.22 LR bolt action rifles

[Radagast]

Another CZ fan. I have them in .22, 22WMR & 17HMR. My BIL tried them this week and is now ordering one in .22 for himself.

10 years ago when I bought the .22wmr I had a choice of the CZ by itself or a Marlin with scope, mounts, sling, & a brick of ammo for the same price. I bought the CZ & I've never been unhappy with that decision. All three guns are capable of minute of angle of a bench with good ammo. I've never had a light strike, failure to feed or failure to eject. The only caveat I have is that the last one I purchased, the .17HMR is more roughly machined internally and it's trigger is a little more gritty. It's also the most accurate of the three.

Over ten years my CZ 452 in .22 wmr has cost less than 10 cents a day. By the time I'm 70, it'll be down to less than two cents a day. The Ruger and Stirlings that I disposed of after a couple of years as unsatisfactory ended up costing over fifty cents a day.

Any .22 is better than no .22, but CZs are better than most .22s.

And no, I don't have shares in the company.

 

[wanderinwalker]

Although I don't own one, I'll toss out a suggestion for the Ruger 77/22 bolt action. Though maybe not as nice dollar for dollar as a CZ, they have a nice balance and visual appeal to them, IMO. One of my coworkers has one I've been trying half-heartedly to talk him out of for a while now. I like it because it has a short barrel and the rotary magazine fits flush in the stock instead of below, better for offhand shooting IMO.

Caimlas,

Let me assure you, the price of a CZ or Ruger is nothing in the world of good .22s, they're "cheap". A nice Anschutz or Walther or Feinwerkbau will shoot circles around any Marlin or Savage, but at a cost.

 

[tubeshooter]

For a first .22 and fun shooter, I'd try to keep it around the $200 mark (give or take) and work up to something like a CZ or Marlin 39A later. Gives you something to look forward to.


If you like tube fed, I would second the recommendation on the Marlin 81 variants. Mine has done well, can't complain.

 

[mstirton]

If you can afford or even almost afford it, get the CZ452. I love my FS Mannlicher - looks and performance. ArmedBear had a good point - the bolt handle is perfect. I can cycle the bolt with my thumb and not lose my grip or sight picture. Popping clays at 60 yards with iron sights is easy, hitting the broken pieces is easy, hitting the orange crumbs left over is somewhat challenging.
If you want a cheap .22, get a Marlin or Ruger semi. If you go cheap on the bolt, you have a rifle that takes longer to cycle and still doesn't give you the pleasure of handling quality and hitting what you aim at. I've read a few posts from members who say expensive .22s defeat the purpose of shooting cheap .22lr. I've come to believe the opposite; which is why I'm considering an Anschutz in the near future. I can save on ammo (a bundle considering prices on surplus .308 and the like) so I want to enjoy the experience of shooting .22 as much as possible. You want to feel that working the bolt for each shot is well worth it and not just an annoyance while plinking.
Amen to Radagast's point as well.

 

[tegemu]

I am a confirmed fan of the CZ-452 too. I have a trainer, scoped and a Full Stock - iron sighted. It's hard to beat them. They are superb rifles and outstandingly accurate. I have a steel single shot adapter inbound from BRNOman for them. The Single shot adapter i feel will provide much better practice and fun. You have time to think about each shot and concentrate on corrections and improvements between shots. Saves money too. I also have a Henry Lever action that is a pure joy to shoot as well. All of these rifles are relatively inexpensive and the equal of rifles costing much more.

 

[middlechainringguy]

I don't have an extensive collection of .22s, but my CZ-452 Trainer does better than I can do, at the range, and has people coming over to ask about it, as well.

 

[lawboy]

I own CZ 452 Varmint and a Brno #1. I also own a Remington 541HB, a Ruger 77/22, about six custome 10/22s built very differently and with a ton of bells and whistles. I own a Winchester 52D, a BSA International MKII with original Parker Hale sights. I have extensively fired the Savage rimfires with the good laminated stock and fitted with Lyman receiver sight and Lyman front globe. I've owned the Kengs 522. I've owned the Browning BL22. I've owned a Remington 513 Target. I've fired, extensively, a host of other 22 boltguns.

For the stated purpose, ANY OF THE BOLTGUNS MENTIONED WILL DO. Now, you did not mention any accuracy requirement, competition requirement, or pride of ownership requirement. Nor did you mention any service life requirement, specific feature requirements or any expected time of ownership. So, given you ver bare bones stated desire, ANY OF THE MENTIONED GUNS WILL DO.

Now, my requirements when purchasing any gun are that I expect to own it until I die. I want the gun to be more accurate than I could ever have need for. I want to feel great pride in owning it and in passing it on to my children or friends, I want to feel quality in it when I touch it and use it. I want to enjoy manipulating it, studying it, learning about it and becoming proficient in its use through using it and obtaining knowledge about its manufacture, design theory and capabilities. So, given MY criterion, if I were in your shoes, I would buy a CZ OR find a good used Remington 541T or S series gun.

 

[sonofodin]

Go CZ and NEVER look back. When I bought my first rife, it was a CZ 452. I was thinking about a Marlin, but I did not like the sights and the Henry felt cheap (lever actions). I thought REALLY hard about buying a Walther G22, but after shooting some CZ's I went right in there (store) and put a down payment on it. It's been a devil of a tack driver with anything I have fed it. It's your choice, but I am extremely pleased with my CZ and glad I did not buy something else.

 

[Simon Yu]

Well, put down a payment for a CZ 452 Trainer earlier today. Should arrive within the next week or two. Thanks for the advice and stories all.

 

[sonofodin]

Congrats Simon. I hope you enjoy your CZ to the MAX.

 

[mustanger98]

I'm adding my Edit up front to say I posted before seeing a rifle had been chosen.

If you want a good old used rifle, I recommend (as in other threads) a Remington Model 521-T. Mine came to me with the Lyman 57RS rear sight and 17A on front. Those rifles were built back between 1947 and 1969 with stock features you'll have to spend big $$$ on a custom rifle to get nowadays.

If you want a new rifle with apertures, I'd look into this...

Mark-II Rimfire Series
Model MARK II-FVT with Peep Sights -- now with AccuTrigger
Caliber .22 LR
Overall Length 39.75"
Barrel Length 20.75"
Weight 6 lbs.
Magazine Capacity 5 rounds, detachable box
Stock Black synthetic with molded checkering
Sights Peep sights
Rifling Rate of Twist 1 in 16"
Features New AccuTrigger, blued steel bolt action, swivel studs, heavy target barrel, button-rifled with detachable magazine.
Suggested Retail $345.00

I'm sure it can be had for $50 under MSRP... it can be in my area... I looked it up at my dealer's.

Not against CZ's... I know some guys who love their's. Just that I don't personally have any experience with them. And at least one of those guys really loves an old Remington too.

 

[jkingrph]

I have not seen, much less tried a CZ in 22LR, however ,if it is anything like its slightly big brother the 22 Hornet it is one fine piece. That said the Ruger 77/22 is nice especially if you apply some of the trigger enhancing upgrades( check Brownell's) as is the Winchester 52 b reproduction. The Winchester has a much better trigger than the set model on my CZ Hornet and looks as well as feels like a man sized rifle, along with my all time favorite the Marlin 39 which can certainly hold it's own in the accruracy contest except for maybe some serious bench rest work, but who wants to use .22's for that.

 

[ArmedBear]

My 39 became my all-time favorite the first time I shot it.