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Mossberg 702 Plinkster Rimfire Reviews...

DHonovich

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http://elmtreeforge.blogspot.com/2008/0 ... kster.html
Irons In The Fire Review

Mossberg 702 Plinkster

I had the chance to help in the shakeout run of one of these today. If you haven't seen one before, this is a .22lr semi-auto rifle. The one I fired has a blue finish(the above picture is a chromed model), and a polymer stock. Sights are your basic bead front with hood and U-shaped rear notch, with the welcome feature that the rear adjusts for both windage and elevation, both screw adjustments. And (of course) the receiver is grooved for mounting a scope. Cross-bolt safety. The barrel is 18", and the overall length* about 37". It does have a bolt hold-open, which is the magazine follower: after the last round is fired the follower sticks up high enough to block the bolt.

This thing is light. That polymer stock is injection-molded from the looks, and hollow, helping the rifle into a total weight of 4.1 pounds. Durability? Open question, I have no previous knowledge of these so time will tell. The forend does leave the barrel free-floated

The owner said the trigger, as it came out of the box, was pretty rough; apparently that was from some crud left on the hammer & sear surfaces, as after wiping them clean and putting a dab of grease on them, it became much lighter and cleaner. He did not take the fire-control group apart, as he could find no information on doing so. You may notice from the picture, that the receiver/barrel looks a lot like the Marlin Model 60; disassembly is very similar, but the FCG does not look the same.

The weather being cloudy, cold and windy, this was tried out on a 25-yard indoor range. And the lights at the backstop were out, which didn't exactly help with aiming. We tried it out with four different brands: Remington Golden Bullet hollowpoints, Winchester hollowpoints, Federal Champion and Russian Vostok target ammo(had a couple of boxes I bought to try.

The trigger broke cleanly, I'd guess at about five pounds. And the thing ate all the ammo, including the Vostok, with only one bobble. At the very end, I loaded a mag with a few of each, all mixed together, and one of the (I think) Vostok cases didn't clear the bolt before it closed. That was the only problem in about 200 rounds, which isn't bad for an inexpensive rifle on its first outing. Ejection varied from forward and left(a long way forward) for the Remington and Winchester, less so on angle and distance with the Federal, and slightly back and only a couple of feet away for Vostok.

As I mentioned above, with basic sights and not-too-good light I'm not going to state "This is the level of accuracy"; I will say that all these cartridges easily stayed within 1.5" groups. I'd love to put a scope on this and try it at 50 yards with a solid rest.

There was one problem, and that was with the magazine. There's an open slot at the back corner on the left side, and I think that's where the trouble lies. You'd get five rounds in and sometimes something would stick. You'd have to push on the top cartridge and/or on the rims of the cartridges below to get things free. It did this several times. Being new to this, I have no way of knowing if it was this particular magazine, or something in the design.

Overall, not a bad little rifle. Short, light, it ate all ammo tried and showed good accuracy. And the guy picked it up for the price of $99. Not on sale, regular price. Kim has referred to a .22 rifle as a household commodity, and this thing seems to fit the bill: something you could stick in the closet or by the door to deal with pests, or put in the trunk or back of the truck for the same reasons.

*The chrome version has a 21" barrel, and it can be had in a 'Bantam' version with a 2" shorter stock.
 
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I purchased on a few months ago from Academy for $129. My son and I took it out and put 100 rounds through it with no trouble at all. I'm considering the purchase of a second one we like it so much. Where was it purchased for $99? This would be an even better price.
 
I purchased mine from the Wal-mart down the street. It cost me $117 +tax. I love this rifle. I think it has less recoil than the Ruger 10/22 and it's pretty accurate.
 
hello, i just purchased a mossberg 702 plinkster today, and went home,disassembled,cleaned, and headed out to my outdoor range. in northern new york today, it is snowing heavily, and pretty chilly today (about 15 degrees outside).. anyways, i had to wade thru 3 feet of snow to get to the range, so i kept my shooting session short today LOL>.. i loaded and fired my 10 rou nd clip 6 times, and it shot flawlessly for 60 rounds... it seems like a fun little .22 for 100 bucks...
 
Thanks for the report!

Keep us posted as you're able to run some more rounds through it down the road. Feel free to post up some pics when you get a chance...
 
Shot my new Plinkster for the first time today. I was a little disappointed in the quality of the magazine. It seems as though it may have some tight and/or rough spots on the inside. It may just act that way with certain loads, I'll find that out later.

One thing that was abundantly clear: it didn't like low velocity cartridges. The 1500 fps Remington stuff cycled great, no FTE at all. However, the CCI 740 fps rounds jammed every single time. I guess they are really only suited for bolt, lever, or revolver actions. I did want to try them out, though. I don't plan on putting anything but full power loads in it, from now on.

Backordered a couple of standard magazines from Cabelas today also. Should be several weeks before I see them.

I like the rifle, and so does my wife. She says it's like shooting a BB gun. :D Take care. Tom Worthington.
 
Tom,

Running high velocity loads for the first few hundred rounds will loosen up the action and you should be able to run lower the velocity bulk stuff before long...
 
LAZY EYED SNIPER said:
Tom,

Running high velocity loads for the first few hundred rounds will loosen up the action and you should be able to run lower the velocity bulk stuff before long...

Well, I better get to "work" then. :D Take care. Tom Worthington.
 
went out and finally got a chance to sight in my mossy 702 i purchased a few weeks ago.. i am highly impressed with its accuracy.. after 5 or 6 3 shot groups and a little adjusting to elevation and windage, i was shooting ragged holes at 25 yards and 1/2 to 3/4 inch groups at 50 yards! i put on a 7.99 scope from walmart, zeroed it in and was hotting awesome groups.. all of this with federal 550 bulk ammo! i must admit, i have 2 marlin 60s as well, and it was just as accurate if not more accurate as they are. ( from years of shooting, i realize it may have been one of my good shooting days) but still i am totally impressed with this little plinkster! i may go out and get another one in the near future..p.s. i have not had a jam or misfire,misfeed yet!
 
Outstanding!

Thanks for the report and keep us posted as you get to spend more time with the rifle...
 
On Christmas Day in 2006 my oldest son (just turned 18 last Saturday) received his first rifle from his papa. It was a Mossberg 702 Plinkster. We put that rifle through it's paces out shooting beer cans, paper targets, and even more fun....the evil prairie dog. Having put an easy 2000rnds through this gun without any hiccups at all (using Federal Bulk ammo), it was plain to see this is a great little rifle....regardless of it's price. We had been out with many friends over the next couple of years and all of them had used it, borrowed it, etc and agreed. Since that wonderful Christmas Day we have had at least 4 friends buy them, and now my youngest son (12yrs) has one as well and I have one tore down lookin' for mods and ideas for. I just did a quick figuring and guessing my 18yr old's Plinkster has at least 5000rnds through it and it still sends the lead where ya point it :)

Long story short...what a great little rifle, 'nuff said.
 
Welcome aboard!

Thanks for the report on your 702. Looks like it's been a part of many good times...
 
LAZY EYED SNIPER said:
Welcome aboard!

Thanks for the report on your 702. Looks like it's been a part of many good times...

Hey LES, just curious here...why no Plinkster on your sig's list of arms ? :eek:
 
I just walked past the 18" barrel, black synthetic stock 702 at Wal Mart a week or so ago. The price tag was $107.00. I almost bought it just to have a second one that I could hand a friend when shooting. Mine shoots well with a wide variety of ammo and does not require match ammo to be accurate. I'll post up an 'outlaw' target in the 715 shootout taking place here this month shortly - here are 3 targets that I shot last month. The scoring for that rifle event is group size PLUS the distance of the farthest shot from center for the total score. I was 1st in the 50 yd standing (as the only entrant) and 2nd in the two bench categories.
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50 yds standing

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50 yds bench

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100 yds bench - says 50 on the target - forgot to change a setting on the software :D

It takes a few targets to get there but I can consistently stay under 1" groups from a bench - this month standing was, erm, particularly good!
 
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