.22lr semi auto - avoid?
- Thread starter d0nni
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Ray7756
Well-Known Member
Cant tell you which ones to avoid but you will not regret buying a Rugger 10-22 cracking guns once you find the ammo it likes mine does not work well with winchester ammo but happy with most other ammo, bought mine new but there are lots of second hand ones around
Cheers
Ray
Cheers
Ray
Semi auto .22's are notorious for being picky over which ammo they like and unless you have a cleaning regime like the Marines training quarters, you get more jams than Robinsons. They also tend to be less accurate than bolt actions.
But if you want one and get it working anything like reliable and you like to customise your rifles (there's more aftermarket kit for them than mirrors on a Mod's scooter) and have a pathological hate for empty coke cans, go for it! They are great fun.
But if you want one and get it working anything like reliable and you like to customise your rifles (there's more aftermarket kit for them than mirrors on a Mod's scooter) and have a pathological hate for empty coke cans, go for it! They are great fun.
Rupert J
Well-Known Member
I had an amazing amount of fun with a Ruger 10/22 with jungle clipped 25 round magazines. Got through a mountain of ammo and put a big smile on my face. However, it was not a patch on my Bolt action in terms of accuracy. So, I now only have one .22LR and, guess what, it's the bolt action Anschutz
timbrayford
Well-Known Member
I used to have a Remington 597, I traded it in for a CZ 452
I have a ruger 10/22. Picked it up second hand for £150
after a bit of tinkering with the trigger mechanism, finding ammo it likes etc its a reliable little beast.
The ruger 1022 reloading mechanism works by recoil energy sliding the bolt backward so if your using light weight ammunition of low power i.e. subsonics it is always going to struggle a bit.
I find it never jams with high velocity, only subsonic ammo. and with subsonics it works best without the moderator which defeats the object.
If you only wanting to do precision shooting with subsonics then don't bother with one as you will be disappointed unless to spend £1000 on aftermarket parts.
Accuracy wise I would rate mine as fair (all original parts)
1-2" at 50-60 yds.
But I have never shot a crow in flight with a bolt action but I have with a ruger 10/22
Please note it did have a backstop as it was only 2ft off the ground.
after a bit of tinkering with the trigger mechanism, finding ammo it likes etc its a reliable little beast.
The ruger 1022 reloading mechanism works by recoil energy sliding the bolt backward so if your using light weight ammunition of low power i.e. subsonics it is always going to struggle a bit.
I find it never jams with high velocity, only subsonic ammo. and with subsonics it works best without the moderator which defeats the object.
If you only wanting to do precision shooting with subsonics then don't bother with one as you will be disappointed unless to spend £1000 on aftermarket parts.
Accuracy wise I would rate mine as fair (all original parts)
1-2" at 50-60 yds.
But I have never shot a crow in flight with a bolt action but I have with a ruger 10/22
Please note it did have a backstop as it was only 2ft off the ground.
I have a gevarm semi auto .22rf that uses the open bolt system. It has had 1000s of rounds through it. Rarely cleaned and very very few miss fires. As far as accuracy is concerned i rarely missed head shot on rabbits up to 75yards and quite a few taken at 100yards plus. The option for a quick second shot is great when at longer ranges and i would hold off a little too high. The second shot dropped an inch or two could often hit the mark. It is my first and only .22 and i have had it over 35 years now
Roro
Well-Known Member
I had a ruger 10/22T, "T" for target. Never was a term more abused. It was nice to use, but even with a so-called target barrel, the accuracy was very average, and nowhere near as good as a cz or anschutz.
But if you only want it for bunny-bashing, it should do. An alternative, if it were me and i wanted a rapid follow-up shot, would be the excellent little Browning .22 lever action if you can find one.
Browning .22 LR BL Grade 2 MG9 Lever Action Second Hand Rifle for sale. Buy for 375.
But if you only want it for bunny-bashing, it should do. An alternative, if it were me and i wanted a rapid follow-up shot, would be the excellent little Browning .22 lever action if you can find one.
Browning .22 LR BL Grade 2 MG9 Lever Action Second Hand Rifle for sale. Buy for 375.
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Had a Ruger 10/22 but the factory trigger unit was mince. Sold it and kept my trusty CZ bolt action.
More accurate and reliable. Another aspect to consider when rabbiting is that the semi-autos are noisier than the bolt actions during the (empty) case ejection process. My advice would be to get a moderated CZ or Anschutz bolt action.
More accurate and reliable. Another aspect to consider when rabbiting is that the semi-autos are noisier than the bolt actions during the (empty) case ejection process. My advice would be to get a moderated CZ or Anschutz bolt action.
timbrayford
Well-Known Member
Sadly that wasn't my experience. My 597 wouldn't function with sub-sonics and eventually there was build up of powder residues around the trigger mechanism. This was difficult to access and clean without removing the bolt, which involves removing a retaining pin with a punch...not exactly user friendly.
FrenchieBoy
Well-Known Member
I have a Voere which can be used as a Semi Auto or a single shot bolt action so I can have the best of both worlds. Accuracy isn't an issue for me and I rarely if ever get any jams.
Much of these jams on semi autos can be cured by a good cleaning regime but as has been said semi autos can be ammo fussy!
Much of these jams on semi autos can be cured by a good cleaning regime but as has been said semi autos can be ammo fussy!
Swedish
Well-Known Member
10-22 Ruger is great choice, probably best described as the Cadillac of .22LR semi-autos. Huge choice of after market goodies so you can trick it out as much as you'd like. My choice however is a Browning Buckmark rifle, barrel cut down to 12.5inches and screw-cut for a moderator. Great little bunny gun surprisingly accurate and very quiet when using CCI standards or Eley hollow point subs. As others have mentioned .22LR ammo is filthy stuff so a good cleaning regime is essential for reliability.
Have over two dozen 22LR's. Four of them are Ruger 10/22s but I have owned and shot many, many more. Two the deluxe, one full blown custom, and one a take down. The custom is the most accurate, in general terms, but all have ammo that they like and shoot as well as I can hold. I also have Brno 581 that is one of the most accurate 22 autoloading rifles i have owned. Another very accurate and reliable 22 auto loader is the ISSC MkII "SKAR" clone. The rest of my 22LR rifles are lever guns, bolt actions and pumps. Needless to say, I am pretty familiar with 22LRs and their foibles. That being said, it is my opinion that people who have 'feeding problems' with a 10/22 are most likely shooting subsonic ammo from ill kept magazines and/or dirty weapons. This is the only time I can get any of my 10/22's to jam. They were designed to shoot high velocity ammunition, not subs, and using such, there are seldom problems in a well kept gun. JMHO~Muir
My first rifle was an Anschutz 525. Great fun to shoot and not fussy about ammunition either - I tended to shoot RWS subs. Didn't have the self control to be able to not empty the magazine each time which got expensive and I found it a bit noisy. There's quite a flash from the chamber when it fires which is detrimental at night too. I've replaced it with 2 Sako P94S 
Haggis Hunter
Well-Known Member
Have had several semi-auto and bolt action .22's over the years. Currently have a CZ 452 bolt action, which is more reliable and more accurate than any of the semi-autos I have owned (Anschutz 525, Marlin model 60 and Ruger 10/22).
However, for lamping LOTS of bunnies the semi-autos had their place. My best 10/22 was a deluxe model, bog standard, using Winchester subs. If kept reasonably clean (in the action area, I never bothered with the barrel itself) if was fine to use and jamming wasn't really a problem.
There are loads of inexpensive .22's on Guntrader and I would buy another semi-auto if my amount of shooting merited it. I'd happily buy second hand and would probably go for a CZ semi (as I like CZ guns, more than anything).
I foolishly bought a custom 10/22 with a Volquartson target barrel and various other tricked up bits, for loads of money, years ago. It was not significantly better accuracy wise than the deluxe model I traded for it and, if anything, the tighter chamber on it caused more jams.
In short I found semi-autos lots of fun but bolt actions generally better for actually hitting things that I wanted to shoot!
hh
However, for lamping LOTS of bunnies the semi-autos had their place. My best 10/22 was a deluxe model, bog standard, using Winchester subs. If kept reasonably clean (in the action area, I never bothered with the barrel itself) if was fine to use and jamming wasn't really a problem.
There are loads of inexpensive .22's on Guntrader and I would buy another semi-auto if my amount of shooting merited it. I'd happily buy second hand and would probably go for a CZ semi (as I like CZ guns, more than anything).
I foolishly bought a custom 10/22 with a Volquartson target barrel and various other tricked up bits, for loads of money, years ago. It was not significantly better accuracy wise than the deluxe model I traded for it and, if anything, the tighter chamber on it caused more jams.
In short I found semi-autos lots of fun but bolt actions generally better for actually hitting things that I wanted to shoot!
hh
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