Which is a better .22lr?

Status
Not open for further replies.
J

JohnVF

Member
Joined
Jun 20, 2005
Messages
10
Location
Southern California
I am in the process of looking for a good .22 pistol. My choices are:

Ruger 22/45
Browning URX
S&W 22A

Could anyone give their recommendation as to which one I should get? Considering disassembly, durability and accuracy.

Thanks guys.
 
I love my 22/45. Just use the manual when you reassemble it. It's easy; you have to get the sequence just right.

The Ruger can be safely dry-fired; mine is accurate and it's the most reliable .22 semiauto I've ever shot. It still feeds and ejects 100% reliably, with any ammo I've tried, including some of the cheapest bulk stuff you can buy, after several bricks without cleaning.

People like their Brownings; I haven't shot one.

The 22A is not as durable, fouling-tolerant or abuse-tolerant as the other two AFAIK.
 
I have a Mark II that shoots better than I do, for fwiw. It is built well and there is plenty of after market accesories if you like. I have a 5 1/2 bull barrell on mine.

Even without trying the others I would recommend this.
 
I don't own the Smith so can't comment on it. Of the other two I would pick the Ruger for no real compelling reason. Both are excellent semi .22's. Both are a little on the difficult side to clean. If either of these two were given to you, you wouldn't feel bad about owning it and you probably wouldn't feel any different if you purchased one or the other. I watched my daughter who was a relative novice at the time, age 14 use a Ruger Mark II, SlabSide with a RedDot on it, put together a string of 10 rounds in a dime sized hole at 10 yards. It says a lot for her nerves but it also sold me on the Ruger. She's done equally as well many times since that day but she's always saved that target.
 
I have 3 Rugers, a 22A and a Buck Mark standard. They all shoot with about the same accuracy and are about equally reliable. Based on price, the 22A is the clear winner. Based on ability to upgrade and tweak, Rugers are clear winners. I'd have an enjoyable day shooting with any of them. My solution to the question was to get all three.
 
i own a colt targetsman and a browning buckmark that i got at a steal i was looking for a ruger mark 2 with aheavy barrel all of these are very good see what fits you and go from there or like me if you come across one of these at a good price pick it up you can add the outhers as you go ;)
 
ruger

i got my ruger in 1976, still 100% fun and reliable today....down side, getting it back to getter some times...gpr
 
Take whatever one you can get the best deal on. My order of preference would be the Ruger, the Browning, and the Smith.
 
I own a 22/45 and love it. If it suddenly transformed into a Browning Buckmark I wouldn't be displeased at all. I wouldn't buy the S&W 22A though. I've heard too many bad things about it. That and I've held one and didn't care for the way it felt.
 
I bought a Ruger MkIII 22/45 a couple of years ago and it has performed great. I really bought it for my dad who loves to shoot his .22 Pistols. Unfortunately his eyes just aren't as good as they once were and he has trouble with the sights which are of the white outline and red ramp variety. I could see them fine and shoot pretty accurately with them though. If I were to get a new one I would insist on the fiber optic sight option as it is MUCH easier to see and shoot with. One thing that I recently done to it was add one of the red dot reflex sights to it. I was hoping to make it easier for my dad to be more accurate with it and it worked. The only thing is that you have to add the included mount whereas the others have a built-in mount that allows you to bolt such sights right on with no trouble at all. That would be a great option to have. One last thing on the red dot reflex type sights, if you have ever thought about trying one, do it. They are a perfect addition to a 22 auto pistol. My dad went from barely being able to put 5 rounds on a 6 inch circle at 20 yards to now being able to hit the thumbtacks that hold the target in place. It was an amazing thing to see.

As mentioned by others the Ruger is a pain to clean and assemble. I ALWAYS have trouble getting it back together after cleaning. I can never get that little pin to fall in the right place. Even after breaking it down 20 times or so I still have to have the manual right beside me to get it right.

The only problem I have ever had with feeding on the 22/45 is when I don't pay attention to how the last round is sitting atop the magazine. If it is canted at all it will hang. If you bump the top round on the bottom of the grip when inserting the magazine you have about a 50% change of it hanging. Just make sure it is nice and angled right when you insert the magazine and you won't have any trouble at all.
I have handled the other ones you mentioned and they are nice too. The S&W seemed heavy for me. It does have a built-in rail and you can order different barrel lengths and styles from S&W and they just pop right in. That would be a great feature to have. You can also do this with the Beretta U22 too. That is another nice .22 pistol. It feels better than the S&W and I think it looks better too. It also has an integrated rail for mounting of optics. Check them out too.

One last option you get with the Rugers and the Buckmark is that you can add an aftermarket target barrel from Tactical Solutions. The uppers are aluminum which would come in really handy for a woman or children learning to shoot. They are also really accurate aside from saving a lot of weight for you. They come in all sorts of colors, lengths and with or without fluting of the barrel. They really look AWESOME and give your Ruger a custom look with custom performance. I have handled a couple of the upper units and I can tell you I have one on my list to get. They make a great gun even better in my opinion.

Good Luck in your decision and no matter which one you pick you are going to enjoy shooting it. Unlike with the centerfire pistolas that we all love, you can spend about $13 on a 550 round bulk pack of Remington Golden ammo at Wally World ad shoot all day long....and then some.

Nala
 
Last edited:
I've never fired either the S&W or the Buckmark but I really like my 22/45 Ruber MK III. Even I can hit the paper with it once in a while if I'm not too far away.

Yes, the Ruger can be a little trickey to put together at first, but if you follow the directions, and yes, I keep them right beside me when I'm doing it, it's no problem. The only thing to be aware of is on page 25, step 6 of the Ruger MK III manual, substitute the word "Push" for the word "manipulate" and you'll have even less trouble.

From the Ruger manual, page 25, step 6. I inserted the bold type.

Insert the empty magazine into the magazine well, point the muzzle toward the ground in a safe direction and pull the trigger. The hammer should fall to it's full forward position. If it does not, retract the bolt partially and manipulate the hammer through the slot in the rear of the frame until the hammer is in its full forward position. Remove the empty magazine.
Click to expand...

Mine never fell anywhere. I use a pencil to push it into position. :D
 
I just bought the Ruger and it was lub at first shoot. I actually bought it and an M&P 9 at the same time and was really excited to take the Smith to the range. Shot 100 rounds through the M&P and really like it, but I flat out fell in love with the Ruger. It actually made me look like I was a good shot.

A buddy has an older Buckmark that I've shot a few times. It's a fine pistol too. As has been said many times, I don't think you can really go wrong with either.
 
I have a Ruger Mk III Hunter :

258T.jpg


http://www.ruger-firearms.com/Firea...famid=55&variation=Hunter&bct=Yes&type=Pistol

Caliber: .22 LR
Barrel Length: 6 7/8"
Grip: Half-checkered Cocobolo
Rear Sight: Adjustable
Suggested Retail Price: $ 602.00

I recently paid, $480 for mine.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

G
  • Locked
Which for 22: Buckmark Camper, Buckmark URX Standard, Ruger MKIII 22/45 ?
Replies
4
Views
507
redneck
redneck
I
  • Locked
.22 question!
Replies
15
Views
646
DoubleAction
D
S
  • Locked
Looking for a 22lr...
Replies
22
Views
2K
saenzrich
S
M
  • Locked
looking for a .22LR pistol
Replies
9
Views
671
twolf811
T
G
  • Locked
Which .22 Pistol
Replies
15
Views
631
MachIVshooter
MachIVshooter
Back
Top