SmallCaliberCentral

I am thinking about getting a rimfire, mainly to shoot paper and an occasional varmit. I am leaning towards a .22 lr due to the economy of the caliber and also the availabilty of ammo, but I like what I have read about the 17hmr. Which is best and what manufacturer would you buy savage, marlin ? Thanks for you help

It depends on what you want to spend. For a carry rifle I'd get a Henery .17HRM lever action, I've got one and it's great fun. For a bench gun I'd get a RUGER 77/17 (.17HMR). The .17HMR is a lot more fun than the .22LR but it costs more to shoot. If you want to stick with a .22LR then the Ruger 10/22 is the way to go, you can get so many goodies for them it's unreal. Hope that helps. Gary

I want to spend as little as possible but I do want a quality product. I would like to buy a bolt gun to practice at the range.

What distance do you plan to do most of your shooting? A .22 lr is going to be the most economical choice, but it won't have the effective range of a .17 HMR.

Your other quandary is tough. You want to spend as little as possible to get a quality product. What kind of quality? What kind of money? Billy Bob might look at a NEF as a quality gun that meets his needs. Jimmy Ray might say the same about a Cooper. Neither one is wrong, but they're very different.

cenergy: Like Mike said above, you've got choices. If you want a good qualitly bolt gun in 22LR for the economy it offers, then consider either a Ruger 77/22 or a CZ 452 in either the Varmint or American configuration. I've got both, but my CZ 452 is chambered in 17HMR in the Varmint model. Both are very accurate, both have custom triggers and have been bedded. Plan on both mods to really get all the potential accuracy either rifle is capable of giving.

This my 77/22 wearing my first Leupold scope, a M8 2-7X adjusted by the factory for rimfire use. This rifle came with spectacular wood right out of the box.



A little factory custom touch for the scope cap:



The CZ 452 is an excellent rifle for the money, and will outshoot some other rimfires costing twice as much.



The Varmint model has no checkering and a bull barrel, the American has a sporter weight barrel and checkering on the pistol grip and forend.

Ruger offers more rimfire bolt gun configurations in terms of stock and action/barrel finishes, so if you like laminated wood and stainless, then a Ruger may be in your future. This is my 77/22 Mag switch barrel rig that is wearing the alternate barrel, a Lilja 17HMR unit. Many a rat has gone skyward from this puppy.



The same rifle is offered in blue steel & walnut in both 22LR, 22WMR, and 17HMR. This is mine in 22WMR:



If you really want a rimfire 22LR that will shoot the eye out a fly at 50 yards, the Remington 541S or 541T are the choice of the BR50 shooters. You'll have to look around for one, as they have been discontinued, but they can be found at gun shows and on line. These rifles will shoot right along side Anchutz match rifles at a fraction of the cost. This is my 541T HB....very, very accurate, and still light enough to carry all day.



The action is like a miniature Remmy 788 with multiple locking lugs.



Here's how they shoot....this was before any bedding or trigger work:



Another alternative is the new Savage laminated/stainless/thumbhole rimfire rifle. I have two friends with this rifle chambered in 17HMR, and both shoot extremely well. These are also very nice looking and handling rifles, and are also available in 22LR.

Okay, I got carried away, but there are many good 22LR bolt guns out there; it just depends on how much you want to spend and what you plan to do with it. Let us know what you end up with, and remember.....pictures!

Rick, sometimes I just start laughing at the computer screen after reading your posts.......the laughter I think is envy of your knowledge! Wish I knew even a tenth of what you do buddy!!!

But today the laughter was b/c Cynergyguy was wanting help "DECIDING" on one rimfire and you my friend confused me with all the top notch choices you gave him!!!! HA ha. But the good new is, he can scroll thru you post and close his eyes and poke the screen to choose which one!!! B/c they are all SWEET choices. -Dan

p.s. still laughing!!!! Come on spring so I can get out and shoot!!!!

dannybracy wrote:Rick,......the laughter I think is envy of your knowledge! Wish I knew even a tenth of what you do buddy!!!

A BIG +1

dannybracy wrote:Rick.......the laughter I think is envy of your knowledge! Wish I knew even a tenth of what you do buddy!!!

Well, that and his gun collection.

Mike wrote:Well, that and his gun collection.

Forgot about that, I have seen some RIO's gun porn pic's.

You guys qwack me up! Purveyor of Gun Porn eh? Wifey sez I talk in my sleep about it, dream about it, and generally am one-track. That's not true.....I like fast cars, good dogs, good food.....oh, and her too.

After dinking around with this stuff since I was old enough to hold a rifle, I should know something, right? (But we never know it all......I'm still learning just like you guys.)

Rick in Oregon wrote:(But we never know it all......I'm still learning just like you guys.)

And that's the fun of shooting...we'll always be learning something new everytime we go out. (That may be good OR bad )

Anyway...back to the topic. I say go bigger then a 22LR. A 22WMR and 17HMR are definately the rimfires to have. But if I HAD to have just one I'd have to go with the 17...

cynergyguy,
Last spring I was looking into the samething. I also-

I want to spend as little as possible but I do want a quality product.

I decided on the CZ line. I could not find much not to like with thier line up from including the CZ 452 American and Varmint 22LR. A 22WMR and 17HMR calibers. I ended up getting the 452 Training Rifle in 22LR 25.8in barrel with the Eruo styll stock. I like this rifle very much.

5 Shot group, I pulled the last one.

I have a Marlin in 17 HMR and love it. It shoots under an inch at 100 yards. And you don't have to break the bank to get one.

There you go, SWEET RIFLE!!! What do you need our help for, you did just fine!!! Looks like you aren't too shabby of a shooter either!! I am callin'.....SLEEPER!!! HA HA Nice choice. -Dan