A 22 rifle that just plain fits

[Steve Milbocker]

These are the 22 rifles I currently own. From the top: Ruger 77/22R, Cooper model 36, Marlin 2000 L and a Henry Golden Boy. All winter we have been able to shoot indoors at my club. Twice a week fun shooting your choice of 22. I almost always bring one of my rifles even if I’m also shooting a revolver. I like to practice off hand shooting and truthfully at 68 and a bit shaky I’m not as good as I was when I was younger but still enjoy it. Of these rifles the Henry with the vernier sight is my favorite for off hand. I shoot it better than the others. It has a good bit of drop in the stock and a fairly heavy barrel and that makes her “hang” just right

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

That's a handsome bunch of rimfires! I especially like Marlin, don't see those falling from trees for sure.

I have a number of fancy/schmancy .22s, but most are really too heavy for much offhand shooting.
If Im going afield with a .22, I usually grab my Romi-

Its just a great no-frills, no stress rifle- I don't abuse it, but don't have baby it either. With a little effort, it can hang with much more expensive guns in the accuracy department and still be light enough to tote all day without becoming an anchor.

 

[LoonWulf]

Those are all really nice guns guys! Right now im down to just 1 .22 rifle, my Ranger.
Im actually pretty much ok with that lol.
Its light at 5.5lbs or so but is large enough and balances far enough forward its fairly easy to shoot off hand, and its accurate enough that its rewarding from a supported position, even if its not as easy to shoot well as a heavier gun is from the bench.
Ill grab pictures later i changed optics recently. Weights a tad more now i think.

Off hand my favorite .22s have been the 597s. Trigger upgrades really change the feel of the gun.

 

[johnmcl]

Hey Steve, those are solid good looking guns. In this age of plastic guns, I never tire of blue steel and wood, particularly in 22s. My best fitting 22 is a 1964 Marlin 39A.

The 10/22s in our world all sing and dance until the 39As come out.

 

[kidneyboy]

Nice group of rifles Steve. I had a Marlin 2000 for a while. A really under rated 22. What brand vernier sight is on the Henry?

 

[Steve Milbocker]

Nice group of rifles Steve. I had a Marlin 2000 for a while. A really under rated 22. What brand vernier sight is on the Henry?

Montana Vintage Arms #130 with a Little Sharps base

 

[Dave DeLaurant]

It ain't pretty, but if I'm being honest I would have to say my current favorite .22 rimfire is a Turkish Mauser 98 K.Kale service rifle with an Erma conversion installed and using subsonic ammo. It's weird, which makes it a close fit to my personality.

With CCI Quiets or CB Longs, pulling this rifle's trigger produces less noise and recoil than an air rifle. It also groups very tightly when I have my shooting glasses on, so I can see that barleycorn front sight waaay down the barrel.




As somewhat distant seconds, my Remington No.4 Rolling block and Winchester 1906 pump would also make the list.

 

[chicharrones]

A mighty fine collection you have, @Steve Milbocker .

My CZ452 Trainer is my best fitting offhand .22 LR shooter. The sights just fall into line with my eye and the balance is such that the rifle is not tiring to hold on target.

 

[MrBorland]

Here’s what I’ve been spending quality time with lately - my CZ 452 Scout dropped in a full-sized Klinsky stock topped with a Weaver 3-9x32 scope. I love this handy little package, and use it to sling up for some position shooting.



Slung up, NRA Seated position (i.e., on the ground) Slow Fire, 50 yards, CMP Rimfire Sporter target, 99-5x:

 

[jdc1244]

My Brno Model 1 is my favorite among my .22 rifles.

 

[CapnMac]

My go-to is still my Mossberg M-44

No frills, finding magazines remains a pain, but reliable as the day is long.
Been to an Appleseed or two, too.

 

[Double_J]

My only rimfire rifle is my Marlin Model 60 circa ~1986. I need to add a sling to it as it gets heavy carrying it offhand through the woods. It is minute of soda cap accurate with a cheap 4 power scope and shoots just about everything I feed it.

I need to add it to the rotation as it has not gotten any love in a while.

 

[wesmonster]

I got spare Mossberg mags for my 42M-B and scope mounts for my 320 single shot from Havlin sales. Brand new and OEM quality.
I'm starting to appreciate rimfire more, used to just shoot it thru a Ruger Am Rimfire and a Tikka T1x but some years ago my dad gave me about 20 old rimfire rifles, nothing rare or expensive but some nice older Marlins, Remingtons, Mossbergs & Savages. Most of them are exceptional shooters made from the 40s to the 60s. All yard sale & flea market finds so I know he got em all cheap. When it's cold I'll shoot some CB caps or Quiets into a steel trap inside my shop.

As ammo costs rise I'm shooting more rimfire and loving it.

 

[mavracer]

It has a good bit of drop in the stock and a fairly heavy barrel and that makes her “hang” just right

One man's trash is another man's treasure lol.
The drop is the thing I hated about my golden boy and the reason I sold it and got the frontier model.
One of my favorite do everything 22s is my Savage Mk2 with a Boyd's stock, a Bushnell Elite 3-12x scope and it has a Tacsol Aeris suppressor

 

[Armybrat]

I’m kinda old school, preferring US made rimfires…

 

[jstert]

a 22lr henry lever action carbine is a “fountain of youth” for those of us who were weaned on black&white tv cowboy shows.

 

[Howland937]

I've got a whole pile of .22's. I've trimmed it down some, so the pile is smaller than it was a couple years ago, though. My favorite is still the Thompson Center.22 Classic I've had for years.

Saw the article in Shooting Times before it was introduced. Was intrigued by the all steel (except the dang magazine bases!) blued and walnut that was double what a 10/22 cost at the time. I bought the first one I ever saw. I still rank it ahead of the 52B, 39A, 513T, 416, and MKII.

I can't say it's the most accurate rifle I own, but I can say for a fact that none of those rifles will outshoot it regularly. Granted, neither the 52B nor the Stevens 416 are scoped while all the rest are.

In fact, the only rifles in my safe that are as good as consistently are my kid's TC .22 Classic and the TC Benchmark.

 

[Riomouse911]

These are the 22 rifles I currently own. From the top: Ruger 77/22R, Cooper model 36, Marlin 2000 L and a Henry Golden Boy. All winter we have been able to shoot indoors at my club. Twice a week fun shooting your choice of 22. I almost always bring one of my rifles even if I’m also shooting a revolver. I like to practice off hand shooting and truthfully at 68 and a bit shaky I’m not as good as I was when I was younger but still enjoy it. Of these rifles the Henry with the vernier sight is my favorite for off hand. I shoot it better than the others. It has a good bit of drop in the stock and a fairly heavy barrel and that makes her “hang” just right View attachment 1205623

Cool! Love the Marlin 2000, it was a great entry level target gun that really held its own.

Back when my knees tolerated me more than they do now, I used to run Summer Biathlon events. They were usually 2-position 5k (2k run 6 shots standing, 2k run 6 shots kneeling, 1k sprint) or sometimes 10k 3-position (3k/shoot standing, 3k/shoot kneeling, 3k/shoot prone, 1k sprint. The shooting discipline added prone to kneeling and standing.)

I shot a Marlin 2000 with a blue stock similar to this one in the attachment, even had the mag holders. (Internet picture, not my gun.) At one competition I made it through the run and shooting brackets to make the final two in San Bernardino, Ca., but the lady I competed against outshot me 5-4 to take the overall. ( IIRC, I think she took home a couple of bricks of Eley Tenex with her trophy as the top prize winner that day.)

Brings back some fun memories for sure!

Stay safe.

 

[I6turbo]

My CZ452 Trainer is my best fitting offhand .22 LR shooter. The sights just fall into line with my eye and the balance is such that the rifle is not tiring to hold on target.

View attachment 1205759

Mine too. The 452 Trainer and the Lux (which is just a Walnut stocked Trainer) fit me like it was made for me. I have a low-mounted scope on a 22 Magnum Lux that also fits me perfectly, better than my straight stocked rifles. Next to the Model 52 Winchester it probably makes more range trips than any of my rifles.