cheap to shoot and good to learn on. Unless you are experiended or like to hunt or are really into target shooting a centerfire isn’t what I would recommend at this time.
[quote]sigvarth wrote:
Go buy yourself a Ruger 10/22 Target model, a decent scope, some high caps and a bunch of ammo. That should be about $500, for everything. For general target practice and shooting stuff the .223 is going to be way too much gun and too expensive. It is also not an effective caliber for hunting, unless you are hunting coyotes or spend a bunch of money for a varmint gun. [/quote]
Problem with the 10/22, unless they’ve redesigned it, is the bolt doesn’t lock on an empty clip. You’re very prone to dry firing the rifle if you’re not counting rounds.
Do NOT buy a scope yet. Learn to shoot open-sight first. You’ll probably end up sticking with it. If/when you do get a scope, get the mounts you can see your iron sights through.
.22s are awesome… shoot all day for pennies and they’re fun as hell.
I’m going to echo a lot of folks and say, get a Marlin. High quality, inexpensive… my tube-fed semiauto Marlin (model 60, I think?) is the balls… used to be able to pick off spent shotgun shells with it from… oh, jeez, pretty far away.
Then they ripped up all the sand pits in SE Mass and built rich-people houses.
Iwould go with alot of the other guys and tell you to get a .22rf. My personal favorite for a bolt action is the ruger 77/22. It is very much like the 10/22 but is a bolt instead of a semi. It uses the same clips and I believe that the same barrels will work, if you decide to go with a target barrel.
