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What would be a good .22 rifle for target shooting? I want one to practice my long range shooting skill. 308W is getting too expensive to pratice.

I think the Ruger 10-22 is one of the best all around .22 rifles there is. I am going to guess that the 77-22 is almost as good if you prefer the bolt action to a semi.

get a 10/22 and you won't regret it, you can do anything to it, add tons of optics, huge amounts of stocks, a 10/22 is the honda civic of the gun world. I love mine, and it's probably one of the best weapons I have.

Agree with the Ruger 10/22. Have one with scope and one with iron sights.......both a lot of fun. The primary weapons that I taught my boys about firearm handling and safety with when they were young. A lot of bang for your buck. A great target rifle off the shelf, with almost unlimited choices in accessories and add-ons..........especially enjoy the cheap hi-cap 25rd mags plinking tin cans without having to take out a bank loan for bullets.

RiverRat wrote:Agree with the Ruger 10/22. Have one with scope and one with iron sights.......both a lot of fun. The primary weapons that I taught my boys about firearm handling and safety with when they were young. A lot of bang for your buck. A great target rifle off the shelf, with almost unlimited choices in accessories and add-ons..........especially enjoy the cheap hi-cap 25rd mags plinking tin cans without having to take out a bank loan for bullets.

Yah, but I don't like loading my 25-rd mags, it's almost as fast to load multiple 10 round mags (plus they have a very interesting technology in those magazines) we've got 2 10/22's, my dad's old one which he gave to my sister, and mine, and we have around 7 (ish) mags, but they really are a fun thing to shoot, much better than a bolt action or tube fed gun.

Out of the newer rifles I like the Ruger 10/22. Overall, and out of the older rifles, I prefer my old Mossberg 146b with its 18 (might be 20) LR capacity tube magazine. It shoots accurately at distances I have yet to get another stock .22 rim fire to hit. It needs a better scope than the $15 Walmart special BSA rig its currently got mounted, even still its zeroed in a range that many people simply do not believe.

another vote for the 10/22, got the stainless version!

While I love my 10/22 I recognize its limitations, it just is not capable of 1/4 of MOA or better accuracy like my old 52D Winchester was. There are lots of really good target quality .22s available, 52D Winchester, Remington 513T, Kimber 82(?), Mossberg 44, and a whole bunch of Anschutz, at anywhere between $200 and thousands, most of which are capable of much better accuracy that a 10/22.

Find a place where you can shoot at fifty feet and use the A-17 target, or the A-23 reduced (includes an x-ring the size of a dot) or the international reduced (even smaller than the a-23) and you will experience almost the same level of stress and need for accuracy as if you were shooting at 1000 yards.

srothstein wrote:I think the Ruger 10-22 is one of the best all around .22 rifles there is. I am going to guess that the 77-22 is almost as good if you prefer the bolt action to a semi.

I think it's the other way around; the 77/22 is a better rifle than the 10/22 in terms of quality, accuracy etc. However, it's about 3 times as expensive, and unless you're looking for tight groups 50-100 yards out (which with your average .22LR cartridge is wishful thinking; you'd at least need high-velocity rounds if not match-grade) the 10/22 has more aftermarket parts, is cheaper and easier to find, so I would call it the better choice for a plinker.

If you want an accurate bolt-action rimfire for long-range shooting, look at the 77/17. Ammo's a little more expensive, but in the right hands it can reliably tag a squirrel or rabbit at 75+ yards and that varmint won't know what hit it.

Liko81 wrote:

srothstein wrote:I think the Ruger 10-22 is one of the best all around .22 rifles there is. I am going to guess that the 77-22 is almost as good if you prefer the bolt action to a semi.

I think it's the other way around; the 77/22 is a better rifle than the 10/22 in terms of quality, accuracy etc. However, it's about 3 times as expensive, and unless you're looking for tight groups 50-100 yards out (which with your average .22LR cartridge is wishful thinking; you'd at least need high-velocity rounds if not match-grade) the 10/22 has more aftermarket parts, is cheaper and easier to find, so I would call it the better choice for a plinker.

If you want an accurate bolt-action rimfire for long-range shooting, look at the 77/17. Ammo's a little more expensive, but in the right hands it can reliably tag a squirrel or rabbit at 75+ yards and that varmint won't know what hit it.

Actually, in .22 rimfire, high velocity does not equal match grade - most, if not all, .22 rimfire match ammo is sub-sonic and quite capable of excellent groups at 100 yards.

My CZ452 is more accurate than I am and it wasn't an arm and a leg either.

Anything you want to learn about 22s can be found hear... http://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/index.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I have owned a few different 22s. I like my
Remington Speedmaster 522 the best but the 10/22 is the most versatile 22s on the market. Every single part of 10/22 can be replaced with an after market part. The only thing stock on mine is the receiver and trigger group (soon to change). I also have mine set up with a red-dot and use it mostly for carbine matches. But i could put a scope on it and use it for long distance shooting too.
To address the above post about loading the 25rd mags, they make a neat little loader for them that only takes about minute to load them and it saves your fingers from getting cut up.

Target1911 wrote:The only thing stock on mine is the receiver and trigger group (soon to change).

So does that mean you have a complete gun's worth of spare parts?

...or that you can build an entire 10/22 from aftermarket parts?

Interesting.

I have to agree that the 10/22 is a great gun but last weekend I saw shooting my dad's bolt action 22. I asked him about the gun and he said he got it for like $50. I think it was made in Turkey. I can't complain it shots great. I was shooting beer cans and 100 yards with no problem. I think I am going to have to pick one up. At that price it is the perfect gun to throw behind the seat if the truck. Don't have to worry about tearing it up or loosign it. Plus it will make a great squrriel gun.

jimlongley wrote:

Liko81 wrote:

srothstein wrote:I think the Ruger 10-22 is one of the best all around .22 rifles there is. I am going to guess that the 77-22 is almost as good if you prefer the bolt action to a semi.

I think it's the other way around; the 77/22 is a better rifle than the 10/22 in terms of quality, accuracy etc. However, it's about 3 times as expensive, and unless you're looking for tight groups 50-100 yards out (which with your average .22LR cartridge is wishful thinking; you'd at least need high-velocity rounds if not match-grade) the 10/22 has more aftermarket parts, is cheaper and easier to find, so I would call it the better choice for a plinker.

If you want an accurate bolt-action rimfire for long-range shooting, look at the 77/17. Ammo's a little more expensive, but in the right hands it can reliably tag a squirrel or rabbit at 75+ yards and that varmint won't know what hit it.

Actually, in .22 rimfire, high velocity does not equal match grade - most, if not all, .22 rimfire match ammo is sub-sonic and quite capable of excellent groups at 100 yards.

Actually, I wan't trying to equate the two except in terms of hyper-velocity being a less expensive solution than match-grade. Additionally, you're dead wrong. Most .22 rimfire ammo, when fired from a rifle, is transsonic; supersonic at muzzle, but by 100 yards it has slowed to subsonic. Such a round is disrupted by its own shockwave and is thus less accurate than a round that maintains either supersonic or subsonic velocity its entire path.

Both high-velocity ammunition and subsonic ammunition solve this problem in different ways. Subsonic is subsonic even from a rifle's muzzle, and thus yes the ballistic path is far more stable. High-velocity ammunition is supersonic out to much further distances and similarly is more stable. Match-grade, which is way more expensive than "regular" sub or supersonic .22, is more consistent in powder charge and other QC aspects, and you're right, it's subsonic because then the path is guaranteed to be on one side of the sound barrier through its entire flight.