I have always admired the looks of the Remington 541-T, but never bought one, there was always something else to buy.


In this edition of The American Rifleman, I see the Springfield 2020 in .22.

If you have experience with either of these rifles, please share your experience and thoughts.


The 2020 is the first bolt .22 to capture my interest, after following the 541-T for several years.

Thank you.

Have you considered CZ?

I own the 'sage' synthetic stock version of the 2020. It is a very solid, well thought out 22 bolt gun. However there are many reports of these rifles having accuracy issues, specifically throwing flyers, which mine does with regularity. I think you would be much happier with several of the CZ varients, a Tikka T1x or a Bergara BMR for similar $$ amounts.

I would steer you in the direction of the Tikka T1X. Or a CZ.

My daughter boy friend just bought the bottom end CZ and I am thoroughly impressed with it, we were shooting it off the back porch and Syd was dinging a 3in circle at 50 yards with iron sights consistently. She hasn’t shot in a couple years and fell in love with that rifle. It checked a lot of boxes for me and now has me considering it instead of the Ruger American I was gonna buy.

I watch a lot of videos showing both testing and drills with the 22 Long Rifle cartridge, and one thing that is demonstrated time and again is how common unexpected flyers are with everything except the highest quality ammunition. (By “highest quality,” I mean stuff like Lapua X-Act, a box of which I decided to try and which cost about $40 when I bought it at my favorite store.)

I have learned a few things thus far from my own forays into (and struggles with) the world of precision shooting the 22 LR cartridge.

If a rifle consistently produces large groups, then it’s probably due to poor marksmanship, a mediocre quality rifle, and/or poor to average quality ammunition.

If, however, the groups are mostly nice and tight but they occasionally open up due to a shot that impacts far from the rest, then it seems most likely that it’s due to marksmanship and/or ammunition quality. Ammunition and shooter skill are obviously highly variable, but what could change in the rifle itself to cause generally tight groups to suddenly open up? And then why do subsequent shots settle back into where they’re supposed to go? Plus, when the shooter is obviously far above average and nothing can be seen about them or their equipment that explains the outliers, then can the explanation for inexplicable results be anything other than the ammunition?

I’m not suggesting that the Springfield 2020 rifles are at the top tier in terms of precision, but in the 22 LR world, ammunition ultimately has a huge effect on results no matter how good the rifle and shooter are. Top shooters in the sport go to the trouble of not just using the best ammunition they can reasonably afford, but even test numerous lots of whatever seems to perform best for them to get the most precise results.

I am nevertheless curious what ammunition shooters are using with the Springfield rifle and what sorts of groups they obtain. I have looked for online reviews, but none has been particularly enlightening as pertaining to their precision with good ammunition.

And in any event, if someone is looking for a precision 22 LR rifle, time and again I have seen very favorable reviews of and shooting results with CZ rifles. (Even with them, though, it’s not uncommon to see shooters upgrade their barrels.)

I don't have a 541T but have sold a few over the years,

I do have a Rem 540 and a 541 X

and a 37, 40X and 513

I can say that generally speaking, the 500 series barrels are damn good,

my 540 is a tack driver,
my 541 X (Gov't contract) is very accurate, but the trigger sucks, horribly,


the 513, and I also have a 550, are very accurate,


however, they are all 'Old School' designs, if that matters to you,

I've owned a couple 541-T, including a factory maple stocked one. They didn't shoot up to the standards I expected from them.

The Springfield has a 1" at 50 yard accuracy guarantee which doesn't excite me.

I agree with the above suggestion to look at the Tika or CZ. I'll also include the Bergara BMR as an excellent shooting rifle that won't break the bank.

quote:

Originally posted by Oaklane:
My daughter boy friend just bought the bottom end CZ and I am thoroughly impressed with it, we were shooting it off the back porch and Syd was dinging a 3in circle at 50 yards with iron sights consistently. She hasn’t shot in a couple years and fell in love with that rifle. It checked a lot of boxes for me and now has me considering it instead of the Ruger American I was gonna buy.

I've owned a couple Ruger Americans. They didn't impress me. I think you'd be much happier with the CZ.

Interesting. I narrowed my selection to those two rifles myself for some reason, the 541-T possibly from an American Rifleman review of it and the Kimber 82 and Win Model 52 sporter I read long ago, and I like the current reviews I've seen of the Springfield. I haven't pulled the trigger on either as of yet, but I also very much like the CZ 452 (the flat sided receiver of the 457 bugs me for some odd reason)...

quote:

Originally posted by 2Adefender:
I would steer you in the direction of the Tikka T1X. Or a CZ.

Having a T3x, makes me want to get a T1x. Thoroughly enjoy my T3

Sadly outside the exquisite and very expensive vudoo no American company makes a decent 22 rifle !
( the Springfield isn’t even made here - a Turkish made import)

Agree Tikka or CZ is your best bet

I have a Winchester Wildcat bolt gun which I bought for cheap and had low expectations. Surprisingly, it is very accurate and has a good trigger. Its Russian made! I have been considering getting into precision rimfire and if I go bolt action, it will probably be with a CZ. But, since the 10-22 style platform now rivals the AR with quality build components, I may just build my own custom rig.

Although I “need” (that n- word ) another 22 RF rifle like another hole in the head, I keep watching video reviews. Because I’m such a fan of Tikka T3x rifles, I keep being drawn back to the T1x. Unfortunately for my wants, though, based on all the reviews I’ve seen, it seems that CZ models generally outperform the Tikka. And if one isn’t satisfied with the factory barrel on either one, CZ barrels are (reportedly) easy to change, whereas changing a Tikka’s is … difficult—to put it mildly.

That is of course no recommendation other than to research the matter oneself.

But as an aside, as I understand the issue, RimX actions that have a very good reputation and are often paired with top tier barrels whose results seem to rival Vudoo Gun Works offerings are also made in the US.