Ruger 77/22, CZ 452, or Marlin xt-22?

[MachtSchnell]

These three seem to be solid bolt rifles that have caught my eye. All three are available in calibers that I'm interested in: .22 lr, .22 Mag, and .17 HMR. I'd eventually like to have a model in each caliber, but would prefer to start with the .22 lr because I have a Ruger Mk III and the ability to shoot the same ammo would be nice.

Now I'm kinda partial to Ruger and Marlin because they are both manufactured here, and have no protruding magazine box (with the Marlin tube version.) But I understand the CZ has really nice iron sights and is highly regarded as an accurate firearm, but a downfall is that it will always have a mag sticking out (also the mags are expensive); and I've heard that their customer support isn't too great.

Past 77/22 barrels weren't screwed into the receivers, but apparently the new models are, which is a plus. I have not been able to find out this info for the Marlin's or CZ's (I suspect that the CZ's are.) And what's up with the Marlins micro grooved barrel? I feel like it's a sales pitch that just costs less to produce.

The iron sights on the Marlin do not look too precise and have bare minimal adjustments, the CZs look very nice and I think they also have windage adjustment; but the Rugers have no iron sights . But I imagine the barrel of the Ruger could be drilled and tapped to accept iron sights. The ability to shoot open sights is important and I would have the gun modified to accept them.

These three are in quite different price ranges and have quite a few differences but they all have their appealing qualities be it accuracy, cost, function, and reliability.

I feel like many are going to suggest the CZ as it seems to have quite a following and is probably the best package out of the box, but I feel that if the Ruger had iron sights out of the box it might be a superior competitor.

Anyone care to throw in their two pennies?

 

[joppaj]

http://www.mdshooters.com/vbclassified.php?do=ad&id=10307

How about a 77/22 in .22WMR with iron sights? It's a fantastic rifle, I just never use it much. For a .22lr, either find an older 77/22 or get the CZ. They're both excellent rifles. I don't personally feel that the Marlin is quite as nice.

 

[Boom Boom]

77/22 or CZ. I prefer the look and feel of CZs but the 77/22 is growing on me after eyeballing a bunch of them this past weekend. Also look at Savage. Not a fan of new Marlins.

 

[BeltBuckle]

77/22 or CZ. I prefer the look and feel of CZs but the 77/22 is growing on me after eyeballing a bunch of them this past weekend. Also look at Savage. Not a fan of new Marlins.

+1

I have a CZ and it may be my favorite rifle. Very solid piece of work and far more accurate than I'll ever be. Really outstanding.

As for CZ's customer service, I would now give them 5 stars. I bought my rifle from them ~15y ago. It had a slight blemish in the finish on the butt of the stock -- you'd have to be pretty OC to notice. I noticed. Finally decided I'd try to refinish the stock since I prefer an oil finish to the polyurethane they use (which is pretty bombproof). Refinishing did not proceed to my satisfaction so I contacted CZ USA to see if I could get an unfinished replacement stock. CZ-USA said it wasn't possible. So I wrote to CZ HQ in Czech Republic, and they referred me back to CZ-USA. Far short of what I had expected, since I told HQ I had not been happy with the response I'd had from their US subsidiary. So I let matters sit for about 8 months. Then got made and re-contacted CZ-USA and told them the situation. A new guy responsible for customer service apologized, said they had been having some difficulties with customer service QC, and he sent me, free of charge, a hand picked replacement stock with some of the most gorgeous walnut I've seen, as well as a blem stock (which looked perfect to me) to practice on. And he promised to get me an unfinished blank if I still wanted one, though he indicated it might take a month or so.

At the end of all this, I just put on the hand picked stock he sent, which which I am well pleased, and II have now a brace of spares just in case.

Bottom line -- more of a saga than I usually like, but I am very happy with the result. YMMMV.

 

[krashmania]

I have a marlin xt-22 tr, the tube fed. The stock sights aren't impressive, but I just ordered tech sights for it, and even after dropping $75 on sights, I still come in under $300 for an extremely well built and accurate rifle with a smooth trigger. I like the tube fed because I can hold 17 rounds of lr, and 25 of shorts. Plus, I never have to worry about losing or forgetting a magazine.

 

[Edward78]

I'm a Ruger man as well and love the 77/22 I have 1 in 22lr 22 mag and 17HMR but the CZ is a very nice rifle and will most likely be more accurate as well.

Ed

 

[PGTMG]

I have shot extensively a CZ-452 and 453 in 22 LR and Cz-452 in 17 hmr they are my favorite rifles for accuracy. I access to a Ruger 77/22 magnum with a varmint barrel and it is pretty accurate as well. The Ruger is very heavy but the iron sighted one is a lot better to carry. Out of the box I would give the edge to CZ but I do have a 77/22 in 22 hornet.

 

[rico903]

CZ-the hard part is choosing the model.

 

[mbz300sdl]

I have the 77/22 cause it takes the same mags as the 10/22 and i wanted one that said i want a CZ as well

 

[MachtSchnell]

The one I will most likely be going with is the CZ 452 trainer, but I'm still on the fence.

I have recently acquired an old Ted Williams tube fed .22 repeating rifle. It was a little busted when I got it and the rear section of the ejector had broken off and wouldn't eject. So after some searching come to find out it is nearly identical to the a Winchester 190, replaced the extractor and its back up and working.

Needless to say the tube fed is nice, but functionally I like mags better. I still haven't shot any of the rifles I'm interested in, but so far the Ruger seems way out of budget and after shooting a friend's 10/22 the box mags are kind of awkward both to load and carry. So that leaves the mag fed Marlin or the CZ, and both do not come with 10 rd mags. 10 rounders for the Marlin are around $12 while a 10 round mag for the CZ cost about $30.

So everything about the CZ is nearly twice the price of the Marlin, does that result in double the accuracy? Probably not, it might be marginally better due to the extra 2.8" of barrel the CZ has over the Marlin's 22" barrel.

Two Marilin XT-22 rifles, one in 22 LR with 10 round mags and one in 22 Magnum could be had for the price of one new CZ 452 with a couple 10 round mags.

 

[mr.t7024]

77-22

I have an earlier one with iron sights in .22.Collecting dust. Get in touch!

 

[MachtSchnell]

Details?

 

[MachtSchnell]

Follow up:

Marlin XT-22 - Mediocre, and not really worth the price. Burrs all around the machine work. Bolt movement is not that slick, and it drags on the ejector. Cheesy stamped/bent extractor that causes plenty of failures to extract from the chamber. Clean chamber, or dirty, it didn't make much a difference. Fixed by resharpening, and bending it inward to get better purchase on the rim of spent cartridges.

Replaced the XT-22 with a CZ 452 Ultra Lux - Amazing, and definitely worth the extra cost. No issues except for the lack of .22lr ammo availability.

Never got around to see or shoot a 77/22 in any format. But now Ruger offers the American Rimfire, which is an incredibly affordable alternative to the 77/22.

I think I'll stick with the CZ, and would rather buy their 512, as opposed to picking up a 10/22 and Ruger American Rimfire. That's just to have a bolt and semi which use interchangeable mags. Though, for the least amount of money the Marlin xt-22 and a 795 would make a great pair. Also the marlin mags are cheap.

 

[Boom Boom]

Yeah, the Marlin looks/feels cheap and cheesy next to the CZ. Now fast forwarded to 2014 it's hard to justify a 77/22 when the American Rimfire is plenty nice enough for less than half the price.

I have 10/22's and the American Rimfire. Swapping mags between them is a huge selling point, especially since you can use Ruger 25-rounders in the bolt gun.

 

[whistlersmother]

Ah... That news is killing me. I was looking at the Marlin XT22 and its compliment 795 as a pair of 22LR rifles. I will definitely check-out the CZ line - I would like to have a semi-auto and a "matching" bolt action in the same line. Thanks for the timely update.

 

[mbz300sdl]

Yeah, the Marlin looks/feels cheap and cheesy next to the CZ. Now fast forwarded to 2014 it's hard to justify a 77/22 when the American Rimfire is plenty nice enough for less than half the price.

I have 10/22's and the American Rimfire. Swapping mags between them is a huge selling point, especially since you can use Ruger 25-rounders in the bolt gun.

Not for me just holding the American verses the 77/22 the 77/22 wins hands down!

 

[rico903]

OP-I think I've seen in another post you got some CZs. Good choice. I have the Ruger 77.22 and 77/17 but the CZ is far more accurate and CS has been fine for me. As mentioned with CZs the problem is choosing the model so do like me and get a dozen or so. RF, CF and hand guns.

 

[Boom Boom]

Not for me just holding the American verses the 77/22 the 77/22 wins hands down!

I won't argue that at all. The 77/22 is a fine gun. There's better yet from other manufacturers as you climb higher on the price pole. Most buyers will not or cannot cough up the extra scratch to buy them, though, especially when they see the low-end semi-autos at Wally World for $150. The Rimfire hits the sweet spot for price/quality/features for most buyers.

 

[chooks9]

The 77/22 is a very nice gun, but it's the most expensive of this group. I feel that the CZ is just as good for a little less cash. However, the mag release of the CZ is sort of poorly made IMO. The XT-22 I had was a decent gun for the money, but the front sight post was slightly canted from the factory. I personally like Micro-Groove rifling.

If I had to choose one, I'd pick the CZ, with the Marlin being a beater in second.

 

[MachtSchnell]

The 77/22 is a very nice gun, but it's the most expensive of this group. I feel that the CZ is just as good for a little less cash. However, the mag release of the CZ is sort of poorly made IMO. The XT-22 I had was a decent gun for the money, but the front sight post was slightly canted from the factory. I personally like Micro-Groove rifling.

If I had to choose one, I'd pick the CZ, with the Marlin being a beater in second.

I still have the Marlin, and will probably keep it for a beater. It functions well after tweaking some issues, and it's a better candidate for a scope since CZ's have really nice irons.