Accurate .22 for under $750?

Do you already have a 1911 pistol? If so, get a 22 Conversion unit. Nelson, Marvel, Kimber have great reputations. Accurate and dependable, and potentially a match grade trigger if you know a good pistolsmith. Nelsons with irons go for $500 and there are a few sight options.

https://www.nelsoncustomguns.com/store/index.php?l=product_detail&p=22

Rugers are a good option too. But even with a Vorquartsen trigger kit the design has some inherent creep and overtravel. Some people don't mind that and can shoot them well.

BillTell said:

Murf, my problem is I can't see close up. So if I put on glasses, I can see the sights, but not the target. Without glasses, I can see the target but not the sights. I've been buying 1.00 and 1.25 glasses, and this seems to clear up the sights enough without blurring the target. Crestoncowboy, I couldn't agree more with you on the Single Six! Mine has always shot the magnums better than the LR ammo! I DID have the barrel re-crowned, though, which helped a good bit.

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Welcome to the world of old eyes. Fun ain't it? Iron sights are iron sighs and you can add paint or the fire thing and help a bit. Prescription glasses help---to some extent. The Ruger MK IV IS NOT a low quality pistol. Get the target or hunter model, install a Volquartson trigger kit (get it from Rimfire Sports to save money on it), add a Burris Fastfire III sight in a dovetail mount and you will have a pistol that will probably outshoot your abilities plus it will handle either HV or SV ammo. You will be somewhere close to your monetary objective. and won't have to deal with iron sights anymore.

I shoot in an informal bullseye pistol match every Wed. morning and a combination of older eyes and a slight shake at 66 doomed me to the green dot crowd. Holosun HE407C-GR sitting on a farrowtech.com low mount. Have to wait two weeks to try out as this coming Wed. is wheel gun Wed.

Bill

I don't understand why the handgun has to be REALLY accurate when you admit your eyes with irons are not. We have Dawson fiber optics on our handguns and they rock, but the fiber is useless for precision... you're still using the 'iron' part of the irons for anything requiring real accuracy. If you can't pick up the front post in clear detail, I don't think having a mechanically accurate pistol would matter much. Am I missing something?

At eye level the front sight isn't visible in the sight picture and with the 2 MOA green dot, I can put more holes in the black as the dot is smaller than the target.

Bill

I shoot a browning Buckmark with 7" bull barrel and red dot sight......very accurate and reliable...

Two 22 Auto handguns:
The Browning Buckmark Silhouette, it has adjustable front and rear with hoods and rail and shoots like a rifle. It comes in various lengths of bull barrel, I have shot a 10” and 5” in silhouette competition for years and currently shoot a 5” with a 2 MOA Gilmore red dot scope around my farm ponds.

The other is the Ruger 22/45 Lite with a Brownells trigger conversion set. I have built out a couple for people and they are very accurate. The grip is a 1911 grip and 1911 grip panels fit it.

If you wear shooting glasses, you should, get an adjustable iris attachment for your shooting eye side of the glasses. Tune it to the best opening before you go on line, every time. The proper opening will change with the light. At first it will help you focus on the sights and the target at the same time.

azrocks said:

I don't understand why the handgun has to be REALLY accurate when you admit your eyes with irons are not. We have Dawson fiber optics on our handguns and they rock, but the fiber is useless for precision... you're still using the 'iron' part of the irons for anything requiring real accuracy. If you can't pick up the front post in clear detail, I don't think having a mechanically accurate pistol would matter much. Am I missing something?

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If you have an accurate gun/ammo combination you've taken that portion of the overall accuracy equation and solved it.

Then it's up to the shooter to address his vision, sighting arrangements and shooting technique to get over the hump .

Stay safe.

They make shooting glass with blinders and circles to see though that are supposed to help. I was going to make a pair out of clip-ons but an injury put an end to my shooting this year. I have also put Dawson sights on a H&K pistol and recommend them. I have also won matches with a stock Ruger target model. I don't think you will find much if any better in a production pistol in your price range but you could try various models if you just don't like Rugers. Some guys like Buckmarks.

BillTell said:

Thanks for all the input. $30 for a fiber optic front sight may be more cost effective than a grand on a used gun. I'm gonna check that out and see how it works out! That Kimber's probably more accurate than my ability to shoot it. The new sight may tighten up my group a bit, and it's a very reasonable way to start out.

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Fiber optic sights are nice but you have to have enough light to light them up to see them well. Walking in the woods you might not get enough light to light a front sight up well enough to see it any better than a standard front sight.

You can still find the occasional Ruger MKII Govt Model out there for under $400 bucks. I do not care for the plastic Ruger pistol grip personally, but almost all newer models of 22 are tapped for a scope rail and an Ultradot type red dot sight would be affordable and keep the entire package under $750. Ruger have some of the best accuracy with all types of ammunition, they equal Walther's or Hammerli pistols. Sadly, Ruger has the worst trigger. Volquartsen can fix that for a little more money.

These are just examples, NOT recommended or suggested purchases in any way.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1008760075?pid=1008760075 The sight

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/878315912 The pistol, sadly not tapped for scope.

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/879363445 Tapped for a scope mount.

I would not consider any of the Ruger Mark pistols to arrive with a "so-called target trigger" , except for the Mark II Government model:

The Mark IV trigger could stand some improvement, trigger pull wise, but still a nice pistol for the $$$ involved:

Another one I like shooting is this Browning Buckmark Contour:

It has a nice adjustable rear sight and fixed front, and then the rail for a red-dot. Great shooting pistol.

Inexpensive thing to try is some paint on the sights. (mentioned in an earlier post)
I had all black sights on a couple pistols and found some pink/pink-orange nail polish worked well on the front.
No better half so I just bought a jar of cheap nail polish, maybe $3.00
Worth a try, if you don't like it you can always remove it.

buba68 said:

Fiber optic sights are nice but you have to have enough light to light them up to see them well. Walking in the woods you might not get enough light to light a front sight up well enough to see it any better than a standard front sight.

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I've found that to be true also. Even at our local indoor range, there isn't enough ambient light to get F/O sights to work as they do outside in the sunlight. Tritium sights are so dang expensive and for those to function properly, you need to leave your pistol/revolver on the bed stand table with the light on until the tritium absorbs and holds some light. Black on black sights against a black bullseye are not all that easy to align for many folks. I like the installed inserts very well, and they don't chip or fall off the blade:

The Sig Trailside is a great gun. Larry and his daughter at Larry's Guns or LGI offer parts,and it's basically a Hammerli stripped of the fancy bits but just as accurate. the LGI trigger upgrade and Rink grips are really nice, but my favorite addition was the Sig P226 dovetail reflex mount that I added to mine. I bet the entire thing was $1100 after all of the additions, but the gun itself was perhaps half of that. Some people have trouble with the slide stop and the trigger guard/frame stop. My advice is use Standard velocity ammo and check the trigger guard vertical protrusion for flashing. If the flashing is present, file that flat so that the trigger guard seats properly and it won't crack on you.