Looking for a 22 Recommendation

The Smith & Wesson M&P 22 Compact is a very nice handgun and would meet your expectations nicely, I would suggest.

BOARHUNTER

I bought a Walther P 22 when they first came out. I expected a quality gun. It was a real POS. I was falling apart after 2 mags and would not stay together when tightened up. I sold it for a significant loss. I’m hoping to read here that the Ruger is done right.

Ruger SR22 and S&W M&P 22 Compact are both good options with a strong track record.

The Taurus TX22 has also intrigued me, but it's basically brand spankin' new. Yeah, I know it's Taurus but it's been creating some buzz. 16 rounds and reportedly reliable, along with a cheap price. I'll probably end up with one eventually, my first venture into a Taurus.

I bought a P22 for my wife 10 years ago. It probably hasn't had 500 rounds through it in that time. If I recall correctly, it had issues with cheap bulk ammo, but ran pretty well with CCI Mini Mags. Have you tried those? Particularly it was better with the 40 gr solids. My Ruger 22/45 Mark III won't feed the hollow points from CCI or Winchester, yet runs almost perfectly with the cheap Federal Champion 36 gr copper coated hollow points. I guess the CCI and Winchester bullets are too blunt nosed and catch on the bottom of the feed ramp in my Ruger.
I also considered the S&W M&P 22 compact when PSA had them on sale for $249.99. KInd of regret not grabbing one then.

Some other ideas, not endorsing anything in particular:

GSG 1911 for a full-sized trainer.

Walther PPK/S .22 time tested and classic design.

U22 Beretta Neos if you don’t mind the odd look.

Ruger 22/45 another reliable, well built and familiar feeling pistol.

If I was in market right now I would without hesitation get the Taurus TX22. Is getting great reviews. Never shot one but held one and I was really impressed. With the Taurus rebate going on now you can get one for about $219. How can you lose? Taurus quality not bad anymore if ever really was that bad.

TomJ said:

SR22 I was considering. Does anyone have feedback on that or other suggestions? Reliability and ease of takedown/cleaning are important to me.

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TomJ, the SR22 is an excellent plinker, similar in looks/ feel to the Walther P22, shoots well, is reliable, not ammo-finicky, is easy to take down and is fun as all get-out. I highly recommend.

TomJ

If you're just mainly looking for a decent .22 plinker then one of these might work for you:

Browning Buckmark Micro Bull barrel-$309
Ruger 22/45-$416
Ruger SR22-$363
Beretta Neos-$258

Our SR doesn't like* standard velocity ammo, but if we feed it 'high velocity',,, it purrs like a kitten,,,,,

* (FTE's)

TomJ writes:

I went ahead with the SR22 I found on Armslist. I'll pick it up Saturday. As I mentioned it looks like it's barely been used, and for $250 I'm not risking much.

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Good move.

For my money at least, I’ve found the Ruger Mark IV series to be the best .22 pistol. Extremely reliable and accurate. A good value for the price. I like the “standard” version but you might be surprised by the amount of configurations and colors available.

There are several options on 22 .cal nowadays (thanks God.)

Ruger in several options from
22/45
Mark II-III-IV
Browning Buckmark's
Smith&Wesson Victory
Adapters for Glocks, CZ, 1911.

Intentionally skipped polymers options (exempt the 22/45)

My Walther PPK/S .22LR is a favorite and has been super reliable all these many years. My MKI Ruger is a wonder. It's too bad the Colt Woodsman is gone. I still have mine and it's not for sale.

Another vote for the SR22. Everyone that has shot ours' likes it. Easy to clean and like it was said, not picky on ammo.

TomJ, let us know how it works for you.

I like our Neos with the 6" barrel. But it is an odd angle to the grip. But just as reliable as the SR22.

I’m just going to say that the M&P 22 Compact is the be-all end-all of semi-auto rimfire pistols for me. The M&P 22 Compact is made in-house by S&W (not to be confused with the previous full-size M&P .22 pistol), unlike the pot metal Umarex garbage that seems to taint the semi-auto rimfire market with the exception of Ruger. It’s a much simpler design than the typical zinc clamshell deal so it takes down easily just like a centerfire duty pistol would. It feels small in the hand though and one of those Hogue Hand-All things would help here.

Anyways mine has proven to be quite a fun plinker and I can’t rave about it enough right now.

A little late but I have 2 p22's and they work just fine. They are the upgraded model P22q. Ammo makes a big diff. in most .22's, rifle or pistol. Just saying.

TomJ said:

I just got back from the range, and it’s fantastic. I lost count, but put between 400 and 500 rounds through it. It worked perfectly with American Eagle, Armscor and Blazer ammo.
I’d get a FTF about every 20 rounds with Thunderbolt. I need to shoot left handed only for another 2 weeks as I recover from my angioplasty, so I can’t comment on it’s accuracy yet as I don’t shoot well with my left hand.

It seems like everyone on Armslist says their gun looks like it’s new, only has 200 rounds through it, etc. This one looks like it’s never been fired, and it’s definitely a keeper.

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Sounds like you have given it a good try-out. I just recently bought a brick of Thunderbolts. Never have shot them before. The green bucket of bullets were ok, but hot embers(?) seem to come back at the shooter.
Our youngest daughter is new to the shooting sport. So far the SR22 is her favorite. We may end up getting another SR22 so she'll have her own. Not a bad thing, mind you.

Walther PPQ M2 .22, great gun; shoots well suppressed and unsuppressed, very reliable.
Here's a good review detailing the PPQ .22 https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/gun-review-walther-ppq-m2-22-lr/


The Ruger SR22's seem to run well as well.

Do not get the Walther P22, totally different animal.

Not long after the Walther P22 came out I bought one and shot it quite a bit . Never had a minutes problem with it. I let a grandson talk me out of it and he is still shooting it. He has shot it a great deal more than me and I asked him recently if he had ever had any trouble with it. The answer was "No". I began to the regret selling the Walther and ran across a Ruger SR22 not too long after they appeared and bought it. It's never given me a minute's trouble. Dud rounds have been the only thing that has stopped either of them. As long as you use HV ammo they have been good to go.

I consider both to be great pistols to teach kids with. Load one round at a time until they have demonstrated that they know and practice safe handling and then add more rounds. Since one round at a time is slow it also teaches them to have a little patience.

Boarhunter said:

The Smith & Wesson M&P 22 Compact is a very nice handgun and would meet your expectations nicely, I would suggest.

BOARHUNTER

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Late to the party and I hope they found something that pleases them but wanted to agree with BOARHUNTER that the M&P .22 is a great gun. I learned to shoot with mine and put it through some real punishment. Still going strong. Fun to shoot. Easy to clean.