Thread: .22lr rifles when did it become ok that they were all just crap?

Weihrauch HW 60 J a delightful rifle - very well made. Was given one to range and field test in 22 magnum and straight away it dropped into 0.2"s for groups at 50m - averaged in 0.3s. Stunning. Took it on field trip and was very hard to give it back. One in 22 mag for sale on trademe went for just $640 - only reason I did not take it is would hate to scratch up that lovely woodwork.

Some other euro 22s are quite inexpensive 2nd hand here and are worth a look - Krico, Voere, anschutz 1450 etc and of course the occasional gevarm, and the Unique which has its own following. They are generally fine shooters but by no means necessarily more accurate than other makes listed in earlier post. The liability you take on with them is parts supply - mags/springs/other components can be very difficult to source esp for older models and are often v expensive.

The one thing you need when testing and playing about with rimfires is a sense of humour. If you don't have one you'll soon get it. Its often the case that some of the cheapest little rifles can be absolute tackdrivers. You go out and bench test some more expensive make and it does ok, then you line up a scruffy little JW15 or something and it shoots superbly, and blows the expensive make out of the water. You end up looking down the scope at some tiny group wondering 'what the bloody hell just happened?'. Then it does it again! All you can do is shake your head and laugh. Example was Gadget's little JW bought for about $100. I go to pop a few groups through it and immediately it shoots 0.3" at 50m. What??? Then he takes it out and also gets tiny groups close to match rifle performance. Much amusement ....and a healthy dose of respect.