Recommendations For A Reasonably Accurate .22 Rimfire Rifle

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For my purposes, lets say reasonably accurate is 1-2 MOA at 100 yards and ideally do that without having to feed it the much higher priced match ammo. To be clear, I am not going to be competing in any organized matches, and I will be shooting from the bench mostly. I have an old 10/22 with a red dot that is fine and great fun at 50 -75 yards on steel and I don't want to try to turn that into a more accurate rifle. So far, I am considering the Ruger Precision Rifle, CZ 457, Tikka T1x and most recently saw a Christensen Arms Ranger .22 rifle at one of my LGS's. Since I have a 10/22, I like the idea of the Ruger Precision Rifle or the Christensen since they both use the Ruger mags which I have a boxfull of. I will also need a scope appropriate for shooting to 200 or maybe 300 yards (my club's maximum distance). Would like to keep budget for rifle and scope under 1K. I appreciate all comments/recommendations.
 
Between what you've listed, if I had to buy another .22 it'd be a coin flip. CZ or Tikka.

Was using a BSA scope but switched to a Mueller. It had better parallax adjustment for up close stuff like 50 ft 3 position and was nice and clear for 100 and 200 yd egg shoots.
I think its an 8x24?
 
I have a cz 457 with the bull barrel and a Viper PST2 mounted and it is gobs of fun. I would say I spend 50% of my time at the range with it, the other 50% I spend with everything else combined.

Get it. It will shoot far better than you can and never let you down. Also, the ROI on that sort of fun for under $700 is unbeatable.

The only downside is match ammo or don’t bother aiming, but you’ll experience that in most of the others you’ve looked at.


ETA: I didn't notice the "Without Match Ammo" stipulation. Here's the problem. You can get 2MOA+ with bargain basement ammo, but decent match ammo can get you 1/2 to 1 MOA easily. Once you do that, you won't be satisfied with 2+ MOA. All of this is dependent on a halfway decent scope, of course.
 
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The CZ 457 varmint barrel will do what you want.

My son's 457 will do that all day long with standard velocity ammo.

I had a Tikka T1x and it would shoot about the same with the same SV ammo. Overall, the CZ was just a bit nicer. I liked the heavy barrel and feel of working the bolt.

I sold the T1x - since it was for me and I shoot long guns lefty. I'm still waiting for a Bergara B14R left handed barreled action for myself.
 
this is the tread to look at:

the 'reasonable' goes far and beyond, and then beyond that. i am personally not a fan of a 20lbs dedicated 22lr PRS builds on a chassi, so i keep my wooden stock CZ 457 MTS as it is - but i definitely understand that is it nowhere near the stability of a voodoo build like in the thread above. you`ve got to decide on what middle ground to settle at, or if you want to go all the way.

or, hell, i may get some chassis on sale and move it there, but, so far i love it the way it is. stock trigger adjusts all the way down to a 1# pull weight.
1658754770729.png

On the scope question - this rifle shoots very tight, so, to see 22lr bullet holes at 100yds on a white paper will require at least 14x magnification.
if you will use splash targets - then most 12x scopes will do. those who compete and do not care of the weight usually drop a 5-25x scopes on them.
i have on mine right now a primary arms 3-18x scope, not ideal but magnification works well as i want to see those bullet holes up to 200yds.

did not see it - if you want to go for 300yds - you need a 20 or even 40 moa rail on it and then, with no doubt, get this:

scope is crazy clear, but, it is a 40oz glass. to me adding that much weight to this rifle is a sin, but, if you want to see everything clear at such a distance, you will need a good quality 25x glass with good turrets and zero stop.

yeah, and the groups it does at 100yds - pretty reasonable to me, it is 10 in there. i have a shitload of that supersonic aguila se and shoot it pretty much exclusively.
so far i did not see a dramatic groups improvement from subsonic 22lr ammo, so, just stick to what works.
1658755917222.png
 
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this is the tread to look at:

the 'reasonable' goes far and beyond, and then beyond that. i am personally not a fan of a 20lbs dedicated 22lr PRS builds on a chassi, so i keep my wooden stock CZ 457 MTS as it is - but i definitely understand that is it nowhere near the stability of a voodoo build like in the thread above. you`ve got to decide on what middle ground to settle at, or if you want to go all the way.

or, hell, i may get some chassis on sale and move it there, but, so far i love it the way it is. stock trigger adjusts all the way down to a 1# pull weight.
View attachment 642151

On the scope question - this rifle shoots very tight, so, to see 22lr bullet holes at 100yds on a white paper will require at least 14x magnification.
if you will use splash targets - then most 12x scopes will do. those who compete and do not care of the weight usually drop a 5-25x scopes on them.
i have on mine right now a primary arms 3-18x scope, not ideal but magnification works well as i want to see those bullet holes up to 200yds.

did not see it - if you want to go for 300yds - you need a 20 or even 40 moa rail on it and then, with no doubt, get this:

scope is crazy clear, but, it is a 40oz glass. to me adding that much weight to this rifle is a sin, but, if you want to see everything clear at such a distance, you will need a good quality 25x glass with good turrets and zero stop.

yeah, and the groups it does at 100yds - pretty reasonable to me, it is 10 in there. i have a shitload of that supersonic aguila se and shoot it pretty much exclusively.
so far i did not see a dramatic groups improvement from subsonic 22lr ammo, so, just stick to what works.
View attachment 642154

Thanks for the thread reference. I'll check out some of the equipment referenced in there, although I have no intention of competing, those days are long gone. I am really just looking for something that will be more accurate than my 10/22 right out of the box without any additions or fiddling around with anything and it would be nice if it could do that using ammo like cci standard, which I have lots of. Also appreciate the scope info. I guess I'll start reading reviews and check out rimfirecentral to try to narrow down the list!
 
I'm a huge fan of CZ rifles. I have the CA 452, 455 and 457.
I'm in metrowest in you're interesting in checking them out or shooting.
 
I posted a WTB .22 precision rifle and picked up a CZ455 bull barrel with a Vortex Viper, Harris bipod and 100 rounds of Eley for $650 earlier this year. I think the setup was well over $1k but Seller just wanted it gone. The rifle is so accurate that it's actually boring under 100 yards. Maybe you'll find something similar fishing in the classifieds.

CCI standard velocity shoots great because it's sub sonic at 1070 fps. It's not match ammo but it's good enough for me.
 
I'm a huge fan of CZ rifles. I have the CA 452, 455 and 457.
I'm in metrowest in you're interesting in checking them out or shooting.

I greatly appreciate your offer, but I moved down South permanently in 2015. CZ rifles certainly seem extremely popular and have great reviews. Unfortunately, I have not seen many for sale in my LGS's, and none of the heavy barrel (mtr?) variety. I have seen the Ruger precision rifle, tikka 1x, and recently a Christensen arms Ranger. The Christensen was the most expensive at $725, but has some great reviews and takes the Ruger 10/22 mags which to me is a plus. I will keep reading reviews and eventually make a decision.
 
I greatly appreciate your offer, but I moved down South permanently in 2015. CZ rifles certainly seem extremely popular and have great reviews. Unfortunately, I have not seen many for sale in my LGS's, and none of the heavy barrel (mtr?) variety. I have seen the Ruger precision rifle, tikka 1x, and recently a Christensen arms Ranger. The Christensen was the most expensive at $725, but has some great reviews and takes the Ruger 10/22 mags which to me is a plus. I will keep reading reviews and eventually make a decision.
there are some there, but not mine.
there is one in the chassis for a grand, with 16" barrel, it may be fine, if it is what you want.


the 'at one' varmint is also very decent, but, heavier - but - it features a stock that is better for bench shooting. not if i had any issues with a classic solid mtr stock, though.
 
I greatly appreciate your offer, but I moved down South permanently in 2015. CZ rifles certainly seem extremely popular and have great reviews. Unfortunately, I have not seen many for sale in my LGS's, and none of the heavy barrel (mtr?) variety. I have seen the Ruger precision rifle, tikka 1x, and recently a Christensen arms Ranger. The Christensen was the most expensive at $725, but has some great reviews and takes the Ruger 10/22 mags which to me is a plus. I will keep reading reviews and eventually make a decision.

Check on GunBroker. I bought my CZ 457 target from a dealer in RI who shipped to my local FFL. Liked it so much I bought a CZ 457 Varmint MTR as well.

My name is Rich and I'm an addict...
 
Check on GunBroker. I bought my CZ 457 target from a dealer in RI who shipped to my local FFL. Liked it so much I bought a CZ 457 Varmint MTR as well.

My name is Rich and I'm an addict...
who knows if OP is OK with the gunbroker - but it indeed has one, and in 20"

a bit pricier than it used to be, i think mine was at $812 or so.
 
CZ any day, even the old models 2, 2-E, 452 are great shooters. The 452 Target is a quality of its own, but might need a trigger job.
I run an old 2-E (predecessor of the 452) w/ a cheap Bushnell Sportview 4x32 scope in it's standard stock and this thing is a tack driver at 50 meters - after a trigger job which came out like a hair trigger. I've bought that rifle from one of the Clubs I am a member of - after it had already ~ 80k down the pipe.
 
I'd order this one with the 20" barrel and if you want to drop it in a chassis, then pick up an after market chassis. This is the way I went for my son.


If you want the AT-One they have it in stock too
 
I greatly appreciate your offer, but I moved down South permanently in 2015. CZ rifles certainly seem extremely popular and have great reviews. Unfortunately, I have not seen many for sale in my LGS's, and none of the heavy barrel (mtr?) variety. I have seen the Ruger precision rifle, tikka 1x, and recently a Christensen arms Ranger. The Christensen was the most expensive at $725, but has some great reviews and takes the Ruger 10/22 mags which to me is a plus. I will keep reading reviews and eventually make a decision.
Lots of good advice. Have you considered one of the 10/22 Target versions? It should meet or exceed your accuracy goal and it's a semi.
 
I know OP already stated he has a 10/22, but with a bull barrel and and a stock trigger I can pull off (sub?) MOA groups at 100 with CCI SV. That’s a 5 shot group. FA9E16C8-71EE-49EB-AE94-09ACE9313EDC.jpeg

Edit- While CCI SV is far from spendy, it’s consistent.
 
Never bought from them, but there's always a first time!
Pay attention for shipping charges and credit card fees, listing I gave is fine.
Then you just put there proper ffl info/address - it is not difficult. Pay attention to amount of reviews seller has also.
 
Lots of good advice. Have you considered one of the 10/22 Target versions? It should meet or exceed your accuracy goal and it's a semi.
Not really. I'm sure they probably would serve me well, I guess I was just thinking I'd like to expand my collection with a brand I don't already have. Being able to use my 10/22 mags would be a plus though!
 
I've shot a Savage MkII heavy barrel at 100-200 a lot. It'll hold under 2MOA and average 1.5MOA at 100 with CCI standard velocity, better (0.75-1.25)with either type of Wolf, Aguila Long Range or SK. Price is right on these rifles, too - I'm more limited in their catalog sticking to left hand rifles, but lots of choice for righties. Very glad I bought it. It's wearing an Athlon scope right now, which I like. If I had to replace the scope today, I'd try the Arken out of curiosity.

Down sides:
MkII magazines have not always been reliable out of the box. Once you find or make good ones, they're fine forever but it's an annoying process. Mostly inconsistent feed lips, both too tight and too loose. If you're going to put the Savage on a chassis, the 10 round ones are easier to get out of the rifle. The mags I've bought in the last 2 years worked fine out of the box, so hopefully Savage has fixed this.

Trigger feel - the Accutrigger isn't a bad trigger for a factory product, but I know people who don't like the feel because of the center lever. There are better aftermarket triggers out there.

Plastic stock - can't stand the plastic stocks, myself. Every one I've tried has had too much drop at the comb for scopes. The thumbhole Savage puts on is the right height for scopes, and you could always put on a Boyd's or a chassis. I really wanted to dislike the rifle in a chassis for being heavy and ugly, but it was noticeably more accurate. :( So it's staying in the chassis until I can put the time in bedding the thumbhole stock to see if I can duplicate those results.

Bolt handle too short - with my big hands, the factory bolt handle was short enough that if I ran the bolt fast, I'd would sometimes unintentionally put the safety on. Annoying. Can be fixed at home with a threading die, aftermarket bolt knob and either a bench grinder or a file and patience.

Scope bases - the Savage included bases on my MkII were two piece, which I'm not a fan of; and loose, just like the ones on my 93R17 were. Replaced them with EGWs one piece bases and on the MkII skim bedded the base because the outside of the MkII receiver wasn't quite parallel. Necessary? No, probably not but once you've mixed up some bedding epoxy anyway, might as well use all you can.

I do have a CZ 452 lefty, but it has accuracy issues which I don't think are any reflection of the brand in general. Mine shoots almost as well as the Savage while having the left side of the barrel jammed against the barrel channel in the stock. It's a nice piece of walnut, too. So, until I bed that one it's not getting shot at all. Much more refined rifle than the Savage, for sure. I'd buy another CZ if they ever release another left hand one. :mad: Same with Tikka, Ruger and Christensen - would love to see any of these in left hand. Bergara has one, but I haven't (yet) convinced myself to spend the money.
 
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