Speaking of rimfire rifles... shopping for one

10/22 is a great gun and very accurate, there's no real reason to look elsewhere with 22 rifles.

Stick with 22lr, ammo is cheaper and easier to find. Take it from someone that has to feed a PMR30 any rimfire other than 22lr is annoying to buy

Jumping in on the 10/22 bandwagon.

But you can build some pretty cool 22LR AR15's if you want to go that route as well.  4.2 lbs in a full sized AR15 platform mius the scope and rings of course.

How about a Henry lever action?

In reply to mikeatrpi :

I have not heard/read anything bad about them. And you can get them at Walmart.

mikeatrpi said:

How about a Henry lever action?

I bought a Henry last year, because I needed something that could fire quiet ammo in the yard, and the quiet stuff won't cycle a semi. I looked for a Winchester 94-22, but couldn't find one. The Henry is very nicely made. I don't like octagonal barrels, but that's what I bought. It felt so much better than the shorter, lighter round barrel version.

I like my henry .22. It feels kinda cheap due to some plastic parts but it shoots fine and looks cool. 

I have 4 .22's and yes a 10/22 is one of them. Good all-around easy to use rifle with availability to customize to your tastes or bragging rights. The OEM magazine has been shown, simple to use and push it in flush and it's in. I also have a larger "banana-style" clip for when you just have to have a lot of ammo available at the trigger. Think it holds something like 35 rounds but could be mistaken. Also have my grandfathers Stevens bolt action single shot. Learned to shoot with it. Have my dad's Marlin model 60 with a small scope on it. Last one is a Remington bolt action I got off a friend that is now a gunsmith. He has done some work on it. The most accurate 22 I've shot. Within .22LR range of course.

2 are semi-auto, the 10/22 and the Marlin and 2 are bolt action. Lots of choices for .22 and a wide range of cost. Agree with 22 over .17. More availability and selection and ammo easy to get and cheap. Whatever you decide on, just make sure it's a quality piece and you'll be satisfied. WARNING: Can't just have one .22, they multiply. Haven't kept up on prices of .22's but they used to be cheap, real cheap. My Remington I traded a side mount scope for a Winchester model 94 for. The 10/22 I got with some cash in a trade for that Winchester 94.

The Savage .17 HMR I mentioned earlier.

My rimfires include:
Ruger 10/22 .22 LR
Marlin 995 (yes 995) .22 LR
Ruger MkIV 22/45 .22 LR
Henry H001 .22 LR
Remington 597 HBLS .22 WMR (Magnum)
Savage 93R17 BTVSS .17 HMR
Savage A17 .17 HMR

They're all fun to shoot, and some serve different purposes, not sure I could narrow it down to just one if I had to.  I could pick two though, it'd be the 93R17 and either the 10/22 or MkIV, probably the 10/22.

If y'all thought finding .22 LR was tough, just a couple years ago, you should have tried shopping for .22 WMR, I felt like I'd actually accomplished something the handful of times I was able to purchase some.  Gun shop employees blatantly laughed at me for merely asking if they had any behind the counter.  I probably found 5X the amount of LR as I did WMR.  Now that I've got a stock pile I haven't shot the thing in years.

Seems silly not to get a 10/22 for during the week and tarted up .17HMR tack driver for Sunday best. 

*EDIT

Or just get the precision in .22LR and be done with it. (not my pic)

Winchester just announced their take on the 10/22, and are using the "Wildcat" name again.  They've had previous .22 bolt rifles named Wildcat, and have had Wildcat .22 LR ammo forever.

I don't know what this gets you that a 10/22 doesn't already provide, it even uses 10/22 mags?  From their marketing, it may be easier to clean, but hey, there's another option.

http://www.winchesterguns.com/news/articles/wildcat-uncaged.html

There might be other neat new stuff announced at SHOT this week.

Dad just bought a 10/22. He’s had a marlin 60 for 30+ years and hasn’t always wanted one. They’re fun. But I prefer my .22 rifles to be well seasoned and bull barreled. With overly complicated sights. So for that I love my 1946 Mossberg US44(b). 7 E36 M3 mag bolt action. Thing is a heavy beast but it’s a tack driver. 

In reply to bigdaddylee82 :

I mean it looks nice, the thumb wheel on the rotary mag is welcome, and the pic rail being stock is nice. That's not enough to tear me away from the 10/22 aftermarket though.

The bolt release line item is humorous as they know it's a sore spot with the 10/22.

Please look at the Savage Mark II (top) with a bull barrel and a Sweet .22 scope.  Mine shoots .25" 5 shot groups with any standard velocity ammo off a bipod.  Old school Marlin 60 at the bottom.  Top for punching small holes very accurately in soda cans and paper, bottom for walking in the woods.

Ok, this is your first gun. You want something economical, fun, reliable and simple. People will throw all kinds of advanced arguments at you about which excellent thing to get, but I'm betting if a 10/22 found its way into their hands, they'd keep it, even if they had a dozen other rifles.

You really can't go wrong with a 10/22. 

I have an old Marlin 60 and a Ruger 10/22.      I really like the Marlin for its ergonomics but the 10/22 is more reliable plus has way more after market support. 

The Marlin won't cycle the lower powered .22 Long Rifle, High Velocity stuff only. 

  The coolest .22 is the Browning but those are crazy expensive if you can find one.

So my vote would be the Ruger 10/22. 

My mention of the Savage Mark 2 is because IMHO a detachable mag fed bolt action 22 rifle on a bipod or sand bag is the safest way to learn firearms save for a single shot which is slow enough to possibly discourage someone from getting into the sport.  The extreme accuracy is just plain fun to me.  If the OP is experienced with firearms just doesn't own one I have nothing against a 10/22 at all, they're just harder to clean, and is more likely to malfunction than a bolt gun

I love my Henry .22. I like shooting lever-action and it's hard to argue with the cost of ammo. They do cost a bit more than a 10/22 though. Something like $300 for the Henry and $200 for the 10/22. You really can't go wrong with either one so it more boils down to if you want a semi-auto or lever-action. 

I must admit, it is fun shooting the sub-sonic rounds through my Henry. Its about as loud as an airgun at that point. Those quiet rounds won't cycle any semi though. 

Almost forgot to mention that I've also got a Marlin 60. I broke it trying to replace the firing pin years ago (100% my fault) and haven't bothered fixing it since I enjoy shooting the Henry so much more.

edit: bigdaddylee82 beat me to it.

The Winchester Wildcat .22 Autoloader has caught my eye. It's a 10/22 clone with some pretty nifty features. $249 MRSP.

http://www.winchesterguns.com/news/articles/wildcat-uncaged.html

bigdaddylee82 said:

Winchester just announced their take on the 10/22, and are using the "Wildcat" name again.  They've had previous .22 bolt rifles named Wildcat, and have had Wildcat .22 LR ammo forever.

I don't know what this gets you that a 10/22 doesn't already provide, it even uses 10/22 mags?  From their marketing, it may be easier to clean, but hey, there's another option.

http://www.winchesterguns.com/news/articles/wildcat-uncaged.html

 

There might be other neat new stuff announced at SHOT this week.

This is definitely relevant to my interests.

$189 plus $8 shipping plus about $25 for your local FFL:

https://grabagun.com/ruger-10-22-carbine-bl-full-syn.html

Ruger Precision for $369:

https://grabagun.com/ruger-precision-22lr-18-blk-15-1-tb.html

Interesting Savage for two fifty:

https://grabagun.com/savage-b22-22lr-21-fluted-bbl-blk-syn.html

We used to have a Marlin 39A lever action.    An excellent if somewhat heavy rifle.  We fed a bunch of cheap ammo through it and it starting balking after a while.  It fed good stuff all day long.  

I've added a couple rimfires to my collection so I thought I'd bump this thread.

I fixed my, "don't have a Marlin 60 problem," back in April. 

I was at a gun show, and found exactly what I'd been looking for, a rifle length Model 60, with a full length mag tube.  It's technically a 6081 (1981 model) special edition "Alamo Commemorative," made for and sold only by Otasco, a now defunct Tulsa based retail chain.  I've got a friend with the exact same squirrel stock on a Glenfield 60, so it's not all that special, but mine did come with a really kitsch Alamo medallion in the stock.  Though 145 years seems like a peculiar amount of time to be commemorating, you'd think they'd wait until 150.  It's not worth any more than your typical Marlin 60, but it is a little unique.  It was near the end of the day, so I low balled, the seller, with a $100 offer, he countered at $120, I figured the similar vintage Tasco 1-4X scope was worth $20, so I agreed and took it home with me.

I'll admit to thinking there was rust in this stamped lettering, and even attempting to scrub it out with some Break Free CLP and a nylon brush, until I stuck the macro lens on my DSLR and discovered... wait a minute, that's gold!  I felt pretty dumb.

Also just this week, I picked up a "Wild Hog," 10/22.  Yes I already have a 10/22, but I'm an avid Arkansas Razorback fan (and alumnus) and a bit of a gun nut, so I had to have one.  These were a Talo Distributor exclusive, for 2018, they've had several exclusive engraved stocks over the years, Boy Scouts, farmers, an alligator, etc.  I think for 2019 they're offering a bald eagle stock. 

I almost waited too long to get a Wild Hog at a reasonable price, I'd passively been searching for one, then I happened to see some private party listings on Gunbroker and Arms List, I don't know if they're actually selling for those prices, but yikes!   They motivated me to try and find one still at retail price.  I lucked out and found one at a little gun shop about an hour from me, I paid MSRP, which is a bit much for a new gun, you can normally count on knocking at least 10% off of whatever MSRP is.  They only had one left after I bought mine.

I've never owned a gun that I've considered never shooting, this has me rethinking that.  I may just consider this one "art."

Squirrel!!! Kill It!!! ... Sorry, reflex. I'm at 59 E.K.I.A. in the Global War on Squirrels.

Nice boom sticks. Oh, and the hardwood (oak) floor in my kitchen came out of the U.A. administration building about 20 years ago.  I had an extra piece and gave it to a woman at work that is a HUGE Razorback fan.  I told her she now has something no alumni has, a piece of the original floor from that building.

In reply to Dr. Hess :

Totally off topic, but Summer of '01-ish when Donald W. Reynolds Stadium was going through it's previous huge renovation, closing in the south end zone, adding the huge screen on the north end zone, and adding luxury boxes, etc.  I had a fraternity brother who was a journeyman electrician on that job.  He got several of our other brothers hired on as laborers.  By the end of the summer, our house had several rooms "remodeled" with the same Razorback carpet that the club level boxes had.  Somewhere I have a square of that carpet cut out with a single Razorback on it, I always intended to frame, I've moved a few times since then, I think it's in a box in the attic.  The parking lot/basket ball hoop behind the house was illuminated by a stadium light that, "fell off a truck," by the end of that summer too.  We referred to it as the "Jesus light," it was so bright.