Best 22 pocket auto

[hoggunner]

Who out there makes the best little 22 pocket auto, or is there such an animal (meaning reliable and good)? I have been giving this a little thought.. the Walther American TPH is Out... thanks for your opinions... Hoggunner

[9x19]

I have a Beretta 21A that has proven reliable, though its lack of an extractor keeps it from riding in my pocket.

Taurus offers the PT-22 that is a near copy of the Beretta, but with a DAO trigger system... mine's been reliable thru several hundred rounds.

My stainless American TPH has been a dandy, tho' I understand this is not always the case with them.

Good luck

[Walt Sherrill]

There are too many options, nowadays, available in .32, .32 NAA, and .380 to consider .22.

The .22 round is notoriously unreliable and very marginal for self-defense use -- especially when shot from a gun with a barrel small enough to allow pocket carry.

The .3xx centerfire rounds are more reliable, and the guns are essentially the same size as any .22 (except the very small .22 revolvers.) Autauga, Seecamp, Kel-Tec, North American, etc., etc.

[firestar]

I have had a few small .22lr autos. I have had, a Beretta 21A, Taurus PT-22 (Beretta rip off), Jenning J-22 and a Bersa 23 (kind of large).

Out of these only the Beretta is reliable enough to use as a CCW. The Taurus was a jam-o-matic even after TWO trips to the factory at my expense (the work was free but shipping is expensive if you have to ship the entire gun). The Jenning was decent for a few hundred rounds and was very accurate but made poorly and reliability went down the more rounds I fired. It was cheap ($50 new) but it never broke. The Bersa is a little large for what you are after but it is very accurate and as reliable as a Ruger MKII or Browning Buckmark.

The only one that is small and reliable in my experience is the Beretta 21A. With ammo it likes, it hasn't jammed on me yet. It doesn't like Winchester X-pert or Winchester Wildcat ammo but will feed many other types of cheap and expensive (relative to .22lr) ammo 100%. I carry CCI Stingers and shoot cheap Remington ammo for fun and practice.

I had a Kel-Tec P-32 that was as bad as a gun can be. It was unreliable and it broke on me after about 400 rounds. Even my Jennings J-22 didn't BREAK and I must have shot several thousand rounds through it. I would be wary of anything made by Kel-Tec until they have developed a reputation for reliability.

There is no sure thing in the world of guns but if you are looking for a reliable, tiny .22 auto, I would start with the Beretta and maybe save some money. I think the 21A is as good as it gets in a .22lr of this size. If the 21A doesn't work, I don't know to tell you. If my Beretta starts having the kinds of problems that I have had with the Kel-Tec or the Taurus, I am going to give up on tiny autos and just get a Ultralight S&W snubbie and be done with it. I probably should do this anyways but I am waiting on a deal, I can't see spending $600 for a gun that someone will sell to me for $300 once they find out how much they kick. Some people buy them and can't handle the recoil and then sell them cheap, that is what I'm waiting on.

[coldshot03/04]

I agree that the Taurus PT22 is a nice little handgun.

But IMHO? The KELTEC P32 Rules the Roost in the Mousegun World.
Sure you may need to do a little polishing here or there. But nothing major that your own Granny couldnt do.







Post edited to remove rude comment.

[Jeff OTMG]

Okay then, a German Walther TPH or Walther PPK, both with alloy frames.

[Ala Dan]

They don't make 'em any more:

Iver Johnson TP-22*

*FootNote- Exact copy of the Walther; but more reliable!

Best Wishes,
Ala Dan, N.R.A. Life Member

[tiberius]

He never said it was for defense, just that he wanted a .22 pocket auto.

That said, I think that the Beretta 21 is the way to go. light, accurate reliable, terrible sights (three out of four ain't bad). I also like the tip up barrel because you can slip a specialty round (short, CB, shot, whatever) in the barrel for special situations, but keep the magazine in reserve with nomal LR ammo that feeds well. You can't do this with other autos.

The Taurus is similar but DAO, while the Beretta is tradtional DA.


Firestar, The P-32 takes .32ACP ammo, not .22 LR, perhaps this confusion is what led to all of your problems.

[KT-P32]

If you can find one. Intra Tec Protec 22lr. $109

[Mike Irwin]

Well, I've posted this repeatedly...

I have a Taurus TP-22.

So far I have nearly 2,500 rounds of Winchester Wildcat ammo through it with no, and I mean NO, failures of any kind.

ZERO failures to fire.

ZERO failures to eject.

ZERO failures to feed.


I did have some problems with CCI Blazer not going off with the first strike. I solved that problem by switching back to Winchester Wildcat, where the run of PERFECTION continued.

As for the .22 round itself being unreliable...

I've had FAR MORE failures to fire with centerfire ammunition over the past 25 years than I have had with .22 rimfire ammunition.

In this day and age the .22 rimfire is as reliable as modern centerfire ammo.

[NEtracker]

Walther P22 with 3.42" barrel.
Small, light, good for small varmints in the field or on the farm.

[DougB]

I was going to suggest the no-longer-made Iver Johnson TP-22, but Ala Dan beat me to it. I have one that's pretty reliable with Remington high-velocity ammo (though it wasn't with Federal). If I were going to carry one for self-defense, I'd test it with a variety of ammo until I determined which worked most reliably.

Also, I must disagree with Ala Dan's footnote:

*FootNote- Exact copy of the Walther; but more reliable!

The TP-22 is quite a bit thicker than a Walther TPH. I think it is more like the thickness of a PPK, but with the grip and barrel shortened to TPH dimensions. I really wanted a TPH, but bought the TP-22 instead because it had a good reputation and cost less than half as much.

Also, I did a little research before I bought mine, and it turned out that Iver Johnson TP-22s have been manufactured in two locations (New Jersey and Arkansas I think - though its been awhile). I think there were some minor mechanical differences as well (one had a hammer block safety?). I think basically the same design was also made/marketed by Erma (Germany) and American Arms(?). All this is a little fuzzy (its been a few years). I think these are decent little pistols, and I've seen used ones around for reasonable prices.

If you can go a little larger, I also have an FEG .22 that is about PPK size and is very reliable. It is easier (and more fun) to shoot due to the little extra grip and barrel length.

Doug

[TODD3465]

Berretta 21 used to have one, great gun.

[hoggunner]

Well, after reading all the post,,, I think I will pass on the little 22... thanks folks for all the advice... Hoggunner

[Waitone]

I have a PT-22 that repeatedly jammed when using standard velocity .22LR ammo.

I changed to high velocity and the jamming stopped.

Remember to keep it well lubed and use high velocity ammo and it will work just fine.

[Al Thompson]

Hoggunner, what are you planning to use the pistol for?

[Jim Washburn]

I like my Smith & Wesson 2213 and carry it comfortably in my pocket sometimes. Some folks report reliability problems with these. Mine has been totally reliable, and I'm happy with the accuracy.

Jim

[Litlman]

Taurus PT-22 Many rounds through it and no malfunctions.

[hoggunner]

CCW... I now carry a Glock 27,Kimber compact.. Just thought a little 22 would be fun... but I see now,,, I would grow tired of it in about one day and not be happy,,, so I will stay with the 27 and Kimber.... thanks guys...

[tiberius]

Oh well all of the .22's mentioned would be terrible CCW's anyhow, fun shooters though.

[Ala Dan]

ATT: Doug B- -

You are probably correct, as the lil' Iver Johnson was
about the same size as a Walther PPK; and it was a
tad bit thicker.

But, mine was highly reliable, and it just loved
.22 LR caliber "Stinger's". Too bad, it was taken in
the '94 car-jacking of my wife's car; and it was NEVER
recovered!

STOLEN FIREARM ALERT: 13 OCT 1994 1230hrs

IVER JOHNSON (TP-22) with S/N : AE 23221

ANY CONTACT- HOLD AND NOTIFY YOUR NEAREST POLICE AGENCY FOR N.C.I.C. VERIFICATION

BESSEMER, ALABAMA POLICE DEPARTMENT HOLDS A STOLEN FIREARM REPORT

Best Wishes,
Ala Dan, N.R.A. Life Member

[Climb14er]

I had a Beretta 21A and found it to be accurate and reliable.

One caveat: the .22 LR ammo can be finicky so keep the pistol very clean.

I shot Peters hardball and this fed through very well. Some of the Winchester and CCI loads, used to get caught in the mag while feeding.

[czhen]

The same quality, great accuracy, 100% reliable and cheap pistol.
HTD1
FL

[senior]

got one and it rests in the drawer, nothing but a piece of crap, tried three different mags, FTE, FTL AFTER FIRST 2-3 RDS, cleaned spotless, greased rails, the whole speel even tried stingers, same thing, 2 maybe three rds and jam or ftl, finally just accepted i got a piece of junk and tossed it into the junk drawer, not knockingTaurus, i got a p145 m.p. that worked like a charm and went bang with any ammo, but that 22 is bottom of the barrel $180.00 junk

[Geronimo45]

Maybe it's just because we shoot .22 in such huge quantities - or a manufacturing problem. Either way, 22 ammo is either dirtier than centerfire or not made to as high of standards as centerfire. There's liable to be variations in case sizes between different brands and batches. That could be one source of trouble in .22 pistols.