.22 autoloader recommendation

1911 guy

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So I don't own a .22 pistol. I shoot and carry a 1911 almost exclusively. So I began looking at .22 caliber versions. I've looked at, but not shot:
Blue Line Mauser
Colt (made by Umarex for Walther, licensed by Colt)
GSG (sold under their name and under Sig Sauer)
Chiappa
Most of the articles and reviews I found online are a decade or more old. Is there a clear winner here, or should I dump the idea and start looking at "normal" .22 pistols?
This is going to be a "fun gun" but I do expect reasonable accuracy and good reliability.
P.S. It's been a while but I still recommend this forum to people.
 
I have played with a Chiappa and GSG and was not impressed. Reliability was a hard miss, and accuracy was far behind guns that were designed to be a .22.

It is very difficult to get a slide designed in steel for a full caliber to be light enough for a .22 and still be reliable. They use Zamak, aluminum, and whatever they can find. There is a huge difference in recoil brand to brand of ammo. A reasonable expectation is that you will find a single brand and type of ammo that it is reliable with and shoot that exclusively. It will probably be CCI Stingers.

I have heard good things about the Marvel and Colt Conversion kits. I have a GSG conversion kit that is less than reliable and not very accurate. It is kind of fun though. It ruins well with Stingers.
 
I have a Browning Buck Mark and two Ruger Marks. They are my most accurate handguns out of many. I have heard good things about the S&W Victory also.

These are fine, reliable, accurate pistols. And they're not even very expensive.

A 1911 was not designed to shoot 22lr and IMHO will never be as good as high-quality pistols that were specifically designed for it.

This was inexpensive, like $300 OTD used. It is WAY more accurate than I am.

 
mine is a ruger sr22. i’ve happily put many thousand of rounds through it. some folks don’t like its “upside down” safety but since i’m mainly a revolver guy it’s perfectly fine by me. easy to fieldstrip. handy. accurate enough. fun.
 
I have played with a Chiappa and GSG and was not impressed. Reliability was a hard miss, and accuracy was far behind guns that were designed to be a .22..

My experience with these two is entirely different than yours. I gave up and bought a Chiappa when both were new to the market because no one could get a GSG. It was bit crude in the finish department but shot every brand of HV ammo I put in it and fairly accurately. A couple or three years later I walked into the LGS and he has a GSG and we made a trade. The GSG was a much a slicker finished gun and I shot it for a few years without a problem but let a relative talk me out of it. I eventually bought another, made some changes, and it shoots both HV and SV ammo reliably.

I also have a Ruger MK III 22/45 lite, MK IV target, and SR 22. The SR 22 will shoot any HV ammo, The MK III an IV will do both HV and SV. In the accuracy department the MK IV wins easily, then the GSG, MK III, and finally the SR22. I think the SR 22 lags behind because of it's short sight radius. The MK III weighs very little and really bounces around for a 22 pistol. I installed a TandemKross Pro muzzle brake that tamed it down a lot. It also made it much louder to the shooter. I can definately tell the difference even with my "ears" on which I am never without.
 
A 22 conversion kit may accomplish what your trying to do. Many are of better quality then the pistols the author initially selected.
 
There are plinker conversions and serious conversions.
Just depends on the goal and budget.

Have not shot a Marvel conversion
Do have a 6" Kart. It was a wicked squirrel popped back when my eyes were good.

Nowadays I run a Buckmark Target 5.5 w a reflex.
 
If it was me, I would go with either a good conversion kit for your 1911 or look at one of the Ruger Mk series 22/45 models. I have a GSG conversion kit and have shot it enough to wear it out to the point it won't even lock back anymore. The GSG/Sig slides are Zamack and known to peen.

I have been waiting for a Kimber conversion kit to be in stock to replace my GSG kit. The reason I want the Kimber kit is so that I can still use all of the GSG magazines. I have to say the GSG mags are some of the best that I have personally used.
 
Too bad the little Walther P22 sights stink.
Was a fun little rig to take on the trail.

Really like the Ruger MK stuff, and had a couple of 22/45 too.
Ruger billboard warning labels ruins em for me.
The went underside and smaller, but that on the MK3 and there you have the loaded chamber indicator nonsense.
Do like the MK 3 mag release.

So yeah, Id need a MK3 grip frame w a MK2 receiver and a MK3 bbl.
A bunch of money, and would need the MK2 receiver drilled and tapped for scope base.

Wirthwein has info on mixing and matching stuff

The Colt Woodsmans (underlug) I like better than the Huntsmans. Grew up with em but find the grip a little smallish.
 
For lightweight, near 100% reliability and okay accuracy, you might check out the S&W M&P 22 Compact. I really like mine.
For a little better accuracy, my Ruger 22/45 Mark III Target with 5.5” bull barrel fits the bill. Mine has been tweaked a little with Tandemkross accessories to eliminate the mag safety and loaded chamber indicator, which simplifies take down and reassembly.
I haven’t shot one, but a lot of people seem to like the Taurus TX 22, which sadly is no longer available in the formerly great state of Washington since the new law banning the sale/importation of “high capacity” magazines went into effect July 1st. :cuss:
 
1911 guy

I had an old Essex 1911 frame laying around so I decided to build it and run with a .22 conversion kit on it. Years ago I had a Colt .22 conversion but reliability and accuracy we just kind of mediocre and I sold it. Went quite some time before I got the itch to try the .22 conversion route again. This time I was looking for a more accurate unit and I checked out kits from Marvel Precision and Advantage Arms. Nice and a little pricey but I figured they were worth it. I tried to order one but both companies were always out of stock on the model that I wanted!

So one night I was scrolling through either Brownell's or Midway's websites and came across a TacSol 22/11 conversion kit and quickly ordered one before it went out of stock! Went on my old Essex frame without any modifications needed and works perfectly. Still haven't found it's favorite ammo yet, though Wolf Match Target and CCI MiniMags work just fine in it. The one downside with the 22/11 is that TacSol no longer makes this particular conversion kit anymore. Still you might be able to come across one on ebay or some of the other gun auction websites.
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Lots of .22 conversion kits for 1911's;

1911 .22 Conversion Kits | An Official Journal Of The NRA (americanrifleman.org)

But if you want a dedicated .22 pistol, the Ruger MkII and MkIII are very nice and accurate, and there's the 22/45, which has a grip more similar to the 1911 than the standard Mark pistols. I have a 22/45, its fun to shoot, reliable and accurate. I use it when teaching new shooters. I also have a S&W M41, it's a wonderfully accurate pistol, a bit fancier than the Ruger, though.
IMG_1774.jpg
 
I have a Browning Buck Mark and two Ruger Marks. They are my most accurate handguns out of many. I have heard good things about the S&W Victory also.

These are fine, reliable, accurate pistols. And they're not even very expensive.

A 1911 was not designed to shoot 22lr and IMHO will never be as good as high-quality pistols that were specifically designed for it.

This was inexpensive, like $300 OTD used. It is WAY more accurate than I am.

I’ve had 2 Rugers also, a Mark III and a 22/45, MarkIII was a good gun, 22/45- jamomatic, sent back to Ruger twice- never could fix it- bought a Buckmark Hunter, it would be hard to go back to Ruger, love this gun. More reliable than either Ruger, and the trigger was much better than either Ruger out of the box. F94D6FDA-683B-4661-911B-02846FA00BBB.jpeg
 
Bought a Buckmark UDX last Fall. Very nice, very accurate. Easy breakdown. Very few misfeeds- mostly during early break-in which technically it probably is still in.
Bought a used High Standard Sport-King. Maybe a little more accurate? But it always jams on the first auto-loaded round. After I pull that one out and toss its bent head to the ground, the rest feed fine. Frustrating because it is dead accurate.
 
I love shooting the Kel Tec CP33, it is amazingly accurate and has a great trigger. Downside is loading the 33 rd magazine, it takes too long! That and the mag body is entirely polymer.

Very reliable with CCI, iffy with Winchester.
 
1911 22 Colt Gold Cup.jpg With new frame Mark IV   2.jpg

I have a Ruger Mark IV 22/45 Lite and I like it a lot. It's my backup gun to my Black Mamba. I shoot it for Steel Challenge because it is accurate enough for targets out to 35 yards and is reliable with almost any ammo I've tried.

I bought the Walther ( Colt Gold Cup Trophy ) as a plinker for fun. I like the looks of the Colt and I like the trigger. It just feels good in my hand. It works very well with HV ammo and mine likes CCI Mini Mags and CCI Blazer the best.
 
There are many good .22 autos out there. To name a few: Ruger Mark series (pick your poison), Browning Buckmark, S&W Victory, etc.
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Mine's a Mark IV 22/45 Lite, but there are a bunch of others I'd like to get my hands on (I'm looking at you, Beretta Neos!)
 
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