Suggestions on 22LR Pistol

[D.O.A.F.S.]

Looking to buy a 22LR pistol to cheaply work on my skills, along with for my young kids to learn to shoot and teach them firearm safety. Looking at a Smith & Wesson 22A, any feedback? I would like something that will reliably eat most any ammo and be reasonably accurate at around the $300 price range.

[John_Wayne777]

Ok....we need to break it down a bit more.

What exactly do you mean by "work on my skills"? If you mean learning to shoot your carry gun better, then you're going to want a .22LR option that mimics your carry gun as much as possible....like an Advantage Arms kit for a Glock. You want the same trigger and sights. Without the same trigger and sights the utility of the .22 as a training tool will be limited.

If you want a general purpose .22 handgun, it's hard to beat a Ruger MK-II.

[gunnut284]

The Ruger MKII (or 22/45) and Browning Buckmark are the best options in .22 handguns. The S&W 22A is ok but has an issue with chamber peening from dry-firing and a funky mag release. The Advantage Arms Glock conversions are good too if you have a Glock but hard to find.

[maximus83]

Given the usage and price range you described, get a Ruger Mk II or Mk III .22. They have a number of models in this series, and like the previous poster says, the 22/45 is one of the models in that series. I own a stainless 5" 22/45 myself, which cost just a bit over $300, and it's outstanding: accurate, reliable, everything I could want in a .22 for plinking and target practice. Seems like a large % of the folks I know personally or on forums end up owning one of these Rugers.

And don't let anybody scare you off with a bunch of crying about how hard to take apart they are. :-) Could they have been made easier to disassemble? I suppose, yes, but they are really not bad. It's a little counter-intuitive compared to say a Glock or an M&P, and you might have to refer to manual the first couple times (I know, using the manual is painful :-) ). But after you've done it a couple times you can have the whole thing stripped in less than 2 minutes.

[PLCedeno]

Its the re-assembly that is pain (at least on the Mark III).

[jaxman7]

Its the re-assembly that is pain (at least on the Mark III).

I have a Mark III Target and I agree. The first two times I did it I felt like an idiot. But once you realize the magazine has to be in, hammer forward and the strut hanging in the right place while you close it up its a piece of cake. OP the buckmark and Mark series are great guns! You can't go wrong with either. But if you have a centerfire gun that you want to improve your skills with and it will take a. 22 conversion I highly recommend getting one. It greatly helps with learning the trigger. Not so much weapons manipulation though. I have a Tactical Solutions kit for my 1911s and love it!

[Patrick604]

I have had a couple of .22A's that I acquired over the past couple of years as prizes. They were okay shooters, but I did not care for the sights. I sold both.

I have two Rugers, an old one and a new MkIII. I think the Rugers are better made, and they are definitely better shooters. The sights and trigger are both good out of the box, but if you want to customize one, the parts are readily available. I don't think you will find a better .22 for the money than the Ruger.

[jaxman7]

I have had a couple of .22A's that I acquired over the past couple of years as prizes. They were okay shooters, but I did not care for the sights. I sold both.

I have two Rugers, an old one and a new MkIII. I think the Rugers are better made, and they are definitely better shooters. The sights and trigger are both good out of the box, but if you want to customize one, the parts are readily available. I don't think you will find a better .22 for the money than the Ruger.

Another agreement!! My neighbor has a Buckmark whisper and while it balances better in my personal opinion it doesn't seem as well built especially when you tear them down side by side. I also like the trigger break and reset better. But like I said that's just my personal opinion between the Browning and the Ruger. The Buckmark does look better though

[glockeyed]

another MK3 vote. or the new 22/45 RP
mag disconnect can be removed with a bushing, and the LCI can be filled, or removed.

http://s-seriesforum.com/albums/album533/LCIFiller.sized.jpg

[jaxman7]

Y
another MK3 vote. or the new 22/45 RP
mag disconnect can be removed with a bushing, and the LCI can be filled, or removed.

http://s-seriesforum.com/albums/album533/LCIFiller.sized.jpg

You just made my made my Ruger look like crap! Very nice man!

[MichaelD]

Another vote here for the Ruger Mark III 22/45.

The takedown and reassembly isn't that bad, you just have to practice it a bit. It's a lot easier if you remove the mag safety as outlined here: http://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2151187&postcount=89

Another must-do is the 'slingshot mod' as shown here: http://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1846386&postcount=64

Come to think of it, just about every mod you might like to do to a MkIII 22/45 is covered in that thread.

Trust me. Get one. You won't regret it.

[D.O.A.F.S.]

Ok....we need to break it down a bit more.

What exactly do you mean by "work on my skills"? If you mean learning to shoot your carry gun better, then you're going to want a .22LR option that mimics your carry gun as much as possible....like an Advantage Arms kit for a Glock. You want the same trigger and sights. Without the same trigger and sights the utility of the .22 as a training tool will be limited.

If you want a general purpose .22 handgun, it's hard to beat a Ruger MK-II.

I didn't word that to good, I should have turned that around as the kids being the primary goal, but yet something of decent quality for me to shoot and benifit from as well. I own both a M&P 9 and 45 and not aware of any option such as the Advantage Arms kit, that would obviously be the best option though. It sounds like the Smith 22a should not be my first choice by the posts and I appreciate that input. I will take everyones advice and go with the Ruger, THANKS!

[varoadking]

I'd second the Ruger comment. You can always add a Tac-Sol upper as well...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v22/varoadking/Mancave/moreguns016.jpg

[An Undocumented Worker]

Had a 22A-1 while it was an accurate gun, I often had FTE, FTfeed, FTfire issues with it, the slide also bit into the feed ramp contributing to the failure to feeds.


I've ended up with a 22 conversion kit for my CZ 75 that I really like. It's accurate with a much lower failure rate than the smith.

I probably won't get another 22 pistol untill I shoot one that is noticeably more accurate than what I currently use.

[glockeyed]

thanks jax....


the thing with 22's is finding out what ammo it likes.
http://s-seriesforum.com/albums/album533/MK3Hunt_3.sized.jpg

[rljatl]

Yep, Ruger MK II or MKII. Way more aftermarket options than any other .22. The Volquartsen trigger is phenomenal. Glass rod crisp.

https://www.volquartsen.com/

[jaxman7]

thanks jax....


the thing with 22's is finding out what ammo it likes.
http://s-seriesforum.com/albums/album533/MK3Hunt_3.sized.jpg

You're welcome bud. Gotta get a red dot for the Ruger now!!!!

[D.O.A.F.S.]

I stopped and checked out the Ruger MK III and the 22/45 on the way home from work this morning. Thanks for the help, definutly going with the Ruger, leaning towards the 22/45 with the bull barrel. Thanks again, Mark

[glockeyed]

FYI the 22/45RP model gives you 1911 grip options
http://www.gunblast.com/Ruger-2245RP.htm

i had a MK2 22/45 and loved the pistol except for the grip.

[CAVDOC]

any 22 can sustain damage from dry fire- you need to use an empty case or snap cap to routinely dry fire a 22 to avoid chamber damage. I am not much of a ruger guy but have heard many good things about the mk i/ii/iii series. I have a k22,m41 and 422 all s&w's with good results as well. Remember there are several tiers of 22 pistols-cheap plinkers, mid of the road utility guns and high end competition guns. the ruger tends to cross over a bit more than other guns

[rljatl]

Ruger .22 pistols will not be damaged by dry firing. So says Ruger. It even says so in the manual. Call them if you don't believe it.

[D.O.A.F.S.]

FYI the 22/45RP model gives you 1911 grip options
http://www.gunblast.com/Ruger-2245RP.htm

i had a MK2 22/45 and loved the pistol except for the grip.

THANKS for the heads up, the dealer made no mention of that model. I even made the statement to him that I found it odd about the frame and grips being one piece, leaving no options for varying hand sizes.

[MichaelD]

thanks jax....

the thing with 22's is finding out what ammo it likes.
http://s-seriesforum.com/albums/album533/MK3Hunt_3.sized.jpg

Nice shooting overall, but I gotta ask... what was up with the flier there? Were you aiming at the corner of the UPC panel? Or was it a flinch from the massive .22LR recoil? :D



THANKS for the heads up, the dealer made no mention of that model. I even made the statement to him that I found it odd about the frame and grips being one piece, leaving no options for varying hand sizes.

There's a gent over on RimfireCentral who makes aftermarket grips for the 22/45. If you decide you like another model than the 22/45RP, you might hit him up for a set: http://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=273560