Re: Budget rimfires!
NOSTYLE- IMO the biggest deciding factor is budget and use (or abuse). if only interested in a 25 to 50 yard rifle, just about anything that goes bang will give you good results. 100 yards or more is where you start getting more finicky about the rifle.
for bolt actions my views are:
-keeping it .22lr for economy sake-
if it's just a range rifle (from the safe to the bench and back) and you plan on shooting serious competition, i like the idea of an anshutz, cooper, remington 40x, etc. which are a bit pricey, and feel a little guilty taking one of these beauties in the woods for hunting and getting all dinged up. in my view, it's kinda like taking a cadillac escalade to the mudbogs.
for a trainer that is going to see bench / fieldwork i'd go with something that is generally accurate, and doesn't have the guilt factor of scratching the stock. the savages and marlins fit well into this catagory. be prepared to purchase a replacement trigger for the non accutriggered savages and for the marlins. the trigger (rifle basix, sharp shooter supply) is worth the extra investment.
on the lower priced stuff i like the idea of a savage (as they have a good # of accessories / enhancements available) and have all types of configurations to choose from. marlins are good shooters also. i looked at the mossberg bolt actions, they seem a bit "chimsey", and i'm hearing alot of good stuff about the winchester wildcat. i had the oppurtunity to shoot a rem model 5 three days after i bought the rifle for the
LOW BUDGET .22 TRAINER - start to "finish" threads, and that remington seemed to be a great shooting rifle with nice feel and look for the money and i had a "should've bought that" moment. but by buying the cheap assed walmart rifle, i've been able to "frankenstein" alot of stuff on it, and has made good practice for making modifications on my centerfires, without being too much in the hole if i "F" it up.
the savage tr and trr are neat looking rifles, no doubt about it. although i don't have one, i don't really see any fundamental PERFORMANCE enhancements put into the rifle that would take it above the current performance of a normal heavy barreled mkii that would jusltify it's price. (other than the comfort of the pistol gripped stock, which i think should have been made of synthetic than wood). so to each his own on that one.
i've shot the CZ's 452 varmint, and it seems that this is the rifle that bridges the gap between a low end .22 and a top shelf rimfire. very accurate (even with bulk ammo), has a nice look to it, and is mid priced. i too would probably wait to get a 455, but since the 452 is discontinued, you may be able to find or work a better deal on one.
i don't have any experience with the sako quad, but hear good thing about them also. i guy i see at the range uses a ruger 77/22 and gets great groups at 50 yards, but he doesn't shoot it past that distance, so i have no input at 100+ yards.
whatever you decide to get, i'd suggest putting a sloped moa base on it to make sure you don't lose scope adjustment past 150 yards. i'm really liking the rimfire technology 25 moa base.
optics-
as far as scopes go, i like the idea of matching up as closely to the one you have on the cnterfire. i like turrets for precise adjustments, side focus or at least adjustable objectives, a mildot reticle for ranging or used for holdovers, and mid to high variable magnifications (4-16 for hunting, 6-18, 6-24, or even higher for dedicated target rifle). again this is usually budget driven, but a clearer with more user friendly options you can afford usually pays off in the end with satisfaction. there's a TON of threads on the hide about scopes, use the search function to find out some good info on them.
semi auto -
i'm liking the 10/22 the most as it offers the most performance enhancements you can find. unlike all the ar-15 styled .22's out there, you can build up the 10/22 to be a ar trainer if you wish or go another direction. with the ar-15 .22 styled rifles, what you got is what you got, and that's ok if you want a dedicated ar trainer, but can't be reversed to have a more traditional stocked set up.
ammo-
whatever rifle you get, matching the ammo to the rifle is extrememly important. the wolf / sk, eley, and some models of the cci brands seem to be the universal baseline and seemingly produce the best performance out of the largest cross sections of rifles. however the cheap bulk stuff shoots good out of a few rifles, and can vary between 2 individual rifles of the same model and manufacturer. i'm presently hooked on aguila golden eagle match rifle ammo, as it's just short of the wolf /sk's performance through my mkii's at half the price. ='s twice the quality trigger time.
so be prepared to get in some range / trigger time to decide what ammo will give you the performance you want compared to the amount of money you are willing to pay for it. then buy a bunch of it and enjoy.
i'd even take a look at our monthly rimfire competitions (stickies at the top of the forum) to guage the performance of different people's rifles at different distances, using a particular ammo and optics setup.
my 2 cents that turned into $2.00, hope it helps.
