Hi Gunsofallkind,
I like your monicker you confess to having an OPEN mind to guns of ALL kind!
Okay bud here's my confession about the .22 Magnum.
1. You better get one!
Seriously.
2. I've always had enough accuracy with most .22 Magnum rifles I've owned over the decades. Here's my recollection of some of them and their actual no BS accuracy.
Savage 24 Combination gun .22 Maggie/20 gauge 3" shotgun--I put a scope on it to wring out its real accuracy. At 60 yards it grouped 3 shots easily under an inch. Never tried grouping it beyond that and I mostly used the open sights so I could have the shotgun handy! In that gun I shot CCI Maxi Mags 40gr JHPs and Winchester Super Xs 40 grain JHPs. Back then they were the only brands going and I could not tell a difference between the loads.
Winchester 9422M .22 Magnum levers--I've owned over 10 of these throughout the last 36 years. I kept using the CCI and Winchester 40gr JHP loads and did try the Winchester Supremes (34 gr JHPs) as well as the CCI Maxi Mag +V (30 gr JHPs). Every single 9422M with a scope on it easily shot 5 shots of any of the ammo I listed under or at 1.5" at 100 yards on a bench rest.
Anschutz 1516D Classic--I had a Leupold 1.75-6X VXIII on this little gem. I never was able to shoot it for accuracy beyond 50 yards in Ventura, CA, but at 50 yards using a wobbly improvised table rest with no sand bags I was able to keep all shots around an inch at 50 yards with CCI and Winchester 40gr JHPs.
Marlin 25 Bolt Action .22 Magnum--I put a Leupold 4x M8 on this. Trigger was hard but at the sandbag stone bench shooting 100 yards it liked the Winchester 34gr JHP Supremes. Five shots typically went under 1.5"
Browning A Bolt .22 Magnum--I put a Leupold M8 6X on this. Trigger was a bit hard but crisp. This gun would shoot almost an inch at 100 yards with the Winchester 34gr JHP Supremes. I killed 7 chucks on an orchard in North Washington state one morning using this rifle. Closest shot was 100 yards. The longest shot was 160 yards!
CZ 453 2E .22 Magnum--I had a Leupold M8 4X on this one. Trigger was okay. At a stone bench with sand bags at 100 yards this rifle was 1.25" groups for 5 shots on a "good" day. I've had a couple of other CZ WMRs that were not as accurate but close. To me the CZ in rimfire is not the sensation it seems to be with a lot of people in this forum. I do believe the CZ FS 527 small bore centerfire IS A SENSATION! Much more so than the rimfire versions for accuracy and balance and feel. If you want a Hornet or .223 get the 527 CZ Full Stock. It will quickly become your favorite "go to" rifle. And, if you want to go to Africa to hunt the Big Five go CZ again and get THIS:
Henry Lever Action Golden Boy and regular blued rifles--Scoped with Leupold VXI Rimfire 2-7X and VXI 4X Rimfire. A SENSATIONAL pair of rifles! More accurate than the Winchester 9422Ms! Using the roof of my car outdoors I could group CCI Maxi Mags +V (30gr) into 3/4" at 75 yards with FIVE shots! Keep in mind I was using JUST THE ROOF OF MY CAR with a down-filled winter jacket under my left arm as a rest!
Winchester 61 .22 Magnums--I had two! I scoped one with a Leupold VXI 2-7X Rimfire and another the Leupold VXI 4X Rimfire. These I shot over the roof of my car like the Henrys. The both shot 1" groups at 75 yards. Lovely pump actions these were!
Marlin 983 .22 Magnum--Leupold VXI 2-7X Rimfire. Hard trigger but it managed 1 inch at 75 yards using roof of car again. It had real nice Black Walnut like all Marlins.
Marlin 925M .22 Magnum from Walmart--Leupold VXI 4X Rimfire. Has the T-900 trigger that breaks around 4 lbs or less. Shot 100 yards over roof of car. Five shot groups into an even inch. I still have this little gem!
Marlin 883 .22 Magnum--Leupold VXI 2-7X Rimfire. 3/4" 5 shot groups at 75 yards (when I DON"T mention the ammunition it is CCI Maxi Mags or CCI Maxi Mags +V).
Did you ENJOY the WOOD on this Marlin? I took lots of pics of this rifle because the wood is beyond the exceptional wood already on most Marlins.
Ruger 77/22 .22 Magnum--One that I got a 17 years ago couldn't shoot or group worth mention. The one I have now is mentionable. I took pictures of the targets with the rifle shooting at 50 yards with a wobbly improvised (no sandbags no devices just leaning over a table). In the picture I have the ammunition placed in the head of the 5 Man Target to show what ammo I am using:
Close up of the Pentax Gameseeker 1.5-6X on the Ruger 77/22 Magnum:
This is the first time I shot 5 different brands of ammunition in any .22 Magnum. The trigger is hard but the rifle obviously is accurate!
I only have 3 .22 Magnum rifles to date; Marlin 925M, Marlin 883 and Ruger 77/22.
I want more!