Looking for a .22 for fun at the range

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withoutink

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Hi I am new here... Great forum I stumbled upon. Looks like a lot of helpful people.

Im looking to buy a little .22 for shooting at the range for fun. The wife may be shooting this with me. She never shot before but wants to start. My .40 is a bit big for her. And I always wanted a fun gun that I can shoot all day (inexpensively).

I have been looking at these guns:

Walther P22
Beretta Neos U22
Browning BuckMark
Ruger Mark II or III

I want a fun, reliable gun that wont be a problem shooting for long periods of time. Something not too expensive as I am on a budget. I was thinking max $400ish for budget.

I like the look of the Walther. I heard the slide is zinc and the 5" slide has a tendency to crack. I was looking to get the 3.5" if I go that route and that slide seems to have less problems from what I hear. I read the gun is finiky with what you feed it, but thats not really a problem since .22 ammo is so cheap. I like that you can carry it too. Even though its not a powerful gun. I have not shot this gun at all, so no experiences with it other than holding it in the store. I heard this only comes with a 1yr warranty (that seems suspect to me)

The Beretta, while the looks are strange from what I hear its a pretty accurate fun gun to shoot. Its better quality than the P22, but a lot bigger as well. Never held or fired one yet. Personally I can get past the looks. So no worries there. I like the looks better than the MK II III

The Browning Buckmark... I just held one for the first time today, it was an older used one. Seemed a bit heavy but seemed smooth. I heard this is a really reliable gun and pretty much a tank. Never shot one. I personally like the look better than the Mark II III.

The Ruger Mark II I shot a few years back. I had a blast with it. It was a little on the heavy side. So I am not sure how my wife would take to it. But I know its pretty darn accurate and built like a tank as well. Not big on the looks though. Never shot the III but I suspect its very much the same.

So.... What would you all recommend? Any options I am missing or need to consider?

Thanks in advance?
 
I prefer the Ruger. I have a MK I and MK II. The 46 year old MK I still functions flawlessly and shoots like a lazer.
 
My vote is for the Buckmark for reliability, ease of disassembly, cheaper mags, accuracy and fun factor. My preteen daughters love their Buckmark.

It's hit or miss with the Walther and SIG Mosquito.

I don't have a Ruger but I've read they're a pain to disassemble.

If you can find a SIG Hammerli it's one of the better .22s. Another is the S&W 22A.
 
The Ruger can be field stripped in less than 30 seconds. Once you learn the correct way to angle it, it can be reassembled in less than a minute.
 
Well I have the P22. I'm in the process of getting the slide replaced. It's a 3.4" model. I'm not gonna "Bash" it because it's a fun gun & S&W has done thebestthey could to fix it. It's 3yrs old & has about 6000-7000 rds through it. S&W is sending me a new complete slide for $50. It's been a fun plinker but I wouldn't say super "Accurate"

http://m1229.photobucket.com/albumv...rI+gk36ROXlNwrWLqrIymx8T4IZmlE+6Rgxf5l0E/3yw=

this is a S&W 22a with factory target grips & Holo sight. It's a Tackdriver! .75-1" groups at 25yrds from a rest. Opens up a bit off hand. It's heavy & the are on the bigger side. I picked this up a a gunshow as it sits in the picture NIB $250 OTD

http://m1229.photobucket.com/albumv...rI+gk36ROXlNwrWLqrIymx8T4IZmlE+6Rgxf5l0E/3yw=

I have no experience with the NEO's or Buckmarks but there will be someone to chime in on them soon. I hear the Buckmark is a great shooter & plan getting one soon. The Ruger Mk series is another pistol to check out but again no hands on experience just what I've read here.
 
Thanks guys heading to gander mountain right now to see what they have. The gun show is in town tomorrow and Ill be there when they open. I want to walk out with a new .22 to play with =)

Please keep the recommendations coming =)
 
had a 7" 22A and it was just too heavy. It still only weighed about 40oz but all of the weight was in the front which made it awkward to shoot.

When i buy another .22 it will be a buckmark. No questions asked.
 
yep... Buckmark. Bought it 15 yrs ago. It's always fun to shoot it and share it.
 
Instead of a Browning or a Ruger (which are excellent guns), you might consider a Beretta 87 (not the Target model). It's the best looking .22LR semi-auto around (in my opinion :) ), and mine's dead-nuts reliable and accurate. It's not cheap, but "The bitterness of poor quality is remembered long after the sweetness of low price has faded from memory."

beretta87cheetah.jpg
 
withoutink:

Let us know how it goes. I'm in the market for a Buckmark. I'm heading to the local store tomorrow to see if I can work a deal based on a S&W I've got and want to unload.

OR
 
Ruger Mark II Target Pistol.
You can get all kinds of aftermarket parts for it to make it more accurate, better trigger, better grips, magazines, magazine loaders, etc.
 
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The Ruger Mk-II is a great .22... I heard that back when the Shah ruled Iran, the Iranian Air Force used the Rugers for firearm training and they had some of them with a million rounds fired through them without any repair...
 
I shot in my college's pistol club in the 90's. The club had a crate with about 20 Ruger Mk II's in it, with (I would guess) several hundred thousand rounds each through them. Accurate, reliable, and almost impossible to make stop working.

I now have an older Mk I that I can't even estimate how many rounds I've had go through that. I've taught multiple people to shoot with this little pistol. I may have a light strike or a jam every thousand rounds, but if you clean and lube it occasionally it just runs and runs.

Nothing against any other .22 pistol, but my experience with Rugers has been stellar.
 
id go with the neos. i held one of these last weekend in the gunstore and it felt great im still forcing myself not to go back and put it on layaway.

my dad has a ruger mark II nd i cant stand it the thing just doesnt feel right at all, however he as never had a problem with it.

a coworker just bought a walther a couple months ago and actually shoots remington thunderbolts in it. thats really saying something none of my semi auto rifles will feed it. havent tried it in my phoenix arms pistol yet.

hope you like whatever you choose.
 
59Bassman said:
I shot in my college's pistol club in the 90's. The club had a crate with about 20 Ruger Mk II's in it, with (I would guess) several hundred thousand rounds each through them. Accurate, reliable, and almost impossible to make stop working.
Click to expand...
When I take the Ruger Mk-II out, it's not uncommon to shoot a whole brick (500 rounds) or two during the day. Back when I was shooting it, I would routinely pick up a few bricks of the Remington or Federal promo ammo (the cheap stuff) whenever it was on sale. Last time I bought any of it, it was around $8-9 per brick..
 
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The Ruger MKII bull barrel will fit your .22 needs.
Don't worry too much about the complicated take-down....I have had my MKII for maybe 20yrs.......never disassembled it. lol
It just keeps shootin'.
 
Thanks everyone for the help...

Ok, so my head is spinning... just got back from the gun show. Amazingly I went with $1000 cash plus three credit cards and all I came home with was a .22

Even though I dont really like the look of the Ruger... I ended up with a 22/45 Mark III Bull Barrel - Blued $235 new. I was going to get a stainless target model, but I thought the lighter weight of the polymer would help the wife a bit. What sealed the deal was the $ and the amazing Customer Service I have heard Ruger having.

This thing should be able to eat any .22 ammo without issue correct?
 
It should, but if you have problems with a particular brand, just don't use that brand. I found Federal bulk pack worked fine with mine, but so did everything else. The only time I had a problem with mine, a couple of drops of oil on the bolt fixed it.

Don't worry about field stripping it (You'll be hearing horror stories if you haven't already.) (1) It's not that hard. Follow the directions. (2) It's not really necessary. Get some polymer safe gunscrubber, spay the gun down, wipe off what comes out, then oil it again. You're ready to go.
 
Ditto on the Ruger Mk II and/or Browning Buckmark. Both have been made for a long time, and get the job done. Usually comes down to which feels better in your hand. They have different grip angles.

I own a Buckmark (grip angle more like a gov't model .45), but would be equally happy with the Ruger. Good luck!
 
Try to find a S&W 422 or a 622,
They were made before the 22A.
I bought my 422 in 1986, love it.
Used they run around 225 to 250.
Come with a 4 or 6 inch barrel.
fixed or micro adjust sights.
10 shot mags
 
Apples and oranges????? :confused::confused::confused:

The Ruger and Browning are very fine pistols, indeed. But they're big, heavy, competition type target pistols.

The Walther P22, SIG Mosquito, etc are little, lightweight fun guns.

First job is to decide what you want.

For a "range only" target gun, they Browning wins hands down, IME. For a gun to take to the woods, campsite, hiking, etc, I'd choose the little S&W .22 "Kit Gun" revolver. Or possibly the Walther.
 
So I've had my RUGER mark iii for a couple weeks now. I've put almost 700 rounds though it. I have had 2 Fail to feed issues. Where the round kind of jammed. But other than that the gun has been super fun. A joy to shoot. First couple times taking that apart sux though.
 
Bought a P22, sold it to buy a Ruger MKIII. Sold the Ruger to buy a Buckmark... should've bought the buckmark in the first place. Best .22 pistol out there IMO.
 
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