Alright so this is my first post on AR15. I have been reading the threads on here for about a week and finally decided to join. Well I have never owned a gun and thought a 22 rifle would be a good place to start. I don't have too much to spend and have narrowed it down to the Marlin Model 60 , the Ruger 10/22 , the Remington 597 or the Savage Mark II. All of them seem to be pretty good rifles to start out with. I would appreciate any help on making a choice!

Ut Fan

10/22 all the way.  It's soooo versatile.


-Mark!

The 10/22 is a very good start for a semi-auto .22LR rifle.  There are so many ways to modify and upgrade those Ruger .22 rifles.  I should know since my latest build set me back several hundred.
A Marlin M60 is always a good rifle to have in your stable.  With over 11 million of those manufactured, you could find a good used rifle under $100 in a pawn shop near you.
A Marlin or the Savage bolt action are a good start.  I definitely want to add a CZ 452 American .22 in the near future.
Shop around and check your area pawn shops since they always tend to have a good stockpile of .22 rifles.  If you find one at a pawn, cash has great bargaining power in today's economy.  Good luck on your search for your .22 rifle.

It seems that I will have to put an extra 50-100 dollars on a new trigger, extractor, and other internal parts just to make it a good gun.

Any suggestions would be great because I am completely new to all of this!! hinking.gif

Whoa now! If you have never owned a gun before, you should seek out some shooters, maybe take an NRA safety course, or other direct personal 1 on 1 counseling and training.

Guns can be a LOT of fun, and properly used, provide safe recreation.

Because you're on a forum dedicated to a semiautomatic rifle, your question was naturally answered with a recommendation for a semiauto rifle. I love my 10/22s ( several have followed me home).

But for a first rifle, a bolt action is the way to go.

Depending on finances, the best current out of the box rifle for price, accuracy, durability, and utility has to be a CZ 452 or a savage, or one of the Russian rifles imported by Winchester.

Once you have basic safety and technique, you can consider a semiauto if that seems desirable for your intended use.

What part of Texas are you in? If near D/FW...

Haltom City RPC hosts .22 rifle silhouette matches Saturday July 12 with the hard targets @ noon, and the easy targets Saturday July 19 @ 9:00. Show up, introduce yourself to the match director, say you're interested in .22s, and somebody will put a rifle in your hands and coach you.

Gun clubs all over the country have activities that will  let you get some experience so when you buy, it will be with better knowledge of what you want.

Of the 4 you list the savage or the 10/22 are the top picks, aftermarket accassories for the 597 are limited compared to the 10/22, the tube mag on the Marlin limits accuracy tweaks you may want to do later.

At the risk of confusing you with opinion ( can you drink from the firehose?), check out Rimfire Central.com

Quoted: It seems that I will have to put an extra 50-100 dollars on a new trigger, extractor, and other internal parts just to make it a good gun. Any suggestions would be great because I am completely new to all of this!!

Just freakin' shoot it.  Learn to actually shoot before you start buying crap to put on it.

Oh, and 10/22 FTW.

Quoted: Quoted: It seems that I will have to put an extra 50-100 dollars on a new trigger, extractor, and other internal parts just to make it a good gun. Any suggestions would be great because I am completely new to all of this!! Just freakin' shoot it.  Learn to actually shoot before you start buying crap to put on it. Oh, and 10/22 FTW.

Roger that!

A stock 10/22 will out shoot the majority of their owners. The idea that you have to modify it or spend money on it to make it shoot is pure BS.  If you can't hit what you're aiming at with a 10/22 you simply don't know how to shoot.

Quoted: A stock 10/22 will out shoot the majority of their owners. The idea that you have to modify it or spend money on it to make it shoot is pure BS.  If you can't hit what you're aiming at with a 10/22 you simply don't know how to shoot.

Might be true for you, but the stock 10/22 is the only rifle I have ever owned the had a trigger pull that was stronger than the rifle weighed. 30 bucks will fix it though. I can shoot with the best of them, but to shoot well you need a decent trigger in any rifle or pistol.

Quoted: Quoted: It seems that I will have to put an extra 50-100 dollars on a new trigger, extractor, and other internal parts just to make it a good gun. Any suggestions would be great because I am completely new to all of this!! Just freakin' shoot it.  Learn to actually shoot before you start buying crap to put on it. Oh, and 10/22 FTW.

+1

It's a plinker off the shelf, fun but not a 100 yd tack driver. Sure, there are a few horror stories about 30 pound triggers and etc, but odds are you'll get one that'll work good enough to get you hooked. You should plan on buying an AR by Christmas.

height=8

Quoted: Whoa now! If you have never owned a gun before, you should seek out some shooters, maybe take an NRA safety course, or other direct personal 1 on 1 counseling and training.

I have shot plenty of guns but have just never owned one. And I'm actually on the east side of Dallas about 45 min. from Ft. Worth.

I think i'm going with the Ruger 10/22 and will just slowly add what parts I need after shooting it for a while.

Thanks for all the help from everyone!

Oh and do yall have any suggestions of a scope for about 60-70 dollars or less? Thanks.

Hmmm, I'd still rather have a CZ American, CZ lux, or the ultimate cool gun a CZ manlicher stock.  The former has no irons, just clean barrel and needs scoping, the Lux has high quality iron sights but a longish euro barrel.

I like .22s

the 9422s are a well made winchester lever .22, many argue the Marlin 39a is better.  The new savages are pretty well rec'd.  10/22s are ubiquitous, I traded mine to my BIL for a shotshell press, I was glad to get rid of it.  It was a cheaply made gun in my opinion.

I have a pair of ruger 77/22s, the triggers sucked on them too until a trip to the smith fixed em.

Look at the weaver or burris scopes.  Your price point for the glass is pretty tight.  Picking a gun with irons and using it as is one option I'd suggest.  Oh, and don't forget you'll need to budget for a mount and rings.

AND AMMO!

10/22. Good stuff.

You can usually find used Nylon 66's around. Those are good, too. (I still have the Nylon 66 that my grandfather taught me to shoot on in the late '60s. It still runs great. My kids learned to shoot on that same rifle, and it will be passed on to one of them.)

10/22 for autoloader
CZ 452 for bolt action.

IMHO the 10/22 would be my choice. Around here, there are plenty of good used ones around and the prices are fair. The bone-stock ones remind me of my Ruger 44 mag carbine. Later on, there are many doo-dads you can add to trick up the gun

Of course, if it was me, my first .22 would be a Ruger Single Six with a convertible cylinder, so I could shoot .22LR and .22MAG. I got one of these for myself, and one for my son. We both love revolvers - especially the old cowboy style - and they're a "hoot to shoot".

a marlin mod 60 , used, for under 100 dollars, will outshoot in accuracy any 10.22 with any amount of mods you put on it, ever, fore ever, in the history of the universe.  
unless you want to spend at least 100 bucks, plus the 200 for a brand new 10.22, and you are handy with tools, get then the 10.22.
a cz with a set trigger, will outshoot a 10.22 every day, for ever and ever , with no mods ,
whatsoever.
 Now then for the mod 60, get one from a gunshop that uses a gunsmith, so you know
it has been checked out, and watch how much better it's accuracy is than a ruger.
To whit; here is my used 75 dollar mod 60, testing out several diff rounds(over 100 types)
at 100 yds; this is just SOME of the better offerings that, again, were done at 100 yds, with a bone stock mod 60 , and a Barska 6x24x42 scope;














 these are 5 shot groups; go back and look at that american eagle group, that is
a one whole group, with one flyer.
 Look, I have a 10.22 , and like it very much, but they are literally designed, for
you to add parts, you have to improve the trigger, they suck.  you have to get some
more mags, you have to get an upgraded extractor kit,spring, and takedown screw
with torque wrench.  And these parts alone will get you over that 100 dollar mark.
 and it will still not shoot , with the mod 60 above.

i also say your choices of the savage and the remmy are nice as well, the remmy is one of
the few currently made 22's, without spending a bunch of money, that come with, from the
factory, fully adjustable for windage and elevation, rear sites, and front site.

Having shot all but the Savage, I am partial to the 10-22.  I bought a .22 Mag to go with mine.  I do wish the bolt locked back on the last round from the factory.

From your list, the 10/22.  If I could only own one .22 rifle, it would be my CZ-452.

I wouldn't rule out a tube fed lever, pump or bolt gun.

Alright not going to go with the 10/22. I'm thinking either Remington 597 or Marlin Model 60. I heard the new Remington's don't have the jamming problem anymore so i'm leaning to it right now..

Thank for all the help from everybody!!

I would also buy a 10/22 or a lever action marlin. I hate tube loaders for new shooters. Its too easy to leave rounds in the tube. Mistakes happen and its easier to pull a magazine out and then open the bolt.

The 10/22 trigger pull can be made quite nice for $30. You cannot make a marlin model 60 trigger better without a hell of alot of work and even then, it ain't that great. I would not recommend the model 60 if you would like to make the 10/22 into something better than it comes originally.

The model 60 is a very decent, accurate shooter, but my early model (1971) 10/22 will out shoot any model 60 I have ever shot. They are available used at gun shows and occasionally at gun shops for around $200. Mine does .5" groups at 50 yds. pretty regularly with Wolf MT. Not bad for a stock rifle. It shoots so good that it never became a project gun as was planned.

The marlin 25n is more accurate than the semi auto version and can be upgraded with a Rifle Basix trigger  that is adjustable for over travel and pull weight. You would have to shoot mine to believe it. I glass bedded the barrel and slightly free floated the action. On this rifle it was the magic combination.

While I like my Marlin 60, it is longer, heavier, i.e., not as handy, and is not as conveinant to load or unload as the 10/22.

10/22.. best 22 ever made! I my first one when I was about 10 and it shoots just as good today as the day I bought it. best 115 I ever spent when I was little!

I'm quite parshal to my new Charger, but any 10/22 will get the job done.  

The trigger on a 10/22 will eventually break in, and breaking it in is fun.  I just spent money to untrick mine, bought a take off stock and barrel because it just was not fun to plink with anymore.  There are enough parts and mags out there to keep one running forever, so if something breaks you can order an upgrade part from a vendor and not have to deal with Ruger if you don't want.

I also have a Nylon 66 and that thing is one of the few guns I shoot really well.  I kind of wish they still made them.

My only real gripe with the 10/22 is the bolt hold open is virtually impossible to train another person to use.  

I would go the remmy or the mod 60 over the 10.22; again, go back above, and look
at those pics.  Again, they are 100 yd groups from a stock mod 60, not that all mod 60's may be quite this accurate; this is almost world class accurate.  But I will say again in all confidence, and this coming from someone who currently has a 10.22 with a few mods;
 No 10.22, with all the modifications you can buy in this world, will ever shoot that accurately, in the history of the universe, for ever, and ever, never.

Quoted: I would go the remmy or the mod 60 over the 10.22; again, go back above, and look at those pics.  Again, they are 100 yd groups from a stock mod 60, not that all mod 60's may be quite this accurate; this is almost world class accurate.  But I will say again in all confidence, and this coming from someone who currently has a 10.22 with a few mods;  No 10.22, with all the modifications you can buy in this world, will ever shoot that accurately, in the history of the universe, for ever, and ever, never.

I think you are a little too sure of yourself. There is always someone better. I don't shoot mine at farther than 50 yds., but now I am thinking about getting out my 10/22's this weekend and see what they will do. .200" for 5 shots at 50 is pretty easy for them. It would be fun to stretch their legs some.

Quoted: I would go the remmy or the mod 60 over the 10.22; again, go back above, and look at those pics.  Again, they are 100 yd groups from a stock mod 60, not that all mod 60's may be quite this accurate; this is almost world class accurate.  But I will say again in all confidence, and this coming from someone who currently has a 10.22 with a few mods;  No 10.22, with all the modifications you can buy in this world, will ever shoot that accurately, in the history of the universe, for ever, and ever, never.

Wow!  That is a bold statement.  Have you posted that over on Rimfire Central.com?  I'll bet you could find some takers on that bet.

-Mark.

Quoted: I would go the remmy or the mod 60 over the 10.22; again, go back above, and look at those pics.  Again, they are 100 yd groups from a stock mod 60, not that all mod 60's may be quite this accurate; this is almost world class accurate.  But I will say again in all confidence, and this coming from someone who currently has a 10.22 with a few mods;  No 10.22, with all the modifications you can buy in this world, will ever shoot that accurately, in the history of the universe, for ever, and ever, never.

Maybe that's true and maybe it isn't.

But one fact remains: the 10/22 is worlds ahead in terms of aftermarket support.  You can built a complete 10/22 from aftermarket parts.  Plinker, tack-driver, tacti-cool, you name it, it's out there right now and will be for a long time to come.

The Marlin barely exists in comparison.

Marlin= Fun
10/22=More Fun and MORE possibilities

you can choose

Quoted: I wouldn't rule out a tube fed lever, pump or bolt gun.

+1

Mine was a marlin 39. They are not cheap, however, but 50 years from now you will still be enjoying it. Out of your listed choices I would go with the Savage Mk II, perhaps in the BV w/ accutrigger.

You should also give the CZ rimfire line a very hard look.

Look, just starting out.............get the 10/22. It will shoot the heads off of any small animal you intend to hund with it out to 50+ yards. Plus, when you want to play "machine gun" and dump a 50rd mag in a few seconds........well, its just nice to be able to. lol
Yeah, yeah, yeah, on a bench rest with a scope and this and that, there are other guns that will group tighter than a stock 10/22. This is true. But later on, when you want to add stuff to it, you are stuck. The 10/22 has the option of being a match rifle or a blistering fast shooter. Plus, 50round mags!!!!   Load up all of your ammo befor you go out or on a rainy day then concentrate on shooting!
I am going to venture to say (with no proof or real examples) that the 10/22 has more stock and barrel combinations than any gun ever. Plus you can swap calibers to a .17 if you want real match target like shooting.
But, if all you want to do is sit on a bench and try to make small groups, then get one of the others, and save the money. But dump a 50rd mag in about 3 or 4 seconds and you will be hooked for life. lol

I have had a Remington 597 for almost 4 years now.  Got it new on sale for $99 at Gander Mountain.  It has been a nice rifle.

I recently got a ZKM 468 gallery gun.  A cut little single shot Czech rifle.  Very good shooter and 58 years old to boot.

Most recent purchase is a CZ 452 Trainer.  Also very nice bolt action.  

Quoted: Whoa now! If you have never owned a gun before, you should seek out some shooters, maybe take an NRA safety course, or other direct personal 1 on 1 counseling and training. Guns can be a LOT of fun, and properly used, provide safe recreation. Because you're on a forum dedicated to a semiautomatic rifle, your question was naturally answered with a recommendation for a semiauto rifle. I love my 10/22s ( several have followed me home). But for a first rifle, a bolt action is the way to go. Depending on finances, the best current out of the box rifle for price, accuracy, durability, and utility has to be a CZ 452 or a savage, or one of the Russian rifles imported by Winchester. Once you have basic safety and technique, you can consider a semiauto if that seems desirable for your intended use. What part of Texas are you in? If near D/FW... Haltom City RPC hosts .22 rifle silhouette matches Saturday July 12 with the hard targets @ noon, and the easy targets Saturday July 19 @ 9:00. Show up, introduce yourself to the match director, say you're interested in .22s, and somebody will put a rifle in your hands and coach you. Gun clubs all over the country have activities that will  let you get some experience so when you buy, it will be with better knowledge of what you want. Of the 4 you list the savage or the 10/22 are the top picks, aftermarket accassories for the 597 are limited compared to the 10/22, the tube mag on the Marlin limits accuracy tweaks you may want to do later. At the risk of confusing you with opinion ( can you drink from the firehose?), check out Rimfire Central.com

Aaaaaaaaah, it says 10/22 and .22 caliber rifles.  Not only 10/22 or semi's.  

I'm gonna throw in a slightly different opinion. The 10/22 crowd REALLY likes their 10/22's. For me, I don't really find anything all that appealing about them. Then again, I like bolt action rifles and don't really see the need for a 10/22 in my aresenal.

A first rifle is an important buy. You need to find a weapon that will let you learn the basics of marksmanship and safe gun handling practices. To me, this means you want something with iron sights and isn't a semi auto. A lot of people will disagree with me on that point, but it is good advice for the following reasons. First, iron sights really force you to learn to hold a rifle properly, focus on the front sight and breathing, and teach you how to squeeze of a shot. Without these basics down pat you will never be a good marksman. Second, its a first rifle which means you don't have a whole lot of experience with firearms. That means you haven;t had the time to develop safe handling techniques like always keeping the muzzle pointed in a safe direction and habitually ensuring that the weapon isn't loaded when it isn't suppossed to be. An autoloader loads itself after a shot and can get confusing to use for a beginner as far as whether or not a round is chambered at the moment or not.

On to my suggestion. For bolt action rifles take a peek at the Savage MkII's or if you want to go more expensive (which you really don't need) perhaps a CZ. I'd also highly recommend a lever action. Henry makes great lever rifles that are fun and very accurate to shoot. The H001T model is really great (smooth cycling of the action, decent sights, and a fun octagonal barrel) in my opinion. Marlin makes a 'higher end' lever that a lot of people seem to like but will cost you (ie. you could get a 10/22 AND a henry for the price of a Marlin).

My final point: While 10/22's are upgradable as hell, if you feel you need one down the line after a more sensible first rifle, go get one! Half the fun of this hobby is getting a new gun! While upgrading a 10/22 may be a fun experience nothing beats bringing home a whole new rifle for the first time.

I fully agree with the above post. Savage makes really nice .22s. My first was a Ted Williams .22 semi........I sold it off and bought a 10/22 later. lol
Had my 1st been on of the Savage bolt .22s....I would prolly still have it and the 10/22.

Ahhhhhhhh, the feeling of bringing home that new gun, just as good every time! lol

NO QUESTION

10/22 thats all you need to know

did you ever buy that first gun?

Quoted: did you ever buy that first gun?

He probably bought a 10/22 and never wants to speak to anyone here again!

Quoted: 10/22 all the way.  It's soooo versatile. -Mark!

OH Yeah. Use it out of the box or fuss around with it to fit exactly what type of shooting you are interested in

Quoted: Marlin= Fun 10/22=More Fun and MORE possibilities you can choose

I would rate my Marlin 39s well ahead of my 10/22s on fun factor or anything else for that matter.

lmao I don't blame him! lol

esp with all the 10/22 or your going to hell! answers he got. lol

I noticed he did not make anymore posts after this first one............TROLL?

Actually, he made 2 posts, but the rest of us are the ones keeping this thread alive. I believe in Tinkerbell, I BELIEEEEVE!