Bolt action, mag fed .22 Short/Long/Long Rifle

[greenaccord02]

Looking for suggestions:

The non-negotiable requirements here are:

1) Must be Bolt action. Single shot and semi-auto are not under consideration.
2) Must fire .22 Short, .22 Long, and .22 Long Rifle interchangeably.
3) Must feed from a magazine (I'm thinking tube magazine is the only thing that's going to work, but maybe I'm wrong?)

Things I kind of care about:

1) I don't like too many safeties on my guns. One is plenty. This is not a gun that will be used by children.
2) I would like to be able to mount a scope.
3) I would like to spend less than $200, if possible (used is OK)

Things I don't care about:

1) It can have a synthetic or wood stock, and be stainless or blued. I don't care about that.
2) It can be any brand, made in any country. I don't care about that, either. If you want to talk about that, please start another thread.
3) I don't care if the gun is still in production. Used is perfectly OK, so don't hold back giving a recommendation if the gun isn't made any longer.

So, if you have any recommendations, I'd love to hear about them.

For illustration purposes only, here is an example of a gun that pretty well fits all the requirements:

http://www.marlinfirearms.com/firearms/BoltAction22/981T.asp

 

[JimPghPA]

I would go with a pepe site like those used for target rifles, and a covered front thin post.

 

[greenaccord02]

I've seen some older guns with a peep sight and I'd be willing to give one a shot. I've never actually used one, but I understand they can be quite accurate.

 

[JimPghPA]

We had a Savage 22 single shot target rifle (the kind with a barrel about as wide as a quarter) with peep site and covered front post. You could hit a pop can at 100 yards with about five seconds of time to line up the shot. One time to show how nice that gun was I noticed a piece of angle iron drove in the ground about 75 feet away, with the point of the joint facing us. I said watch this, and with one try, hit the edge, and left two marks, one on each side where each half of the bullet had scraped off the rust.

We had site settings for different distances written on the inside lining of the case. That gun was shot by many people over the years, and everyone liked it.

 

[Bill in Utah]

I love the Marlin 981T. The requirement of being able to shoot shorts really does throw out a lot of good weapons. The 981T does shoot anything I put through them. A excellent self contained weapon and if you keep the tube safe it will run and run. (no mags needed though I do have a few of those tubes that load a few hundred rounds then load the tube quickly)

I'm getting of age that either red dots or scopes are welcome and the 981T does have either rails or pre-drilled for mounts.

Take care, bill

 

[greenaccord02]

Thanks, Bill. You're right about the shorts excluding a lot of stuff, but I really want a gun that shoots them. It may be that the 981T is the way to go. All I've ever read is good things about them.

 

[George Bynum]

Your Marlin option is the only tube fed I know of. My father had its predecessor (would be over 70 years old now, but stolen) which I shot until about 1970.

I have the Remington autoloader 552; I thought they made both a pump and bolt version of that, but it seems not. There is a bolt action 5 shot magazine 581 that handles all 3, but I'm not sure if interchangeably.

 

[greenaccord02]

George, it looks like the 581s cousin, the 582, fits the bill. It's just a tube-fed 581. Shoots s/l/lr interchangeable. Apparently it has a set of locking lugs on the bolt, too.

That's good - it gives me another one to go after.

 

[UncleS2]

For a new gun I'd look at the Marlin(& Savage, if they still make one) .22 bolt actions with tubular magazines.

Used/out of production? Prowl your local pawn & gun shops, look for anything that's .22, bolt action, tubular magazine. With a box mag("clip") it may handle shorts via single loading only. If the barrel is stamped .22 S, L, & LR and it has scope dovetail grooves you should be good to go. Winchester, Remington, Marlin, Savage/Stevens, Mossberg *All* made such rifles & there are lots of 'em out there. Don't forget the house brands too, sold under various names by Sears, Wards, Spiegel, Western Auto, and others. Looking for one of these should be a lot more fun than just buying a new, current production Marlin!

But that new Marlin or Savage would be real nice too. Heck, get one of each!

Whatever you get, you do realize that you gotta post pix here, right? Good luck!

Edit: Looks like Savage has abandoned the tube magazine for bolt actions.

 

[Papa Bear]

How about a lever action like a BL-22 ?

 

[greenaccord02]

You're right about there being a lot of these. I thought I was looking for something that was just really weird and strange, but it turns out this configuration used to be pretty popular before my time.

There are actually a whole bunch of guns made from the 30s to the early 80s that fit the bill to a "T":
Mossberg Models "R", 146B, 40, 44, 45, 46A, 346B
Remington Nylon 12, 582 & others
Western Field 47A (rebranded Mossberg 46A) - one of many rebranded guns that I'm sure are out there.

Actually found most of these this evening by searching auction sites and collector databases. Looks like the price is right, too, for most of the used ones as long as I'm not trying to buy a museum specimen.

And there will be pics!

 

[jg1]

I'll throw a wrinkle in the thinking...

I know you want the capability to shoot shorts for sound reasons, but you can buy powder-less LRs that are incredibly quiet.

I wouldn't rule out a cz bolt action. More money that you want to spend, but will out shoot any mentioned. A friend of mine had the Chinese variant of the CZ 452 (JW-15), it shot anything (short, long or LR) out of the 5rd box mag. I don't think the JW-15 is available but it was cheap back in early 90s ($99). The cz variant would be a lot more $s, but the accuracy is phenomenal (only you can decide if it would be worth it). I know it says LR only (so did the JW-15), I could verify if the cz mag will function with the reduced case size if there is an interest.

take care.

 

[greenaccord02]

I've read a lot about the CZs being phenomenal shooters. I didn't know there was a Chinese variant made. I like the ability to shoot shorts, however, not just for the noise reduction factor (though that is a big reason) but also for the amount of ammo you have at your disposal without reloading. Up to 24 rounds in some cases. Aguila, I think, makes a .22 LR length round out of a short case and a really long bullet. They work very well in most everything that shoots LR, they're quiet, and they pack a big punch because though they're slow, they have a very heavy bullet.

The way I figure it, I'm going to get this first kinda cheap bolt action and shoot it. If I like the feel of a bolt .22 then I'll probably get another, more high class model later for target and keep this one for squirrels and plinking. CZ would definitely be on the short list. But if I run across one for the right price, I'll get it now.

 

[greenaccord02]

Originally Posted By: Papa Bear
How about a lever action like a BL-22 ?

If I see one for the right price, I'd consider it. I saw a new Henry the other day that I really liked, but the price was a little higher than what I was looking to pay. I don't currently have a lever gun, but at the same time I kindof want the bolt to practice my shooting form (since .22 is a lot cheaper than .308 or .30-'06). I'm going to be looking at pawn shops and gun shows, and if I see one for the right price that just speaks to me I'll get it.

 

[Tempest]

Quote:
Mossberg Models "R", 146B, 40, 44, 45, 46A, 346B

+1

My dad has a Mossberg tube feed "training rifle" (forget the model) from the 1940's and it is a fantastic rifle. Hooded front, peep rear, deadly accurate. It's the gun I learned to shoot rifles with and I have found no better since.

A local gunsmith gave my dad a standing offer to buy it.

I have fired shorts out of it but I don't remember if it was from the magazine.

 

[greenaccord02]

They say there are a lot of 44's that were training rifles from WWII, marked U.S. Government Property. Apparently they are of pretty high quality, both the gov't marked and civilian. Finding one of those would be a dream come true.

 

[stockrex]

I have a savage mark II, love it. my 8 year old has one and I have mine. bit heavy for her with the laminate stock but she shoots it off bags.

 

[Bill in Utah]

Originally Posted By: stockrex
I have a savage mark II, love it. my 8 year old has one and I have mine. bit heavy for her with the laminate stock but she shoots it off bags.


I have a Savage MKII also (the $104 Wal-Mart special without the accu-trigger which is fine with me) and I love it too! But it will not cycle shorts very well (okay it sucks) from the mag. (one of his requirements)

Take care, Bill

 

[ammolab]

My first bolt action .22 was a Mosberg 142 or 152. Shot Shorts, longs and long Rifles from a box 10rd mag. A small adapter would slide down the front of the mag for shorts.

Easy to find an old mossberg on gunbroker if you need one.

 

[greenaccord02]

Originally Posted By: ammolab
A small adapter would slide down the front of the mag for shorts.


Interesting! I was wondering how they did that. Would you say this was fairly trouble-free or was it a headache when reloading?