Premium 22LR Hunting Rifle

[Jud96]

Hey guys, I’ve been thinking about getting a really nice 22LR rifle in the future. My budget is preferably $1500 and under. Since building custom rifles for myself, I’ve had the urge to buy a high quality 22LR. My Uncle has a Kimber 82 with a fluted barrel and beautiful walnut stock and that rifle is what got me wanting a nice rimfire for myself. Having said that, it doesn’t seem that Kimber makes their rimfire rifles anymore and the same with Ruger’s 77/22, that I also like. I don’t know much about rimfires and if the Kimbers and 77/22 Rugers were accurate and reliable. For those with experience owning, shooting, and handling the Kimber 82s and Ruger 77/22s give me your thoughts and opinions on those rifles please. Also, what other premium rimfires would you recommend in my price range? I see that Cooper makes a beautiful 22LR, but the price tag is a little more than I'd like to spend on a rimfire, but other than Cooper, I don’t see many classic, higher end rimfires currently available. Thank you!

 

[drover]

Kimber 82s are generally good rifles but they had their problems through the years, depending on cash flow at the factory the quality tended to vary a bit. If you do consider one take a good look at it before committing.
Ruger 77/22 have never had an appeal to me plus they generally do not shoot as well as the price would indicate that they should.

an Anschutz sporter or a Cooper sporter can both be found within your budget if you are willing to have patience and do a lot of searching.

CZ 457 sporter - IMO this is a real sleeper. I bought one a year around $600 with beautiful fiddleback wood, 24" sporter contour barrel and it shoots outstanding. You have to look at the wood on these carefully because the finish they use hides a lot of the figure which may require a bit of work to bring it out so that it really shines.

CZ 452 and CZ 455 - there are some of those around with great wood if you are willing to pay a bit extra. The downside to them is the "backwards" safety that some folks don't care for, the trigger requires a bit of work generally. The biggest issue with them is bolt handle interference with the scope bell, it takes a bit of searching for rings that allow low mounting without the the bolt handle hitting the scope.

Summary - I recommend the CZ 457 as the most likely to fill your want at a reasonable price. Also take into consideration that they do have factory support for parts and repair, something that is no longer available with Kimber and Cooper.

Good luck on your search

drover

edited to add -
I have shot a lot of 22 LR rimfires throughout the years and while some may be slightly more accurate than others all of the ones listed below easily placed 5 shots into 1/2" or less at 50 yds.
I have owned 4 Kimber of Oregon, 3 Cooper 57M sporters, 2 Tikka T1x, 5 Remington 541, 6 Anschutz sporters (4 ea. 1700 series and 3 ea. 1400 series), 1 Sako P94S sporter, 1 Winchester 52B sporter, and numerous other 22 rimfires of various grades.

I would suggest that if you can find a CZ 457 with a piece of wood that suits you then purchase it. If you find another rifle that you like later on chances are that you can sell the CZ 457 for as much as you paid for it. But after shooting and handling it for a while I would not be surprised if you found that it suits your wants just fine.

 

[paul castelli]

Been there done that, and found an old Annie 1422 for around $1400 with gorgeous wood on it.

Anschutz~1416

Anschutz~1416 for sale online.

www.gunsinternational.com

Remington 541-S 22 LR 1977 Engraved Custom Sporter Deluxe Exc Cond!

Remington 541-S 22 LR 1977 Engraved Custom Sporter Deluxe Exc Cond! for sale online.

www.gunsinternational.com

People on Gun-Borker.com seem to have more dollars than sense and bid the $ up way too high.

 

[Jud96]

Kimber 82s are generally good rifles but they had their problems through the years depending on cash flow at the factory the quality tended to vary a bit. If you do consider one take a good look at it before committing.
Ruger 77/22 have never had an appeal to me plus they generally do not shoot as well as the price would indicate that they should.

an Anschutz sporter or a Cooper sporter can both be found within your budget if you are willing to have patience and do a lot of searching.

CZ 457 sporter - IMO this is a real sleeper. I bought one a year around $600 with beautiful fiddleback wood, 24" sporter contour barrel and it shoots outstanding. You have to look at the wood on these carefully because the finish they use hides a lot of the figure which may require a bit of work to bring it out so that it really shines.

CZ 452 and CZ 455 - there are some of those around with great wood if you are willing to pay a bit extra. The downside to them is the "backwards" safety that some folks don't care for, the trigger requires a bit of work generally. The biggest issue with them is bolt handle interference with the scope bell, it takes a bit of searching for rings that allow low mounting without the the bolt handle hitting the scope.

Summary - I recommend the CZ 457 as the most likely to fill your want at a reasonable price. Also take into consideration that they do have factory support for parts and repair, something that is no longer available with Kimber and Cooper.

Good luck on your search

drover

Excellent information! I’m going to keep my eyes open and look for a used Cooper in my price range. I would love to have one of those. However, that CZ 457 American looks really really nice and a great price as well. I see that Lilja makes a drop in barrel for the 457, so that makes it even more attractive. Thank you again!

 

[68Hoyt]

The Japan made browning 52 then japan made Winchester 52 may be an option , scope to bolt handle clearance is an issue as you need to find an older scope with a smaller objective bell to clear

 

[Knotwild]

I had a bad experience with Kimber years ago, and today, I will not consider their products. They appear to spend more money on advertising quality than actually investing in quality. I have a few rimfires but two get shot the most - Anschutz 1416 I got used for around $1k and a Tikka T1X. I got them because I wanted to extend the ranges I shoot and learn about wind reading. I also have a CZ 452 that I don't shoot as much for one reason - it doesn't have a threaded barrel. Two things I would have to have if I were looking to get a new rifle are a threaded barrel and a really nice trigger. I also highly recommend a suppressor - they make shooting such a pleasure.

If you watch the Rimfire Central classifieds, they have some really nice stuff at affordable prices. You just have to watch close and pounce quickly.

 

[K22]

For a 22LR hunting rifle, I believe the Tikka T1X would fill the need quite adequately and you could allocate some of the money you have budgeted to a high-quality scope.

You didn't mention what you would be hunting but my Tikka would have no problem accuracy wise taking squirrels at 75 yards assuming I can make the shot.

 

[CharlieNC]

For hunting, consider 17hmr for extended range and much flatter trajectory.

 

[CJ6]

T1X or Bergara.

 

[nettle]

I have a Kimber Model 82. I would be hard pressed trying to replace it.

 

[10XSHOOTER]

You might want to look at a Vudoo they have several barrel options.
My heavy barrels are shooters. F-class small bore and .22 bench rest. Is what mine gets used for.
2 different rifles with different barrel lengths

 

[ohlongarmisle]

Hey guys, I’ve been thinking about getting a really nice 22LR rifle in the future. My budget is preferably $1500 and under. Since building custom rifles for myself, I’ve had the urge to buy a high quality 22LR. My Uncle has a Kimber 82 with a fluted barrel and beautiful walnut stock and that rifle is what got me wanting a nice rimfire for myself. Having said that, it doesn’t seem that Kimber makes their rimfire rifles anymore and the same with Ruger’s 77/22, that I also like. I don’t know much about rimfires and if the Kimbers and 77/22 Rugers were accurate and reliable. For those with experience owning, shooting, and handling the Kimber 82s and Ruger 77/22s give me your thoughts and opinions on those rifles please. Also, what other premium rimfires would you recommend in my price range? I see that Cooper makes a beautiful 22LR, but the price tag is a little more than I'd like to spend on a rimfire, but other than Cooper, I don’t see many classic, higher end rimfires currently available. Thank you!

I've had plenty high end 22's and moved them all on , never lost a dime on them but for a hunting rifle nothing absolutely nothing beats a Tikka T1X, had CZ's Rugers, many more,for the money the Tikka will never be left with its's tail between its's legs get the synthetic black stock and go hunting, no worrying about dings and dents on a high end rifle that looks pretty. In a hunting scenario i'll shoot against anything out there, I did say HUNTING.My Ruger 77/22 is a tack driver but I dropped a pretty penny to get it to shoot that way, trigger,and suppressor.

 

[Infrequent Shooter]

Used Mauser 201?
Used Sako, quite a few models
Anschutz 64 and 54 are both nice.
All the above are better /IMO/ than current production rifles. I have not handled a Cooper. If you could find an old Rem, 22 Sporter, that would be a great find, kinda like the Win 75 sporter.adding the older Brownings from the 80S? they were pretty high quality.

 

[justinp61]

I own a Savage, Tikka T1X, Browning 52, an Anschutz 1712 and several heavy barrel 52's and a 40XB. The Savage is a fun rifle for plinking, the Tikka is more accurate than the Savage, it shoots everything well. The Browning shoots decent, a little better than the T1X, but is ammo finicky. The 1712 is a shooter, it shoots everything great and some ammo lots are amazing.

I used to shoot 50 yard fun matches at a local gun club, benchrest target rifle, benchrest sporter, offhand sporters and a couple of other games. In benchrest 50 shots for a possible 500 points. In one of the sporter benchrest matches, I shot 493 out of 500 with the 1712, it beat everyone else by more than 20 points. It was just my night. I never scored that high with any of my heavy barrel rifles. In fact in four years shooting those matches I never saw anyone shoot a higher score with a sporter or a target rifle.

The Tikka is IMO the best rifle in its price category but isn't in the same class with the Anschutz and honestly, it's unfair to expect it to be. My only complaint with the 1712 is the extraction, it's kinda like the surprise toy in Cracker Jacks, you never know what you're going to get.

Rimfire Central is a good place to find decent deals on used rifles, I picked up the 1712 for about what the OP is looking to spend.

 

[pilot]

You might want to look at a Vudoo they have several barrel options.
My heavy barrels are shooters. F-class small bore and .22 bench rest. Is what mine gets used for.
2 different rifles with different barrel lengths

They start over $3000 for the base model. Great rifle, but very expensive.

 

[WyleWD]

For a 22LR hunting rifle, I believe the Tikka T1X would fill the need quite adequately and you could allocate some of the money you have budgeted to a high-quality scope.

You didn't mention what you would be hunting but my Tikka would have no problem accuracy wise taking squirrels at 75 yards assuming I can make the shot.

+1^^^^ Agree with K22 on this one. I love the CZ's, but those Tikka T1x are the real deal. JME. WD

 

[ohlongarmisle]

I own a Savage, Tikka T1X, Browning 52, an Anschutz 1712 and several heavy barrel 52's and a 40XB. The Savage is a fun rifle for plinking, the Tikka is more accurate than the Savage, it shoots everything well. The Browning shoots decent, a little better than the T1X, but is ammo finicky. The 1712 is a shooter, it shoots everything great and some ammo lots are amazing.

I used to shoot 50 yard fun matches at a local gun club, benchrest target rifle, benchrest sporter, offhand sporters and a couple of other games. In benchrest 50 shots for a possible 500 points. In one of the sporter benchrest matches, I shot 493 out of 500 with the 1712, it beat everyone else by more than 20 points. It was just my night. I never scored that high with any of my heavy barrel rifles. In fact in four years shooting those matches I never saw anyone shoot a higher score with a sporter or a target rifle.

The Tikka is IMO the best rifle in its price category but isn't in the same class with the Anschutz and honestly, it's unfair to expect it to be. My only complaint with the 1712 is the extraction, it's kinda like the surprise toy in Cracker Jacks, you never know what you're going to get.

Rimfire Central is a good place to find decent deals on used rifles, I picked up the 1712 for about what the OP is looking to spend.

My Tikka T1x , how much better than any other rifle shoot in a hunting scenario than this,@ 50 yards under controlled environment? Only a hunting rifle , this was shot with Lapua super long range. Good enough to drop a squirrel, out to 100, or a coyote with a head shot. Five shots there,yote between the eyes perfectly at 100 yards. If any other rifle can significantly outdo this let me hear about it.

 

[RCE1]

I think the nicer level Kimber .22s or a Cooper would be great as a hunting rifle.

 

[dgeesaman]

Used Anschutz or Sako is where I’d go with this.

 

[jelenko]

4 Kimber of Oregon, 3 Cooper 57M sporters, 2 Tikka T1x, 5 Remington 541, 6 Anschutz sporters (4 ea. 1700 series and 3 ea. 1400 series), 1 Sako P94S sporter, 1 Winchester 52B sporter, and numerous other 22 rimfires of various grades

Wow!