Winchester has re-entered the semi-auto .22 LR market with the Wildcat. It’s an extremely lightweight plinker that accepts 10/22 magazines and has a whole slew of neat features. Check out the video above for a full walk-through of what makes the Wildcat unique, or visit the Winchester Wildcat product page here. Photo dump follows:
I was liking it till I saw the end of the barrel, no threads? 🙁
At one point Winchester was importing Russian made bolt action .22s and they called them Wildcat. Toz made them. I bought one and it is a superb shooter. I prefer the bolt gun for teaching new shooters.
I already have a .22 that will take Ruger mags. It’s a 10/22.
Yep kinda hard to beat the real 10/22 if you want something like a 10/22
A proven design with a bajillion aftermarket widgets to add to it. Whats not to like?
said the glok owner.
oh no, edit!
I got safes full of non Glocks. Buy one Glock and I hear about it. Life ain’t fair.
I really like the look of that little thing. Seems like they put a lot of thought into the design. If I had $$ to spend on a .22 (or any new gun at all), I’d be sorely tempted.
My daughter is the only one in the house who doesn’t have her own gun, and I think she’d like this one. And I’m assuming she’d let me shoot it whenever I wanted. 🙂
Is this manufactured in the USA or Turkey, like some of their other guns?
Good question! Where is it made, and by whom?
Or possibly Japan or Portugal?
It’s made in Turkey. No way I am going to buy one. I’m looking at the high-res pictures Winchester has on their website and it looks incredibly cheap.
sorry, it looks too much like a toy or an air rifle. all that is missing is the orange tip at the end of the barrel.
“all that is missing is the orange tip at the end of the barrel.”
Have the barrel threaded, and powder-coat a thread protector bright orange. Install on muzzle.
Problem *solved*…
*snicker* 😉
Projected MSRP? Street price…?
I wonder if Winchester has to pay Ruger royalties for the use of their magazine technology?
Sooo many questions…inquiring minds want to know!
“I wonder if Winchester has to pay Ruger royalties for the use of their magazine technology?”
As long as the 10-22 has been in production, I doubt it is still protected by a patent…
According to the website, the MSRP is $249. The website also describes the interesting design of the firing pin – kind of surprising that the video didn’t cover that since it seems like a great feature.
“The Wildcat uses a STRIKER-FIRED DESIGN (much like a centerfire bolt-action rifle) that provides faster lock time and a lighter trigger pull than traditional hammer-fired rimfire designs. The hemispheric firing pin tip focuses its striking energy more efficiently, creating a deeper rim indent that gives more reliable ignition with all types of 22 LR ammo.”
And how about that magazine/last round hold open looking just like the TCR22 magazine last round hold open?? Seems like a few patents are open right now. It does seem very similar to the TCR. Maybe a few better features too…maybe.
I hope it works better then their Wildcat ,.22 ammunition
“I hope it works better then their Wildcat ,.22 ammunition”
I thought marsupials like possums *hated* CCI ‘Stingers’ more than anything…
I have never had in issue with their wildcat ammo apart from the occasional dud round. It’s the food my old Marlin 60 likes best.
Darn. Semi-automatic. Can only be had on a restricted licences category. Yes, our laws are that stupid.
If it is made in the USA, I hope they sell enough to make it worth their while. I won’t be buying one though, I am kind of all .22’d up really.
Bought my Ruger 10/22 brand spanking shiny-new for $59 at Jensen’s Custom Ammo in Tucson. It is still my favorite gun ever nearly fifty years later. I’ve worn out magazines for it, been advised a number of times to replace the barrel too.
Instead I just recently bought a new 10/22 as a Christmas gift for a young lady shooter.
Guess Winchester just came along too late on that one.
It’s made in Turkey.
Another goddamn plastic trigger?
I don’t care how light the striker makes it, the material flexing makes it suck. Herp derp nope.
It’s like someone in development thought, “Now how could I make this thing MORE uglier?”
If this thing shoots half as good as Thier bolt wildcat. Then I will give it a try. My bolt wildcat is the only gun my kids are fighting over when I’m gone.
Always a good market for .22 rifles…kids, women, hunters. Cheap plentiful ammo …useful and fun. They sell a few for use.
So what does this bring that the Ruger 10/22 hasn’t already brought? It looks like it’s got a lot of cheap plastic, and what is with the last couple pictures, can you load in a 10/22 magazine or must you load in some kind of magazine superstructure?
Seems like it is way late to the party, even before Ruger introduced the takedown models.
It fixes everything about the 10/22 that is frustrating. Take down is incredibly simple, you just push a button at the rear of the receiver and the whole trigger & bolt assembly comes out. The button leaves a hole there where you can run a rod through to clean the barrel. The bolt locks back on an empty mag, and the red serrated (for lack of a better word) part you see on the sides is also a mag release–you pull on those and the mag falls down right into the palm of your hand. It still retains the traditional mag release found on the 10/22. It is made in Turkey for those of you wondering
What a P.O.S. they could not pay me to take one. I will make a prediction: This piece of crap will not be on the market over a year.
Not going to lie – hit $150 street and it is an impulse buy.
Just handed down my fathers Winchester .22 Model 74 made in 1948 to my great grandson. This .22 will never make a keepsake, to much plastic.