The Russian Mosin Nagant Forum

A few of us here are going to Camp Perry later in the year or next year shooting military bolt matches so that means a lot of major practice in the following months ahead. One of the things to do practicing off hand shooting is using a 22 with open sights preferably a military trainer rifle. I probably own 20 or more different 22 rifles and it didn't hit me until now that none of them are bolt rifles....
I'm looking at maybe buying a CZ 455 rifle but for now I'm using a friends Romanian training rifle that belongs to a co worker.
Anyone else see anything out there on the market ? Thanks

The Romanian trainer comes immediately to mind. Usually available for uner $200.00. The Chinese JW-15 is an outstanding rifle and it will not break the bank. The JW-15 that I own is a tack driver, the squirrels in my neighborhood have a standing reward for the destruction of that rifle.

I never bought a new .22 rifle in my life, I don't know how many I have, a lot, most are bolt rifles, some with tube mag, others clip or single shot. Marlin, Stevens, JC Higgins, Remington, and so on. I shoot .22 more than any other caliber, and a bolt rifle makes you take your time on the shots no matter how cheap the ammo may have been. Local gun shop should have a whole rack full of used .22's. A .22 may be ruined by abuse, but I never saw one ruined from regular use. Check them out before you start buying new.

Mossberg 42/44 series. It's what our boys trained with.

Oh yea, forgot that one, found it at a flea market ten years back.

Any of the Marlin bolt actions would fit the bill as well. I used to shoot prone matches with this H&R 5200, but it would be a bit much for standing. It weighs about 15 lbs.

I just finished searching for a Polish trainer rifle and the days of sub $200 for those appear to be long gone. I have a Marlin YN-15 bolt action "lil buckaroo" that is amazingly accurate that I purchased for the grandkids to learn on, it quickly became my go-to rifle for potting tree rats.

mogunner wrote:I just finished searching for a Polish trainer rifle and the days of sub $200 for those appear to be long gone. I have a Marlin YN-15 bolt action "lil buckaroo" that is amazingly accurate that I purchased for the grandkids to learn on, it quickly became my go-to rifle for potting tree rats.

I have one of those Cricket rifles in little girl pink. It is deadly on starlings with Colibri rounds.

I have a Mauser ES340b which has an exceptional 2-stage trigger and very nice iron sights. Couldn't go wrong with one of those. I paid $350 for mine.

I fot a Romanian trainer 6 weeks ago that has me wanting to start going to Saturday turkey shoots again.

ksbanker wrote:I have a Mauser ES340b which has an exceptional 2-stage trigger and very nice iron sights. Couldn't go wrong with one of those. I paid $350 for mine.

$350 was a deal. I have seen them asking $700+.

millman wrote:

ksbanker wrote:I have a Mauser ES340b which has an exceptional 2-stage trigger and very nice iron sights. Couldn't go wrong with one of those. I paid $350 for mine.

$350 was a deal. I have seen them asking $700+.

I realized that after I bought it! I didn't know a thing about them when I purchased it. Now, it would be one of the very last I'd be willing to part with. It was a WW2 bring back. Under the butt plate was a note addressed to Pam Jones, Washington, Kansas.

I am gonna flout the live auction rule, because I don't think anyone else is looking for one of these. This would be outstanding for matches. https://www.gunbroker.com/item/754047236

Millman, that one's so accurate you don't even need sights.

I'm going to the range early this morning to try out the CZ and a Romanian trainer, both belong to good friends but I want something of my own. I have several of the chipmunk, cricket types but need something a little heavier. Gunsmith friend who's getting this little gang together for this trip said shoot about 50 yards using a 22 just for beginner practice. A couple years back I spent a lot of time off hand training using my Swede M96/38 and was pretty good out to 100 yards. Now they're talking 200 yards off hand, hell I'm not sure I can even see that far or not yet.
Stopped by a local sporting goods pawn shop yesterday and they had 2 used and abused Savage rifles just under $200.oo each I've pretty much given up on pawn shops around here, kind of like going to a estate auction where you can go buy new cheaper.

I was out shooting this Mossberg 44US the other day. It is a heck of a shooter and amazes me at its accuracy. They seem to be pricey but we'll worth considering if you get lucky you can find one for 300-400.00. If I was looking at new ones I would not look any further than a fine CZ like you mentioned. As a matter of fact you should just do it. They are awesome rifles.

I've got a CZ 452 Military Trainer & it holds its own against most .22's two to three times the cost of it. It was the precursor to the 455MT & a lot of guys swear that it's a more accurate rifle. I think there are a few new ones still out there if you search hard enough & you should be able to get it for under $400 new. I absolutely love mine and my only gripe is that it's just too light for me. I shoot mostly off of a bench & I always have to shoot it first when I hit the range before moving on to my Weihrauch & Izhmash CM-2's. After trying a ton of different ammo in it I finally settled on Geco .22lr semi auto ammo. Yeah it shoots a few of the Lapua flavors a bit better but it doesn't justify the massive cost difference between them & the Geco. Best of luck.

bunkysdad wrote:I was out shooting this Mossberg 44US the other day. It is a heck of a shooter and amazes me at its accuracy. They seem to be pricey but we'll worth considering if you get lucky you can find one for 300-400.00. If I was looking at new ones I would not look any further than a fine CZ like you mentioned. As a matter of fact you should just do it. They are awesome rifles.

Shot both over the weekend, the Romanian first and I found the trigger to have a lot of travel before going off although it's very accurate. then I loaded the CZ and no kidding the gun went off while I was aiming because I didn't expect a trigger that light on a 22 rifle. I've got several high priced Timney triggers that don't feel that good. Yes it is first class in my opinion.