Three Guns: Examining .22 Prepper Rifle Options

Many people consider a semi-automatic .22LR rifle to be the single most critically important gun for a prepper to own.

They also think that a semi-automatic .22LR is the first gun that beginning preppers should buy.

Although I personally might not agree with that (being more of a pump-shotgun first kind of a guy), I both recognize how important owning at least one .22LR rifle is for a prepper and why so many people think the gun so critically useful.

Three .22LR rifles to consider for preppers

There are a bazillion .22LR rifles out there on the market right now, and in many cases there’s not a whole lot that separates one model from another.

Most are well made, most of them are as reliable as a .22 rimfire round allows and most are relatively inexpensive.

I’ve owned (and in fact still own) a bunch of these rifles, so I decided to take a look at three of them to compare and contrast their features and my thoughts on them.

All three are guns that I have owned multiple copies of, and all three are guns that I can recommend to anybody without hesitation.

I chose to compare the ubiquitous Ruger 10/22 (in this case the takedown version), the Mossberg 702 Plinkster and the Smith & Wesson M&P AR 15 22.

What were my criteria for choosing these three guns in particular?

Out of all of the guns I’ve owned and shot, why did I pick these in particular?

• Semiautomatic: For a lot of people, they would never consider owning a prepping gun that isn’t semi-automatic. I am not one of these people, my main prepping .22LR gun isn’t a semi-auto, it’s a Ruger American Rifle (RAR) bolt action gun that takes 10/22 magazines but that is much more accurate than any 10/22 I’ve ever owned. That’s not to say that 10/22’s are inaccurate, but rather that the RAR is an absolute tack driver.
• Factory 25 round magazine: I only wanted to consider firearms that have good, high quality 25-round factory magazines. This leaves out some guns that don’t have factory 25+ magazines, and it also leaves out some very fine tube-fed magazine guns… but I think it’s a legit consideration.
• Easy to mount optics: This doesn’t limit firearms very much, but I think it’s a definite must.
  Chambered in .22LR
• Average or above reliability with all factory magazines: This one may seem a bit more of a judgement call, but there are some very “jamtastic” guns out there that I’m not considering simply because I’ve never been able to have a copy that I consider reasonably reliable

Here’s a copy of a podcast we did on these three guns:

How do I break down these guns as a prepper option?

Here are the categories that Spice and I looked at as we compared the three guns:

• Price
• Shootability
• Accuracy
• Build quality
• Reliability
• Portability
• Expandability
• Sights
• Optics
• Ease of cleaning 

The Ruger 10/22 Takedown

The Ruger 10/22 is one of the all-time most popular guns, and it’s one I’ve written a review on and also one Paranoid Prepper has reviewed.

The 10/22 has some huge area of strengths… a huge amount of a huge amount of accessories, modifications, etc.

The Mossberg 702 Plinkster

The 702 Plinkster is a low-cost .22LR gun imported by Mossberg (you know, that company with the motto “American Built, American Strong“?), and often seen in big-box retailers for $125 and under. It’s a very “low end” .22LR. How will it compare to the more expensive big-named guns on the list?

The Smith & Wesson M&P AR-15 22

The S&W M&P AR-15 22 choice is a “bit out of the box” because I think most shooters would see this gun more as an inexpensive trainer for the AR-15 platform rather than as a prepping gun in it’s own right. While it is a great trainer, I personally think it’s a top choice for somebody’s mail .22LR firearm.

So… how do they rate?

Price New (Internet – Bud’s Gun Shop)

Ruger 10/22 Takedown: $375

Mossberg 702 Plinkster: $128

Smith & Wesson M&P AR-15 22: $389

Shootability

Ruger 10/22 Takedown: The Ruger 10/22 is a very easy gun to shoot, especially the newest generations of the gun which have the BX enhanced trigger Ruger is now using. Older versions of the 10/22 (including my personal gun) had the base trigger, which is (frankly) not good at all. I have replaced my trigger group and that has made the shooting a much more pleasurable experience. Note: The BX trigger group upgrade, if you don’t have one in your 10/22, runs about $90 street price. That’s nearly the cost of an entire 702 Plinkster just for the upgrade.

Mossberg 702 Plinkster: The 702 Plinkster is a boring gun to shoot. It has a good but not great trigger, a very “plastic” feel, adequate iron sights, and it is extremely accurate. You point the gun at the target, squeeze the trigger, it goes BANG and hits the target. It’s not as “fun” to shoot as either of the other two firearms on this list, but it’s a tack driver and gets the job done.

Smith & Wesson M&P AR-15 22: By far the most “fun for your money” gun on this list, the AR-15 22 is just like shooting a “real” AR, same manual of arms, same feel, same look. The latest model features Magpul MBUS iron sights, and it’s optics-ready.

Accuracy 

Ruger 10/22 Takedown: I’ve never found any stock 10/22 I’ve ever owned to be an absolute tack driver, and the takedown is no exception. It’s accurate enough (especially after the trigger group upgrade) that I don’t think about it when shooting, but side-by-side with the other two, it’s the least accurate of the bunch. Having said that, it’s accurate enough to get head shots on small game at under 50 yards.

Mossberg 702 Plinkster: The Plinksters I own are absolute tack drivers. They are the most accurate guns in this group.

Smith & Wesson M&P AR-15 22: The S&W is rather like the 10/22, it’s plenty accurate but I wouldn’t walk around bragging about how great it is. It’s fine though. All three of these guns are fine.

Build quality

Ruger 10/22 Takedown: The build quality of the 10/22 is very good, I’d put it equally on par with the S&W. The magazines, both 10 and 25 round are very well made, the best of all three of these guns. 

Mossberg 702 Plinkster: By far the least impressive of the three in build quality, fit and finish, not surprisingly. The gun is decent, it’s not junky, but it’s not hard to tell that it’s an inexpensive firearm.

Smith & Wesson M&P AR-15 22: The newest version of the gun is better than my first one with quality Magpul furniture. Well built, which is hardly surprising from Smith & Wesson.

Reliability 

Ruger 10/22 Takedown: I’ve had no issues whatever with the gun.

Mossberg 702 Plinkster: I’ve had no issues whatever with the gun.

Smith & Wesson M&P AR-15 22: I’ve had no issues whatever with the gun.

Portability 

Ruger 10/22 Takedown: The gun comes apart for carry by flicking one small switch on the bottom of the stock and rotating. It can then be stored quickly and easily in two parts in a case half the full length of the gun.

Mossberg 702 Plinkster: The gun can be disassembled to reduce it’s size by removing two screws and popping out the barreled action. The action and the stock can then be stored. It’s not as easy or quick as either of the other two guns, but it only takes 30 seconds to have it apart and stored. This does, however, create wear-and-tear on the firearm.

Smith & Wesson M&P AR-15 22: Just like it’s “big brother” AR-15’s, the AR-15 22 comes apart by pushing two pins open. The whole process takes a couple of seconds. The gun is quite short when disassembled, but the two halves take up more space than the Ruger 10/22.

Expandability 

Ruger 10/22 Takedown: There are a huge number of aftermarket parts for the 10/22 ecosystem, so the 10/22 is an excellent platform for upgrades and customization.

Mossberg 702 Plinkster: None worth noting other than extra magazines, a sling and optics.

Smith & Wesson M&P AR-15 22: The AR-15 22 IS an AR, so most of the AR system’s accessories work just fine with the AR-15 22. One thing to note, the AR-15 22 will not work with other uppers.

Sights 

Ruger 10/22 Takedown: The stock sights on my gun are “OK”, fiber optics with a ramp-based rear. The trouble comes when you put the optical rail mount on the gun. Once that rail is added, you can’t see the rear iron sight. I don’t like that at all. 

Mossberg 702 Plinkster: Simple ramp sights. Generic and “meh”

Smith & Wesson M&P AR-15 22: New AR-15 22’s come with Magpul MBUS flip-up polymer sights that work great. Of the three, this gun has by far the best iron sight setup.

Optics 

Ruger 10/22 Takedown: Not a fan of the factory Ruger optic rail, which as I mentioned earlier means you can’t use the iron sights. Optics are easy to mount with the rail, and of course there are aftermarket options as well, but stock? I don’t like it.

Mossberg 702 Plinkster: The Plinkster has the entirely inadequate dovetail rail so you can clamp on optics. I’ve always found this to be a shaky solution. 

Smith & Wesson M&P AR-15 22: Rock solid milspec rail.

Ease of cleaning 

Ruger 10/22 Takedown: Here’s my biggest knock on the 10/22 in this article, they are a pain in the tail to field strip when not on a well lit workbench or table. Any time you have to get out a punch and start punching out pins, it’s not field expedient. I’ve own a lot of Ruger guns, and I’ve often wondered why the company didn’t spend more time (until recently) designing their guns to make them easier to clean. Look, it’s not brain surgery, but when it takes a screwdriver and a punch then I’m going to knock it in comparison to guns that don’t.

Mossberg 702 Plinkster: If anything, it’s even a bigger pain to field strip to clean than the 10/22. 

Smith & Wesson M&P AR-15 22: The S&W is the clear winner of the three for field stripping and cleaning. It literally just pops apart with the finger-push of one pin. 

These guns are not necessarily the best choices

While I think all three of these guns are GOOD choices for preppers, there are a LOT of other firearms out there. How do they compare to the three that I have listed? Feel free to use my criteria and add more firearms in the comment section if you like, breaking your choice down by the same guidelines.

I limited my list to three not because I think these are necessarily the best three choices out there, but rather because doing more than 3 would start to get unmanageable, and I also wanted to talk about firearms I know intimately well.