Which .22lr?

palmer_mike

Well-Known Member
I'm currently waiting for my variation to come back to allow me to buy my first .22lr.
I currently shoot CF calibres for deer stalking and air rifles for rabbits, but have joined a club where I can shoot .22lr on a weekly basis and thought it might be fun.

The rifle will be for mainly just target shooting with a bit of rabbit's as well, i'd like it to be not too dissimilar to my tikka t3 (ie not thumbhole etc) so it might be good practice for my deer rifles as well.

Should i go for a short (16in) barrel? and what are the benefits of a varmint barrel in a rimfire?

It will most likely end up being a cz as my budget isnt very large,

Thanks for any help,
​Mike
 
Nothing wrong with a CZ mate. I have an ancient BRNO Mod 2E which is the same rifle. Solid, well made, accurate,difficult to break, easy to fix, very common so spares/accessories easy to find....you can find a cheap one without trying too hard, Guntrader is currently listing about 270 of them ranging from £150-600. There are some in the £2-300 bracket complete with scope and mod.

I have a slightely shortened barrel, basic PH mod, cheap bipod and BSA Sweet 22 scope on mine, it's very accurate. The varmint/short barrel may help in some ways, I'm not sure if it's all that significant. I think that managing the trajectory and keeping to realistic range are the big issues with this calibre. If you get much past 75m the groups tend to loosen, headshots on rabbits out to there are fine with normal or subsonic ammo. I find high velocity ammo gives more range but not neccesarily more accuracy. There is also the 17hmr, better long range accuracy but ammo not so cheap

I suppose your choice depends on what you want to do. I have a varmint barrel on my 223. I find it accurate but it is heavy to cart around..
 
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CZ Varmint barrel, not too heavy to carry and very accurate on paper, suggest an after market trigger spring though.
 
I got a cz 455 and after I put on a rimfire magic trigger kit (£12 and easy to fit) it made the trigger awesome and the gun shoots spot on at 50 yards with eley subs. I've been told by a few people now that the older 452 was better quality and the 455 was a cost cutting model. Also the ruger 10/22 semi is a nice little gun and readily available, not to expensive and a lot of the target guys shoot them as there's lots of aftermarket bits n bobs if u fancy customising it at a later date. The target guys opt for varmint barrels as the can fire plenty rounds without the barrel heating up to much, in saying that my cz is a varmint barrel and I just use it for rabbits but I just fancied the look of it:)
 
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+24 CZ but get the stainless sin and find some steel mags and trigger kit think thay are a tenner from rimfire magic up north :thumb:
 
Browning T bolt in 22LR and synthetic stock works for me. Allows quick bolt cycle for rabbit shooting, very accurate and well made. I had a ruger 10/22 but had enough of all the jams. :doh:
Also had a varmint barrel CZ, fine for targets and field use, didn't notice the extra barrel weight but not really any more accurate compared to the T bolt.
 
Ruger 10/22 would also get my vote.

Lots of customizable bits on the market, whether you go for a tactical look, or a target look.

A friend has a 10/22 T which has a laminated stock, and a heavy fluted target barrel, and despite it being a semi automatic he can group round after round on top of one another at 50yards.

They are cracking fun too on the range!

I love this look for target shooting

2495359073_8d04678007_b.jpg



Or you could spend the value of a small car on one like this

DSCN0797.jpg
 
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My first rifle was the BRNO bolt action, very accurate reliable rifle, i then bought a Anschtz thumbhole carbine, again very accurate but took it out in the rain and the finish blistered on the wood, so that got exchanged for my current Sako Finnfire heavy barrel, which is a cracking gun.
My friend has the Ruger 10/22 and finds that it jams too much, not sure if the newer versions have improved.
Cheers
Richard
 
Had brown & 10/22 but Browning Buckmark now and never going back really accurate and never jams even after thousands of rounds about £500 new
 
BRNO model 2.
There was one for sale on here a few weeks ago, not sure if it's sold yet. Looked really tidy.

Edit:
Just had a look and seen it's sold. £140
Sorry if I raised your hopes!
 
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I bought a sako Finn fire when I was 21 and still own it. Now 41, it still performs exceptionally well. Many shooters say one of the best rim fires made and very sort after.
​Andrew
 
CZ 452 or 455
Brilliant guns, fit a rimfire magic trigger kit and off you go,, the kit takes 15mins to fit yourself.
I`ve never liked semi autos as everyone I have tried has jammed at some point.

I have a 452 with a synthetic stock that has had thousands of rounds through it, and it looks like new, great, reliable, hard wearing rifles,, couldn`t really recommend anything else, as nothing comes close in terms of value for money and performance.
 
Thats great advice everyone, think i'm sold on the cz.
Is there any noticeable difference between the 20in and 16in barrel options performance wise? Most of my rabbit shooting is on foot so not really worried about it being handy in a cab.
Also the difference between varmint and normal weight barrels - does it have aby advantage really? Have ben shooting a club gun at my shooting club which has a normal weight barrel and after quite a few rounds still not noticed it heating up?

 
It should be fine with just a sporter barrel as long as your not shooting loads of high velocity rounds in quick succession then you may be better with varmint barrel but should b fine all day with subs. I've got the 16 inch barrel but I only really shoot to 50 yards the 20 inch barrel may come into its own if your shooting targets at 75 & 100 yards
 
It should be fine with just a sporter barrel as long as your not shooting loads of high velocity rounds in quick succession then you may be better with varmint barrel but should b fine all day with subs. I've got the 16 inch barrel but I only really shoot to 50 yards the 20 inch barrel may come into its own if your shooting targets at 75 & 100 yards

​Thanks for that, all useful advice.
 
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