best option for target .22

[wecf]

To make a long story short, my Wife was given a nylon 66 about 10 years ago and started shooting short range silhouette with it and fell in love with the sport. Then the 66 was "returned" and now she has no rifle to shoot silhouette with.
I need to replace the rifle and want to give her a true target rifle. I would like some suggestions, bolt or semi, needs to be pretty lightweight, my budget is less than $1000. I grew up with a 10/22 and am kind of looking at them closely (with many mods). Any help would be great. Thanks.

[AndrewMendez]

You can not go wrong with a 10/22. So many after market options available. You can seriously do whatever you want to do with that gun. You can make it look like a Tommy gun, a m16...etc...etc. Upgrade the trigger and your g2g, maybe add a scope for 100 bucks? Then keep the other $500-600 and buy her some earrings.

[redcliff]

Personally if shes like my wife, I'd buy her another Nylon 66. I don't know about your wife, but mine is not the most receptive to change. She likes what she likes and doesnt care what "advantages" something else may have. Its a comfort level thing I guess. Not knocking her, shes a better person than me, but we all have our idiosynchrasies.

What model did she have? I have an Apache Black that I like a lot. I think there was a Mohawk Brown also, and maybe one other color?

[wecf]

She had the brown. She has kind of a bad association with the 66 because of what happened with the old one. Besides that they are too expensive for what they are (they go for $350-450 around here).
I am very familiar with the 10/22 it was the first rifle I ever shot 30 years ago and my dad still has it. I am looking for advice on either a good factory target rifle or a good web site for mods for the 10/22. I have heard good things about the Remington 597 also I just don't know if there are enough aftermarket accessories to turn it into a true target rifle.
Thanks for the replies!

[Izzy43]

To make a long story short, my Wife was given a nylon 66 about 10 years ago and started shooting short range silhouette with it and fell in love with the sport. Then the 66 was "returned" and now she has no rifle to shoot silhouette with.
I need to replace the rifle and want to give her a true target rifle. I would like some suggestions, bolt or semi, needs to be pretty lightweight, my budget is less than $1000. I grew up with a 10/22 and am kind of looking at them closely (with many mods). Any help would be great. Thanks.

What accuracy do you expect at what range? What type of targets will she be shooting? True target rifles tend to be heavy (for a reason). There are of course many accurate bolt action rifles from Savage, Marlin, CZ and others, all under $1000.

[Cali-Shooter]

+1 for a 10/22.

Imho, there is no reason to spend more than 500+ on a target .22 rifle. A budget of $1000 is more than ample.

[Ledbetter]

A CZ with a good scope is the best option in your price range.

a stock 10/22 is fun, but not target-accurate.

[Mail Clerk]

To make a long story short, my Wife was given a nylon 66 about 10 years ago and started shooting short range silhouette with it and fell in love with the sport. Then the 66 was "returned" and now she has no rifle to shoot silhouette with.
I need to replace the rifle and want to give her a true target rifle. I would like some suggestions, bolt or semi, needs to be pretty lightweight, my budget is less than $1000. I grew up with a 10/22 and am kind of looking at them closely (with many mods). Any help would be great. Thanks.

wecf,

The Ruger 10-22 is perfect for your wife in every way!!!! I'd get a used one and replace the barrel and stock with one that's better suited for her range/silhouette shootoing sport. I don't know if she can have a scope on it but a nice 3X9 comes to mind. With those in mind your well under your maximum budget! That's what I did long ago when all the custom parts cam out. My stainless steel Midway heavy barelis the most.:-) Also consider a Remington 597.... it's a little finiky but when tuned it just as good as the Ruger. Caliber wise try a 17HMR due to it's power and extremly flat trajectory.

Mail Clerk

[beerman]

How about a Kimber M82 available thru the CMP?

http://www.thecmp.org/22targetsurplus.htm://

[wecf]

All targets are off-hand from 25-100 yards. I was thinking or a 10/22 w/carbon barrel, new stock, power customs trigger, maybe a lightweight bolt? I'm not sure what the best mods are for it. I saw one on gun broker with a threaded barrel, I thought that was a good idea. I have always liked the rifles like they use in the Olympics but they might be out of my price range and I don't even know where to start looking for something like that.
Thanks for the responses!

[Izzy43]

While this is a very new semi-auto from CZ there have been a few reviews that indicate it has the renowned accuracy of the CZ line of .22 rifles. Here's one (non-shooting) review. http://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums...d.php?t=374436

Link to Rifle: http://cz-usa.com/products/view/cz-512/

It will be my next .22 purchase. Price around $450 which is more than a basic 10/22 but no need to upgrade anything. Just add the scope of your choice. I own a CZ 452 UltrLux and the fit and finish of this rifle is excellent. It shoots 1/4" groups @25 yds and 1/2" groups @ 50 yds with inexpensive Federal Automatch ammo and Peep sights. It is however a heavy rifle and would not suit your requirements. If you go for a bolt action I also recommend a CZ, perhaps one of these.

http://cz-usa.com/products/view/cz-452-style/

http://cz-usa.com/products/view/cz-452-silhouette/

These two have the synthetic stocks but not the type you will find in inexpensive rifles. They are very sturdy, do not flex and these rifles are known to be as accurate as their wood-stocked brothers. The craftsmanship on all CZs is excellent. Good luck on your choice.

[Dorkhedeos]

I just bought a 981t and I really like the way it shoots. Really light and pretty damn accurate with marlins microgroove barrel. Be ready to buy a scope though, sights are useless unless you mash your face against the stock. Great rifle once you have a scope though, 17 round tube mag lets you shoot for longer.

[MaHoTex]

I purchased a Marlin 925 for my son's Xmas gift. That rifle is very accurate and reasonably inexpensive. I would not hesitate to purchase another. Saw the mention of the 981 above, and I really would like to get one of those for myself. I was considering the stainless 981TS, just wish it came with a wood stock instead of the plastic.

I do agree about the iron sights though. Seems the sights on the 925, 795 and my model 60 are next to worthless.

[klmmicro]

The "stock" 10/22 would be fine for 25-100 yard shooting.

[BrianRodela]

My suggestion would be a 10-22, Kid lightweight barrel and rework the trigger and bolt yourself or have someone do it for you (550 bucks). That will pretty much give you 1/2" groups (at worse) with Wolf MT at 50 yards consistently. Anyone who says that semi's can't compete with bolt actions forget that we are all not olympic shooters and the 1/8" difference in our groups most likely won't make the difference in the matches anyway.