I teased the review of a new-ish Winchester rimfire rifle, the Wildcat the other day. Well, here it is. Introduced in 2019, the Wildcat is a neat little .22 autoloader. It has a bunch of innovative and handy features not commonly found on rimfire autoloaders.
The rifle I own is the base model, with an attractive gray colored polymer stock. The stock has molded-in sling mounting points and a section of picatinny rail on the forend to mount accessories like a bipod. It is also available with a variety of camo-patterned polymer stocks or a wood-stocked sporter edition. It comes with an 18″ button rifled, chromoly steel barrel that features a target-style crown. The receiver and lower assembly are glass-reinforced polymer. The top of the receiver has a built-in picatinny rail. An aperture rear sight and ramp-style front is standard.
The entire rifle is 36 1/4″ long with a 13 1/2″ length of pull. The whole thing, at least the polymer stocked versions weighs in at a svelte 4 pounds (4.8 pounds for the Sporter). MSRP comes in at $269.99 for the base model with either the gray or OD green stock, while the camo models start at $309.99 and up, depending on the pattern. The wood stocked Sporter model lists for $349.99. Suppressor ready models with 1/2″x28 threaded muzzle are available for a $20 premium. I paid $225 for mine all in when I picked it up a couple of years ago. You can expect to find them in your local for around $230-240.
The rifle comes with one detachable 10 round rotary magazine, but seeing as the rifle is compatible with Ruger 10/22 mags, finding extras will not be an issue. There are two ways to drop the magazine when it’s time for a reload; you can either flip the tab at the front of the magazine, or you can slide the red tabs on the side of the stock backwards.
Among the innovative features, the wildcat uses a centerfire bolt rifle-like striker instead of a traditional firing pin. This ensures better primer ignition. The fire control group/bolt are removable by pushing a detent at the back of the receiver. This does two things. It allows you to clean the barrel from the breech end and makes cleaning of the rest of the action a breeze. The charging handle folds out of the way as you swing the lower assembly out of the upper.
A set of allen keys are stored in the lower assembly. They are used to make adjustments to the trigger and sights. This rifle also has a bolt hold-open. It is located at the front of the trigger guard. The bolt release is located on the left hand side of the receiver, and is easy to use.
Now that the specifications and features are out of the way, it’s time for my thoughts. I will admit that I was actively looking for one of these rifles when they were first announced in 2019. I didn’t see one in my area until mid-2020 though. When I did finally find one, I had some reservations about durability due to the mostly polymer construction. Those reservations turned out to be unfounded. After two years and a fair bit of shooting, I’ve had no issues with this rifle.
As usual when I get a new gun, the first thing I did when I took the wildcat home was detail strip it and give it a good cleaning. As a quick side note, you should be doing the same with every gun you purchase, new or used. This was remarkably easy. As noted above, the entire fire control group and bolt come out with a simple press of a detent. The hole that detent occupies is in a direct line with the bore. That makes barrel cleaning a snap. Reassembly is just as easy, rotate the lower assembly back into place and you’re done.
The ghost ring style aperture sight works well, although adjustments require the use of an allen key. After shooting a bit with that sight, I mounted a Sig Sauer 2-7×32 Whiskey-3.
This rifle is remarkably reliable for an autoloading .22. With more than 500 rounds fired, I can count the failure-to-fire rounds on one hand. I suspect this has to do with the striker system the Wildcat employs. The rim indentation is both deep and consistent. It also cycles a wide variety of ammo. My example however does not seem to like Federal blue box ammo. For whatever reason, they do not cycle consistently in my gun. I find that a little odd, because they run very well in my Marlin model 60. That gun can be very picky about ammo.
Off the bench the accuracy is about what you’d expect from a stock semi-auto .22. At 50m off the bench I average about 1.5″ groups. As you might expect, those groups tighten considerably when shooting premium ammo like Eley Tenex. With that I could get my groups to an inch pretty consistently. Keep in mind, this is a sub-$300 autoloader, not a $4000 Anschutz target gun.
Where this rifle shines is the field. It is more than accurate enough to head-shot squirrels and rabbits. The light weight – nearly a pound less than the Ruger 1022 – makes this rifle a joy to tote around. I’ve taken this rifle on many squirrel hunting trips and it’s never failed to impress. It’s a quick handling little rifle.
So, who is this rifle right for? Anyone who’s looking for an autoloading .22. It’s reliable, accurate and easy to maintain. It’s priced very well. A similar spec 1022, the Wildcat’s main competition, runs about $100 more.