Miitchell's new PPS50/22 drum fed 22LR

I like the concept, let us know how it is when you get your's.

I saw those in American Rifleman, too. Decided I wanted one as soon as I did. Waiting for a range report.

Old Dog Man said:

Just ordered on of these rifles, has anyone had any experience with one? It looks like it would be a lot of fun to play with. Get it some time next week or so. Can't wait to pulll it apart and see how it's made, really looks koool. It's featured in American Rifleman this issue take a look. Al

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Is there a link?

My dad bought one of these recently. He didn't get the wood stocked Ruskie lookalike, but got the one with the synthetic stock and the forward grip.

My 2 cents:

Felt pretty accurate. It's plenty hefty for a .22, but if you aren't a little kid I think the weight is actually good for stability. Was pretty easy to hit what you were aiming at.

Loading that drum magazine can be a bear once you get to the last 10 rounds or so. My technique probably sucked, but I was constantly denting cases trying to get the next round in.

The gun strikes me as being pretty finicky. The manual says to not use lead bullets. I think that these guns require more involved ownership. While with my 10/22 you could shoot and shoot and shoot and never need to clean, I think the Pumas need to be cleaned a bit more often.

FWIW, before he bought it, my dad asked my cousin's husband about it. This guy is the manager of a large sporting good store, and my dad asked him if he could order one for him. Cousin-in-law said that they don't sell them anymore because too many were coming back with issues. My dad bought one and he rarely gets through that whole drum mag without some kind of failure.

IMO, it's a cool gun and a good shooter when it runs. However, based on my dad's issues with his, I'd just get something like a 10/22 and a bunch of 25 round mags.

Aw, darn. I was hoping there wouldn't be any problems like that. Ah, well. I guess some things are too good to be true.

You could probably make a 10/22 into a rough lookalike with some of those Black Dog 50rd drums. How well do those work?

Felt pretty accurate.

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how does that work??


this is a classic case of why you should do your homework before you buy a rifle. Hopefully Old Dog Man doesn't encounter the problems El Guero speaks of.

I've got one. They've been around for a while under various names: Bingham, Puma, and now Mitchell. AFAIK they're all made by Pietta of Italy.

El Guero's experiences pretty much mirror my own, other than his issues loading the magazine, which I find pretty easy once you get in a rhythm with the loading tool. The gun is pretty well-made, decently accurate, and tons of fun to shoot, but it can be a little fussy and mine was a jam-o-matic at first. The magazine fit very loosely in the well and I had lots of failure to feed issues. I sent it in, they replaced the magazine (they may have done other things), and now it runs pretty well. Not perfect, but acceptable.

The manual specifies HV (1300FPS+) ammo, and I was also advised to use only copper. When I was arranging to send it in, their guy specifically recommended Federal bulk or Winchester Super X.

Breaking it down is a little more work than I'd like. First, take the stock off, then undo the two screws holding the trigger group on and remove it. Next, unscrew the cap at the back of the receiver (a quarter works well, and remember to hold some pressure on it because it is spring-loaded). Take the cap and the short spring out, followed by the guide rod piece and recoil springs. One of the springs has a keeper on the end that locks the charging handle in place. With this removed, the charging handle can be pulled out and the bolt will now slide out the back of the receiver.

Overall, it's a great plinker that you can have a lot of fun with, but as a 'serious' or do-all .22, you're probably better off with one of the more conventional choices.

with some of those Black Dog 50rd drums. How well do those work?

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The Black Dog drums for the AR15 work well for us in the SIG522 and Spike's Tactical dedicated .22lr upper.

I believe you just use a different "tower" for the 10/22 so it all boils down to if they got the Ruger feed lips right or not. Based on other 3-rd party 10/22 mags I'd say its not as easy as it looks so I've never bothered trying the 10/22 version.

Old Dog Man said:

Thanks for the info Prestpat, I'll check out the mag. issue and did you notice how the barrel is installed. Is it pinned into the reciever or threaded? Al

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I think it's pinned but I can't swear to that as I've never separated them.