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New Rimfire Rifle for a Plinking Good Time
Durandal Infinity
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Get Ready kids
So Im getting ready to purchase a new .22LR rifle and I have a few questions about exactly which one I should get. I've looked around extensively and I honestly wish to purchase a rifle that is under 400 TOTAL (new hammers barrels etc) and be a good rifle for plinking targets, cans, and potentially rabbits and woodland squirrel.
I have narrowed my selection down to the:
Ruger 10/22 (which the upgrades category would fall into)
Remington 597 (Great out of the box now, used to be trash)
Remington 552 Speedmaster (Classic design and beautiful blue & walnut, but a bitch to take apart)
OR if I can find it for a good price
Browning BL22 (Lever action cowboy god)
Im essentially looking for input on rifles of the sort, Id like to keep them on the cheaper side but with Obama in office all gun prices have skyrocketed. Any pros or cons with any of the rifles I've mentioned would be appreciated or other brands that I've looked past. In general Im looking for autoloaders with an exception for lever action, they are just classy.
So Im getting ready to purchase a new .22LR rifle and I have a few questions about exactly which one I should get. I've looked around extensively and I honestly wish to purchase a rifle that is under 400 TOTAL (new hammers barrels etc) and be a good rifle for plinking targets, cans, and potentially rabbits and woodland squirrel.
I have narrowed my selection down to the:
Ruger 10/22 (which the upgrades category would fall into)
Remington 597 (Great out of the box now, used to be trash)
Remington 552 Speedmaster (Classic design and beautiful blue & walnut, but a bitch to take apart)
OR if I can find it for a good price
Browning BL22 (Lever action cowboy god)
Im essentially looking for input on rifles of the sort, Id like to keep them on the cheaper side but with Obama in office all gun prices have skyrocketed. Any pros or cons with any of the rifles I've mentioned would be appreciated or other brands that I've looked past. In general Im looking for autoloaders with an exception for lever action, they are just classy.
Durandal Infinity on
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Hit your local gun store and see what they've got. However, if you can wait a bit, you may want to. Once people stop being crazy fucks, we should see a pretty good second-hand gun market in a year (or a little less).
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I always found the task of loading my Rugers clip very satisfying. Don't know why.
The 597 can be finicky with some ammo by all accounts. The Ruger feeds more reliably. Plus parts and accessories are much more common.
Ruger and Marlin dominate the autoloading .22 LR rifle market for good reason. Plus you have a better chance of finding a 10/22 used and saving some cash that way.
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3DS: 3454-0268-5595 Battle.net: SteelAngel#1772
Fucking excellent rifle
Quick question for you guys, do any of you kids buy into "barrel break in?" I plan on disassembling and cleaning the gun as soon as I get it, and every time I leave the range. Is it necessary to do the (1 shot CLEAN x20) then (10 clean x10) then (20 clean x5 ) or is that just an old time myth? Sort of sounds like a waste of ammo IMHO
Keep in mind I will mainly be firing copper jacketed or "plated" as I alternate between indoor and outdoor range depending on weather. (Indoor doesnt like exposed lead, health hazard)
Either way, a .22 isn't going to really need a break-in.
I have a Ruger 10/22 that was customized to the tune of $1K. The out-of-the-box performance was very good on it, but the sheer amount of customization out there makes this rifle very attractive.
One thing, though. A stock CZ .22 will hold it's own against my custom Ruger 10/22. Food for thought.
Shooters far more experienced than me only do that for long range competition rifles. It's nothing that won't occur over time, not all barrels benefit from it (ie, if they're already smoothed out), and not something you'd need to do for a plinker in any case.
Actually, many expert shooters seem to go the opposite way with rimfires and advise not cleaning the barrel. This would be idiotic on a more powerful centerfire rifle but the little powder that builds up in a rimfire and stays there doesn't warrant the wear to the barrel and muzzle cleaning results in. Something like the excess gunk just not being able to stay inside the rifle when fired IIRC. Apparently a lot of competition shooters go this route and I haven't heard of a rimfire going kaboom at a competition. But do clean the non-barrel parts, pretty sure this does not apply to the action etc.
Yeah, but now we're comparing a bolt action to a semi-auto and the OP wanted to stick to the latter.
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3DS: 3454-0268-5595 Battle.net: SteelAngel#1772
Ah. Then yeah, can't go wrong with a 10/22.
Very good. The Mark II is to bolt actions what the 10/22 is to semi-autos. Only downside on older ones were the triggers, which were heavier than what many want in a rimfire bolt action. They solved that with the accu-trigger system.
Savage also has a good reputation in the centerfire market. Remington is better known but both Remington and Savage are usually recommended when people are looking for a first centerfire bolt action.
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3DS: 3454-0268-5595 Battle.net: SteelAngel#1772
I've never bothered doing anything like that for a .22.
For the record, every competition shooter I know does clean their rifle on a semi-regular basis. Collegiate shooters go through several thousand rounds a week, barrels get nasty if you put that many rounds through them and don't clean them regularly. It is just that most .22 rifles have a sweet spot that isn't at squeaky clean. So you clean the rifle and then put 200 - 1000 rounds (depending on your particular rifle) down range before a big match.
I do clean my .22 anytime it isn't going to be fired for a while (more than 2-3 weeks).
I dunno, its from an older school of thought but not cleaning everytime just irks me the wrong way, but I understand the barrel wear. Ill just wont brush the barrel every time just run a hoppes patch, dry patches and a quick lube patch on it
It really depends what you use it for. Most of the hunters I know 'round there parts clean their rifle, sight it in, hunt for the season, and clean it before putting it up for the year. The theory is, and I'm sure you know this, is that cleaning it will affect the accuracy. If you're hunting with it, trying to make kill shots, you want it to be as accurate as possible. If you just plan on killing paper with it, I personally would clean it after every third to fifth time to the range. Honestly, with the materials being used in the construction of both firearms and ammunition these days, you don't need to clean your gear after every trip to the range (assuming a normal shooting schedule).
The only firearm of mine that I've never cleaned, beyond first pulling it out of the box, is my Yugo AK-47 under-folder. I figure if the day ever comes in which that thing doesn't cycle, I'll leave it sit outside in the rain with the action open for a couple of hours and that will take care of it.
Yeah, I've never put a brush through my competition .22LR. When I said clean I mean put through patches with solvent until they come out clean and then dry patches until they come out clean. And don't use a rod either. The cleaning systems that use what looks like fishing line prevent damage to the barrel.
The old .22 repeater my dad gave me as a kid takes some scrubbing to clean, but the 10/22 with the stainless match grade barrel and my new Tikka .204 with a stainless barrel clean so bloody fast and easy. And I'm pretty sure corrosion is pretty much no concern at all with a stainless barrel.
I find with my Ruger 10/22 it takes about 100 rounds after a cleaning to hit it's sweet spot. Once there I can do a 1/2" at 50 yards (10 shot group) with it.
The accuracy there holds until around 500 rounds have been fired, then the group opens back up. So I clean based on rounds fired, not how often I go shooting. I'm doing the same thing with my Tikka, although I just got it, so I don't yet know it's sweet spot.
I host a podcast about movies.
I have a Ruger mini and my dad a Rock River M4 so I have a couple carbon fiber cleaning rods and 22 attachments and the sort. Id only use a brush on the inside of the receiver if it really starts to gum up due to the fact that .22LR is pretty dirty, though Ill save that for when I need to.
[edit] given the attachments that I have would it almost be ok to only use a boresnake with some solvent and lube to clean the inside of the barrel every 500rds or so?
the problem I have with most match style stocks is that Im a big fan of iron sighting and most aftermarket bull barrels ive seen are sightless