Hunting Rifles......?? calibre?

Question

I'm buying a new Hunting rifle mainly for bunnies in a .22 calibre.

I'm set on a lever action but I cant decide between the Browning and the Henry.
Which one do you like best? Why?
Have you used them?

Answer 1

Bound's hubby here:

If you are going to limit yourself to bunnies and you can limit your shot to 75 yards, a .22 Long Rifle would be sufficient. If you want to stretch your limit to 100 yards, a .22 Magnum. I recommend the .22s over the .17s because of the cost of the cartridges. I would not recommend a center-fire rifle cartridge for hunting rabbits. Just too much power.

With respect to the rifles, the Browning is a fine choice. I would not consider the Henry. My personal preference would me the Marlin Model 39 lever rifle, for two reasons... a longer barrel (higher velocity and longer sight plane) and it would be easier to clear a stuck or jammed cartridge case with it's take down feature. Other level rifle choices for the .22 Long Rifle would be the older and currently discontinued Winchester M9422 or Ithica Model 49 Repeater. Only the Winchester M9422 and the Ithica 49 Repeater were also offered in .22 Magnum.

Your level action choice would be preferable to a semi-automatic for two reasons. First, some states may not allow a semi-auto for hunting and second the manually operated rifle will force you to improve your shooting skill and avoid spray and pray shooting.

Good luck!

Answer 2

Bunnies in .22 caliber or any caliber are fast and require that you have fast reflexes and are a really good shot if you're going to hunt them with a rifle. Almost all shots will be at running rabbits. If I were going to start hunting rabbits, I would choose a shotgun. My favorite shotgun is the 20 Gage in anything but a single shot. You will want to be able to make follow up shots and a single shot just won't cut it. The average 20 Gage is light and won't tire out your arm from carrying it all day. I have lugged a 12 Gage through the woods and can tell you that a 20 is much easier to carry. The 20 will put the shot down range at the same velocity as a 12 Gage and the only difference is the amount of shot.

If you still want to try hunting with a .22 I'd recommend something like a Ruger 10/.22 semi auto. It's a darned good gun ( I own one and love it) and they are not as expensive as the Browning. I don't know much about the Henry rifles but I have heard good things about them. Another advantage to the 10/.22 is that you can buy replacement barrels in .17 Mach II and change your rifle to the excellent .17 caliber yourself. It makes it a two caliber gun. Most rifles have the barrel screwed into the receiver and require a special wrench to remove it. You can remove the barrel from the 10/.22 with just a socket wrench with a hex bit of the correct size.

Answer 3

Okay, if you're limiting yourself to the Browning or the Henry, I'd recommend the Browning. The Henry's are nice looking rifles when they're new, but they aren't a "true blue" rifle. The coating is actually an enamel like substance. After awhile, it gets scratched and chipped very bad. And you can't fix it. You could go with the brass reciever version of the Henry, but you'd spend every day trying to keep it from corroding. Plus, Brownings are extremely well made firearms.

You might also want to take a look at Marlin's .22 lever actions. And I've heard Taurus is making a lever gun now. Good luck getting Bugs Bunny, Buddy.

Tha tha that's all folks.

Answer 4

Not to make this even more confusing, but Marlin makes the 39A which is a very sweet lever action (I own the older 39M), and Ruger makes a lever action based on the 10/22.

Answer 5

You cannot go wrong with a Browning firearm. I have several of their rifles and shotguns that I have used hunting various critters for more than 40 years and none of them has ever failed despite all sorts of weather extremes. Browning.....the best there is.

Answer 6

Browning because it just made good but don't add a scope to the 22 because it's going to be a bunny THEY ARE EVERY WHERE

Answer 7

I have a Browing .243 auto and a .300 bolt action. I've never been let down by either. Browing is an awesome brand.

If you are going to be shooting great distances, there is another caliber for varments, ie ground hogs, etc. It is a .223. Very fast and flat shooting.

Answer 8

browning is lighter but both are very good. if you want real accuracy get a 17hmr in a bolt action they are spectacular

Answer 9

u mean u going to kill bunnies ??????????????

YOU ARE MEAN
MEAN MEAN MEAN

:(