What is the best light weight 22 out there?

For dogs or coyotes, if you are going to use a .22 lr, I would limit the range to 50 yards maximum - they don't have a lot of energy to begin with for animals this size. But with good bullet placement, they could do. If you live in areas where the coyotes are very large (50 pounds plus), I would pass on this round.

As said above, the .22 Magnum might be a better choice. The ammunition is much more expensive (about 2 - 3 times more per box of 50), but this round adds about 50 yards more range than the standard lr. round. For our coyotes down here (pretty scrawny compared to those northern 'brush wolves'), I've cleanly killed coyotes just beyond 100 yards away - head shot, the animal did not know what hit it. This round has more energy at 100 yards than the .22lr does at the muzzle! It is something to consider.

A great website dealing with rimfire topics is:

www.rimfirecentral.com

a web site having tons of information on rimfire rifles, pistols, revolvers and their accoutrements.

I hope this helps.

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Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.

well alittle off the topic, but these three guns are my Favorite, I'm sure they will take out a Coyote!!!!!

I would opt for either the Ruger 10-22 Magnum:

Ruger

or the Henry Lever Action 22 Magnum:

Henry

Both are quality firearms and reasonably priced. Both are in the 22 Magnum caliber, which I would prefer for dispatching larger dogs and coyotes. I have both of these in the regular 22 LR chamberings and wouldn't hesitate to recommend either to someone. What you pick will ultimately be decided by what feels right to you.

One thing to keep in mind - what is legal in your state for hunting? In many states it won't matter, but in PA semi-automatic rifles are not legal for hunting and killing a coyote would be considered hunting here. So no 10-22. Food for thought.

A womans point of view.

My DH gave me a Remington Nylon 66 and I have dispatched many critters with it. However on Coyotes I use our Rossi 44-Magnum Single Shot. It loads a might slow but if you can't hit it don't shoot at it. That's my son's motto. It weighs about 6 pounds. I call that light weight for a centerfire rifle.






=====>Jean at work

the .17hmr is another very impressive rimfire round.
but all things considered, price, weight, availability, resale, accuracy,dependability and on and on.the 10/22 is hard to beat. i've owned many different types and also a gunshop for awhile, it's just plain one of the best buys out there. the rossi combo's are a very good buy also, but in a different class being single shots.

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BrushBuster

Thank you everyone for all the advise and the great links,,, will take some reading to figure out which 22 I will get.

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Shari

Good question,, will be asking DH's cousins, as they are avid hunters in that area of Oregon.
But the most the rifle will be used for, is in defence of my horses and livestock.

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Shari

The Ruger 10/22, hands down. There are better rifles out there, but if you're looking for a lot of bang for your buck under $200 for a new semi-automatic rifle, go with the 10/22. People win shooting competitions with them regularly. It's a good, reliable .22 for a good price with a ton of inexpensive modifications and clips available for it.

-Jack_Cville

As mentioned by most of the other posters, the Ruger 10-22 is probably the best bang for your buck in a rimfire rifle. If you are looking for something with a little more class (and you have deep pockets) consider a bolt action Kimber. Super accurate but a little steep for most.
If you are going to routinely use this weapon against coyote sized animals, you should consider upgrading to a 22 hornet or a 218 bee. Either center fire round will deliver more knock down power than a 22 rim fire but are still mild in recoil and report. Factory loads for both the hornet and the bee are available and the 22 hornet is still relatively inexpensive to shoot. If you have not done so already, should also consider picking up and learning how to use a good shotgun. Handy item to have for larger, fast moving varmints. Good Luck.

I repeat, you won't get more accurate than the CZ bolt action. The Kimber may match it, but you won't see any difference. If you can handle the bolt action, CZ is the way to go. If you need self-loading, go with the Ruger.If price is a consideration, drop back to the Canadian Sterling or to the Marlin - they're near enough as good as the CZ and a lot cheaper.

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ô¿ô Don Armstrong,Terra Australis

Grandad, tell us a story about the olden days, when you were young and men could walk on the moon.

CZ's are a good choise. I don't think you will find a .22 that can beat them in accuracy. At least what we will be useing them for. I have a CZ in .22 hornet. This is another round that may be a good one for your use. It will take a coyote at 100+ yards. Hardly any recoil. They come in boxes of 50 for about $10-15 I think. I reload all my ammo so not sure what a box of loaded ammo would cost. The rifle is also very light weight.

If You are planning on doing a lot of plnking and can shooting get a .22rim fire. If it will be sighted in and only used to shoot varmints, Id get a .22 mag or the hornet. They will knock the larger varmints down with a little more punch. Of course the more powerful the more noise it makes. But even the hornet isnt that loud. Anything bigger than these makes a lot more noise.

Steve

CZ? Full name? And do you have a link for this one and the Kimber?

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Shari

If you don't care about accessorizing, get a Marlin 60. tube fed, good semi-auto, reasonably priced. If you want to trick it out to the hilt (change barrels, etc.), get a Ruger 10/22. They are the Lego kit of .22 rifles. FWIW, I have a Marlin 60 that I have had for 25 years, and it still works great. I HAD a Ruger 10/22. They are nice rifles, but they are too fat (because of the box magazine) for me.

My suggestion would be go to a gun store and handle them to see what fits you best.

If I were you I would look at the new Marlin model 1894 in 32-20 or 32 H&R magnum. Hardly any recoil not very noisy and still pack a pretty good punch. The rifle is fairly light and either cartridge would take a dog down humanely and with good range capability. The advice to go to the gunshops or gunshows and handle the different models is really good advice. If light is the premium catagory Stevens is making thier little crackshot favorites again. They are really light. If that were the choice I would choose the 17 HMR because of the higher velocity and greater wound channel/pennetration characteristics.

Bergere - here is CZs distributor here in the U.S., located in Kansas. This link is the CZ 452 rimfire rifle page. The Trainer is the less costly but just as well manufactured model - $200 - $225 is about right.

http://www.cz-usa.com/product.rimfire.php

The Scout might be for you if you are smaller framed - it is meant as a beginning shooters rifle (young teenager) but has the same action and very often the same accuracy as its bigger sized brothers. I comes with a single shot magazine, but takes the same 5 and 10 round magazines as the others. My wife has one, but I can shoulder it easily. Shes 5'-4" and I'm just over 6'-0". No problem for me at all.

If you have champagne tastes, the LUX / American is about $150 more. BTW, don't be scared by the prices on this page - a gun dealer can often find these cheaper. My Trainer cost $214, my FS .22 Magnum cost $380.

Except for wood stock species and metal finish, the Trainer is by far the best value of the CZ line.

I hope this helps.

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Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.

Three choices come to mind

The CZ 452
The CZ 452
and the CZ 452

Mine is the "trainer" version with the excellent iron sights. There's also a smaller scout version and a sightless version for scope mounting--but you really don't need a scope with this rifle. The trainer's iron sights are *that* good.

It's head and shoulders above any other .22 for the money. Mine shoots MOA and has excellent tangent sights that nullify bullet drop out to 200 meters. It's amazingly accurate and has nailed many squirrel, ptarmigan, hare and tin cans. Plus it's light weight, perfectly balanced and handles like a scaled down $1,500 custom Mauser. If only my centerfire rifles were as good.

Yes, am very small framed... that is part of the problem..sigh ~ ~

Am gathering all the info everyone has posted,, so when I can get to a good gun shop, I will know what I am looking for.

Thanks again!

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Shari

The nylon 66 is a light weight gun and a good one. Also the chipmuck is a kids rifle but is very light weight single shot and with the peep sights it is deadly accurate.

Just a comment on rifles that shoot pistol ammo.I had a High point arms(junk, but it did shoot accurate as heck) that shot 9mm pistol ammo.I wouldn't say it kicked much, but more of a slap.A lot harder than a 22mag though! The synthetic stock would make your shoulder red after about 5 rounds.It felt like some one slapped you in the shoulder open handed pretty hard.(LOL Thats how my 12year old explained it)I think it was mainly do to its light weight.A heavier model wouldn't kick as bad.This rifle looked like the kind swat uses with the heat shield barl it was maybe 30inches long about 3or 4pounds.Id look for something heaver if your concerned with kick.

Keep in mind when hunting/or shooting at an animal you'll hardly feel/notice the kick from most rifles or even shot guns for that matter.Its the target pratise that will make you sore.

Id also vote for the 22.cal mag. But i dont like the new model Marlins ive had trouble with two of them now.The older ones last forever though.
Id check your local pawn shops if you have any handy you can usually buy a used rifle for 1/2 the cost of new.I have several 22's and a 22 mag that where all bought for less than 60 bucks.
You might also look at the Harrington Richardson(sp?) single shot models.They can be bought in almost every cal. for very little money.And they are very small and light weight.They make many youth models for starter deer rifles.They are rock solid and will last a life time.They can also be reloaded fairly quickly for a single shot due to there push bottom style breach.And they have a hammer for safety.If you could find one of these chambered for a 224.cal i wouldn't think the kick would be to bad but the knock down power on the other end would be brutal compared to a 22 and with a cheap scope you could more than double your range.Also check the pawn shops for scopes.I bought a (looks) new 4x11 Red Field for 25 bucks last year.I love pawn shops!

Happy hunting to ya!

Oh yeah, a co-worker bought one of these for his grandson. They've shot it several thousand rounds. It is tiny. I can see my 2 1/2 year old boy owning one of these in a year or two.