In everyone's opinion: What are the worst autoloading rifles you've owned--and why?
I always come across .22LR automatic rifles in pawn shops and want to know what to stay away from!

I guess I'll give this a shot.

The worst I've ever had experience with was an old Springfield, although I don't know what model. My dad picked it up at an auction, and it would jam on every single shot. Something was messed up with the extraction/ejection system on it. It probably could have been fixed fairly easily, but why bother when we already have two autoloaders that function very well.

amndouglas

Ruger 10/22, you have to replace the barrel, stock, trigger, bolt just about every thing to get it to shoot close to where you want it to hit.

Before replacing anything on my stock Ruger 10/22 carbine, it would shoot nickel-sized 10-shot groups at 25 yards. I had an aftermarket trigger, sear, and hammer put in because the trigger pull was horrible from the factory. It still shoots nickel-sized groups at 25 yards, but I enjoy it a lot more. I also put in a VQ extractor and WeaponKraft Bolt Buffer, and I haven't had a single jam since with cheap bricks of Remingtons, Federals and American Eagles, as well as more expensive stuff like Velocitors and Minimags.

Yes, if you want tack-driver accuracy from a 10/22, it costs some money for barrels, stocks, etc. As an autoloader, it's accuracy and reliability is just fine out of the box, in my opinion. A few inexpensive parts make it a lot better. But if you want pinpoint accuracy, then forget about autoloaders all-together and buy an Anschutz, Kimber, or Sako bolt action. It will shoot as well or better out of the box for about the same amount of money as a modded up 10/22. It will also hold it's value better as you will never get nearly as much for a 10/22 as you sink into it on aftermarket parts.

For people who enjoy fiddling with things and do-it-yourself projects, the 10/22 can be a lot of fun and quite rewarding. If I ever need a more accurate 22, you can bet that I will be buying a heavy barrel bolt-action, but I'd probably still hang on to my 10/22.

amndouglas

For people who enjoy fiddling with things and do-it-yourself projects, the 10/22 can be a lot of fun and quite rewarding. If I ever need a more accurate 22, you can bet that I will be buying a heavy barrel bolt-action, but I'd probably still hang on to my 10/22.

amndouglas

I just polish the internals and make sure the stock is well bedded and well sealed. end up with 1/2 to 3/4" groups. Still costs a lot tho, as one of the grandkids usually ends up with the completed project. (so far 3 rifles), (3 grandchildren and one Great grand son left). But it's worth it just for the look on their faces when Grandpa gives them their first gun.

Lee L.

One of the worst 22 autoloaders I have ever worked with is the Remington Nylon 66. The rifles functions well with most ammo. Using the open sights the Nylon 66 gives resonable accuracy and satisfaction.
When you scope the Nylon 66 the grooved area for the scope mount is located on a reciever cover that is held on by two pins. These have play in them an allow the whole cover to shift around and change the zero of the scope. You cannot hunt or shoot targets with the scoped Nylon 66. A real peice of junk.

One of the worst 22 autoloaders I have ever worked with is the Remington Nylon 66. The rifles functions well with most ammo. Using the open sights the Nylon 66 gives resonable accuracy and satisfaction.
When you scope the Nylon 66 the grooved area for the scope mount is located on a reciever cover that is held on by two pins. These have play in them an allow the whole cover to shift around and change the zero of the scope. You cannot hunt or shoot targets with the scoped Nylon 66. A real peice of junk.

Hay William have you looked at what the Nylon rifles are bringing in collector prices? My buddy next door has a mint one and got around 450 bucks for it at the gun show a couple of months ago. I darned near had apolexy.

Yes! This collector thang makes no sence to me.
Of course it is just my opinion but, I think a collectors vault is where the Nylon 66 series belong!

I thought the Nylon 66 was supposed to be a great design because it didn;t jam often and was reliable as a shooter--however I am glad to know that it too has design faults.

Other than the looks, I always liked the 66. I've never owned one mind you, but one of best friends when I growing up had one and a lot of animals met their demise because of that thing. Neither of us could ever afford to scope it. Shoot, I couldn't afford one, I toted an old Winchester 67 singleshot.

Semi auto 22 rimfire rifles with tubular magazines!!

Every one I have used/owned/seen blow back the gritty, dirty burned powder into the action. After so many shots, a take down and cleaning is needed. The way the action is exposed because of feeding from the "front" of the receiver is a basic flaw of this type of design. Rimfire semi autos are straight blow back, no delay and the powder is dirty dirty dirty.
All of the detachable magazine types I have seen do not have this trouble.

Hey cut the Nylon66 some slack ,I own two of them and a little dab of glue behind the cover fix,s the movment problem.
Great guns to shot and I have,nt had a jam yet.
Dont think much of 10/22s
Had a marlin with a tube mag,piece of junk.
Dont mind the clip mag Marlins though.
I currently own 24 .22s ,man I just love the .22cal, 8 of which are semiauto,have to agree the bolt actions are the more accurate ones.

Regards all
Keen1

I like the clip fed MARLINS Too,I have the Marlin stainless PAPOOSE,I think its a very good gun for what it is,takedown and all

Colorado Pete:

I've owned many different 22 LR autos and currently own a Marlin 995SS (magazine fed) and a Marlin 60SS (Tube fed). They both shoot VERY WELL WITH NO PROBLEMS! Both are very accurate as well and if I had a complaint about either one it would be trigger pull. With that said both triggers are smoothing out with use.

Years ago I owned a couple of 10/22's, Nylon 66's, Savage Model 6D, Winchester M67, Mossbergs bolts and autos and lots of Marlin bolt actions, and a Remington 572 pump. All of these rifles shot good and I had but a few problems between all of them. Some I still own. Right now I'm experimenting with my Marlin 60SS and have fired over 1300 rounds without cleaning. She still handles High-Velocity without any jams or FTF. Some standard velocity rounds will not cycle now but will when I clean the rifle again. Much more reliable then I originally expected. ;)

GOOD SHOOTING!

Range Finder

I can't say this rifle is one of the "worst", but it was one of the jammin'est rifles I've ever owned - a Browning BAR 22. Feels good in the hands, has good sights, but the internal feed from the magazine is just plain inaccessible. I got very good at field disassembly. The ammo I had best luck with was the American Eagle. Anything that was heavily waxed, like CCI, was pure death to the function of the rifle. I still have because it still has a place in my heart, but I've mostly retired it.

Now the little Browning semi-auto takedown 22's (the ones with the magazine feed in the stock) are reliable as heck. But don't shoot them from your pickup, with shorts on. They bottom eject, and those casings are hot!

I thought the Nylon 66 was supposed to be a great design because it didn;t jam often and was reliable as a shooter--however I am glad to know that it too has design faults.

Once upon a time I shot a military model of the Nylon 66. They were one solid black color rather than the space ship look..and had unique serial numbers. These were packed six to a case with a brick of .22Long ammo. Not long rifle....long.. I wish I could have kept that...even thought..it really isn't much of a rifle...worked good in wet swampy areas though..

Now the little Browning semi-auto takedown 22's (the ones with the magazine feed in the stock) are reliable as heck. But don't shoot them from your pickup, with shorts on. They bottom eject, and those casings are hot!

I see I'm not the only one to learn not to sit down and shoot the little bottom eject Brownings while wearing shorts. At least it was a short lesson.

Lee L.

Worse one I had was the Remmington Viper. Trigger pull was about 5 pounds and 5" long. Got really dirty. Pain to clean. Made of plastic.
Only good thing about it is I got it for free.

The Nylon 66!

I see I'm not the only one to learn not to sit down and shoot the little bottom eject Brownings while wearing shorts. At least it was a short lesson.

Lee L.

I don't learn that fast, unfortunately. I'd rather suffer the pain than let a running squirrel flee without fear! Those little Brownings are great, but I wish they were more "full-size".

I think that the 10/22's arent that good out of the box because you have to buy lots of aftermarket stuff to get good accuracy. That and they do jam often with certain ammo.

The 10/22 can be the best and the worst of the autoloader 22s. Mine wont digest Federal Lightning to save it's life.
pop, pop, click, rack the bolt, pop, pop, click, GRUMBLE! :(

But with the right CHEAP ammo, it shoots brilliantly. And even with the aftermarket stuff on it, it is still less expensive than most my other guns. Just don't ask me to try to shoot any more of that Lightning junk through it...

the first remington 597 with the black stocks not the grey ones. I bought one when they first came out and it blew up. the barrel was fine but the bolt broke into several pices and the clip just shattered. I got cut by a small piece of sharp clip plate. Remington replaced the rifle no questions asked.

Rem nylon 66, jamomatic and when it did shoot not all that accurate. Rugers will shoot out of the box, no need for mods. If the magazine is tuned properly , no feeding or extraction problems.

the first remington 597 with the black stocks not the grey ones. I bought one when they first came out and it blew up. the barrel was fine but the bolt broke into several pices and the clip just shattered. I got cut by a small piece of sharp clip plate. Remington replaced the rifle no questions asked.

Did you shoot the new one? I might have traded it in while it has new!

I have had a Marlin 995SS for about 5 years. Most of the time it works great, some problems with cheap ammo though. In addition after shooting several clips (10-15) it does not want to eject shells correctly, easily fixed with a quick cleaning. Also, I bought a few additional clips for it, they are all from Marlin but some of them do not seem to feed as well, I marked the clips I have with a small dot of paint and its the same two that always give me problems.

Overall, not really any big problems, stuff you would expect, cheap ammo and dirt cause it to have some hiccups.

When I was a young kid growing up poor out in the sticks there was no such thing as replacement parts for firearms in my part of the country. Everybody had a friend with a jam-o-matic that they were trying to get rid of. There were no available manuals to tell us how to take a gun apart either. Today, parts and manuals can be easily located on the internet. As firearm enthusiasts we are very fortunate to be able to find the parts needed in just a few minutes without picking up the phone or writing a letter. How many jam-o-matics would still be around today but in great working condition if the communication 40 or 50 years ago was as good as it is today? Small world ain't it?..............

In everyone's opinion: What are the worst autoloading rifles you've owned--and why?
I always come across .22LR automatic rifles in pawn shops and want to know what to stay away from!

the worst 22 i every came across is the rem597

i own four 66's. One with a scope and one with a peep. It is one of my favoite guns ans very reliable. I especially like the tang safety.

For me the greatest obstacle to precison scope shooting was not the scope mounting it was the very light weight which made it difficult to hold steady.

i own four 66's. One with a scope and one with a peep. It is one of my favoite guns ans very reliable. I especially like the tang safety.

For me the greatest obstacle to precison scope shooting was not the scope mounting it was the very light weight which made it difficult to hold steady.

I've owned three 66's and one C10 which is basically the same rifle. You can carry one all day and not get tired. Never had any problems with jamming. Perfect weight for a seven year old kid.

I only have one Nylon. But the tang safety and light weight make it a fun gun to carry in the woods.

For me the worst was a Rem. 597 22lr. I had couple years ago....bad accuracy, even after 2-3 bricks through it, I've try all the ammo available up here........and always stuck :mad: :mad: ....it was the first and the last one for me!!

I don't know about you guys, but if I had to get rid of every gun except one (and I've got a bunch), I'd keep my 1973 Apache Black Nylon 66 (w/ tube feed). Never ever had a jam, accurate enough for plinking/hunting, don't have to worry about scratching a pretty wood stock, doesn't need lubrication for the bolt, lightweight, and just plain fun to shoot. Sure, it doesn't have a really positive mount system for a scope, but it's best as an iron-sight shooter. It's a real shame that Remington doesn't make them anymore.

The 522 Remington Viper- I never had one, but the shop where I worked at had nearly everyone of them returned. -