Monday, January 21, 2008

Mossberg 702 Plinkster

Range test







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.

26 comments:

Unknown said...

Hey there. I just picked one of these Plinksters up myself. I noticed the same thing about the clip. Get between 5 and rounds in and I have to tap the clip on the loading stand then continue putting rounds in.

I have the 21" version. I put a scope on it and a bipod. Took about 15 mins to sight it in, but now, at 50 yrds, I can put 10 holes in a 1" group. (I used Winchester ammo, and a 3-9 x 36 cheapie scope)

Any other issues so far?

Firehand said...

The closest thing to a 'problem' has been that, occasionally, a case doesn't quite clear the receiver before the bolt closes on the next round. As I recall, it's always happened with Federal Champion, which is a somewhat 'mild' load; so it's probably the ammo sometimes not quite cycling things fully for proper ejection. Other ammo, can't recall it happening once.

Anonymous said...

Nice review. Great little rifle. Before being imported by Mossberg, the Plinkster was sold as the MagTech Model 7022. We haven't had any clip or feeding problems with ours. It's just been a reliable little rifle for our household.

For others researching this gun, here is my take:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1080328/a_rifle_review_the_magtech_model_7022.html?cat=11

Firehand said...

Thank you.

Didn't know that, will look at it.

Anonymous said...

Tip- you **MUST** break down the rifle AND clean it BEFORE you take it to shoot the first time or you will get jams as the rifle gets dirty.

The gun is coated in a dry but adhesive protective coating from the factory, and if you dont clean it BEFORE first use, the adhesice coating WILL hold onto the powder residue and cause misfires.. I shot 250 rounds on my first run, without cleaning it first.

The first 100 were fien, no misfires no jams. Once you could see the powder residue adhereing internally and externally, after about 100 rounds, the misfires and jams started.
This is not a quick/simple gun to break down but its not real complicated either.
The bolt charging handle IS NOT connected to ANYTHING.. it just sits in a gap on top of the bolt and to make matters worse, its a real cheap piece of aluminum, not steel.
Anyone who owns this gun would be well advised to procure a spare charging handle becasue once the cheap aluminum one breaks, the weapon will be inoperable.
this si such a critical part and SMALL part, it absolutely should be made out of steel.
Once I zeroed in a cheap tasco scope on it the plinkster was very accurate, and reliably so, but the aluminum reciever, trigger housing, charging handle, complicated break down method, are THE REASON MOSSBERG can SELL THIS FOR 99 BUCKS.. its made of inferior mateials.

The weird factory applied adhesive coating, that you wont notice unless you go shoot it without a full breakdown/cleaning first, is the reason so amny who enver cleaned the gun in advance are getting jams/misfires with this .22.
Cant solve the cheap materials issue, but the good news is that since it is only a .22 the aluminum components arent reallly taking a huge beating.

Anonymous said...

i just picked the model 702 up from a pawn shop (looked like it needed a good home for x-mas) put about 100 rounds down range not a problem. i love this little gun. the only problem i'm having is the small 10 round mag, i've looked and looked but cant find anything in a hi-cap. can any one tell me were to get one?

Anonymous said...

I bought 3 clips and manufactured 1 out of them. It took bit but it holds 25 rounds.

Firehand said...

So far as I know, the only mags available for it are the standard ten-round. Not enough demand for anyone to make a bigger one, I guess.

Anonymous said...

I have owned my 702 for a year now and i have had only few hickups in its operations. The first was a series of jams, but I soon found that it was not the guns fault it was the ammo I was firing. I was using remington yellow jackets. The raised head continued to cause jams. I soon pulled out a box of remington goldens and they fired without a single jam. the only honest issue I have had is when one cassing did not clear the receiver.That was the first out of two thousand rounds i fired of the remington goldens. In all for such a cheap gun...hell for any gun the mossberg 702 is a great gun and fun to shoot!!

eGadgetGuy said...

I just picked one of these up at a pawn shop for $60. Someone had put camo tape on the barrel. It came right off and the residue came off with paint thinner. I have mounted a cheap scope and it feels and looks good. I can't wait to fire it. I need to find more mags though. Thanks for the reviews!

Firehand said...

Haven't looked in a while, but Wally World used to carry them

Unknown said...

Couple of points:
1. Bolt hold-open; as you pull back on the small charging piece push it into the receiver and it will lock up - now thw mag/clip can be dropped and the bolt remains open. (I usually do this after the last round fired when the clip holds the bolt back. Otherwise you produce a wear situation by trying to drop the clip with the bolt-carrier pushing forward on the plastic bolt-hold-open of the clip.)
2. Try to purchase additional 10-round clips and an inexpensive "Shotgun caddy" (the elastic butt sleeve for shotguns that allow the carrying of extra shot-shell on the stock opposite your cheek-weld.) You won't get a clip into every loop but you can get a clip to slide into the two ends and the center loop to carry a total of three readily accessible 10-round clips. :)

Anonymous said...

I bought the 702, and the 802 bolt model for Xmas, and thus far like them very much...

Anonymous said...

I have had my 702 for about 2 years and it performs great it has only jammed a fewtimes and it is accurate. I can get 2" groups at 200yds with a 3-9 x40mm scope

Firehand said...

Bleep! That's flat amazing with just about ANY .22

Anonymous said...

got one of these a couple days ago ( mossberg 702 ) 100 rounds without a problem. but i know there will be problems to come after hearing what you guys posted.so im just gonna clean just in case

jason said...

high capacity 25 round clip for this 702 it works great no issues with mine fired 200 rounds never cleaned it just sprayed break free into the action and let the rounds fly as for cleaning afterwards i didnt other then sprayed more break free into the action and let it drain not one flaw other then the 10 round clip snag at number four shell slot
http://www.thegunsource.com/item/505082_MoSSberg_High_Capacity_Magazine_MAGAZINE_TACTICAL_22LR_25RD.aspx

Anonymous said...

where in the world can I get a mount, and rings for a 702 plinkster?

Firehand said...

It's a grooved receiver, so any .22 rings for such will fit. Places like Academy and Wally World often carry those, Midway and other supply places do as well; for instance
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/168443/b-square-1-sport-utility-22-rimfire-and-airgun-rings-medium-matte
may well find them at Amazon, too

Anonymous said...

The name should be "stinkster"! A horrible weapon that has so many issues I don't know where to start. For one there are basically no accessories! The gun jams open after just about every shot. If you are able to get a full magazine through it there should be cause for celebration. It doesn't want to feed or extract ammo correctly, the bolt slams open so hard it reeks havoc on the housing for the bolt. Seems more rounds I shot. The more and bigger problems I endured.

I brought my gun back to the dealer where I had a nightmare figuring out who is responsible. It seems Mossberg does not back their firearms. I have never seen such a charade just to get a company to back their product. I lost a pin in my Ruger Mark II and Ruger sent me another free of charge even though I was not the original purchaser of the firearm. Mossberg's customer service is sub-par to say the least. Can't even get the options changed on a gun for custom order. Mossberg is a joke company! Should have known when I didn't buy a u.s. Made firearm. I could go on and on.

I would recomend not buying this gun or any other from them. Any company that gives you the run around especially on a firearm isn't worth doin business with. There are too many good gun companies to spend your money on a lemon that is Mossberg.

Firehand said...

Damn. Sounds like you did my 'get the one with all the problems' act.

Anonymous said...

to anonymous bought a 702 have no problems with the gun what so ever except with winchester ammo only ammo i found to jam federal remington no jams what so ever

jakeboyjohn said...

who can help me with the best scope ? up to 100 yds max ?
jakeboyjohn

Dreamur NOR CAL said...

I have picked up a 702 plinkster have shot over 2000 round both in just shooting cans, and getting rid of small game. Really amazing gun no jams so far. very reliable and if anyone needs to get a scope for this gun and want an inexpensive scope try sports authority for red dot scopes and wally world for regular scopes no more than 50 dollars for a good one.

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Unknown said...

Just purchased a 702 today. After firing 25 rounds, I did notice a bit of wiggle in the charging handle. Most likely nothing serious, according to most reviews that I've read on these types of guns. May just need to keep an eye out for any further movement. Overall, I'm happy with it.