Mossberg 702 Plinkster review

Alright, so here's the review I promised last night. Yesterday left me pretty beat so I didn't get around to it. That'll teach me to make promises.

Mossberg 702 Plinkster

I'll start by saying I bought this as a spur of the moment decision without doing any research. I strongly encourage you to do as much research as possible, from as many different sources as possible before purchasing a firearm. Take my word nor anybody else's as fact.

Your mileage may vary!

•  Price: The average running cost of a 702 is less then $150. I bought mine at a WalMart in Texas for ~$100. I can't comment as to what the used price is as I've never seen any. It's something that's so cheap it's not worth selling or buying a used one.

• Accuracy: The rifle was fired at a range of 5 feet up to 30 feet. Perhaps not the best way to test accuracy but at the time I wasn't an exceptional shot (still not).  It has a hooded front sight, which I happen to really like. Personal preference. See picture for example. 

• Reliability: This is where my number one gripe with this rifle lies. The first thing you should do when buying this rifle is clean it well. However doing a complete take down of the receiver is a major pain in the ass. There are however guides on Youtube on how to do this. I did this after my first two boxes of ammo (100 rounds) and noticed a definite change in reliability. The number of failure to extracts went down significantly. I would also encourage trying out different ammo. I tried CCI, Federal, and Remington, mixing hollow points and lead nose rounds. I found the best performer were CCI 40 grain, 1700fps lead nose rounds. I put about ~400 rounds through this rifle while living in Texas. Need to find some land in Colorado to shoot on. Not a fan of public ranges. YMMV

• Accessories: Let's face it, when it comes to .22 rifles you simply can't beat the Ruger 10/22 here. The Ruger has a wide variety of stocks and magazine that's simply incredible. The 702 has much, much more limited options. Standard (only) magazine capacity is 10 rounds with magazines costing about $15 a piece depending on where you shop (thank you CheaperThanDirt) and replacement stocks aren't very common. I think I recall seeing a bullpup stock for the 702 but couldn't find it again. 

Conclusion 

The premier .22 rifle is the Ruger 10/22. I'll review one when I get my hands on it but 

it is quite possibly the most popular rimfire rifle on the American market. They can usually be had for around $250. Though for some first time gun buyers this may seem a bit of steep price to try a hobby they may not enjoy. Or you may just not have the cash to spend. Whatever the case if you're looking for cheap rifle to learn shooting basics then the Mossberg 702 Plinkster will fill this role perfectly fine.  

Any and all thoughts, criticisms and baseless insults appreciated.