Best .22 LR Rifles 2026: Semi-Auto, Bolt & Under $500

The best semi-auto .22 LR rifle is the Ruger 10/22, at $359. Its rotary BX magazine sidesteps the rim-lock that jams stick mags, 10- and 25-round mags are everywhere and cheap, and no other rimfire has the same upgrade path. The most accurate semi-auto here is the Savage A22 FV-SR: a 16.5-inch medium-contour button-rifled barrel with a suppressor-ready threaded muzzle and a user-adjustable AccuTrigger is a combination nothing else in the blowback class offers at the price.

The Marlin Model 60 is the value answer. Its 14-round tube is built into the rifle, so there are no magazines to lose or buy, and the Micro-Groove barrel has a sixty-year reputation for tight groups. The tradeoff is a slower reload and a non-threaded barrel, so it is a pure plinker rather than a suppressor host. Feed any of these the right bulk ammo and they will run all day.

For a new shooter learning an AR-15 manual of arms, the Smith & Wesson M&P 15-22 Sport mirrors a real AR's controls, charging handle, and safety while running 25-round rimfire mags at about five pounds. Buying for a child rather than an adult? Our best youth rifle guide covers properly sized first .22s with length-of-pull guidance.

The best bolt-action .22 LR rifle is the CZ 457 American at $648.99, because CZ's in-house cold hammer-forged barrel is the accuracy reference this class is measured against and the barrel-nut design lets you swap barrels and chamberings at home. The CZ 457 chassis and stock ecosystem runs deep enough to grow a sporter into a competition rig.

On a budget, the Savage Mark II FV-SR delivers most of the accuracy story at $282.62. Its stiff 16.5-inch heavy fluted barrel and AccuTrigger group well with quality ammo, and the factory 1/2x28 threads make it the cheapest suppressor-ready bolt gun here. The Springfield Model 2020 Rimfire Target is the middle answer: a 20-inch heavy threaded barrel, a Remington 700 pattern trigger group, and Ruger 10/22 magazine compatibility in one rifle.

None of these ship with iron sights, so budget for glass. Our best .22 rifle scope guide ranks seven magnified options for hunting, target work, and NRL22, and our optic selection guide matches glass to the role.

The best lever-action .22 LR rifle is the Henry H1 X Model, because it is the only rimfire lever gun here with a factory 1/2x28 threaded muzzle, an integrated receiver Picatinny rail, and M-LOK slots in the forend. That combination means you can hang a suppressor and an optic on a lever gun without a gunsmith, which is the whole reason to buy a modern one.

The Savage Revel Classic is the traditional choice: satin-finish walnut, a straight grip, adjustable iron sights, an 18-inch medium-profile barrel, and a 12-round tube. It also takes down quickly for a pack, which is unusual in a walnut lever gun. It is not threaded, so if a can is in your future the Henry is the pick.

Both feed from tube magazines, which load slower than a box but never get left at home. A lever .22 is the rifle that gets handed across a fence line and taught on, and its cycle forces the same deliberate follow-through a bolt gun does, without the bolt gun's reload penalty.

The best takedown .22 is the Ruger 10/22 Takedown. It breaks down to about 20 inches, returns to zero once the tension is set, and keeps the entire 10/22 magazine, trigger, and bolt aftermarket. Paired with the Magpul X-22 Backpacker stock it becomes a self-contained kit that stores spare BX mags onboard, and the Samson SAS/22 Takedown Chassis takes the same Takedown receiver down to an 11-inch folded chassis with an M-LOK rail and a folding stock.

The most packable survival .22 is the Henry H2 U.S. Survival Rifle, the current production version of the AR-7. Its barrel, receiver, and magazines stow inside the buttstock, collapsing the rifle to 16.5 inches and 3.5 pounds, and the package floats on water assembled or stowed. Takedown is tool-free. Accuracy is plinker grade; this is a kit gun for a pack, a boat, or a vehicle, not a hunting or precision rifle.

Pick the H2 for minimum size and weight. Pick the 10/22 Takedown when you want a real, upgradable rifle that happens to fit a pack.

The most accurate .22 LR rifles are heavy-barrel bolt guns fed match ammunition, and the three below are built specifically for that job. The Bergara B-14R sits at the top of the price field for a reason: it weighs and balances like a centerfire precision rifle and rides a Remington 700 footprint, so the entire short-action trigger and chassis market drops in and your bag work transfers. At 8.1 pounds it is built for honest training, not field carry, and its heavy 1/2x28 barrel is an excellent suppressor host.

The Ruger Precision Rimfire is the cheapest way into real chassis ergonomics at $629. Its Quick-Fit stock adjusts length of pull from 12 to 15.5 inches, the trigger adjusts externally from 2.25 to 5 pounds, and it feeds the 10/22 magazines most rimfire shooters already own. The Bergara BMR-X Carbon is the opposite trade: an 18-inch No. 6 carbon fiber barrel keeps it at 5.7 pounds, and it ships with a 30 MOA rail, so it is the precision rimfire you would actually walk with.

The honest ceiling on rimfire accuracy is the ammunition. Once you are running a hammer-forged or match-chambered barrel, a lot test of match-grade .22 LR will move your groups further than any parts change, and a scope with real elevation travel matters more than another hundred dollars of rifle. Zero at 50 yards and hold the rest.

Under $500 buys a genuinely good .22 LR rifle in every action type, which is not true of any centerfire category. The best overall pick under $500 is the Ruger 10/22 at $359, and the best accuracy per dollar is the Savage Mark II FV-SR at $282.62, which is also the cheapest factory-threaded bolt gun on this page.

Ten of the eighteen ranked rifles land under the cap, and six of them ship with a threaded muzzle, so the price ceiling does not lock you out of suppressed shooting. The cheapest of those is the Savage Rascal FV-SR at $209, a single-shot youth rifle with a heavy 1/2x28 barrel and an adjustable AccuTrigger.

The biggest .22 LR rifle news of 2026 is Henry's rimfire lever-action expansion, announced April 17, 2026. It added five H1 models at once: the H1 Western with an 18.5-inch round blued barrel and semi-buckhorn sights, the H1 Western Frontier with a 20-inch polished octagon barrel, the H1 Sporter in a 18.5-inch threaded rifle and a 16.5-inch carbine, the H1 Bandit with a 13-inch length of pull for smaller shooters, and the H1 X Model.

The X Model is the one that changes what a rimfire lever gun can do. It runs a 16.5-inch 1/2x28 threaded barrel that accepts suppressors up to one inch in outside diameter, an integrated receiver Picatinny rail, M-LOK slots, fiber optic irons, and a length of pull that spacers set at 13.5, 13.75, or 14 inches, all at five pounds. The Sporter models share the same threaded-barrel and integrated-rail treatment in walnut.

A .22 rifle is usually the first gun in a rimfire kit, not the last. If you want a matching handgun for the same training and plinking roles, our best .22 LR pistols guide ranks the rimfire pistols worth owning. And for the threaded picks, the .22 suppressor guide covers the cans that turn a Savage, Tikka, Henry, or Bergara into a backyard-quiet rifle.