Recommendation for semi-auto rifle?

BTW: I bought my 10/22 with a broken front sight way back when. It had a scope on it when I bought it and I never bothered to replace it. A few years later I bought a Mossberg 140K bolt action .22 and moved the scope over to it. Thanks to this thread I decided to finally replace the sights on my 10/22. I ordered a set of HIVIZ lightwave sights that should be here on Friday. #QuarantineProjects.
 
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Hey, I actually found pics on this computer. I've been wanting to show off my 10/22. It's got a GM barrel, a Boyd's stock, and Volquartzen titanium internals. I modified and machine turned the bolt for extra straight flying bullets.
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Gonna definitely need a Swarovski rifle scope to pick off virus cells!
 
.222...

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.223...

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Both are Remington 788s... I also have 788s in .243, 6mm Remington, .308, and .44 magnum.

-Bear
 
M1 Carbine - The most fun little rifle I have ever shot. The M1 carbine uses a gas system to cycle the action so the bolt and op rod are low mass which means it doesn't have that heavy annoying bolt slam like all of the PCC (Pistol caliber carbines) I have ever shot. A M1 carbine is not cheap and the ammo is not cheap but it is my top choice for a fun little rifle. Ammo isn't too bad if you save your brass an reload. I can shoot my M1 carbine all day and never tire of it.

Ruger PC9 - A great rifle, I love mine... but it is no M1 carbine. The PC9 comes with an adapter for Glock mags. I don't own Glocks but the magazines are good quality, pleantiful and relatively cheap. A couple of the 33 round Glock mags will keep you shooting for a long time. I can easily hit the 100 yard gong at my range which is plenty accurate for me. I have never tried the 200 yard range. Some day I look forwards to working up a 9mm load specifically for the PC9 to see what kind of accuracy I can wring out of it. I am pretty confident in saying that 9mm is the cheapest round to reload. I believe factory ammo is also cheap... but I haven't bought and factory 9mm in many many years.

10/22 - A classic that never gets old or boring. I believe it is the rifle with the most after market parts available for it. You can make it into almost anything you want it to be. You might not have noticed that I said 10/22 and not Ruger 10/22. Some day I will buy an aftermarket stainless steel 80% 10/22 receiver and finish it off myself. This won't save you any money, quite the contrary, but it will allow you to build the exact 10/22 you want. I own 2 x Ruger 10/22's and the only Ruger left on them is the receiver and the bolt, everything else has been upgraded. I am pretty sure I could pretty easily manufacture my own bolt since I have a couple to go off of. Many of the other parts, often available from after market vendors, could also be manufactures in a home shop with a mill.
 
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I shoot in a indoor/outdoor league, basically people I went to school with, their kids, wives and girlfriends (hopefully not at the same time). It’s 50 ft indoor and 100 ft outdoors, with only iron sights, lots of fun, I shoot a Ruger Precision Rimfire (bolt action), many different brands and styles of 22LR. Last year I shot at a 98.2% rate and came in seventh.
 
It's interesting you can still buy a new rifle in Remington 222. It's been around a long time and still has a following. Before all my reloading stuff went up in smoke, I dabbled with some.222 loads for my Remington 700 old deer rifle.
 
If you just want to plink I would recommend the Ruger 10/22. .22LR was between .03 and .15 a round last month. I prefer Federal bulk ammo at .03 or .04 when it's available.

Because you mentioned wanting a rifle I will not mention my favorite firearm the Ruger Charger pistol which is simply a 10/22 in a pistol format. I love that firearm.

Because you noted reloading, cost of ammo, and 50 yards I would point you to considering a 9mm carbine. Mine is a Ruger PC9. A great rifle out to 100 yards and really viable out to about 200 or 250 if you are willing to make adjustments for bullet drop.

If you want more range and still nearly as low cost to reload or otherwise feed you might look into a 7.62x39
 
I had an Iver Johnson 30 carbine years ago. Gawd what a fun toy, I should have never sold it. A close to an automatic as I've ever owned.
 
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