Let’s be honest, there may be no more perfect gun than a good rimfire. Specifically, a good .22 long rifle. Whether in a pistol, revolver, semi-auto rifle, or a bolt gun, this is just a fun cartridge to shoot! They make me feel like a kid again, and that’s not easy! I get a grin as big as the big bend of Florida when I just think of shooting one of my .22s. There are lot of good reasons why this is so, but it all boils down to just good, clean fun! 

A .22 is too often looked at as a child’s gun or something only beginners would shoot. I would argue that there is not a more important gun you can buy than a good .22 rimfire. Why? Simple. It is a gun with little to no recoil, it’s affordable to shoot, it comfortably teaches the basics, and it doesn’t require a 200-yard range to practice on. These are all positives in my opinion. Shooting a .22 at 30 to 50 yards and learning to head shoot squirrels, rabbits, coons and other small game is a great way to become a very fine rifleman or pistol shot. 

Now, if you are new to guns or wanting to get into shooting, what .22s should you look for? That is a good question. For an all-purpose .22 rifle, two come to mind. — the 10/22 Ruger, which is probably the most popular .22 ever made. Next is a good bolt action .22 of some kind. Ruger and CZ make excellent and extremely accurate ones for very affordable prices. One of my favorites is the Ruger American with 16-inch barrel in 22LR. I run mine with a Vortex 3-9×40 scope on it and have taken squirrels out to 75 yards. I have shot it out to 100 but that is a far shot in the woods.

For a pistol/revolver what do you need? Reliability. Period. That’s first and foremost in your consideration. In my opinion, that means something along the following lines. Ruger Single Six is one of the best revolvers you can get, in my honest opinion. I’ve owned several them and still do. I love them, and for the money they are awesome. For a semi-auto, I would recommend a Browning Buckmark Camper if you can find one. It’s a simple gun with no frills, but in my experience, it always goes bang with almost any ammo. If you pick a Buckmark that is suppressor-ready you can have an incredibly quiet and reliable gun. Fun to shoot and accurate beyond our ability to shoot it mostly. 

Let’s no longer leave the .22 in the background. Let’s bring these fun guns back into the forefront of the American shooting experience. If you don’t have a couple then consider this permission to go out and buy a few! Load up on ammo and take the whole family out shooting. It’s good clean fun, and then you can all go small game hunting. I can smell the squirrel wings now!

—Outdoors columnist James Pressley can be reached at pressleyoutdoors@gmail.com .