Shopping for a .22 revolver

I'm looking at the Charter Arms line of .22 mags for the wife as we speak. A little over $300, but half the price of a S&W and the Bulldogs I've had over the years were good quality.

LD45

The Rugers will be out of your price range unless you find one used. Heritage makes a cheap single action 22lr/mag. I am still looking for a decent price on a used Ruger SA 22 (Single Six)

T-bone, then filet mignon

Stay away from bargain basement shank cuts. They are not a bargain. For a non bottom feeder on a budget a Ruger Single Six is unsurpassable. You can get an excellent used one if you shop/bid carefully. Look at Gunbroker to get an idea. http://www.gunbroker.com

Hopefully a Smith and Wesson model 17, aka K-22 is somewhere in your future if you like .22 revolvers.

Personally, if you are absolutely dedicated to a 22lr revolver.. I would hold out for a used Smith and Wesson DOUBLE ACTION... by this I mean stay away from the many Single action 22s of which Ruger is probably the most popular choice. I'm a Ruger fan and lots of people like the Single Sixes.... personally I don't .... the reason is they are a pain to load... iddy bitty rounds have to be pushed just right through the loading gate. It is much easier to load a double action with the cylinder swung out... still not easy with the little 22s but a lot easier than with the single actions...

AFAIK, the only people making double-action .22 revolvers right now are Charter Arms, S&W and Taurus. Of those three, a new gun from S&W is going to be the best, but they are at least twice your price point. You would need to find a really good deal on a used gun to get a Smith for $300 or less.

Of the other two, you can probably find a new gun at least close to your price point and you should easily be able find a used gun for less than $300. Between Charter and Taurus, I would probably chose to go with the Charter. There are a lot of complaints about QC on recent Taurus guns and I would be hesitant to pay good money for one.

Looks to me like you have the choice of an *o.k.* to bargain basement used double action, such as Charter, Taurus, H&R, Hi- Standard, Iver Johnson etc. etc. (some of which aren't bad if you aren't fussy about heavy triggers, and they will ALL have heavy triggers... they have to in order to light off rimfire rounds semi reliably)....Chances for finding a Smith , Colt or Ruger Double Action .22 used for .$300 will be a mighty tough proposition.

or...........

A kind of rough new single action like a Heritage Rough rider, or Chiappa Plinkerton


or........

a decent quality used Single Action like a Ruger Single Six.

The best revolver for the money in that price range is prob the used Ruger Single Six, but some of the used off brand Double Actions can be fun guns for short money.. Just don't expect it to be a Colt or S&W at that price.

I have a fun little double action Iver Johnson that set me back about a hundred bucks, that's a hoot, BUT it's not anywhere near in the same league with my Pre War Colt Officers Model Target .22 or S&W 617.

I'd be more inclined to by a used H&R Sprotsman, or a Hi-Standard Double Nine over a new Charter Arms , Taurus or Heritage

I bought a used Taurus 94 for $200, and spent a few dollars on some aftermarket springs for it. The trigger pull is a lot nicer than how heavy it was in factory form, and it has been a terrific shooter for me. I don't experience any more failures with it than I do my Buck Mark (which means maybe 2-3 per box of 550 rounds won't fire)

+1 on the Ruger Single Six. But there is this price issue...a local shop has a nice Single Six with an old leather holster (not sure of the brand; maybe a "Ranger?") Asking price is $425 and I don't think they are in the mood to negotiate too much. And on top of everthing else, this gun only has the .22lr cylinder; no magnum...

Maybe your not into used guns. I love my Dad's H&R from the sixties. Its real accurate, if it's clean it shoots well, and I bey you could find one used for 200 or under.

I really do like mine. It is double single action, it holds nine rounds, and with its longer barrel and its old school blade sights it is as accurate as any of my modern pistols. I will say this about .22s. It seems likes if it is automatic .22 rifles or if it is revolvers or auto handguns, they all need to be cleaned very often and cleaned well or they jam. Check out the H&R, I have the model 99. Good look to you either way.

I've got a Taurus 94 that had belonged to my father-in-law. Not the most accurate .22 in the cabinet, but it's a really fun plinker. I'd HIGHLY recommend it for your consideration.

Plus 100 on the Ruger single action. They last a lifetime and run and run and run.

$300 isn't much of a budget these days. Consider a Used Ruger automatic instead.

I like Ruger revolvers; just bought this one. It comes with a .22 magnum cylinder as well.

Talo birdshead .22 Ruger.

^^^ Awesome gun! I'd love to own one like that!

Ruger.

Oceanbob said:

They last a lifetime and run and run and run.

Click to expand...

My dad's Single Six is halfway through it's second lifetime.


Or save some more money and get a S&W K22 or K17.

+1 on Ruger Single Six in stainless. Best 22 revolver made IMHO.

I picked up a Heritage .22/.22Mag single action at Academy Sports recently, list price $176. It worked a little stiffly right out of the box, but after some CLP on the moving parts, and a couple of hundred rounds fired off, it's smoothed out nicely. Shoots pretty accurately in .22LR, I haven't tried out the .22 Magnum cylinder yet.

.22lr Opinion

I have both semi-autos and revolvers in several calibers, and shoot both types regularly. With several .22lr semi's, I wanted to add a .22 revolver to the cabinet. Quick market review brought me to the conclusion I could get a single action S&W for ~$600, a Ruger Single Six for ~$400, or a Heritage Rough Rider for ~$200. For household budgetary reasons, I went with the Heritage.
I could not be more pleased with the gun. Whatever other hand guns I take to the range (I rotate among the others) the Rough Rider ALWAYS goes with me. It really is my favorite handgun to shoot, and surprisingly accurate with the basic iron sights.

On a range day with some friends, we traded back and forth with their Single Six and my Heritage. I will acknowledge that the Ruger feels sturdier and better made overall. Nonetheless, it shot no better than my Heritage, and did not make me wish I had spent more for one. I still love the Rough Rider.

I have never shot a S&W SA revolver, so only hearsay and reviews add to my opinion beyond the cost.

So, if you are good with the idea of a single action and are on a budget, I really think the Heritage is a good choice.
Unlike the earlier poster, I rather like the "old west" look of the several SA guns mentioned in this thread.

If you particularly want a SA/DA .22 revolver, I have to step back from the bar and let others comment.

How fussy are you about your trigger? How much tinkering with the guns do you mind doing or paying to have done to achieve the sort of trigger you like? The guns that $300 will buy are not going to be bottom feeders but they won't be far from it. And they will all be the guns that folks buy only to sell later when they "upgrade" to a S&W, Dan Wesson, Colt or Ruger. The reason those four names keep coming up and why they command the used prices they do is because the guns are truly superb to shoot thanks to their excellent trigger designs. And they will last for many hundreds of thousands of rounds without even breathing hard. This makes them good value despite the higher purchase price.

I don't admit to having tried a huge number of .22 revolvers but I quickly came to the conclusion that paying more to get the best was money well spent. I got an H&R Sportsman and shortly after a Hi Standard Double 9. Both not bad guns at all. But niether could hold a candle to the S&W Model 17 that I got when I came across a bit of a deal from a buddy. A year and a bit later I found an older mid 60's Ruger Single Six three screw that was tight but worn a bit for $150 and the debit card hit the counter again in a blink.

Despite some tinkering to make it better the Double 9 went to a buddy. It would have taken a LOT more tinkering than what I did to make the trigger on it match the Ruger. And with the design of the double action system there was just no way to make the double action pull in any way become tolerable for target shooting or even basic pop can plinking. The H&R is still with me and I'm going to continue to tinker with it because it's the top break model and I like it for this particular feature. But it can't hold a candle to the S&W 17 for double action feel although the single action trigger is already very nice. And again due to the nature of the double action system in the H&R I doubt it'll ever become near as nice as the Snith.

I've seen lots of mixed reviews of Taurus 94's. If you're lucky to get a good one or don't mind the trip or two back for warranty and then tinker the trigger to get the feel you want they seem to be good after that and last a long time. But it seems like a higher percentage than normal need to go back for one thing or another and from reviews that the trigger out of the box can't match the S&W (or Colt .22 if you can find one for a decent price). Given that there's this gamble for getting the trigger to feel like you may want it may or many not come out the other side of the work costing less than a nice used S&W.

I can't comment on the Charter arms models as I've never had a chance to shoot one or even read many reviews of them since they are rarely sold up this way.

I may be in for a lot more tinkering to get what I want but I'm likely going to throw the debit card down again for the new Ruger SP101 8 shot .22 when it comes out.

Anyhow, the moral of this "story" is to see if you can try a few of the guns first. In the case of the S&W 17 or 617 you may not be able to try one of them but if you can get to shoot one of the .38spl K frame guns then it'll feel pretty much the same but with less kick At least dry fire a K frame gun so you know what the trigger will feel like to compare to the other options.

If you're looking for a single action plinker the one option I'd suggest despite being untried is the H&R 9 shot models where you pull the cylinder arbor pin out each time to drop the cylinder and load it externally. It may seem cumbersome at first but as long as you've got a range table and a mat to do this it's actually quicker than single unloading and loading with a typical single action gun such as the Ruger Single Six. And if you can make up a block of wood with 9 brass rods in it to eject all the empties at one stroke it becomes very quick. You just need to shoot in situations where you can have the loose parts laying around. So it's not that good for field plinking. For such use you're better off with a regular single action type or a break top or a swing out cylinder.