Best 22LR Rifle under 1K

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May 18, 2019
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A buddy and I are looking to setup a range of 200-300yds on his property for some "long range 22LR". He is looking to get a rifle that is accurate enough to hit 300 with the right match ammo.

The leading options are Bergara B14r and Tikka t1x. He isn't looking to go full RimX custom.

I already have a 20yrs old Savage that shoots better than it has a right to so I'm out of the purchase hunt for now.

Those of you with personal experience with the Bergara or Tikka please chime in on what you think the best option is.
 
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I have a Tikka T1X as a lightweight option for small game hunting and a Vudoo for a .22lr trainer. The Vudoo isn't in that price range but the Bergara presents a lot of the upgrade options down the road if you so choose. I'd go with that. L3i will be coming out with a "Stinger" barreled action soon which will probably compete very well with Vudoo/RimX at a slightly lower price point ($1500) but again that'd be above your desired price point.
 

Bluefish

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I have a tikka T1x and an anzhutz 54. The anzhutz is the better rifle, but slightly above your $1k limit. Also one is a 12 lb olympic target rifle and the other is a field gun.
 

wyogoat

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I’ll throw another one at you just because I was in the same boat lately and I went with the Christensen. I was open to any and wanted to buy the best .22 I could with really the only criteria being I wanted a bolt gun and threaded. I want to hear the bullet hit paper at 25 with the TB can.
If you’re near a Sheels, I caught mine new for $300 off and that’s what tipped the scales.
I haven’t shot it but fit and finish are great.
Let us know what you get, I love accurate .22s.
 

ChrisAU

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CZ 457. I’ve shot a bunch of NRL22 Hunter style matches with mine. Shoots great out to 300. Can dial to 650ish with my setup, have shot it at 550, but wind gets pretty tough out that far. Super smooth action with tons of aftermarket support though factory guns are just fine too, I also have a 457 American for my squirrel rifle.

IMG_4121.jpeg
 
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CZ 457. I’ve shot a bunch of NRL22 Hunter style matches with mine. Shoots great out to 300. Can dial to 650ish with my setup, have shot it at 550, but wind gets pretty tough out that far. Super smooth action with tons of aftermarket support though factory guns are just fine too, I also have a 457 American for my squirrel rifle.
I'm a sucker for the elite GAP camo on Manners stocks. By the way what do you mean by NRL22 Hunter? I looked for it but can't seem to find anything about it. It sounds awesome though and exactly what I'd love to do.
 

Macintosh

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I shoot prs style 22 matches locally, its gotten pretty popular. Lots of voodoo and rimx actions now, but Id say 80% of the rest is cz 457, with nearly all the remainder being tikka. Cz has by far the best aftermarket support for this style of shooting.

Bet you could easily put this together within your budget (minus scope):
457 with a short/fat threaded barrel
Krg bravo
Area 419 elevated rail
Your choice of dialing scope (you want a scope that’ll parallax down well under 50 yards and has lots of elevation travel for a 22)
 

thinhorn_AK

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My t1x is a good gun, I shoot it suppressed and have a tract 3-9 mounted to it. It is pretty accurate and the 5 round magazines make it easier to carry.

I do want the CZ with the manners stock though.
 

ChrisAU

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I'm a sucker for the elite GAP camo on Manners stocks. By the way what do you mean by NRL22 Hunter? I looked for it but can't seem to find anything about it. It sounds awesome though and exactly what I'd love to do.

It’s NRL22x competitions set up in NRL Hunter style. Blind stages with unknown distances. The Arena in Blakely GA did 4 of them last year. They are a blast.
 

BLJ

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It’s NRL22x competitions set up in NRL Hunter style. Blind stages with unknown distances. The Arena in Blakely GA did 4 of them last year. They are a blast.
I wish they had something like that around here with this format. I bet that’s a good time.

I’ll also echo the CZ 457. I’ve been very happy with mine.
 
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I have had a cz and it shot well, it was an all around good setup that I regret selling. I currently have the Christensen ranger and a tikka t1x. I like the tikka the most out of the 3 but I have to give the Christensen credit for being the most accurate of the 3. They have all been good shooters but the Christensen so far is the best with a wide variety of ammo, I’m just not a huge fan of its build quality.
 

BrBa

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If your friend decides on a T1X, I would budget for a better stock/chassis. The factory tupperware blows. Put a KRG Bravo on mine, it works well. Factory muzzle threading is nice, made it an easy decision to order a can.

I don't know if this is still a problem with recent production rifles, but the ejector wire on mine badly needed to be bent outward as it was pushing rounds to the outside and shaving off lead as a round would enter the breech. Easy fix. A reduced power trigger [spring] is another cheap and simple upgrade. Solid little rifle for the $.
 
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WRO

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I like my ruger rpr 22 and it shoots great.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

jzeblaz

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I shoot prs style 22 matches locally, its gotten pretty popular. Lots of voodoo and rimx actions now, but Id say 80% of the rest is cz 457, with nearly all the remainder being tikka. Cz has by far the best aftermarket support for this style of shooting.

Bet you could easily put this together within your budget (minus scope):
457 with a short/fat threaded barrel
Krg bravo
Area 419 elevated rail
Your choice of dialing scope (you want a scope that’ll parallax down well under 50 yards and has lots of elevation travel for a 22)
What scope or scopes do you like for this? I feel like I've been looking for one with these features for years, but haven't found anything quite right. How much a magnification for shooting way out there?
 

atmat

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16” T1x and a SWFA 6x

Definitely get a suppressor.

Add a KRG Bravo or Stockys VG to it if you want.
 
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What scope or scopes do you like for this? I feel like I've been looking for one with these features for years, but haven't found anything quite right. How much a magnification for shooting way out there?
Depends on your price range. Also since it's a .22lr with almost no recoil (plus you're shooting at smaller things a lot of the time) you can take advantage of higher magnification.

Below $1,000: Bushnell MPED 5-30x56, Vortex Strike Eagle 5-25x56, or maybe some flavor of Arken?

Below $2,000: Very uneducated on good NRL22 scopes in this price area but I imagine you could wait until the Zeiss S3 6-36x56 goes on sale again they were selling at $1,875 from October through the end of the year. Heard they're a hell of a lot of scope and extremely hard to beat at that pricepoint.

Above $2,000: Vortex R3 6-36x56, Nightforce 7-35x56, Leica PRS 5-30 (maybe), any flavor of ZCO or TT

The Bushnell/Vortex both have about 30 MIL of internal travel which is a fair bit to work with and they both parallax down to 15 yards. A fair bit above that pricepoint, I just put together an NRL22 build and put a Vortex G3 6-36x56 on it. There seem to be a surprisingly number of dudes using ZCO's on their builds which I greatly envy.
 
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