First firearm recommendations

[u/Feisty-Confusion-356]

Hey folks,

I’m new to firearms and thinking about getting a used lever-action .22 as my first rifle. I like the classic style, the ammo is affordable, and it seems like a good way to learn the basics.

For someone buying their first gun, is a used lever-action .22 a good idea?

What models should I be looking at?

What should I check before buying used?

Any red flags with older .22 lever guns?

I want something reliable, safe, and fun to learn on. Not trying to overcomplicate it.

Thanks in advance.

[u/Vituperate250]

In my experience used .22 rifles of any type live in two camps. 1) Well cared for, operates flawlessly, and might need parts replacement eventually because of age and use. 2) Beaten, put up wet, and abused. They will break, if they're not already broken, and probably sooner than you like.

Used Winchester .22 lever guns, I can't remember the model name, get a good reputation. I would look for those.

If you can get some .22LR "action proving" snap caps that can help determine function. They're dummy rounds. Use these to load the magazine tube and confirm the tube spring has enough tension. Cycle a few through the action to confirm it cycles without jams, roughness, or undue amounts of effort.

Obvious things to look for are the overall condition of the outside of the gun (rust, cracked wood, etc), what you can see of the inside of the action (rust, rough/gritty when cycling, difficult to cycle, etc), and the bore (rust, pits, rings). If the outside is rusty and the wood is damaged and it looks like it wasn't cared for, you can usually expect the rest of the gun to be in the same condition.

The bore is a good indication too. Some shops will have little flashlights available to help you look up the bore, you may need to bring your own, something small enough to get into the ejection port and bright enough to light the entire bore. PROVE the gun safe, open the action, shine the light into the bore using the ejection port, and then look down the bore from the muzzle end. Look for rough patches (pitting), rings, or anything that doesn't look like smooth metal. One or two small pitted areas aren't the end of the world for .22 rifles, they usually shoot fine, but significant pitting is an indication the previous owner didn't care for the rifle.

Most reputable gun shops will list used firearm condition with the NRA Condition Rating Scale (my blatherings about it are below), and their staff can often help in selecting a worthwhile used gun. I find the smaller the shop, the better the advice is. As for the NRA scale, I would buy a Very Good or better gun as my first rifle. Good condition is acceptable if I find one I really like and it seems to be mechanically sound. Fair and Poor are project or parts guns, not the kind of experience you want for your first rifle.

• Perfect: This one is obvious, and rare to find
• Excellent: Metal and wood is like-new. The action functions flawlessly. No broken parts.
• Very Good: Metal and wood show signs of use, but not damage. The action functions, the bore is in shootable condition. No broken parts.
• Good: Metal and wood show above-average wear - dents, scratches, etc - but nothing affecting function. The action functions, parts show signs of wear and use. Bore is shootable, but may have pits or frosty rifling.
• Fair: Lots of wear. Rusty. Damaged wood. These guns are safe to fire, but expect to replace parts, and the action may be difficult to operate.
• Poor: Needs restoration. Parts are broken. The action may or may not work. Usually not safe to shoot.

If you're willing to buy new, I would recommend Henry .22 lever guns. I have a Henry Frontier rifle - their .22LR lever gun with a big ol' octagon barrel - and I love it. Reliable and well built. It lacks some old-world charm because the receiver isn't blued, but as a plinking rifle it is perfect.

Hopefully this helps!

[u/Feisty-Confusion-356 → u/Vituperate250]

Thanks, this helps a lot.

I’ll keep an eye out for used Winchester .22 lever guns, but I’ll also compare against a new Henry. At this stage, I think reliability and a smooth first experience matter so I will definitely will not cheap out.

Appreciate the detailed explanation.

[u/Vituperate250 → u/Feisty-Confusion-356]

Great! Happy to help.

I'm sure there are other new lever guns that are good, too. I only have experience with Henry. The Browning BL-22 comes to mind, and Savage recently released a lever-action .22. Usually American brands are high quality, but I haven't tried either of those guns I mentioned. Folks here tend to have good experiences with Chiappa guns, too.

Turkish (Morrison, Derya) and Brazilian (Rossi) manufactured guns can be perfectly functional but a little "rough around the edges", i.e. the finish isn't as nice, some sharp edges to the metal, the wood doesn't fit closely to the metal parts, etc, etc.