Bolt Action Rimfire

[Pamountainman]

Believe it or not .22 rimfire rifle can be picky as center fire guns about ammo.
I shoot long range rimfire matches regularly engaging targets out to 250 yds and sometimes 300, steel silhouettes.
I personally have two rifles I compete with, a Tikka T1x, and an old Marlin mod 25. Point is the Tikka takes Eley match standard velocity @1080 fps and slings em into a single hole @50yds an so does the old Marlin but the Marlin has to shoot Fed HV Match @1200 fps.
The marlin is not stock anymore but the Tikka is. The money is in the optics. Both run Vortex Vipers.
Other and most common rifles I see at the competitions are the Savage MKIIs heavy barrels, CZ 452-457s, and Ruger American Rimfires. All these are accurate enough to make the shots at these distances with an ammunition that shots well in that particular rifle.
Hope this gives you more options.

CZ

 

[Pamountainman]

Nobody has given Remingtons a greater chance to prove themselves than I have.

I had 5, a 721 in .257 Roberts. Two classic 700's, one in 7x57, the other in 35 Whelen. I had a .280 in the Mountain Rifle and finally a .260 in a model 7 in which the trigger was only plated and I wore through the plating.

Dirty,,,as you say above could cause the malfunction. I recall one day waiting for wild boar to cross the plowed field where I was waiting for them,,,hoping they would return that way from a field heavy in green barley.

A hard wind came up, dust was flying. No boar showed up but after the blowing dusty wind I checked my trigger pull. It had gone from under three pounds, to 5 and half. The trigger box was filled with dust. i did mearsure the pull later at home cleaning it out

I like , I trust, I now only have open military style triggers. model 70's amd mausers. They are self cleaning, they are open no place for dust to build up, clog up.

What you say is true, do not ever point a fire arm at somebody,,,,but what about the acidental discharge that happened to me.

Boom It went off, just moving the safety,,,my rifle was point forward,,,,nobody was in front of me,,,but that bullet went for how many miles,,,That was real scary, knowing my bullet was just travelling out there.

Thank You Mustangs Rule... Never point a firearm at something you Don’t Intend To Shoot... that being said .... let’s see a Marine hunting buddy Johnny O...unloading his 700 Blind Magazine....Shot a Hole in his truck thank God nobody was in the passenger seat he would’ve instantly killed them By Taking the Safety Off!
More? Ok .....Sammy Model 700... unloading his firearm again blind magazine the gun discharged the bullet ricocheted off of Rock missing a fellow hunter by inches!!!
He went directly to a gunsmith and had the rifle modified to handle a box magazine...Easy Fix...
Another one.... Another hunter that my friend was standing next to broke the cardinal rule of thumb....... He leaned his loaded rifle on the bumper of his pick up truck as they were taking a break in the parking lot of a hotel The Model 700 slid off the bumper hit the ground blew a hole in a room on the second floor of the hotel luckily no one was in the room!!

The only Model 700 I personally saw was Sam’s..

When he passed away they asked me if I would like to buy the rifle I politely declined....

Yes as someone pointed out this is old news 7,000,000+ weapons were made but I would hate to knock on somebody’s door or get a phone call saying that someone was killed by an accidental discharge because of the gun went off and nobody had their finger on the trigger..

All Persons Involved DID NOT HAVE THEIR FINGER ON THE TRIGGER....

 

[ImBillT]

Hmm, no bold print,,,no more jabs back and forth between us,,,we might well end being email buddys.

You are a scrapper,,,so am I . It is obvious you know a lot,,,in some areas where I know far less,,,,you know much more about safeties. I always just loved the mauser safety I loved knowing the the firing pine was locked solid away. I never liked trigger only safeties, but best of all for me is the winchester three position safety. My kimber has the classic three position winchester safety.

My sako finnlight has this cool button to depress which allows the bolt to be lifted with the safety fully on. When all is said and done my Sako is the most highly engineered rifle I own. I really dig the dovetail mounting grooves in the receiever and using those vintage optiock rings.

Times change us, as I got older with more money to burn on things that go "bang" I was looking for othe guns to buy.
Truth be told, one rifle I will always miss was my model 721 in .257 Roberts. It taught me what accuracy could be.

If I saw one around, I would buy it, definitely get the trigger/safety redone.

When I bought it, there was a fixed 3x weaver scope on it. I lived down by the Mexican border then. I used to hunt little deer in cactus thickets. I forget what grain it was, but I had these Hornady round nosed bullets. Heavy for .257 caliber. They went right thru some thin flat cactus into deer hiding behind them.

Hmm getting sentimental now,,gonna look online and see if I can find one of those .257's

Take care,,how old are you?

Mustang Rule

I’m not as old as I sound. I was “born older”.

The original 700 safety locks the firing pin too. An original 700 safety(and 721 I believe) both lock the firing pin, and leave the trigger free. The main difference is that the 700 is lighter and adjustable, and thus more exposed to problems. The very thing that made the 700 “dangerous” is what made it so desired. It could have(and should have) been improved with the added redundancy of blocking the trigger in addition to the firing pin, but many a safety has not done so.

Original Mauser safeties are three position safeties. That’s my preference. A bolt lock is a great thing to have, and so is the option of unlocking the bolt so that you can clear the chamber without taking the rifle off “safe”.

 

[Bambistew]

I'd look for a CZ or M77/22. Those would be my two choices. I had an Anchutes that I didn't care for, it felt cheap AF and similar to a marlin. My dad had a switch barrel Sako that was a total POS. The Tikas look nice as well, but the CZ is a very nice feeling and shooting rifle.

 

[ImBillT]

Thank You Mustangs Rule... Never point a firearm at something you Don’t Intend To Shoot... that being said .... let’s see a Marine hunting buddy Johnny O...unloading his 700 Blind Magazine....Shot a Hole in his truck thank God nobody was in the passenger seat he would’ve instantly killed them By Taking the Safety Off!
More? Ok .....Sammy Model 700... unloading his firearm again blind magazine the gun discharged the bullet ricocheted off of Rock missing a fellow hunter by inches!!!
He went directly to a gunsmith and had the rifle modified to handle a box magazine...Easy Fix...
Another one.... Another hunter that my friend was standing next to broke the cardinal rule of thumb....... He leaned his loaded rifle on the bumper of his pick up truck as they were taking a break in the parking lot of a hotel The Model 700 slid off the bumper hit the ground blew a hole in a room on the second floor of the hotel luckily no one was in the room!!

The only Model 700 I personally saw was Sam’s..

When he passed away they asked me if I would like to buy the rifle I politely declined....

Yes as someone pointed out this is old news 7,000,000+ weapons were made but I would hate to knock on somebody’s door or get a phone call saying that someone was killed by an accidental discharge because of the gun went off and nobody had their finger on the trigger..

All Persons Involved DID NOT HAVE THEIR FINGER ON THE TRIGGER....

My supposed defense of Remington was not much of a defense. I have changed most of my 700 triggers. I prefer that they don’t lock the bolt so that I can clear the chamber(and mag) without taking them off safe. redundancy is a good thing. People aren’t perfect. That supposed “flaw” never killed anyone that a gun wasn’t pointed at. No gun should be pointed at someone. BUT it was a “flaw”(not exactly) that could easily have been made more safe, and should have been.

I don’t hold Remington responsible for any deaths or injuries because none of them occurred in the presence of proper gun handling. I also don’t hold Remington responsible for not replacing all of them because not every owner wanted their trigger replaced. None of that is to suggest that I recommend hunting with the original 700 trigger.

 

[Pamountainman]

Hi Bill I agree yes it was a “flaw” ... Maybe with a little more engineering or changing the design and possibly costing a few dollars more per rifle ...a death (or more) could have been avoided...and yes people are human .. flaws and all..
Remember the Pinto...
On a positive note the three gentlemen that I knew.. they’re 700s were accurate
Stay well Be Safe

 

[Pamountainman]

Sorry about the bold print.. not jabbing you..
Really like this sight ..as I am reading and learning from posts..
Thanks All

 

[SC Living Outdoors]

I have a Ruger 22 mag. I’m not a Ruger fan but a friend of mine spoke very highly of the Ruger rimfire rifles so I bought one. I tricked it out a bit with a stock from Boyd’s. Did a little work on the stock to make it fit right and some doctoring on the safety to get it to my liking but it’s a great little gun. The target pic is 3 shots at 70yds.

 

[doakes]

Ruger 77 all day.

 

[Mustangs Rule]

Hi Bill I agree yes it was a “flaw” ... Maybe with a little more engineering or changing the design and possibly costing a few dollars more per rifle ...a death (or more) could have been avoided...and yes people are human .. flaws and all..
Remember the Pinto...
On a positive note the three gentlemen that I knew.. they’re 700s were accurate
Stay well Be Safe

Hmmm,

I went on the internet last night looking for a 722 Remington to buy in .257 Roberts,,,like the one I had so many years ago. ( In my post I said it was a 721, my error.) I found one for a whopping $1,000 plus. Not going there. There are too many other rifles I could buy for that amount of money.

I did get the warm and fuzzy gun buying rush looking at a very clean 722 for $599 in Savage 300. I never had that caliber,,,at last count I have bought about 55 centerfire rifles in the past 55 years of my buying guns. I am 73.

I had a friend,,,Native American whose only rifle was a ,300 Savage,,,in a Savage 99. Great match. I decided agaisnt getting the 722. I am like a big old brown trout now,,,,very selective on what I bite on.

My time with my 722 has come and gone. Pretty foolish to chase history thinking it is current affairs.

I do admire the 722, nd 721 Remington rifles,,,very much actually. I read all about the genious mechanical engineer nameed Mike Walket who was the father of this rifle,,,which became the model 700.

The critcical pary was the tiny extrator,,,the entire project was hinged on this one part,,,it worked well, even though I had to replace several on 700's I shot an awful lot, like my 700 in 35 Whelen with light loads of pistol bullets. Many thousands of rounds I fired in that rifle.

When the models 722 and 721 first came out they were selling for $97 and change,,, and they were a money maker. Winchester Model 70's were going for $118 and were loosing money big time.

Remington saved about 5 cents/rifle not using the orignal safety design of Mike Walker.

People are human,,,but not corporations. Our big mistake has been granting orporations "human standing"

The 721 and 722 were still a honest rifle. At first Remington did not know about the safety desigin flaw. Innocence was there. They represented American innovation at it's best,,,the fully enclosed bolt face was a tremendous safety feature in case of case head separation. I loved the plain walnut stock,,,Then somewhere along that rifles journery,,,,the flaw was discovered and the corporate mindset took over.

Accuarcy was the quality that allowed them to still be forgiven. There are lots of accurate rifles/brands.

Bill Ruger,,,a human being,,, built a stellar reputation for his firearms and his company. I reall admire him.

For me,,,what I kill with, it is imortant that this tool,,,I hate the word "weapon" for a hunting rifle, we are not at war with wildlife,,needs to be an honest tool, something with not just good, but with great Mojo.

Simply being accuarate is so totally not enough. I know a lot of accuarate people with dark hearts. I do not want to go afield with any rifle that incorporates a dark corporate heart, that accepts a dangerous flaw. That was so disrespectful to me as a huneter.

The big mistake so many people make in their lives is selling out some real decent human quality in themselves and replacing it with "something more practical". more efficient.

There is absolutely nothiing either practical, cost effective or efficient about hunting for meat.

Enjoy your day

MR

 

[Pamountainman]

Hi
Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience...I agree Ruger stands behind their firearms...100%
so for penny’s the 700 could have been made possibly “safer”? wow
I do realize that is also the person using the firearm
Had a Ruger #1B 30.06...a tack driver, never strung a shot.. After many many rounds the stock cracked I sent it back to Ruger they returned it factory new cleaned and blued free...
Keep the faith

 

[Mustangs Rule]

When I wore out the hard plating on the cheap cast metal trigger on my Model 7 in 260, Remington would do nothing,,,I think I only had it for well under two years. I had to pay for a new trigger myself and had a local gumsmith change it out.

As I said above,,,I had 5 Remingtons,,,,I really gave them a chance.

 

[geetar]

If I ever buy a .22 bolt gun it will be an M77/22.

 

[Don Fischer]

Had an Anschutz in 22 mag years ago, wish I still had it. But a 22 that really stoked me I couldn't afford at the time and still can't today. Remington 541S. Damn that was a beautiful rifle!

 

[Back Tracker]

I have a few rimfires. If I told you how many or what kind it would only confirm an addiction that I am trying to deny. Last week I got an odd urge to buy a 1979 Marlin 780. Yes I know not even the 81 series. Thing is it’s a gem. All this to say the best one is the one you consistently shoot well with. Perhaps invite yourself out with a few friends and see what feels good. Sounds good won’t bring home a squirrel. Just an old man’s almost humble opinion. First post and I’m starting trouble, sigh.

 

[Back Tracker]

Oh perhaps I should have looked at the dates lol

 

[Hertervillian]

I think the Tikka's are really slick little rifles, but I di like a longer barrel to balance more like my centerfires, so I would vote CZ 457 American. I have one in 17HMR and it is accurate and real easy on the eyes....

I ended up going with the Tikka T1X and the 16” barrel. A Prairie Tactical rimfire can balanced the thing very nicely. That extra length balances the rifle visually as an added bonus.

It’s chonky odd looking thing without the can.