Kinda got the itch for a 22mag.

[Predator1]

Here lately I’ve kinda had the itch for a 22mag. I’m really not sure if i want a bolt gun or a semi auto. Accuracy is important to me wether it be bolt or auto. I do like to shoot off the bench for fun but would also use the gun for plinking small game. I know nothing about which guns to stay away from when it comes to the mag, although I’m very familiar with the 22lr as I own a customized by me 10//22. Just not sure on the 22mag. Not leaving out the 17HMR or 17WSM either. I actually had a CZ 452 in 17HMR years ago and sold it. It was a fun gun! Any ideas and help is appreciated.

 

[Intell]

Finding accurate 22 mag ammo was the problem I had when trying to get one to shoot small. Not manny options out there.

 

[Mark M.]

For the money I would look at the CZ 455, You can switch barrels and less than 5 minutes and can shoot 17HMR, 22 long rifle or 22 mag, Hands down the best Bang for the buck

 

[Tim s]

22mag ammo is notoriously lousy, you'd be better served with the HMR.

 

[mongo chicago]

Get the 22 mag!!! I have and Anschuts and HAD a Savage and also have a custom Winchester Highwall. The Annie shoots three quarters of an inch at 100 yards. The Highwall about an inch and the Savage about an inch and a quarter. That should make anyone happy accuracy wise. The most accurate ammo for me and what I got those groups with, is the Hornady 30 gr. v-max.

 

[snert]

I had one Ruger rifle in my life that I loved (borrowed for a few days) and it was a HB 77R stainless composit target in 22 mag. That sucker shot and I begged the guy to sell it to me. Never did. Dang nice rifle that I covet to this day.

 

[GoWyo!]

I have a pretty good lineup of 22 mags. Ruger 10/22, H&K 300, brno zkm 611 for my semis. None are made anymore the Ruger and the H&K both shoot under an inch at a hundred amazingly enough. The Brno about an inch and a half/ inch and a quarter on a good day. I have a Anschutz 1720 that is extremely accurate with Federal Premium with 30 grain Sierra hollow points in it. I have a good stash of that but also no longer made. Finally I have a Marlin 1894m that is also in the inch and a quarter inch and a half group Club. Currently made semis are the CZ 512 and the Ruger knock off volquartsen which are super high-quality guns. I also have a Kel-Tec CMR I haven't even shot yet. I think I want to send it off and have a threaded SBR made out of it. So Anschutz for bolt guns;volquartsen for semis would be my suggestion for the most accurate guns.

 

[msinc]

I have several. I use them for predator calling at night with night vision and thermal scopes for the most part. I have 3 Ruger 10-22 magnums, two are second gen and the other is third. They all work fine and shoot accurately.
I have one Volquartsen and it is very accurate. It is also very reliable. It is heavy and the barrel is permanently screwed to the receiver, not blocked like a Ruger.
The last one is a Savage A-22. Typical Savage junk...they come up with a good idea, the way the bolt locks is really a fantastic design, but in the usual Savage fashion make it as cheap and cobby as possible. It has a nice polish blue and a magazine that is so cheesy you look at it and it falls out of the rifle. The gun is not accurate and not reliable. Not because it jams, no, in typical Savage cheapness they missed the ball with the hammer spring or ignition system somehow because it wont set off the ammo about half the time. Rim will barely dent and before some genius jumps up to defend Savage with a claim about bad ammo...all my other ones fire it no problem. I would suggest you steer clear of anything Savage makes.
I had a Ruger 77/22 mag that was stainless with a laminated stock and heavy barrel. It was the dark pewter finish and it was very accurate. I had a 77/22 mag all weather stainless that was even better and not as heavy. I also have had a 94/22 mag Winchester that worked and shot very well.
The problem with the 22 magnum in a semi auto is that most are blowback actions. The long case doesn't lend itself to working too good in a blowback gun. But, all of mine work fine. I have heard many people complain about 22 magnum semi autos jamming a lot. Maybe I am just lucky, but not normally. I think no matter which one you get, if it's a semi you want good quality name brand ammo. Good luck and good shooting.

 

[ebb]

I hear ya on the Savage magazines. I worked on a 17 wsm and put it in a thumbhole stock from Boyd's or Richards. Magazine would pop out every time the bolt was closed. I lowered the action into the stock and got it close to foolproof then made a small shim to move the magazine catch a little lower. It works 100 percent of the time now that the catch fully engages. Play with it a little the catch is so sloppy it don't take much to fix.

 

[rkittine]

I agree on the 17 HMR verses the .22 Mag, but since I didn't own one, I wanted to have one. I also always wanted a Galary Gun, but did not want to spend that much for one in good condition and did not want to be limited to .22 shorts. So I bought a Henry Octagon Barreled Pump in .22 Magnum. Lots of fun, though I do like my Golden Boy in .22 LR better as well as my Savage in 17 HMR.

Bob

 

[Predator1]

Ok, didn’t realize the auto options were that slim on choice. Can’t afford the Volquartson and actually wasn’t aware the 10/22 mag was no longer made. wasn’t real fond of the looks of the CZ so I guess I’m down to a bolt gun. The CZ 455 that was recommended looks good. Might consider the Ruger 77 as I am more of a CZ guy.

Is the mag ammo that bad now that it’s the issue with accuracy and not the rifles themselves?

 

[searcher]

If you buy a semi-auto, be sure to do your homework. In .17 hmr, there were a lot of failures in rifle designs, whereby the rifles couldn't function properly due to the high-pressures. I don't recall who all the failures were made by, but I had bought a Volquartson .17hmr and I have problems with it extracting shells before the pressure curve is complete enough to allow "normal" looking cases to be ejected. Rather, they have an expanded base - not the safest looking situation. Very accurate - but potentially unsafe. Maybe the gas-operated versions they have out now are the ones to look at. Several years back, I came across a Remington .22 magnum semi-auto but couldn't find ammo for it until recently. The .17 hmr ammo seems to be far and away more accurate than the .22 Magnum stuff I have shot in a number of rifles I own. I'd only steer towards the .22 Magnum if you were going to shoot larger varmints like coyotes. The .17hmr is very outgunned by the .22 magnum for that.

 

[Tommie]

Ok, didn’t realize the auto options were that slim on choice. Can’t afford the Volquartson and actually wasn’t aware the 10/22 mag was no longer made. wasn’t real fond of the looks of the CZ so I guess I’m down to a bolt gun. The CZ 455 that was recommended looks good. Might consider the Ruger 77 as I am more of a CZ guy.

Is the mag ammo that bad now that it’s the issue with accuracy and not the rifles themselves?

If you want a .22 mag autoloader take a look at Magnum Research. They’re not cheap but a lot less than a Volquartsen. Uses Ruger factory trigger group and magazine.

.22 magnum ammunition never has been developed for cutting-edge accuracy. Don’t expect ragged hole groups. Yes, most 17 HMR rifles seem to group better.

 

[Hippy]

I have Four ( 1 Bolt + 3 Semi's ) 22 Mag rifles and they are reliable and accurate. I have 2 H&R 700 1 Delux and 1 Standard ,Remington 597 and Zastava AKA Rem Model 5 .

The 597 is the Most accurate 7/8" @ 100 .4 @ 50 Yds
Both of the H&R's will shoot 1 1/4" @ 100
The Bolt will do 1" @ 100 and 1/2" @ 50
I have a 77/17 HMR S/S Walnut that will shoot .3 @ 50 and 3/4" @100 Yard


Jim

 

[TheOtherZilla]

For the money I would look at the CZ 455, You can switch barrels and less than 5 minutes and can shoot 17HMR, 22 long rifle or 22 mag, Hands down the best Bang for the buck

I have had one for a long time.. Great shooter and probly my favorite rifle.. Ammo is cheap enough now, and as mine is also a 455 CZ, when 22 mag got hard to find a while back and expensive, I bought a 17HMR barrel. 17 Ammo was plentiful and cheaper. Takes all to 10 minutes to swap barrels and then re-zero.. I now have the 22 mag barrel back on ...

As for the 77/17, some shoot most don't.. I have a 77/22 hornet that I had to send out to get it to even group..

 

[steve123]

On Wednesday I got the old HK300 out, mounted a Nikon 3-9 with those big holdover circles, and rediscovered how awesome this rifle is! I hadn't had a scope on it in years. This rifle is just an amazing early 70's classic semiauto 22mag.

My bud showed up with his 9422M as well.

We sighted in at 100Y, his shot good but mine shot great. Like 3/4" at 100Y great!

After that I went immediately to our 200M 4"(that's on the bottom of course) wide triangle steel, and rarely missed, actually I got it 6 in row and came back later with a 5 in a row, as you can imagine the wind was soft, because 30 Vmax/.11BC usually gets pushed pretty good.

22 mag was my first firearm as a 12 year old boy so it has always been special to me!!!

 

[daniel brothers]

My Savage A-22 has the same problem with the occasional miss fires as well that has already been stated. I sent it back to savage.. they sent it back with a Big Okay on it... well... last week.. it did the same thing. Normally in target situations it would be no problem, but I ONLY bought it for shooting hogs on public land during their small game season. It miss fired 9 times with hogs in my crosshairs, but 6 times i was able to eject and still get off a killing shot... but that is still 3 missed hog kills. I now have a call into savage again, which they are sending a call tag for a return... who knows if they will get it right this time...BUT... I WILL BE YELLING ABOUT THE HAMMER SPRING because sometimes it fires and sometimes it's just a light indent in the case, which later fires just fine... it's got to be a bad or weak spring... who knows... but I am also looking for a good accurate and reliable semi auto 22 mag that will shoot these Federal Gameshock 55 gr bullets.

So... I'll be watching this thread closely for good tips.... thanks ...Dan

 

[Ray F.]

I saw the CZ455 mentioned already, but I have to add. I absolutely love mine. Fit and finish are extremely nice. I got the 3-barrel package, so going from 22LR to 22WMR to 17HMR is no sweat. Like always, I dumped more money into the gun than it's worth. Tactical bolt knob to clear the Vortex Crossfire scope, trigger job and threaded end on the 22LR barrel for a Gemtech suppressor.

I had an issue with the vendor (Grab-a-gun). They sent me a bastard barrel (hooded sight) that didn't match the others and I didn't catch it on the pick up from the FFL (mea culpa). Long story made short: After a BBB submission, CZ reached out to me and offered to make it as right as possible. They didn't have to do that. They were the manufacturer...not the seller.

 

[TheOtherZilla]

I have bought several weapons from Grab a Gun.. Never had any issues.. I have a 455, in 22 Mag that I love.. I also bought a 17HMR barrel from Midway for like $150 shipped including another magazine..

As for Grab-a-Gun I believe they drop ship most of the stuff they sell.. I just bought an S&W 357MAG 686 revolver from them as they have the best price including shipping and it was sent from Texas..

 

[ebb]

Predator 1. When you get your 22mag test all the ammo you can find. don't just test the big 3 (rem, federal, win ) I was working with my Marlin 22 mag back when I got it and someone gave me some Armscorp 22mag ammo, it easily out shot all others in my gun.