If you could only have 1 rimfire rifle

[FLAK]

I'm a 22 mag Fanboy so probably a CZ in that flavor, maybe a Ruger.

 

[kboatman107]

I got a ruger American rimfire in 22lr a few months ago and put a cabelas covenant tactical scope on it. I can hit a 6” target at 160 all day with Aquila ammo.

 

[Throwin Darts]

CZ 457 ProVarmint topped with a Dead Air Mask. It’s my favorite gun to shoot and it very accurate and quiet.

I had my target stuck to a barrel. The pic is a 30 shot group hole in the barrel after I peeled the target off. You can easily put many of the shots through the same hole.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[rodney482]

Mod 39

 

[bsnedeker]

I like the recommendations above for a bolt action 22lr. I would stay away from the 10/22 if you are looking for 1 rifle though. This is coming from a guy who has three of those things and I love them because of how fun they are to shoot. The problem is they are inherently inaccurate at longer ranges due to the ammo restrictions. In order to get the semi auto action to work you need supersonic ammo. The subsonic ammo just won't cycle the bolt. With supersonic 22lr you are good to about 50 yards, but after that the round will fall below the sound barrier and when that happens accuracy goes to hell.

 

[Rs3003]

I have personal experience with the Savage model 93 and have shot the CZ. Both 17 hmr heavy barrels. Practice a lot and aim for the head. That’s all I carry for squirrels. Very accurate.

 

[menhaden_man]

I like the recommendations above for a bolt action 22lr. I would stay away from the 10/22 if you are looking for 1 rifle though. This is coming from a guy who has three of those things and I love them because of how fun they are to shoot. The problem is they are inherently inaccurate at longer ranges due to the ammo restrictions. In order to get the semi auto action to work you need supersonic ammo. The subsonic ammo just won't cycle the bolt. With supersonic 22lr you are good to about 50 yards, but after that the round will fall below the sound barrier and when that happens accuracy goes to hell.

Good advice here, though subsonic can be wonky in my experience. Check out these 5-shot groups from a 10/22 at 30 yards or so (on back deck, nothing fancy). The ammo boxes are in order of the targets. You could only imagine what some of these looser groups would have looked like at 100 yds. My bolt actions shoot better but I don't have a paper example on my phone right now.

The Federal Ultra Match, Aguilla Pistol Match, and RWS (actually didn't know they made ammo until last year) are pretty solid and I believe intermediate in velocity. The high velocity stuff sure is fun to shoot varmints with, though not as accurate, at least in my 10/22, bolt actions, and pistols in 22LR (I think I have 6).

I love my 22s but if I plan on shooting much beyond 50 yards, I take another rifle altogether. So I'd vote 10/22 in 22LR then something else for when you'd like to reach out there.

 

[Trial153]

Model 52 Winchester

 

[renagde]

Browning BL-22

 

[mtnbiker208]

10-22

 

[Oregonboy]

Volquartsen semi auto chambered in .17WSM. I own a Ruger M77 in that cartridge. Over 3,000 FPS out of rimfire. Dropped this young coyote with it at 275 yards a few months ago. View attachment 168044

I wasn't familiar with Volquartsen but after looking them up, wow, those are badass!! I can see why you're recommending them. Unfortunately it's out of my price range for the time being.

I'm still leaning more toward 22LR but the .17HMR or WSM is catching my interest. While the ammo is more expensive, I don't shoot more than 2,000 rounds per year so it wouldn't affect me that much. It would be nice to be a laser at 100 and be able to poke 300 if need be. That said, this gun is for hunting small game and I seldom spot rabbits and squirrels at 200+ yards.

After reading this i'd say me top three contenders right now are:

Tikka Tx1
Ruger 10/22
CZ 452/455/457

Once this COVID nonsense is over I'll go shoulder a few of these and hopefully bring one home!

 

[roosiebull]

CZ 457 is mine, it's a sweet rifle, and the 17hmr is just such an awesome little cartridge for varmints, and they will kill a coyote dead as they get. not my first choice for dogs, but they work really well in a pinch.

I was actually over east this weekend, just got home a bit ago, and when the weather was good (between snow showers) I was shooting sage rats. I have had a couple savage 17hmr's, I think the 93R, had one bull barrel, one normal contour barrel. that is what made me get the 457, that bull barrel maintains accuracy with very high volume shooting, the skinnier barrels heat up and aren't as consistent after a couple hundred rounds of shooting as fast as you can load.... could have not been completely barrel contour, but the bull barrel didn't get as hot to the touch and shot better after extended shooting.

I quit at 400 rounds today, and I was still sniping them at the end of that with the CZ. for shooting rats and stuff, the 17hmr is so much more terminal performance than a 22lr, sometimes with a 22, you don't know if you hit them or they just duck into their hole.... the 17 turns them inside out, and you can hear the hits too. the 17 is just a lot more efficient cartridge for that type of shooting, and they have really good precision.... 22's can too, but you are dealing with a lot more bullet drop. 17's are quick, don't have to worry about bullet drop inside 100yds, but you do a lot with a 22lr.

the performance of a 17hmr doesn't even make sense for what it is, they are destructive little bullets. if i was squirrel and rabbit hunting to eat them, i would probably pick the 22lr, not much left of a 17 shot squirrel.... or even a lot of rabbits.

 

[Oregonboy]

CZ 457 is mine, it's a sweet rifle, and the 17hmr is just such an awesome little cartridge for varmints, and they will kill a coyote dead as they get. not my first choice for dogs, but they work really well in a pinch.

I was actually over east this weekend, just got home a bit ago, and when the weather was good (between snow showers) I was shooting sage rats. I have had a couple savage 17hmr's, I think the 93R, had one bull barrel, one normal contour barrel. that is what made me get the 457, that bull barrel maintains accuracy with very high volume shooting, the skinnier barrels heat up and aren't as consistent after a couple hundred rounds of shooting as fast as you can load.... could have not been completely barrel contour, but the bull barrel didn't get as hot to the touch and shot better after extended shooting.

I quit at 400 rounds today, and I was still sniping them at the end of that with the CZ. for shooting rats and stuff, the 17hmr is so much more terminal performance than a 22lr, sometimes with a 22, you don't know if you hit them or they just duck into their hole.... the 17 turns them inside out, and you can hear the hits too. the 17 is just a lot more efficient cartridge for that type of shooting, and they have really good precision.... 22's can too, but you are dealing with a lot more bullet drop. 17's are quick, don't have to worry about bullet drop inside 100yds, but you do a lot with a 22lr.

the performance of a 17hmr doesn't even make sense for what it is, they are destructive little bullets. if i was squirrel and rabbit hunting to eat them, i would probably pick the 22lr, not much left of a 17 shot squirrel.... or even a lot of rabbits.

Thank you, Roosiebull. This write up really helps narrow my decision. Significant drop at 100 yards is not something I want to deal with, thus the .17 makes more sense when shooting out to 100+ yards.

However, if i'm walking the woods and spot something under 100 yards, which is very typical, then the 22LR makes more sense. I guess I just need to think of the situations I'll be in more often and go for the caliber that suits the situation best.

I kinda feel like I'm leaning toward the .17...now I just need to study up on HMR vs WSM.

 

[Wyatt.Carter]

im a 10/22 fan but the 17hmrs are hard to ignore, ive killed multiple coyotes with the 17 some out near 100yds

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

Thank you, Roosiebull. This write up really helps narrow my decision. Significant drop at 100 yards is not something I want to deal with, thus the .17 makes more sense when shooting out to 100+ yards.

However, if i'm walking the woods and spot something under 100 yards, which is very typical, then the 22LR makes more sense. I guess I just need to think of the situations I'll be in more often and go for the caliber that suits the situation best.

I kinda feel like I'm leaning toward the .17...now I just need to study up on HMR vs WSM.

Don’t forget about the mighty little .17 Mach 2 as well. Quiet as a mouse. You can build a custom rig with it as well since it shares chambers with the .22LR. I built a custom 10-22 with a volquartsen Carbon .17 barrel. Super fun and quiet rig.

 

[Catahoula]

Had a .17..... great fun for a while. I gave it to my cousins son. I now have two .22LR’s.....both are Ruger
10/22’s. Both shoot great. I’ll be sticking with the .22LR.

 

[452b264]

I have three cz 452s and two of them shoot 1 inch or smaller groups at 100 yards and a ragged hole at 50. All three of mine 22 lr, if I want to blow stuff up I will use a center fire or buy an other rimfire. For hunting small game you cant beat the 22 lr. I also would worry about wind drift or drop with practice you will learn to compensate for it.

 

[Wrench]

I can't believe nobody said it yet, CZ 453. Its basically the 452 but has a set trigger. Cock the bolt and fire.....its the typical #2 CZ 452......BUT push the trigger forward before you pull it and suddenly it is a 2 ounce trigger. I wish I would have bought a few more when they were in stock.

 

[roosiebull]

Don’t forget about the mighty little .17 Mach 2 as well. Quiet as a mouse. You can build a custom rig with it as well since it shares chambers with the .22LR. I built a custom 10-22 with a volquartsen Carbon .17 barrel. Super fun and quiet rig.

yeah, I like the concept of it. I have a hard time going away from the hmr due to ammo availability alone..... there is always 17hmr ammo on the shelves, and often a good variety.... it's also common enough it goes on sale, which I have not seen with the oddball 17's. I generally just wait on sales to buy ammo unless I need it now, I generally pay 30-35$ per 200rds, which is tough to beat. I want to shoot some of the fmj's to see how they act on critters, because I want to kill some cotton tails soon, and the vmax I like to shoot will demo a rabbit, want a cleaner option for times i'm shooting food with the 17.

also want to go hunt gray squirrels, but wouldn't do it with a vmax, if you didn't head shoot them, there would be nothing left.

I would like to add a couple more rimfires to the stable, just don't really have a niche for another yet. the mach 2 seems like a cool little cartridge

 

[247 bowwalker]

I really like the ruger Precision 22lr it has a adjustable stock, comb and trigger . I like the fact that I can adjust it for my kids to shoot comfortably and it takes 10/22 magazines.