Project Appleseed

I've finally got a friend to agree coming to an AS (in the Ventura CA area) and is now looking at rifles.  He's looking hard at a Savage and asked me what I think.  Of course I told him the Ruger 10/22 are the most common and most familiar to me, especially since I own one.  However I'd like to throw this out to the forum since I could only find scattered info from past posts.

SkyHawk,
Do you know what model the Savage is?  I have a Savage 64; I shot rifleman with it, however, I also own a 10/22 and believe that the Ruger is a better choice for AS.  After a 100-200 rounds through my Savage, the action gets clogged up with gunshot crud, etc.  If not cleaned, the bolt has a hard time closing all the way for every shot, causing the firing-pin to not strike the primer hard enough to fire a shot.  You have to manually push the bolt forward for each shot.  Very frustrating on Stages 2 & 3 of the QDAQT. 
If these are the 2 options (64 vs. 10/22), my vote is go with the 10/22. 

---GF

I (eventually) shot my rifleman with a Savage 93XP in .22 WMR.

I love the rifle, particularly the trigger, but teaching myself a means of working the bolt without ruining my NPOA or Steady Hold Factors was tough.  Also remember its only a 5-round clip.

I would suggest sticking with a mag-fed, sem-auto, the 10/22 being the most practical, then move on to more challenging systems (i.e. bolt action or larger caliber) as the comfort level under stage 2 and 3 time limits increases.

I'd say buy something that you can get Tech Sights for... if he wants a little bit cheaper alternative to the Ruger, he can get a Marlin 795.  Also, Tech Sights now makes sights for the Mossberg 702 Plinkster, so that's another option.  I haven't heard any feedback from appleseeders about how the Mossberg works as a liberty training rifle, but they get good reviews in general for reliability. 

Thanks for the comments as they were all helpful! 

......

The Marlin 795 also comes with sling studs installed, unlike the Ruger or the Mossberg.  One less thing you have to buy, and it's kinda nice for somebody who isn't a huge DIY'er and doesn't feel too confident drilling holes his new rifle's stock.  Just buy a pair of 1 1/4" swivels, a GI sling, and either tech sights or a scope + rings, and you're good to go.