Thread: Looking for a .22 bolt action setup that can be as accurate as possible for rabbits

17HMR is way louder. You can have it suppressed so it does not hurt your ears but never quiet enough so it doesnt scare away other game.

if your hunting area is somewhat limited, you dont want to scare off everything within 200 meters when you fire a shot.

Also the 17 blows bloody great holes in them, my best bunny gun was a .22 Hornet with cast bullets just a nice neat hole and dead on the spot.

Second hand Brno model 2e. Nothing wrong with the norinco copy or the newer CZ but the quality of the older Brno seems better. They have a higher cheek piece on stock makes it easier to be accurate. Just my opinion. I own all 3. They all accurate. Trigger on Norinco is average.

The most accurate you will get for that $ is a bsa mk1 mk2 mk3
Small bore rifle
Throw a rail like this
https://www.deltamike.co.nz/product/...er-optic-rail/
End up with a very accurate 22 with a fully adjustable trigger
In those model

Originally Posted by Ultimitsu

I own a lot of 22s, and shoot almost exclusively 22s. Here is my take.

1. People tend to hang on to their accurate 22s, because there are always opportunities to shoot them. Accurate second hand 22 sporters exist but you need to be lucky. A few times a year someone in the forum would come up with genuinely good deal. I would say that they are more reliable than TradeMe as far as accuracy claims go.

2. If you want some certainty and buy new, you only have 2 choices around $1k. T1X and CZ457, with T1X a bit more certain. If you want spend no more than $600, get CZ452.

3. If you shoot 100x 3-round groups with any gun, you will be end up with a few 3-shot 1 hole groups. The better measure is whether the gun can produce 3x 5-shot 1-MOA groups on the same piece of paper. I go to several 22 sporting rifle clubs (just finished the 2024 inter-club series between 5 clubs in Auckland), and have been to competitions for other disciplines such as silhouette and PRS and seen many 22 guns in action. I just do not see the fabled "1-hole JW15" or "0.75 MOA Marlin", "sub-MOA-all-day-long Ruger American" competing. Most budget competitors shoot T1X and CZ457. High end shoot Vudoo or Victrix.

4. Do not buy Ruger 10/22 if you want accuracy. The fastest way to waste money is to buy a Ruger 10/22 and upgrade it. If you want an accurate 10/22, go with one-stop option, and the best in that category is KIDD. Be prepared to pay $1700+ for a secondhand and 3k for a new one.

5. Accuracy is not just in the barrel, it is also in the trigger. More so if you shoot free hand. With many low end gun, while you could get a lottery barrel, you will not get a lottery trigger. They all have heavy, gritty, creepy, and/or inconsistent pull. You have to pay good money for a factory light, smooth, consistent trigger. There are after market triggers cost 700+, people buy them not because they are snobs, but because they really improve shooting a lot.

6. I only shoot free hand when I go rabbit and possum hunting. You cannot expect to go prone every time you see a game, it is too slow and the terrain do not always permit prone shooting. This is why good trigger is super important.

Agree with everything, except I can say from experience that JW15A's are right up there with the CZ's in terms of accuracy. Not sure about Marlins though.

Originally Posted by Ultimitsu

I own a lot of 22s, and shoot almost exclusively 22s. Here is my take.

1. People tend to hang on to their accurate 22s, because there are always opportunities to shoot them. Accurate second hand 22 sporters exist but you need to be lucky. A few times a year someone in the forum would come up with genuinely good deal. I would say that they are more reliable than TradeMe as far as accuracy claims go.

2. If you want some certainty and buy new, you only have 2 choices around $1k. T1X and CZ457, with T1X a bit more certain. If you want spend no more than $600, get CZ452.

3. If you shoot 100x 3-round groups with any gun, you will be end up with a few 3-shot 1 hole groups. The better measure is whether the gun can produce 3x 5-shot 1-MOA groups on the same piece of paper. I go to several 22 sporting rifle clubs (just finished the 2024 inter-club series between 5 clubs in Auckland), and have been to competitions for other disciplines such as silhouette and PRS and seen many 22 guns in action. I just do not see the fabled "1-hole JW15" or "0.75 MOA Marlin", "sub-MOA-all-day-long Ruger American" competing. Most budget competitors shoot T1X and CZ457. High end shoot Vudoo or Victrix.

4. Do not buy Ruger 10/22 if you want accuracy. The fastest way to waste money is to buy a Ruger 10/22 and upgrade it. If you want an accurate 10/22, go with one-stop option, and the best in that category is KIDD. Be prepared to pay $1700+ for a secondhand and 3k for a new one.

5. Accuracy is not just in the barrel, it is also in the trigger. More so if you shoot free hand. With many low end gun, while you could get a lottery barrel, you will not get a lottery trigger. They all have heavy, gritty, creepy, and/or inconsistent pull. You have to pay good money for a factory light, smooth, consistent trigger. There are after market triggers cost 700+, people buy them not because they are snobs, but because they really improve shooting a lot.

6. I only shoot free hand when I go rabbit and possum hunting. You cannot expect to go prone every time you see a game, it is too slow and the terrain do not always permit prone shooting. This is why good trigger is super important.

Amazing info. Thanks a bunch! very insightful

Originally Posted by NCGNSMITH

The most accurate you will get for that $ is a bsa mk1 mk2 mk3
Small bore rifle
Throw a rail like this
https://www.deltamike.co.nz/product/...er-optic-rail/
End up with a very accurate 22 with a fully adjustable trigger
In those model

Funny you should meantion the BSA's Back in the late 1980's early 1990's as a student in Hamilton I would often take my Mum's BSA out Rabbit shooting, Bit of a lump to carry around but that long barrel and sub's kept it quiet as the infill houses and horse paddocks closed up on the dairy farms I shot on. (Now all houses)
I was shooting the BSA at the Hamilton indoor range at the time.
Also have a 1980's wood stock JW15 that shoots like a tack driver, needed a bit of sanding to float the barrel and some polishing to smooth out the trigger. ONly niggle is the safety would work up and now and then jam the bolt needing to be pushed back into place.
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