What's the most accurate production 22 LR rifle produced today?

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Obviously, CZ's are getting the majority vote. And who can argue with them? Accurate and reliable, they are phenomenal rifles for the money. But, the OP did say:

What is the most accurate 22 LR rifle under 500 bucks and suitable for small game hunting?

Now, that statement covers a LOT of ground. So let me take the liberty of listing a few of my preferred "small game guns", in no particular order:

1. The venerable 10/22. The 22 that has been killing game well since the 60's. Mines a Mannlicher version, and is accurate enough with Williams receiver sights to knock off squirrels at ~60 yards. And, it cost around $400 brand new. The carbine and sporter versions are well under that.
2. Henry H001. The standard Henry 22 carbine. Plenty accurate enough for hunting, I have used mine often hunting with dogs since its light, easy to carry, and holds 16 shots. Wally world price is around $300.
3. Old reliable - Marlin 60. One of the most accurate auto 22's ever made IMHO. My older version holds 18 shots if I remember correctly, and wears a small Simmons 4x scope. It is easily capable of 1" groups at 50 yards, and best of all, can be had (used but in good shape) for $100 or less at most any LGS or pawn shop.
4. New Haven 251c - My grandpa's old gun. Made by Mossberg in the 60's and 70's, its a quirky little gun. Loads 15 shots through the buttstock, has a decent trigger, and will absolutely drive nails. It wears a 1.5 x 4.5 x 32 Bushnell, and will group 5 shots under 1" at 50 all day long. My most accurate 22. They can be had for under $200 on the used market.
5. Browning ATD - Lightweight, accurate, and dependable. A fine little gun that anyone can shoot. Mine has stock sights and is minute of squirrel head at 40 yards. That's plenty good enough for me. The downside is they are pricey, but can still be had used for under $500.
Honorable mention - Romanian M69 trainer. Very accurate little bolt gun. They can be finnicky to operate if not kept clean, but overall I've had no complaints. They can be scoped but you have to have them d&t'd for the mounts as I've not found any that would fit the little grooves on the receiver. But they can be had, at least locally, for ~$100.

The guns I've listed are by no means perfect. They all have their flaws. And some are more accurate than others. But as a rule they fit the OP's criteria, and furthermore are very affordable. Sure, there are other guns that would fit the bill, but the ones listed are what I own and have experience with. I'm sure there will be several who disagree with some of my statements, but again they are based on my particular guns. I guess if I had to pick one, it'd be the 10/22. They are the MOST reliable, and the DECENTLY accurate (mods not withstanding) in stock form to do what the OP, or anyone else, requires. And, the are very easy to maintain and modify. The sky really is the limit as far as how much one can spend on a 10/22 and it's modifications. I prefer to keep mine mostly stock, and the example I gave has only had the trigger and sear surfaces stoned, trigger springs replaced, and a flush mag release installed. Others have made them into 1/2 moa guns. I'm not that picky as all I do is hunt and plink with mine. Well, with any of my rimfires for that matter. Hunting and plinking is what they do best.

Hopefully, some of you can get some use out of these ramblings...
Mac
 
I’ll add another CZ452 American.
The question is not how accurate is the rifle, it’s how accurate is the ammo?!
I’ve gotten 5-shot 1-hole groups at 50yds. Under 3/4” at 100yds.
I recently went 10shots for 10 squirrels (limit). Can’t beat that!

I don’t shoot it enough!!!!

It likes subsonic hollow points. CCI, Fiocchi, Remington. Not particular.
 
I have a cz455. The blocky post front sight i think sucks. But i bought it for scoping.

Prefer bead sight. And dont mind the old lyman folding rear and bead front like on old 1022.

Liked the Anschutz target sights on my old 64M. Not expensive back then. Lower level. But good enough
 
A set of BRNO match sights on a CZ sighted gun makes for an tight group shooting open sight rig. I have a set on a 452 Ultra Lux
 
I got out to the range after work today, boss let me head out a little early. The night before I cleaned it up as per the manual and mounted a Simmons 22 mag scope- I sighted it in when I got there at 10 yards, then moved out to 25, then 50. For ammo I brought a brick of Herter's Target, some Federal Champion one old box and one new, and CCI Mini Mags.

Will mention the bad first to the best of my ability- one of the magazines I have was giving me trouble with any more than 5 rounds loaded. When trying to move the bolt forward, the round would catch on the outside of the chamber and deform the bullet. With 5 or less it functioned fine. One other magazine (one came with the rifle, I purchased two more) gave intermittent trouble, but was okay.

The second issue I was running into was fired cases not ejecting properly. Whether I worked the bolt with authority or slowly, at times the case would barely make it out, while other times it would launch. There were about five or six times where the cases didn't eject at all and it jammed against the new round coming out of the magazine. Inside there's a spring- looks like a paper clip, and that kicks them out. Wonder if it's sticking?

Now for the good. It didn't take me long to get the scope reasonably set- always a bonus for me. Here's some pictures of how I did. The scope was a 4x Simmons. All shots were fired from a bench with the rifle rested on some sandbags. All groups are at 50 yards, 10 shots.

First two were with Herters. 20190722_175652.jpg

20190722_174506.jpg

These next two were with Federal
20190722_180326.jpg
20190722_175656.jpg
I am almost positive the last two were 10 shots each.

Going to call Beretta tomorrow and see what they say about the issues. When it was going good, I really liked it. Trigger is very clean breaking, but stiff. Don't own a pull gage, so not sure the weight.
 
Well, save for the first cold shot, the CZ was shooting 3/8" x 1/2" -- so not bad.
That said, I would really like to see pics of other CZ shot groups at similar/50yd distances.
 
I owned a Savage MKII, Marlin 925, and a CZ 452 all at the same time.

The Savage shot the best of the three with all the ammo tested which was over 10 types from bulk to match. The Marlin shot second best.

Since, I have never been too enamored with the much hyped CZ accuracy. Though it is still quite good. Much more attractive rifles too.

The Savage and Marlin each cost half what the CZ did too.
 
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If you’re looking for a squirrel rifle then perhaps a bit about your other requirements is in order. The accuracy of many off the shelf $200 rifles can be very close to those in the $500 range, no big deal for tree rats at 35 yards. So, beyond accuracy; what else do you prefer? SS? Thumbhole? Lever? Bolt? Synthetic or walnut? Tube or magazine?

Plenty of woods rifles I could recommend at half the price of a CZ to get the job done and adding $250-$300 to the optics budget is no small consideration.
 
Not . . . necessarily . . . . ;):)

Both at 50 yards.
Both w/ best-performing ammunition (CCI-Std)

View attachment 851494

You won the ruger lotto....congrats....however you did toss parts at it so it really does not fall into the group of a factory default rifle.

Out of the box, even with a trigger.....and that ruger trigger had to suck rocks because if I had one shoot that well out of the box I would have been jumping for joy.....I think most would be thinking....I am not going to mess with this thing it is perfect.

Out of the box I would still think you are going to have a better chance with other brands....take 1000 rifles unbox them and see what is what....on average I would bet the cheaper the rifle is the worse it is going to shoot....saying that makes me sound like a cork sniffer.

Now that does not mean that the others at the low end of the barrel are not good products, the model 60 and 1022 are good guns....you just have to know what you are getting, and be ready to fool with them.....then moving to the very bottom of the barrel with say some of the mossberg offerings (plinkster) that you can find for sub $100 on sale....how far down the scale do you move from that....or looking at normal street prices what can you expect out of a $270 1022, a $130 mossberg, and a 455 for $340, mod 60 for $180 (all buds prices....I just had to check to see what the differences are)

Really to me....this is where it gets real fuzzy. we have two autos in here....so we don't have apples to apples.....but in the big lump of 22 rifles I find myself saying if I wanted a 22 and not something I would want to tinker with....the ruger is so much more expensive it just priced itself out....if I just want a rifle, what would draw me to this brand....the only thing it has going is parts out the yin yang made by everyone and his dog....take that off the table and it is expensive. The mossberg while getting some ok reviews is pretty darn budget.....so for ME both of those are out. The model 60 is at $180....that is pretty darn cheap, an automatic, and while not as loved as the ruger, seems to have a pretty loyal following....and a following that does not get to change everything out like the ruger fans do....so that has to say something about both products.....the 455 at darn near $350 is twice the price of the others is it twice as good....doubt it.

I typed the entire thing up, and remembered I left out savage.....this is already TLDNR so that will be for another time.
 
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I have a CZ 455 with 2x7 Leupold scope on it. I can hit an 18" metal plate with it at 220 yds on a calm day. Bullet drift is the limiting factor here but it's easily a 1 MOA rifle. That's roughly a little smaller than a dime at 50 yards where most would want to shoot a .22LR.

Not sure what they cost these days. I think I paid about four fiddy for it 5 years ago.

There may be others out there that can match it but I don't know anything about them.

I might add that the same holds true with rimfire as it does with bottleneck cartridges. The barrel is the key to an accurate rifle. You pay extra for the CZ barrel.
 
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Not . . . necessarily . . . . ;):)

Both at 50 yards.
Both w/ best-performing ammunition (CCI-Std)

View attachment 851494

Wow! Do NOT let that Ruger go, EVER! You'd have to buy and test a whole trailer load of 10/22s to get lucky enough to find one that shoots that well again.

As for the OP, I'd buy a T1x or CZ45x and call it good. If you take your accuracy game really, really seriously pull out all of the stops and spring for an Anschutz 54-action sporter. Yes, it's expensive. Yes, it's a factory rifle. Yes, you'll be shooting it the rest of your life with a smile on your face.

(Note, I have a new version Browning TBolt sporter, 3 CZ 452s, no T1x, no Anschutz and a 10/22 that on it's best days shoots like MEHaveys CZ455. Most days the 10/22 shoots worse. I will never, ever recommend a 10/22 for someone looking for an accurate 22 rifle out of the box.)
 
The OP could always put another zero behind that $500 and buy a used Remington 40x sporter. Not only would he shoot good, but he would look good shooting...lol.
 
I have shoot lots of .22's and shoot in local matches. I would put my CZ 452 American against any other factory sporter just like I do at matches. I have been tied and won the tie breaker once. I would also consider a Tikka 1X or Ruger American. Yes some guys cheap rifle may outshoot his CZ. The exception doesn't make the rule. Some rifles do require checking the stock fit, break in and ammo testing. After all they are mass produced.
 
I got out to the range after work today, boss let me head out a little early. The night before I cleaned it up as per the manual and mounted a Simmons 22 mag scope- I sighted it in when I got there at 10 yards, then moved out to 25, then 50. For ammo I brought a brick of Herter's Target, some Federal Champion one old box and one new, and CCI Mini Mags.

Will mention the bad first to the best of my ability- one of the magazines I have was giving me trouble with any more than 5 rounds loaded. When trying to move the bolt forward, the round would catch on the outside of the chamber and deform the bullet. With 5 or less it functioned fine. One other magazine (one came with the rifle, I purchased two more) gave intermittent trouble, but was okay.

The second issue I was running into was fired cases not ejecting properly. Whether I worked the bolt with authority or slowly, at times the case would barely make it out, while other times it would launch. There were about five or six times where the cases didn't eject at all and it jammed against the new round coming out of the magazine. Inside there's a spring- looks like a paper clip, and that kicks them out. Wonder if it's sticking?

Now for the good. It didn't take me long to get the scope reasonably set- always a bonus for me. Here's some pictures of how I did. The scope was a 4x Simmons. All shots were fired from a bench with the rifle rested on some sandbags. All groups are at 50 yards, 10 shots.

First two were with Herters. View attachment 851489

View attachment 851490

These next two were with Federal
View attachment 851491
View attachment 851492
I am almost positive the last two were 10 shots each.

Going to call Beretta tomorrow and see what they say about the issues. When it was going good, I really liked it. Trigger is very clean breaking, but stiff. Don't own a pull gage, so not sure the weight.

Thanks for the excellent range report. Good shooting. Let us know if you get the bugs worked out.
 
Thanks for the excellent range report. Good shooting. Let us know if you get the bugs worked out.

Thanks. I contacted Beretta and they are having UPS come to my house to pick it up at some point. Just filled out the form for them to come here. Also, returning the problematic magazine and asking for a replacement. When everything comes back, I'll head to the range and give it another go, see how things are.
 
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