Ahh, the gopher/prairie dog season is upon us once again.  I saw a whole field full of those little pricks tonight and if I would have had the right equipment there would have been a nice feeding ground for some coyotes tonight and nothing but silence in the morning.  I'm looking to pick up a good bolt action 22lr and a good scope to go with it without spending much more than $300 dollars.  I'm going to be using it for two things.  One, I would like a good prairie dog gun that doesn't cost too much to feed and two I need something I can take to the range to do some plinking with when ammo funds are short.  So how about it?  Do you guys have any bright ideas/suggestions?  I open to anything.

CZ-452.

One of the best bolt action .22s made, regardless of cost.

[img]http://www.gunsamerica.com/upload/976347175-1.jpg[/img]

Romainian .22lr trainer. You can pick them up for $50-$60 usually. Very accurate. Fun to refinish if you so desire.

Mounting a scope can be difficult because the rails are non standard, but it can be done.

Why not a .22 magnum? Just curious as .22 WMR TNTs would be a blast to shoot at dogs.

CRC

Heres a site that should help you make your decision. Myself, I would buy the Cooper 22 rifle, man their beautiful.  

   [url]http://www.clcweb.net/Shooting/22_Caliber_Rifles/22_caliber_rifles.html[/url]

I have a Savage Mark II-FXP

[img]http://www.savagearms.com/images/rimfire/mark11fxp.jpg[/img]

That Cooper does look awesome.  I checked out their website and it turns out I'm only a 20 minute drive from where they are made.  Looks even better yet.

i'll second the $59 romanian m-69 cadet training rifle.

i have a 6x weaver mounted on one of mine and find it more than accurate enough for small game or target plinking.

i think the worst that can be said about the m-69 is the weak ejection, which requires a sharp rearward pull on the bolt hamdle to achieve ejection.

the standard sights are a hooded post front and 3-leaf express notch rear (flip up for 50, 75 and 100 meters).

many of the chain sporting goods stores run these things on sale for $49. spare magazine are readily available.

if you look thru the available examples, matching numbers guns in excellent condition are there for the picking. this rifle is built more to military standards than american .22 rf rifles. it has a provision for a buttstock cleaning kit (ak-74 5.45 calibre cleaning kits work perfectly) and is 100% steel is used in the construction (no plastic parts to be found).

Where can I get the magazines and what's the approx. cost?

i bought 3 of the 5-rounders from classic. they cost $8 each and are made in taiwan. they function perfectly in all 4 of my romy m-69's.

century also sells replacement/spare magazines...again, the taiwan made version. i believe these go for $10 from century.

almost any rings made for grooved receiver .22 rf rifles can be made to fit by removing about .040" of material from the clamp. this allows the clamps to grip the more narrow (8mm/.315" iirc) romanian receiver groove  (3/8"/.375" is standard on american .22's).

tapco's website has an impressive section on the m-69. everything from bolt disassembly and maintanance to refinishing it are covered.

sure, the romy isn't an anschutz or cooper, but it sure is a fun and accurate sub-6 pound plinker. for $59, you can't go wrong.