Hello, this has probably been asked a million times, but my pops and me were discussing the worlds end last weekend while trying to cheat each other at poker and the subject of a "good 22lr rifle" came up. What is the crowd favorite? Single, lever, semi, bolt, pump? I am definately going to keep it open sight. The ability to repair is also an issue, but how ofter do they fail?

Thanks

Ruger 10-22 is hard to beat if kept clean it rarely fails to load and shoot. As far as parts are concerned it can be said it is also the most after market parted .22 there is today.

a thompson contender pistol in 22 rf would be most endurable.opening and closing gun makes the shooter a lot less endurable!

Some of the BoyScout Camp single shot bolt rifles I used had over a million rounds through them and they were still working.

I have a 30 year old Remington 541 bolt gun that still goes bang and has just the most fantastic trigger. I get 2" or less groups at 100 yards with it.

If I were to pick a Semi, 10/22 is the way to go.

Hey Jon, I believe you would have a difficult time finding a current made 22LR which is not rugged and reliable.

The only 22LR which comes to my mind as being a bit more fragile than most others would be the short run of "Daisy 22LRs" that were made a good number of years ago. They kept the cost way down which made pieces that normally don't break, easier to break if dropped or treated a bit rough.

Lots of excellent choices available including a lot of older models. The old Remington Nylon 66 was a tough rifle that would take a lot of abuse. Not sure if you could get a part for one if you did need it today though. It was made in both Bolt and Semi-Auto versions.
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I prefer a Bolt Action simply because I have more Bolt Action CenterFire rifles. So the shifting between rifles is of no consequence.

Also have a semi-auto AMT(first stainless 10/22 clone) and it is OK to shoot. It is a bit more difficult to adjust the Trigger assembly on, but that is true for all semi-autos. And it is a bit more difficult to clean than a Bolt Action, but that should not be a reason to avoid one.

Lots of fine 22LRs to choose from which makes your question a good one. I'd suggest the answer a person gives is more of a personal preference on the Action Style.

Probably the best plinker, and the most desireable one is the old Winchester Model 63.

quote:

Originally posted by orlop:
a thompson contender pistol in 22 rf would be most endurable.opening and closing gun makes the shooter a lot less endurable!

Contenders are more fun in .222 or .223AckImp if you're going to put a rifle stock on them but I have a .22LR pistol barrel.
Good pistol for teaching a beginner the basics with.

As for rifles, I'll admit I have a few 10/22s, standardish, carbine, and this one:

semi-inlet stock courtesy of ironwood designs.

Some have holosights, some factory irons, one has a scope, and the new factory fiber optic light gathering open sights are quite nice. As my eyes age I've become more keen on optical and red dot sights. Nearing bi-focal land.

I would have to say since I bought mine about six months ago and shooting seven kinds of ammo through it is a BSA Martini. All I have room to shot in the back of the house is fifty yards and it put all seven kinds to the sames point of inpact and they where tight even for me as blind as I am. It breaks down very easy also.

My 77-22, that I got about 1984. Rugged, even in my hands, reliable to a fault, and accurate.

A Ruger 10-22 or the Browning Semi-Auto would be my choice in a rifle.

A S&W Model 41 or a Ruger Semi-Auto would be my handgun choice.

10/22 in 15 years and 3 boys using it. it still shoots well!!!

10 22 thousands of rounds if not 10s of thousands of rounds thru them they just keep on shooting.

Remington Nylon's if you can find one.

For a handgun, it is tough to beat the Ruger Single Six.

10/22.

I've had 25 or 30 different semi-auto 22 rifles and for one you can buy at the local Wal Mart the 10/22 is a fine endurance gun. I have a couple of them a beater carbine and a tricked out target gun. I will say that they can be shot a lot before they stop. However, I also have a small collection of Mossberg trainers some of which would give the Rugers a good run for durability. And yes, they are still easy to get parts for.

I haven't bought a bolt action 22 in years because I can't find a reason to replace my Remington 512 repeater or my 510 single shot.

I've never had a pump gun other than my M62 Winchester, but I can't imagine there are too many more durable pumps out there since they used them in carnival shooting galleries.

I've also had a few 22 leverguns including Mossbergs, Ithacas, and Marlins. Right now I have a Win. 9422 that I think is as good as any of the others and better than most.

I bought my 10-22 in 1971 when I got out of the Corps, many thousand rounds down the tube. Works just as well today as it did 38 years ago. Another rifle that I've found to quite durable is the M69 Romanian trainer.

My first was a 10/22.Almost 30yrs old and still shoots great after 1000's of rounds.My next will be either the new Winchester Wildcat or CZ.

My dad bought a 10-22 in 84-85. I can't remember the last time its been cleaned but it till shoots. My choice is a M77 very accurate, its in a 17hmr but they come in 22 also.

I'd like to put in a word for the old remington 500 series -510-511-512-513. I am a hunter education instuctor and we have used the same bunch of riles I bought used for coming up 20 years. these go thru 5-7 classes a year with as many as 40 studets per class firing them. any problem is usually cleaning related.

Ruger 10-22 or a Ruger Government model pistol.

I read of an account of a gun club in South Africa that owned several Ruger Government models that each had upwards of 4 million rounds through them.

Kinda hard to beat that kind of reliability.

Ruger as stated above or the Taurus Model 63. An adult sized rifle!

Just be sure you aren't tempted to pick up a Remington Viper Model 522--regardless of the price--run from the offer.

Lads,

My personal twopense rolling toward you!!

The Ruger 77/22 stainless w/irons in a comosite stock. A 10/22 would be my second choice. Ammo would obviously be a brick for each rifle - if they both shoot the same ammo accurately... BONUS (I'd still buy 2 bricks of ammo).

Granted, you will be paying a price for excellence, but, in the scenario you mentioned, what is your life worth in a survival situation.

Third choice would be a single shot Abrams M1!!!

Mike

I would say a Ruger 77/22 in a bolt rifle or a Ruger 10/22 in a semi auto rifle. I am not a huge Ruger fan by any means. They just make some really sturdy and often overbuilt guns. Some shoot great and some not so much though and require work, so much so there is that entire market for aftermarket parts (accuracy related and otherwise).

An Anschutz 54 or 64 sporter would also be the candidate for me in a rifle, but probably not what you are looking for in a plinker. When I shot small bore competition there were Anschutz 54's from the 1960's that had literally hundreds of thousands of rounds, and still shot good enough to win matches. Parts for an Anschutz should not be too much trouble if you ever needed them. You would pay more for them than a Ruger though.

I think it has to be hard to out shoot a decent .22 barrel. I think it much more likely that they get screwed up in getting cleaned badly as mousegun1 pointed out.