good 22 target pistol

hello looking for a pretty good target pistol for use at 25 yard's i have been looking at a couple all of them have there have there bad points looking at the reveiw's .
smith & wesson 22a
browning buckmark contour
the smith has a good price $316.00
the browning $449.00
the old man has a s& w model 41 but i cant afford the tarriff
like to find one east to take down for cleaning i know the browning has a fare amount of small plastic peice's ,the browning is amount the top of my price ranjge .i know that good and cheap dont usally go together . :confused:

Any reason a Ruger MK2 or MK3(or 22/45) are not on your list?

They are a bit goofy to take down initially, but once you've done it about 12 times it's not too bad:p


I was torn between a Browning Buckmark and a Ruger 22/45... ended up with a bull barrel 22/45 as the price was better at my LGS. I just need to eliminate the mag safety and I'll be happy, it adds the most unnecessary shenanigans in the field stripping procedure.

Can't go wrong with either gun though! I think I paid about $300 for mine, it is the removable grip model with 5.5" heavy barrel.

The Ruger Mark series bull barrels are capable of 1" accuracy rested at 25 yards. They will last through litterally hundreds of thousands of rounds, and the aftermarket is flush with add ons. My 22/45 Target is one of those guns that is scary accurate. Its the one I go to when Im trying to impress someone with my shooting ability because it does what I want it to do.

http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb97/weblance/2245003fixedCustom.jpg

If you want something that you're going to keep stock then the Remington 1911-22 is the best, IMHO.

If you want something you can tinker with, modify, and get cheap extra mags for, the ruger 22/45 or Mk2 / 3 line are the best by far.

A Ruger Mk and $25 VQ sear makes for a sweet shooting setup.

i reallylike the slid action ,and my finger's are like club's trying to work on they ruger mark's might be a problem .

If you can find a used Ruger MK II, buy it.

what is the differance between the mark II and mark III that make one better than the other ?

IMO the 22/45 and the buckmark are down to whichever fits your hand better. I've shot both, and both are capable of repeatedly pegging golf balls out to 50 yds
(probably farther - but that's my limits)

my only beef with the ruger is the teardown. it's kinda confusing at first, but after a few times it's easy.

Between the two I would probably go with the Browning Buckmark. Better ergos for my size hand and I just like the design better. My own preference is a Ruger Mk.II with the 5.5" bull barrel.

what is the differance between the mark II and mark III that make one better than the other ?

To probably make them California compliant, Ruger added some "features" that some see as safety devices. A loaded chamber indicator (LCI), and a magazine disconnect. The LCI has caused some feeding problems for some, and the mag disconnect adds a couple of steps to disassembly, reassembly. Both features can be removed pretty easily, but you have to get some parts, and be familiar with taking the gun down beyond field stripping, or get a gunsmith to do it.

Instead of all the above, when I see a used MK II in a gun store that is in great shape, I buy it.

i guess i will keep my eyes open .

Love my Buckmark Contour. Feels great in my hand. Way more accurate than I'll ever be. Will outlast me, my kids, and possibly my yet to be born grandkids.

If, by "target-shooting at 25yds", you're talking about NRA/CMP bullseye, then I believe that either of those you've listed will be competitive. Definately add the Ruger 22/45 or Mk series to your list though. The biggest difference between those on your list and the Ruger's will be that you'll find more options to improve the Rugers trigger pull, alternate grip options(in the Mk series at least), and easy mounting of a red-dot.

If either of the others feel better in your hand and you like the factory triggers as is, then I think they'll all be accurate and reliable enough.

OK, I own like seven .22 target pistols.

1. On a budget, the Ruger MKII/III or the Buckmark will serve you well into making Expert at bullseye. Keep in mind that the Ruger can benefit from a VQ trigger, while the Buckmark just needs a spring flipped to give it a nice 2lb pull. I have shot both in competition. Ignore the 22a.

2. While learning iron sights is a very good thing, using a red dot will add points to your score when you are starting out and will make sight alignment so much easier that you can focus more on trigger control, which is the key to good shooting. As far as dots go, there are only two choices IMHO: Ultradot or Aimpoint. Get a tube-style sight. Ignore everything else.

3. Pick up a copy of the Pistol Shooters Treasury. It's a great book for learning the basics.

4. If you have a little bit more money, there are a number of options available for guns that will take you all the way to Master or higher. Amongst these are the S&W M41, High standards, Benelli MP-90/95. On the next level up, you have the high-end Olympic pistols, which are well-worth the money, but require a new level of dedication. These include the Pardini SP, Walther GSP Expert, and FWB AW-93 and old Hammerli 208's.

5. You may come across the IZH-35M. I have two. I cannot recommend it as a target pistol for a number of reasons, mainly reliability and scarcity of parts.

6. In bullseye, you eventually will want to shoot the Big Gun (aka the 45, which is invariably a 1911). If you go this route, purchase a quality 45 with a slide mount dot and then purchase the Marvel Unit 1 conversion (not Unit 2!). The Unit 1 .22 conversion is the only conversion on the market that is accurate enough for bullseye. The advantage of this system is that you only need to learn 1 trigger.

7. None of the 'tactical' 22's or 1911-22 clones are accurate enough for bullseye. Ignore them.

8. Get some grips that fit you well. Grip is very important in bullseye and the stock grips on almost all guns are inadequate.

Honestly, I do not like the M41. Plenty of people do, but some are more finicky than others in their ammo, spring setups, etc. I would rather have the Benelli MP-90/S for the same price.

This comes from a guy who had never shot a gun at all in Feb. 2011 and by Aug. 2012 had made Expert.

http://renkucorp.com/jf/pics/guns/izh35m/clean_target_sm.jpg
http://renkucorp.com/jf/pics/guns/IMG_20120601_182342sm.jpg

what is the differance between the mark II and mark III that make one better than the other ?

1. The MKIII has a loaded chamber indicator (LCI) on the side, made of plastic. Some people hate this thing, but personally I have never had a problem with it. If you don't keep the gun clean, it can lead to feeding problems.

2. The MKIII has a magazine disconnect safety. This is especially annoying because you must dry-fire the pistol as part of take-down and re-assembly.

As per NRA rules, you cannot modify safety mechanisms on your pistols for competition. There are ways to remove the magazine disconnect safety as well as filler pieces for the LCI, but I believe it would make your gun illegal for competition. No one at the local level would probably care or notice, but just keep that in mind.

Both the MKII and MKIII benefit from a VQ extractor for reliability.

Now that I have a Kimber 22LR, I find that I don't shoot the Rugers or Brownings at all any more. It's just that much fun. :)

But if that's too expensive, I would choose the the Buckmark. My oldest is happy with his 22/45 MkII, but I don't find it nearly as satisfying as the Buckmark.

Personally, I went with a CZ kadet. I can mount the .22lr slide on several of my CZ 75B variants, which lets me train using the same grip, trigger and controls as my regular pistols, but with cheap .22lr ammo. Takedown is no more difficult than a stock 75B (i.e., easy) and the ergonomics are excellent (same as a 75B).

For me, I use .22lr for two purposes: fun and training. For training purposes, it makes the most sense to have a .22lr that mimics your defense firearm as much as possible, and it's hard to get any closer than an interchangeable slide.

Now, if you're looking for a competition 22, things change a bit. In that case, I think Tuj gave some great advice up above. :)

Mark III hunter ftw.

http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/tt74/hanshi_photo/PICT0490-1-1.jpg
http://i599.photobucket.com/albums/tt74/hanshi_photo/PICT0484.jpg

These two, an old Ruger MK1 and an early High Standard Victor, are about as good as it gets.

those are nice but kindsa rare around here ,might end up going with a new ruger 22/45 mark IIIbud's has them for $267.00 delivered .

Make sure the 22/45 you buy has the replaceable grips. Some of the 22/45s have the grips molded in and they cant be changed

How much for the toes?

Ah-Ha! I skimmed this post and, even though my daughter would swear by the Buckmark (her favorite pistol, with a Red Dot) and I wouldn't really disagree, but you should at least try a Taurus Tracker Revolver .22 LR LOoooong Barrel (shoot SA). It is a HOOT! A completely different experience from the BuckMark or any other semi. IMO it teaches young shooters to become a very deliberate shooters by strengthening that trigger finger and forcing greater focus and trigger awareness (characteristics). But hey, if you bring it I'll shoot it and a lot, the ol' "Bring A Brick" party! All of these are QUALITY handguns mentioned here. We all pretty well know what the junk is and avoiding the those is probably the most important thing.

ok so out of the 22's I have for fun the LCR22, and SR22...definitely not target guns though....for that I sold my MKIII and replaced with a Buckmark....Trigger much better accuracy was there and mind you I had the MKIII for 3 yrs prior...but overall I pick my 617 4" just cause i can think of where I want the bullet to go and its there price goes up but so do straight shots

well i just ordered one from buds ,i guess i will see how it go's :) ordered the ruger mark III

If you are OK with used, look into High Standard. Many variations. Prices run from $325-900. One button take down, very accurate, great trigger, all steel. Caveat... use only SV ammo.
http://www.dallasguns.com/listing_images/medium/00000878_bdd2e65f6ae0ca1293482552.jpg

well i just ordered one from buds ,i guess i will see how it go's :) ordered the ruger mark III
The MK3 is a good choice. Very accurate as well as durable.

You can't go wrong with the Ruger. If the LCI, and mag disconnect annoy you, there are directions available to remove them, and also places to get the necessary parts.

Ruger is the way I would go but I'm bias. Ruger was the fist 22 pistol I bought, I've had great success over the years with my MK Giles Custom and MKIII Target. Once you get the hang of dis-assembly its a snap, and as its already been said there are tons of aftermarket parts and add ons. Congrats on the purchase, I know you'll love it. Which model did you get?