Winchester's New Wildcat Polymer 22 LR Rifle

not doing anything for me, but if they run reliably with standard fodder, at that msrp i imagine these things will definitely move at their eventual street price.

 

Haven’t seen one available locally or online, and I’ve been looking for a while.

 

The only thing going for it is that it uses 10/22 mags, but why buy a Turkish 22 when you can buy an original American made 10/22? It would have to be considerably cheaper than a 10/22 for it to sell.



http://www.winchesterguns.com/products/rifles/Wildcat-22/Wildcat-22-Current-Products/wildcat-22.html

 

I like the idea of an all-plastic gun, kind of like a modern version of the Remington nylon 66.

And the Turks make pretty good guns.

 

Interesting

 

Can't find one anywhere.

 

Uh, isn't a 10/22 like $200?

 

keeping in mind 10/22 msrp of $300+ and you get a better idea the extent winchester is attempting to undercut competition. what're street prices in general, 25-30% less or somewhere abouts? throw in mag compatibility & if these things end up really running, i'd say they're not messing around & it's a genuine effort for portion of market.

 

IMO it is hard to improve on the 10/22's available.

 

Nothing really new here. Most 22s these days are mostly plastic including the trigger group assemblies. The only thing not plastic on the 10/22, Marlin 795, Rem 597 and the Wildcat is the receiver, barrel and bolt (plus the usual internal parts, springs, pins). The only thing not plastic on the Nylon 66 was the bolt, barrel and receiver cover (plus some internal parts/pins and springs).

I really think that if the street price of the Wildcat is around $200 it won't be any competition for the 10/22 since you can find 10/22s for $200 which takes all the aftermarket parts. It would IMO, have to compete with the Marlin 795 and Remington 597 both of which are around +- $150 with the 795 being frequently discounted much lower.

As I said the only thing going for the Wildcat is that it takes 10/22 mags but for the price you're better off with a 10/22 unless they can sell them for less than $150.

I wish them luck with it but I don't see it being anything new or special. I do find it odd however that it was released at the SHOT show and we're just hearing about it now and that I can't find them for sale anywhere yet.

 

If the action drops out with the push of a button that's a big plus, makes it easy for first time shooters to clean. And as mentioned, if it's Turkish made, it's probably good. I love my Ruger rimfires but not everyone cares about aftermarket stuff, they just want a good shooter. I think it was smart to use 10/22 mags, I can think of several really good shooting entry level rimfires with really poor magazines. And the basic stock looks to have a grip angle similar to a Backpacker. And if it's significantly lighter than a 10/22 that's a big plus for young shooters.
But yea, if it doesn't come in under $200 over the counter I don't see many paying a premium for this one.

 

And....where are they for sale? SHOT Show was over 6 months ago.

 

A plastic semi-auto .22 with a detachable action made in Turkey?

Hard pass for me.

 

I don’t know a thing about this rifle beyond what was posted in the OP but maybe they’re going for the ultra-light, survivalist type rifle?

 

It's not particularly lighter than some other 22 rifles on the market. The Mossberg Plinkster weighs the same. It's been awhile since Winchester brought out a rimfire rifle so I'm guessing their thinking is why not grab/have a Turkish made one and introduce it now that 22 ammo is readily available and cheap. There is a big market for cheap 22 semis now that the ammo panic is over I would guess. The thing is that they actually have to get it to market which they haven't done.

 

No thanks,I'll just keep my model 67