[Aaryq]

Howdy folks. Let me start by saying that I know very VERY VERY little about .22LR pistols. My only experience with one is one that my old man used to own that I shot once when I was a kid. I don't know the make or model, but it was small, black, and jammed a lot.

So now I feel a need to get myself a .22LR pistol. I don't know if I want an autoloader or a revolver, I just want something that's inexpensive to purchase and fun to shoot. Since inexpensive is such a relative term, let's put the price at $200 maybe up to 250 if you make me go oooh and ah.

[Mad Magyar]

Having had .22 calibers in revolvers & autoloaders: my experience, sometimes sadly, has only 1 conclusion: revolvers...
Don't want a contest pitting one against the other; but in terms of utter reliability, simplicity, & just plain fun plinking, can't be beat...
The only problem I've had with wheelies in this caliber is that on occasion after doing a lot of shooting is needing to slap that ejector rod real hard for the empties.
With autoloaders: "jam city"....:mad:
I have two: S&W 34 & JC Higgins...
The former for a little more than your budget, but the latter about a $125.
http://i30.tinypic.com/2wf5w1t.jpg

[CZ223]

In my opinion the only guns that are fun are guns that are accurate. I have found that in general with 22's the semi autos are more accurate than revolvers. Both the ruger Mark II and Mark III as well as Browning's Buckmark are quite accurate. I prefer the Ruger over the Browning but that may well be personal taste. All of theMark II's that I have owned, I have owned at least a half dozen over the years, have been wonderfully accurate. A six inch bull barreled Mark II is just about the perfect pistol in my opinion. I currently own oneof the newer slab sided gun and while it is quite accurrate I will be getting another bull barreled gun when the opportunity presents itself. You should be able to find a good used gun in your price range. If you don't mind the long 10" barreled version, I love them, you can often find the best deals on these because not everyone wants something that big.

[weisse52]

For the money you mention I agree that a Ruger MK II is a great match. I currently own two of them and have owned a couple more before that. They are accurate and dependable

I am amazed that people want to label 22 auto's as a jam-o-matic. I cannot speak for the experience that others have been. But in a full size pistol I have not had problem. Yes, sometimes they show a preference for high speed ammo. But just buy what is likes and not have a problem. The only time I have jams is when I have shot cheap ammo, and lots of it and then not clean it.
Yes, some of the small ones do jam, but just don't get one of those and you will not have a problem.

You can get one used for around $200. They last forever.

My only knock on revolvers are that they are expensive. But that S&W 34 is a work of art I would love to own.

[NGIB]

Agree with the previous 2 posters. Either a Ruger or Buckmark are very good .22 bottom feeders. My Buckmark was very picky about ammo, was 100% reliable with CCI mini-mags and very accurate as well.

The benefit of revolvers is they will shoot any ammo, I use Walmart bulk packs regularly. A good .22 revolver is also quite expensive and the only one that comes close is a Taurus 94. My 94 is a wonderful little gun but with Taurus it's hit or miss for sure. My favorite .22s are my Dan Wessons, bought both used but they hover in the $350 range...

[Okiecruffler]

For under 200-250 you have alot of choices on the used market. The rugers are good, so are the buckmarks. I've seen alot of S&W 22A's on the market for around 200 that are nice.

[jad0110]

Don't forget Single Action 22 revolvers such as Ruger's Single Six. Super reliable, very accurate and can be purchased used (and maybe even new if you look hard enough) for under $250. They don't seem to care what brand of ammo you feed it, including the cheapo bulk crap at Wal-Mart. Either that or the Heritage Rough Rider can be bought new for around $150, or used for under $100. Most people have good experiences with them (mine was fabulous, regret selling it every day :banghead:), but there are a number of turds floating around out there. But for under $100 used, what the heck.

As for accuracy, most of us shooters aren't good enough to take full advantage of a gun's mechanical accuracy anyway. I shoot most 22s about as well, be they DA or SA revolver or semi automatic.

Overall, my preference is for DA revolvers. Makes for cheap trigger control training.

[AirForceShooter]

I think that every shooter should have a.22 in the range bag. It gives you a whole lot of trigger time for a little money. It teaches you trigger control and sight alignment.
As for which one.
From $200 to $250 there are a lot. New and used. Take your pick. The used are usually great. It's just about impossible to wear out a .22.
Just look at gunbroker or your pawn shops. I picked up a revolver at a garage sale. Cost me $50. That buys a lot of ammo.

AFS

[Shawnee]

+1 for the Ruger Single-Six revolver.

:cool:

[Aaryq]

Wow, that's definately a lot of good gouge. Well...to expand a bit more on my question, I really only want to use it to put holes in targets with cheap stuff at W*L Mart. I'd like to monkey around with some primer only ammo, just to see what it's like too. The Ruger MKII is looking nice. Are they generally really picky about ammo? Heck, maybe I'll get an autoloader and then, later on a revolver...or vise versa.

[MrBorland]

I'd like to monkey around with some primer only ammo, just to see what it's like too. The Ruger MKII is looking nice. Are they generally really picky about ammo? Heck, maybe I'll get an autoloader and then, later on a revolver...or vise versa.


Just as an FYI: The primer-only ammo doesn't have enough oompf to cycle the action on a semi-auto. They can be shot from the MKII, but you'll have to manually cycle the action. From a revolver, shoot away.

[Aran]

I love my Beretta Neos, but I love the pewpew Space Gun thing.

[wanderinwalker]

You could get a used Ruger Single-Six, probably with only one of its cylinders, for $200-250. You could get used Ruger Mk IIs all day for $200. $250 gets you most of the way to a new 22/45 Mk III, but is still a little shy of a new Mk III, at least in these parts.

Then there are the Browning Buckmarks, Walther P-22s (I don't recommend, but have a couple of shooting buddies who like theirs), Beretta Neos, etc.

Between a semi-auto and a revolver, I find I shoot the semi-auto more often, and thusly, shoot it better. But I love my little Single-Six too, and with the .22 Magnum cylinder in place it goes for walks often. A great little on-the-hip pistol, IMO. My 22/45 Mk III shoots relatively reliably with the cheap bulk ammo, really well with CCI Mini-Mags and likes Stingers well enough too.

Really, you should have one of each. Really! ;)

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y92/P-990/RugersatHome.jpg

[makarovnik]

Revolver: Used Ruger Single Six
Autoloader: Used Walther P22

I you want really inexpensive get a new blued (not nickel) Phoenix Arms HP-22. They are under $120 and are pretty reliable. They won't go thousands of rounds but I believe they have a lifetime warranty.

[Shooter57]

A ruger auto will shoot almost any brand of ammo and I've never had any problems with mine. Bought in1974

[chris in va]

My first 22 was a MkIII 22/45 Ruger. Didn't feed worth a flip, so I found a NICE MkII 22/45 stainelss...which fed fine. But I got bored with it and sold it. Too nose heavy anyway.

Now, I have a CZ Kadet which feeds 100% and with the red dot makes for a really good time. It's everyone's favorite gun in my collection.

I'd also like to get a Ruger SP101 in 22 at some point.

[Rampant_Colt]

+3 on the Ruger Single-Six
The unfluted .22 magnum spare cylinder closes the deal for me

[sonyhoppes]

Ruger 22/45. I love mine and it's been utterly reliable. I have the bull/target 4" barrel and it's a tack driver. The grip was designed to have the same angle and feel of a 1911, if that sort of thing floats your boat. I like it. Excellent adjustable stock sights, too.

[deputy tom]

And yet another Ruger Single Six w/both cylinders vote.tom.:D

[CZ223]

To answer your questions from your last post, the Ruger Mark II and Mark III are reliable with just about any ammo. I have fired everyting from RWS Dianna and other high end stuff to the federal bulk pack to Remington Yellow jackets. I don't remember any brand being particularly unreliable at at least as far as feeding goes. I was getting quite a few missfires with Federal classic but that was with the rifles as well as the pistols. As far as accuracy goes I doubt that you will find any pistol more accurat than a Mark II Target without getting into the extremely high endstuff like Pardinis etc. As I said in my earlier post I have had more than a half dozen of these over the years. I once did a fairly extensive test of ammo with 2 Thompson contender Match Barreled guns with 8 oz. triggers, An accurized Ruger 77 22 and my 10 3/8" Ruger Mark II Target. I had about 13 different types of ammo from ELI, RWS, CCI, Federal Gold Medal Match etc. All of my testing was done at 50 yards with the pistols. Aside from showing which gun prefered which ammo it also showed me that the Ruger was almost the equal of the TC's and would very likey have shot at least as well with a better trigger. Group size for shots with the TC's averaged right around 1/2" while the Ruger was around 5/8". I even had an anschutz Exemplar at the time that wasn't much better. I don't like the 22/45 version but that is more personal opinion than anything else. I also think the 22/45 feels more frontheavy. CB caps will not operate the action of a 22 auto but you can fire them one at a time. The Ruger single six is a great revolver but, and I have had a fewof these too, they are not as accurate as the auto. Heritage revolvers are junk IMHO. Get a 5 1/2" Ruger Mark II Bull barreled Target model, preferably in stainless. For some reason, Stainless barreled guns just seem to be a little more accurate. The Target model has the wide trigger and that helps too. The only thing you will have to do to the gun is get a good trigger job at some point.

[ArchAngelCD]

If you are looking for something inexpensive you might want to look at a S&W M22A pistol. They have a hand full of different versions that are all different prices. You can see them Here (http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?catalogId=11101&storeId=10001&categoryId=15710&langId=-1&parent_category_rn=15708&top_category=15708). I have a S&W M22A and a Ruger Mark II and both shoot well and are accurate.

[Robert Hairless]

I don't know the make or model, but it was small, black, and jammed a lot.

I don't think you'll have any trouble finding a semi-automatic .22 to meet that description. :)

[Nematocyst]

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[Aaryq]

Anyone know about the Roughrider Arms revolvers? The prices are low but I know low cost doesn't always mean crap quality. Are they decent or should I go with a single 6?