SO i just joined a range and its really close to my house and so far its great , problem is im shooting alot of ammo and its gettin pricey and im not into reloading yet. So i am considering a 22 rifle , like a M&P 15-22 due to the fact that they are so inexpensive to purchase and shoot , my question is are they dependable and is it kinda like purchaseing a harley sportser(M&P15-22) only to in a couple of months wish you woulda got a big twin (AR15), biker analogy , lol ??? Just lookin for some opinions and costs of what they run and goods and bads about them ........thanks

Everyone should have a .22 rifle.

 

The 15-22 is good and typically likes Federal ammo, other ammo may be less than reliable.

 

You will probably want a .223/5.56 AR at some point but you're back to 30 cents a round. I have owned guns all my life and if I don't shoot for a while, I tend to do a flurry of shooting and get it out of me...I can imagine a newer shooter having the same issues but it lasting longer.

 

I still have fun with my .22 rifles even though I have a center-fire AR as well. They aren't mutually exclusive. Shooting the .22 is and will always be trigger time. The more you shoot, the better you get, so I don't ever see it as a negative.

 

Besides, plinking metal targets is fun and it's much easier to do that with a .22 and not worry about getting pegged by a ricochet.

I'm (I should say "we" because I actually bought it as a first gun for my nephew) very happy with my Ruger 10/22. Picked up an entry-level Bushnell scope on eBAY for $40 and we've had a ball with it so far. Like you, I'm eventually going to move up a few notches, and even have started pricing out a Ruger SR-556. Good luck!

 

Scott

Everyone should have a .22 rifle.

 

The 15-22 is good and typically likes Federal ammo, other ammo may be less than reliable.

 

You will probably want a .223/5.56 AR at some point but you're back to 30 cents a round. I have owned guns all my life and if I don't shoot for a while, I tend to do a flurry of shooting and get it out of me...I can imagine a newer shooter having the same issues but it lasting longer.

 

I still have fun with my .22 rifles even though I have a center-fire AR as well. They aren't mutually exclusive. Shooting the .22 is and will always be trigger time. The more you shoot, the better you get, so I don't ever see it as a negative.

 

Besides, plinking metal targets is fun and it's much easier to do that with a .22 and not worry about getting pegged by a ricochet.

So, what Mark is saying, and I would concur, BUY BOTH, you can't have too many rifles.

I have an S&W 15-22 and a Ruger 10/22, both purchased in the last few months. Both are lots of fun to shoot, plus the ammo for them literally costs pennies. I'm enjoying them so much that I just ordered a GSG 522SD, which is another AR clone that you might want to investigate. I suspect that there might be a real AR in my future.

You could build/buy an AR.. and get a .22 Conversion kit.

If you want good, cheap, hard-hitting shooting fun (outdoors) get a Mosin Nagant for $99 and 880 rounds of ammo shipped to your door for about $160. It is a 7.62 x 54mm round that is a blast to shoot!

 

Yes, I have a Ruger 10/22 plus a Remington 570 I just got today. They are fun cheap guns to shoot indoors.

Don't forget a pistol, i can shoot holes with my MKIII all day long.

I think it depends on what you like to shoot, how you shoot, and the money you want to spend.

 

As I acquired more and more guns, my .22's don't get shot much. I'd much rather shoot 200rds of 7.62x39 out of an AK than 2k rounds of .22. That's just me. I like .22's (I have a couple), especially my lever action Henry, but for me they get boring after a while. It doesn't matter if it is a 10/22 or an AR .22, they just don't seem to hold the fun as long as bigger calibers.

 

On a budget though, it is difficult beating .22's and the low cost they require to enjoy.

 

On your question about regretting a .22 and moving up in caliber, I would just buy both or a conversion kit if you're looking at AR's..if you can afford it of course. I would much rather prefer to have two different guns, each in a different caliber, than one with a conversion kit. As an example, I would prefer to have a dedicated .22 pistol as well as a 9mm let's say rather than having a 9mm with a .22 conversion kit. But that's just me.

A .22 Henry lever action is a good rifle and will teach you to shoot better than any semi-auto, making every shot count, slowing down your rate-of-fire, which in turn burns through less ammo. If burning through less ammo is one of your goals, buying a rifle with interchangeable magazines doesn't help, unless you can demonstrate superior will power and NOT buy the additional mags.

SO i just joined a range and its really close to my house and so far its great , problem is im shooting alot of ammo and its gettin pricey and im not into reloading yet. So i am considering a 22 rifle , like a M&P 15-22 due to the fact that they are so inexpensive to purchase and shoot , my question is are they dependable and is it kinda like purchaseing a harley sportser(M&P15-22) only to in a couple of months wish you woulda got a big twin (AR15), biker analogy , lol ??? Just lookin for some opinions and costs of what they run and goods and bads about them ........thanks

 

I have in the 22LR category, a Marlin 39A lever action, 2 Marlin 795's, a Walther P22, and the wifes Ruger MKIII Hunter. All are fun guns to shoot, all of them are very very cheap to shoot and don't plan on getting rid of any of them, actually selling a gun is against my religion. lol So I'd say get some and have some cheap fun.

 

As far as a Sporster, heck I wish I still have my 74 chop but as many will call them a girls bike, they don't know what they are talking about. As far as power to weight ratio they out performs the big twins and are a great platform for a cafe style bike to play with, oh and they do make a nice on and off road bike to boot, better than my Shovel and Ultra. Used to have a blast on open nights in SanBerdoo when we could take our street bikes on the flat track.

 

Harry

I didn't see it mentioned yet but a .22 can be used at pretty much any indoor range, including ones built for pistol only. Not so much for the .223/5.56.

A .22 rifle is a must-own for anyone serious about shooting, in my opinion. Personally, I get tired of shooting my AR and mini-14 fairly quickly. I have to drive 45 minutes up to Cherry Ridge, ammo is fairly pricy (at least compared to .22lr), and there is an awful lot of noise on the center fire rifle range, due in no small part to the muzzle brakes everyone has attached to their ARs. I own an M&P 15-22 performance center version and it is an absolute blast to shoot and incredibly accurate. I can use it at any indoor range and also bring it to the outdoor rimfire range and shoot steel targets. My CZ 452 with iron sights is a great way to improve marksmanship skills, as is my Henry .22. My center fire .223 rifles get shot occasionally so I can stay proficient in the event I ever need them in a SHTF scenario (which is highly unlikely to ever occur). My 22s are for fun and for marksmamship practice.

A .22 rifle is a must-own for anyone serious about shooting, in my opinion. Personally, I get tired of shooting my AR and mini-14 fairly quickly. I have to drive 45 minutes up to Cherry Ridge, ammo is fairly pricy (at least compared to .22lr), and there is an awful lot of noise on the center fire rifle range, due in no small part to the muzzle brakes everyone has attached to their ARs. I own an M&P 15-22 performance center version and it is an absolute blast to shoot and incredibly accurate. I can use it at any indoor range and also bring it to the outdoor rimfire range and shoot steel targets. My CZ 452 with iron sights is a great way to improve marksmanship skills, as is my Henry .22. My center fire .223 rifles get shot occasionally so I can stay proficient in the event I ever need them in a SHTF scenario (which is highly unlikely to ever occur). My 22s are for fun and for marksmamship practice.

 

Yea shooting the .22 indoors without pissing off everyone around you is great especially when it's 10 degrees out and you don't want to freeze at an outdoor range. I have a S&W 15-22 and I looooove it. Rarely jams. I think I had one failure to fire, but it was a good strike on the rim so either I need to clean it or it was a dud.

I have four .22 rifles (M&P 15-22, Ruger K10-22T, Montgomery Ward and Mossberg) and three .22 pistols (Ruget MkIII Hunter, Buckmark & Taurus Model 94), even when I am taking my AR or Mosin to the range, a couple of .22s always come along for the trip. Fun to shoot and cheap on ammo!

im not into reloading yet.

 

 

This is your problem.

 

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying a .22 rifle isn't fun (it is), but when you shoot a lot reloading can save a lot of money.

For me its usually ~$5-10 cheaper for 50. With a good press you can turn 50 rounds out in ~10 minutes.

I have in the 22LR category, a Marlin 39A lever action, 2 Marlin 795's, a Walther P22, and the wifes Ruger MKIII Hunter. All are fun guns to shoot, all of them are very very cheap to shoot and don't plan on getting rid of any of them, actually selling a gun is against my religion. lol So I'd say get some and have some cheap fun.

 

As far as a Sporster, heck I wish I still have my 74 chop but as many will call them a girls bike, they don't know what they are talking about. As far as power to weight ratio they out performs the big twins and are a great platform for a cafe style bike to play with, oh and they do make a nice on and off road bike to boot, better than my Shovel and Ultra. Used to have a blast on open nights in SanBerdoo when we could take our street bikes on the flat track.

 

Harry

I hear ya on the sporty note , my first sporty was a 97 ,XL 1200 and being my first Harley i"ll always have a soft spot for them but you know as well as i do everyone uses that analogy , lol , just tryin to compare apples to apples ya know !!! By the way thanks for all the advice and help , i greatly appreciate it !

Cool , thanks everyone for the responses , i think im gonna give Paul a call at A&A and see what the M&Ps are runnin and go from there , i do think eventually i will move up to a AR but for the time being the 22 may be the best way to go , thanks ....

I think a m&p15-22 is on my future purchase list. I love my 5.56 but I could use the price break. But everyone needs a .22 I have 3. Savage bolt action, marlin semi, davey cricket.