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Rex B wrote:I think I need one of those new stainless 60s, if I can find the one with the long barrel.
Most of those in the stores now have a shorter barrel.

Ropin wrote:I picked up a Marlin 795 from Cabelas the weekend after Christmas. It's extremely accurate, fun to shoot, magazine fed and is regularly priced under $150. I paid under$110.

While you may lack all the fancy bells and whistles for mods like you have with the Ruger, you do still have options, and a gun that is probably more accurate out of the box.

UpTheIrons wrote:

Rex B wrote:I think I need one of those new stainless 60s, if I can find the one with the long barrel.
Most of those in the stores now have a shorter barrel.

What do you mean by "long" barrel? The only ones I see (on Marlin's website, Bud's and Gallery of Guns) are 19". The 795 is 18", but I've not seen any with a longer barrel than 19".

Oldgringo wrote:As sorta' indicated earlier in this thread, I'd ike a nice quality .22 LR rifle.

Can anyone on this forum speak to the various CZ USA 452 bolt action .22 rifles vis-avis cost, accuracy, reliability, scopeability, etc., etc?

CZ Model 527 Lux, $566
We liked this rifle’s European styling. The rifle, with a street price of $500, had decent walnut, excellent bluing, and useful iron sights. It also had a nifty and very useful single set trigger. The rifle had pleasant balance and a light feel that really called for either a lightweight, unobtrusive scope or perhaps an aperture rear sight for greatest handiness. The serious hunter of tiny game would most likely prefer a scope to get the most out of the rifle. Our sample came with extra-cost CZ bases/rings, which easily let us attach our Leupold 36X target scope.

Click here to view the CZ Model 527 Lux features guide .

Numerous markings were deeply and somewhat tastelessly stamped into the left side of the action. These included the importer, model designation, serial number, and “Made in Czech Republic.” By contrast, the caliber designation was tastefully put onto the top of the barrel just in front of the action.

The barrel had an integral “band” with an enlarged top portion that held the drifted-in rear sight. The hammer-forged, 23.5-inch barrel was free-floated all the way back to the action. Drifting was the only way to change windage. It, however, was right on the money, as was elevation. We tried a few shots with the iron sights, and got a few inside of 2 inches at 100 yards, and they were pretty close to where we aimed. The rear notch was U-shaped, with a flat top. The front was an easily seen bead mounted on a ramp. The front sight was dovetailed in from the front and could be changed, if desired, by pressing a button and driving the blade forward. There was a large protective cover or shade over the front sight, and it had its top portion cut away.

The stock was “Turkish” walnut with very little figure, finished with a soft material that left the wood pores not well filled. There was a checkered, hard-rubber butt plate, and sling swivels. The checkering was well done, if small, and serviceable. The stock also had a cheekpiece. Either you like the “Bavarian” shape of the stock or you don’t. If you are clever with wood tools, you could easily change the profile of the rear-most portion of the butt stock to be more angular, which some shooters prefer. All of our shooters liked the shape just fine. CZ offers several variants of the Hornet, one in traditional American styling for the same price, with scope rings and no iron sights. There is also a full-length-stocked Mannlicher version for a hundred dollars more.

The CZ had a detachable magazine, which came out readily by depressing a tab on the right side of the rifle adjacent to the magazine. The magazine was easily disassembled for cleaning via a button on its bottom. One complaint we’ve heard is that some shooters don’t like the protruding magazine. Some of our test crew didn’t like it, and others didn’t notice it or complain. The mag was easily grasped and removed, and we felt it was easier to get out than Ruger’s flush-mounted rotary magazine. It went back into place easily and stayed put.

The CZ fed perfectly from its five-shot magazine, but was reluctant to chamber a loose round dropped into the feedway. The chamber was far enough forward to defy attempts at inserting a loose round part way into it, making one-round shooting problematic.

The action was a miniature controlled-feed Mauser type with full-length extractor. Like the Mauser 98, ejection depended on how hard you worked the bolt. The bolt came out of the rifle just like a Mauser 98, by pulling outward on a lever (which also held the ejector, just like on the 98) mounted on the left rear of the action. There was a safety at the right rear corner of the action. Forward was on, and a pull rearward revealed a red dot, indicating the firing position.

The metalwork, except for the bolt body, was all finished in a rich-looking matte blue. The bolt body and the trigger were white. Inletting, metal polish, and overall workmanship were excellent. We could find no parts on this rifle that were not steel. The trigger guard machining was a delight.

The trigger was a single set, and the adjustment for the set letoff was in the form of a small screw just in front of the trigger. Setting was accomplished by pressing forward on the trigger, and it gave a solid click as it set.

We really liked the single-set trigger of the CZ. The normal trigger was a bit creepy and not as light as we’d have liked (4.4 pounds), but was thoroughly serviceable. But when we pressed forward on the trigger to set it, the trigger became magical. A very slight touch fired the rifle. It may have been set too light for some, but we were very careful to not touch the trigger until we were fully ready to fire. All who tried it liked it as it was.

Accuracy of the CZ was pretty good, averaging a little over an inch with all rounds fired. With the Winchester 34-grain JHP, two shots of most groups were almost touching, with the third an inch away. That ammo averaged 0.9-inch groups.