On The Range With Three Great Rimfire Rifles

We discuss the history and present state of .22 LR before hitting the range with three great rimfire rifle models.

Some 40-plus years ago, my first rifle (a Winchester Model 67) was a single-shot .22. I’d bet the same goes for many folks reading this. You loaded a single round, closed the bolt, then cocked it by pulling back a spring-loaded knob at the rear of the receiver. That Model 67 was older, even back then. The cartridge had to be placed just right, and the bolt closed gently to get it to load without jamming. It rarely extracted, meaning my trusty pocket knife had to come into play to pull the empty case after a shot. The iron sights were barely adequate, but over time, I learned where to hold to make an accurate shot.

Looking back, I’m sure my dad entrusted me with that particular rifle for my first solo trips afield for several reasons, even though more modern .22 rifles were at his disposal. He knew it would teach me to make my first shot count since a follow-up would only occur several minutes later. It would teach me to use iron sights, a skill every hunter should have. And it was relatively safe for a young shooter. He knew I wouldn’t spray bullets around the treetops as quickly as I could pull the trigger. It also saved him some ammo, as the small handful of rounds he would dole out would last me several trips.

Faults aside, that old gun eventually made life hard for the rabbits and squirrels along our family farm’s hardwood ridges and bottomland fields. It also instilled a love of the .22 Long Rifle that remains today—one that I have passed down to my kids. There aren’t many more fun and cost-effective ways to spend a family day afield than with a rimfire rifle, a box of bulk ammo, and a few targets or a stand of hardwoods full of squirrels.

History of the .22 LR

Lots of shooters share the .22 Long Rifle passion. Year after year, the round is the most sold caliber in new guns and ammunition. So, how did this popular and versatile round come about? It started in 1857 as a cartridge designed for the Smith & Wesson Model 1, S&W’s first firearm. The .22 Rimfire cartridge had a 4-grain blackpowder charge and a 29-grain bullet. That round became the .22 short, the oldest cartridge still in production today. Interestingly, the Model 1 was marketed as a close-range personal protection gun. Next came the .22 Long in 1871 with a slightly longer case and an extra grain of blackpowder for 5 grains. Then, the .22 Extra Long came about in 1880 with a 6-grain charge.

In 1887, the J. Stevens Arms & Tool Company introduced the quintessential .22 rimfire cartridge, the .22 Long Rifle (LR). It duplicated the performance of the .22 Extra Long in a shorter cartridge. Almost immediately, it became one of the most popular rounds sold. The change to smokeless powder further improved the performance, and today, numerous variations of different bullet styles and weights are manufactured worldwide.

.22 LR Today

Why does the .22 LR remain so popular with today’s shooters? For one, it’s versatile. You can use it to hunt small game and predators, as a sidearm when working on the farm or running a trapline, and for fun and inexpensive range time. Like all ammo, recent years have seen a drastic jump in cost per round, even for the .22 LR, but it remains one of the least expensive ways to spend a day at the shooting bench. Ammo cost for the .22 LR ranges from around 9 cents per trigger pull to 15 cents for some specialty and target loads, a fraction of what even inexpensive centerfire rounds run these days.

Every hunter and shooter should own at least one .22 rimfire rifle. Modern manufacturers have embraced our love of the .22 and offer the round in almost every rifle style imaginable. Many of these guns are capable of single-hole accuracy and come in at a bargain price compared to similar centerfire versions. Gone are the days of hand-fed single-shot rifles that needed to be babied to get the round to feed. Today’s guns will digest ammo of different styles and bullet weights and do it without a hiccup. Whether you prefer honing your skills at the shooting range or strolling through the hardwoods in search of small game for the dinner pot, a .22 rimfire will fit the bill.

I tested three action styles from leading manufacturers. All were a joy to shoot. And while the .22 LR isn’t loud by any caliber standard, a lifetime of shooting, not always with hearing protection, has made me appreciate shooting quietly. All three guns in this test came with a factory-threaded barrel so that I could add a Banish 22 suppressor from Silencer Central. No matter what style of gun you prefer, I guarantee there is a .22 LR version out there.

Henry Frontier Model

The classic lever-action introduced in 1848 as the “Volition Repeating Rifle” earned the moniker “The Gun That Won the West.” The ability to load and fire several rounds with just a short throw of the action made for fast follow-up shots, a novel concept then. For years, the lever-action .30-30 was synonymous with deer rifle. It could be found in deer camps from the southern swamps to the northern mountains. While other rifle actions are popular across the globe, the lever-action remains a distinctly American style.

Add in hit TV shows like The Rifleman and Winchester 73, and you have an entire generation of shooters who grew up dreaming of owning a lever-action. I was no different. My first real deer rifle was a Marlin 336 in .30-30.

I never really outgrew that love of the lever gun. Luckily, the action has experienced a resurgence in recent years, with several new guns being released in various calibers, including .22 LR. Rimfire shooters have long enjoyed the .22s produced by the Henry Rifle Company; I included Henry’s Frontier Model Threaded Barrel in this comparison. The tubular magazine on many lever-actions prevents easy reloading when using a silencer. The suppressor would stop the magazine follower from sliding out, meaning you would have to remove the silencer each time you want to reload. Henry solved this with the Frontier Model by adding a 24-inch barrel and shortening the magazine tube so that you can reload without removing the can. Even with the shortened tube, the rifle still holds eight rounds.

When you unbox this rifle, you first think, “Man, this is a pretty gun.” The 24-inch octagonal barrel mated to the smooth, dark hardwood stock gives it a classic look that screams to be taken to the woods.

As expected from a Henry, the build quality is excellent, with careful metal-to-wood fit and an action as smooth as motor oil on ice. The muzzle end of the barrel uses industry-standard 1/2×28 threads that are 0.400-inch in length, making for an easy addition of most rimfire silencers. The trigger breaks at a crisp 3.8 pounds and feels smooth on the bench and in the woods. The length of pull runs 14 inches, a good compromise that lets shooters of all sizes handle and enjoy the rifle and shoot it comfortably.

The Frontier comes factory with an adjustable semi-buckhorn rear and a tall, brass-bead front sight on the octagon barrel in a dovetail fixture. The rear sight features a white diamond at the bottom of a traditional “U.” While the open sights are serviceable, they are a little large for distant aiming. Luckily, the rifle comes from the factory with an integrated ⅜-inch dovetail, allowing the easy addition of a scope. I topped the Henry with a Leupold VX-Freedom 3×9 scope. As with most lever-actions, a taller scope mount is necessary for hammer clearance under the scope.

The safety is the traditional quarter-cock lever style, allowing the shooter to bring the hammer back about 1/8-inch until you hear a click, or, with the hammer fully cocked, hold the hammer with your thumb while releasing it by pressing on the trigger. Then, lower the hammer down to the “safe” position. As with all hammer guns, take extreme care when lowering the hammer.

The Frontier is a joy to shoot. The action is smooth enough to cycle without removing the rifle from your shoulder or taking your eye off the target while plinking away. The longer 24-inch barrel, while a bit ungainly with the suppressor installed, was accurate, and it more than held its own on the bench against the other actions.

Accuracy with the Frontier was exceptional, with 50-yard groups hovering near a half-inch with most ammunition. The addition of the silencer opened up the group, but just slightly, with multiple ammo brands and bullet styles still printing under an inch. If classic styling and tradition are your cup of tea, the Frontier is the rifle for you. Its MSRP is $609.

Henry Frontier Threaded Barrel Deals

Sportsman’s Warehouse	$519.99
Guns.com	$608.99

Ruger 10/22 Takedown

Ruger first introduced its semi-auto 10/22 in 1964. To say the rifle design was a hit would be an understatement. Since then, Ruger has sold over 7 million of the popular little rifle. Third-party aftermarket parts like triggers, stocks and barrels abound, making it one of the most easily customizable rifles today. I’d venture just about every avid shooter or hunter either owns one or has shot one at least once.

The original carbine came with a 10-round rotary magazine, but extended magazines are available.

Ruger now offers over a dozen varieties of the 10/22. In 2012, it introduced a takedown model that breaks down with an easy twist of the barrel to fit into a handy carry bag. The model (21133) I tested came with a precision-rifled, 16.12-inch barrel with a .920-inch-diameter barrel fluted for weight reduction. The shorter barrel is handy and easy to point and shoot, both as-is and with a suppressor. Before heading to the range, I topped the rifle with a Leupold VX-Freedom 3-9 scope.

Takedown is as simple as locking the bolt back and verifying that the rifle is unloaded, pushing a recessed lever, twisting the subassemblies and pulling them apart. No tools are required.

While some takedown rifles struggle to hold the point of impact (POI), Ruger came up with an ingenious way to lock the barrel into the exact position time after time by adding an “adjustment knob” locking system. Loosen the adjustment knob by turning it to the right as far as possible. Insert the barrel assembly by turning it to the right 45 degrees with moderate inward pressure after insertion. Now, rotate it to the left (clockwise) until it locks in place. Finally, tighten the adjustment knob by turning it counterclockwise as far as possible with finger pressure. It works. I took the rifle down and put it back together several times, and the POI remained consistent.

Other than the takedown feature, the new 10/22 remains the same in other respects. The cross-bolt safety is located forward of the trigger guard and is set up for right-handed shooters. The factory-supplied magazine is the familiar 10-round rotary style. The bolt lock is found under the gun forward of the safety. While the trigger broke at a relatively stiff 5.5 pounds, it was crisp with minimal creep, which made it easy to shoot accurately (several aftermarket triggers are available, if you prefer a lighter pull). The 10/22 Takedown Model features the Ruger Modular Stock System with interchangeable standard and high cheekpieces that snap on and off for a custom fit based on your shooting style and optics choice.

The 10/22 was near Hollywood quiet with CCI Clean-22 40-grain target loads at 1,070 fps but would not cycle the CCI Quiet-22 segmented hollow-point at 710 fps. Perhaps after a long break-in, it might cycle the slower loads, but the new rifle would not. All other ammo tested fed reliably with each trigger pull.

Sub-1-inch groups at 50 yards were common on the bench with a wide range of ammo brands. With the suppressor installed, groups ran at 1 inch, and POI shifted slightly from the bare barrel. If a fast follow-up shot and ease of storage appeal to you, you will be happy with the 10/22 Takedown. The Ruger 10/22 Takedown’s MSRP is $799.99, but I have seen them for considerably less in real-world pricing.

Ruger 10/22 Takedown Deals

Sportsman’s Warehouse	$479.99
Guns.com	$425.99

Christensen Arms Ranger .22

While bolt-action rimfire rifles have been around for a while, the Ranger .22 from Christensen Arms is not your grandfather’s squirrel gun. From the company that pioneered carbon-fiber barrels and stocks, the Ranger is an affordable, super-accurate .22 equally at home on the bench or in the woods.

Its anodized black receiver is machined from aluminum. A two-lug steel bolt uses dual-locking lugs for reliable feeding. Dual extractors and a fixed ejector ensure reliable removal of spent rounds, and an anti-bind rail on the left side of the bolt aids smooth operation.

Mated to that action is a Christensen Arm’s 18-inch barrel that begins with a hand-lapped 416R stainless-steel blank turned down to a narrow profile. A carbon-fiber sleeve is fitted over the steel with air space in between. Finally, a steel muzzle device is threaded on to form a stiff, lightweight, accurate barrel. The Ranger’s muzzle is threaded 1/2×28, making direct installation of most rimfire suppressors easy. The action and barrel are mated with a Christensen Arms lightweight and strong carbon stock with a semi-tactical shape and a 13.75-inch length of pull, making the rifle easy to shoulder and shoot for just about anyone. The fully-rigged rifle weighs 5 pounds, so it’s easy to tote around the woods.

The Ranger .22 comes from the factory with the excellent TriggerTech field trigger designed for the Remington 700, which is adjustable from 2.5 to 5 pounds. My test gun tripped the scale at just under 4 pounds before adjustments, with a crisp, clean break and no noticeable creep. The Ranger is a joy to shoot. As a bonus, it’s compatible with most Remington 700 aftermarket triggers, so if you prefer another brand to match your big-game rifle more closely, it’s a simple swap.

Unlike the first two rifles in this test, the Ranger does not come with iron sights but instead has an integral (0 MOA) Picatinny-style rail for simple and rigid optics mounting. My test gun was topped with a Riton 3 Conquer in 3-15×44, making even long-range plinking a breeze.

The Ranger uses the proven Ruger 10/22 rotary-style magazine to feed reliably with each bolt turn, no matter how rushed. It also accepts any extended magazine designed for the 10/22 if you prefer more than 10 rounds. The magazine release is a paddle style actuated from the rear. The bolt release is mounted at 9 o’clock on the receiver, so bolt removal for cleaning is a simple task. Finally, the simple forward/back safety lever is located on the right side of the tang, just like many centerfire designs. You can work the bolt with the safety in the On position.

Just how accurate is the Ranger .22? Regardless of ammo brand and bullet style, it stacked group after 50-yard group under an inch, with several under 0.5 inch. Many groups should have been even tighter, but I could almost call the slight flyer when I felt the trigger break while the crosshairs hovered just off the aiming point. The CCI Target 40-grain Mini-Mag consistently turned in the tightest groups. With the Banish 22 suppressor attached, subsonic loads were whisper quiet, with the thud of the bullet striking the dirt backstop sounding much louder than the round firing.

With all these premium rifle features, you might expect the Ranger to come with a premium price tag. Instead, the suggested retail is just $849.99, a bargain for what you get. If you’re looking for a benchrest-accurate .22 LR that is also light enough to carry on a hunt, the Ranger is the perfect choice.

Christensen Arms Ranger .22 Deals

Sportsman’s Warehouse	$829.99
Guns.com	$719.99

Whether you prefer lever, bolt or semi-auto, a quality .22 rimfire is out there to fit your needs. Choose the model that closely matches your big-game rifle for quality range time to improve your shooting without the extra cost and noise of a centerfire. Or pick more than one and switch back and forth; you won’t find more bang for the buck than with any of these modern .22 LR choices.

Editor’s Note: This article is an excerpt of Gun Digest 2025, 79th edition.

---

More On Rimfire: