Combat worthy .22LR Rifle.

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I have two semi .22's, a Ruger 10/22 that is stock and well maintained, and a Walther G22, ditto. Neither one is reliable with any brand of ammo I have tried, including good CCI stuff. Oh, they are tolerably reliable for target shooting - I would say the Ruger feeds 19/20 and the Walther more like 9/10 rounds - but that is far below anything remotely acceptable for self defense situations.

I have heard good things about the Marlin model 60, but I don't own one. I still doubt it would be reliable enough.

It is easy to get centerfire rifles and handguns that are reliable 99/100, and 999/1000 isn't all that hard either, provided you use decent ammo, do modest maintenance, and use the right, quality magazines.
 
Don't the Israelis field a suppressed .22 for disrupting demonstrations or whatever? I definitely remember reading about that.
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Yes, they tried to use suppressed Ruger 10/22s as less-lethal crowd deterrent. They thought that using low powered .22 ammo would not do enough to kill. Didn't work, though. Still killed. I think one of the strategies they wanted to use was to shoot the knees of protest leaders.

For a fighting rifle, it's better to go with a decent inexpensive higher power rifle.

Good affordable options for the working man:

Mosin Nagant 91/30. Under $100 and affordable surplus ammunition. Russian pedigree, a piece of history. What's not to like?

SKS. Again, Communist hardware. $200, affordable ammunition, loads with stripper clips. Nice sight upgrades with the TechSIGHTS. Decently accurate.

WASR Romanian AK clone. $400. Decent rifle, good reliability. Quality control has improved in recent times. Affordable ammunition.

SIAGA rifle. Russian AK, sporterized. About as accurate as a general AK is going to get. Cheap. Affordable. Can be evilized without too much effort if you are so inclined. Good quality.

Notice the Russian/Combloc hardware? It ain't always pretty, nor the most accurate, but it darn well works and is affordable for the masses. And, it's available.

Marlin 336 levergun. High quality. Accurate. Ammunition of decent power and relative affordablity. 6+1 shots most models.

Remington 760/7600 pump action rifle. Look for this one on the used racks, too. Full power rifle cartridge, 4 rd magazines, pump reliabilty

Stevens and Mossberg bolt action rifles...affordable and accurate rifles.

See? There are lots of choices if you are limited in a budget from anywhere between $100 to $500. You should be able to find these rifles under $500, especially used.

I still think you should buy a good .22 no matter what your other plans are, simply because they are enjoyable and will help you develop your shooting skills. They are also valuable for small game, and the ammunition is cheap and takes up little space. But it is NOT suitable for combat unless you have no other choice or cannot use anything larger (say you have a debilitating back injury or similar)
 
This question seems to be a little akin to "what go-kart is best for sailing the Pacific?", but if I had to answer I'd say a 10/22 with as many reliability upgrades as possible.
 
what sort of combat would you be in? there some massive war against rodents I was unaware of?
 
there some massive war against rodents I was unaware of?
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My Walther G22 has been described as the ideal weapon for CQB against an elite force of gophers.

Mine is extra-tacticool with a 2x red dot sight on the rail. It's pretty easy to hit a 2" swinging target at 25-50 yards.

Just better hope the gophers don't have reliable AK's.
 
A .22 combat rifle? None, rimfire ammunition isn't as reliable as centerfire.
 
Cast my vote for the AR-7
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There aren't many bad .22s, but I believe the AR-7 ranks among them. I've never been impressed by them at all. A couple of members here swear by them, but many here don't have a high opinion of them.

If you are looking at a takedown .22 of the AR-7 type, the Marlin Papoose is a better rifle. In any case, I prefer more substantial rifles. For a very lightweight .22, I'd take a long hard look at a 10/22 with a TacSol barrel set in a light synthetic stock (like a nice Corelight). I am very impressed by the low weight of these rifles...
 
Well I just bought a super tacticool GSG-5P that will be getting SBRed and have some goodies added. It is super tacticool and a very fun toy. It is not something I would bet my life on. Nor are any of the other .22s that I own (or could go buy). I would not consider any .22 a good defensive rifle. Sure it might work but why limit your self. It is one thing to keep one around with thousands of rounds as a hunting rifle for a SHTF senerio but as a main rifle there are much much better choices.

$2000 would get you a Saiga a bunch of mags and a good stock pile of ammo. $800 would get you a saiga a half a dozen mags and a couple thousand rounds of ammo.

In fact the same is true for half that amount of money.
 
My Walther G22 has been described as the ideal weapon for CQB against an elite force of gophers.

Mine is extra-tacticool with a 2x red dot sight on the rail. It's pretty easy to hit a 2" swinging target at 25-50 yards.

Just better hope the gophers don't have reliable AK's.
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hey now, that lazier sight gives you an unfair advantage against the small woodland creature. at least in Colorado. /sarcasm


no really this concerns me, what sort of combat are you preparing for?
 
hey now, that lazier sight gives you an unfair advantage against the small woodland creature. at least in Colorado. /sarcasm
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Funny thing - in Michigan it is illegal to hunt deer with a laser sight, as it is classified as an illumination device (aka spotlighting).

But, beyond the fact that I currently don't hunt, and definitely wouldn't hunt a deer with a .22 LR, my G22 has a red dot, not a laser...
 
To go along with all of the above...
When I was at my apartment I didn't keep many guns there, usually just one handgun and one long gun.
When I had the 10/22 I kept a few 10 round magazines loaded with CCI mini-mag solids. I figured that if I had to use it I'd probably need five or more rounds to stop an attacker, but it's also not that hard to put five rounds on target fast with a 10/22.
I don't think the .22LR is the best choice for a defensive weapon, but if it's all you have or you can only afford a .22 for now but want to be able to at least use it for defense, it's not the most terrible thing you could wind up with.
IMO, stick with the hottest solid ammo you can find and make sure it's reliable.
I'd say that if you really had to, any RELIABLE repeater that holds a lot of ammo shouldn't be too bad of a choice.

But I agree that it would be wise to add something larger as soon as finances allow. Personally, I like the lever action 30-30 as a good general purpose rifle with decent defensive capabilities.
They turn up under $250 in decent used shape pretty often in my area.
 
E. C. Harris and I had a long discussion on this subject some years ago -- the consensus was that what we're really talking about is a survival gun for a pilot, not a combat weapon. We sort of agreed that a Ruger automatic with a can and a brick was close to ideal.
 
.22LR and "combat worthy" are oxymorons, unless you only intend to wage war against an invasion of squirrels on your property. :D
 
In a combat situation, (not just home defense) you have to assume the other guy has a weapon and will want to use it against you. In that case, the best .22 lr rifle is one you can use to quietly shoot the bad guy and take his weapon. I'd go with a silenced bolt action; aim for the head, run fast, and get a better weapon.

If this were expanded to any .22 lr weapon, I'd get a silenced Ruger Mark III pistol.
 
Assuming war or SHTF that your not going to worry about ATF regs.

Take savage or 10/22, saw off the barrel, make a SBR, thread the barrel and add a suppressor, and use it as a quiet sniper and grab a better gun.

Just my .02 Lira.
 
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