Considering a Rimfire Revolver

I intend on buying a .22 revolver for the same reason I own a .22/45 Ruger. It will be my practise gun for my J frame S&W's so I'll probably get a J frame S&W. My .22/45 is my practise gun for my 1911.

You should have quite a few decent options in your price range. A few that come to mind:

-Ruger Sp101 in .22lr-6 shot and should be >$350 used

-Taurus 94-9 shot and will be in your price range new or used

-H&R 922-9 shot and will be dirty dirt cheap...I've had great luck with my, er, my wife's 922.

-Ruger Single Six-6 shots and you should be able to get one in your price range used and maybe new???

I don't think there's any such thing as an inexpensive .22 revolver (or anything else!) anymore. The Ruger Single Sixes with adjustable sights are about as much bang for the buck as there is with decent quality. They still might need a little tweaking in the trigger department but they can be nice little plinkers.

The only other thing I would remotely consider would be an S&W K or J frame. New, ok but pricey. Used, probably ok and fairly pricey.

I would view this as a lifetime investment and not cut corners (i.e., Taurus, other brand X stuff).

By way of illustration I have a Model 18 S&W that I bought in 1982, with a case or two of ammo through it, and I like it better every day.

A quality .22 revolver is never a mistake.

It sounds like you really want a semi-auto

so I will jack around with the revolver question and suggest you look at the CZ Kadet .22 auto. However, if you really want a .22 revolver, and I am certainly not trying to discourage that, consider a double-action and, most likely an S & W.

i take it this is frowned on? (been eyein one)

james

edit: oh missed the DA part sorry for wastin' your time

... and the whole point of this venture is to save me money, as I'm quite content shooting my 9mm.

Click to expand...

My first thought is to just keep shooting your 9mm because what you are looking for in 22 rimfire does not exist conveniently or is not commonly available. Check out the Browning Buckmark 22 semi-autos.

At the price range you are considering you are limited to guns made by Taurus, Rossi, and H&R or used guns with considerable wear to the finish. None of those mentioned above have great triggers, but I have owned an H&R for a number of years until I saw the light. They have their place. The Ruger SP101 in 22 may be a consideration, but it certainly is not commonly available and does have a heavy trigger.

I would suggest you increase your budget or spend lots of time watching the auctions and visiting gunshows to find a used Smith Model 18 or Colt Trooper Mark III if you want a DA 22 revolver. However, you might get lucky and find a good one for under $400. Good luck.

I am sorry, but shooting centerfire ammo is a lot more fun than .22 rimfire. Let's say you already have a decent .38 plinker - and buy plinking (lead) ammo from Georgia Arms - <$11/50 vs $2.50/50. If you spent ~$400 for that rimfire revolver, you'd have to shoot ~50 boxes of ammo to 'save' enough, ammo cost-wise, to pay for that rimfire revolver's cost. Then there is the fun-factor... a .38 is a lot more fun to blast away with. Steel plates will actually fall - pop cans really dance - tennis balls visit the next county, etc. the holes in paper will be larger, too. Of course, left loaded by the bedside, you have a lot more useful 'house gun'. Get a 4" .38/.357M and buy ammo when you can... you'll be happier.

I liken this to gas mileage vs new car cost. My '05 Jeep Liberty gets 19.4 mpg. A Prius might get 33 mpg. On a 600 mile vacation trip, that could save me 12.7 gallons of $4/gallon gas - $50.40 savings for a vacation trip to Gulf Shores. My Jeep was paid for last year - and is a heck of a lot more fun and comfortable to drive, not to mention the room for souvenirs. A centerfire gun is more fun/effective. I had a Single Six - much adoo about nothing - to me - YMMV.

Stainz

PS Now, if you just want another revolver... all bets are off. Go for it!!

If your primary interest is in cheap shooting...

I strongly recommend a CO2 or air pistol. There are many out there, and the best of them (if you buy an American classic) come in semi-auto or revolver configuration. Even classic collectibles can still be found for 1/2 the cost of a firearm. AND many are more accurate at 50 feet than their firearm equivalents. (While I realize you don't care for the Ruger auto pistol grip, the CO2 pistols derived from it -- the Crosman Mark I and Mark II in .22 and .177 respectively -- are more accurate than the Ruger). Crosman also made their Model 600, a 10-shot semi-auto that is no longer made, but is acknowledged as the best of its kind for under $1,000. Each of the guns I mentioned have excellent, adjustable sights and fine triggers. All can be had for $125-250, but they are going up.

Stainz, your economics works with the cars, but may not work with centerfire versus rimfire. I reload 9mm, .45 and .38, so my cost is about $0.14/round. I can buy .22 for ~$0.02/round. I shoot an average of 300 rounds of .22/trip. The payout on a $350 handgun is 9.7 trips to the range. If I buy GA ammo, the payout is 5.6 trips. I shoot at least one centerfire handgun and at least 2 rimfire handguns every week.

I have a single six. It's fun to shoot and, when I do my part correctly, darned accurate. The M17 or Colt .22 DA's are great shooters based on the couple I've fired.

.22's are usually very accurate handguns and can be somewhat demanding. they tend to show up shooting flaws. They are lots of fun. As much as I enjoy my centerfire handguns, I really enjoy the pop guns.

I'm not sure you really save money with any of this. Reloading cuts my costs by up to half. That means I shoot twice as many rounds. Rimfires are comparatively very inexpensive, that means I shoot 5-10 times as many rounds.

I enjoy shooting the 22 rimfires quite a bit. When I first started shooting, I shot a 22; later moved to centerfires. They were fun. Even in those days, centerfire ammo was not cheap relative to what you earned. So, I have always shot 22's and won't stop. A high qualtiy 22 DA revolver is a lifetime investment and not the place to skimp.

My first was an H&R 999 which was their top of the line 22 revolver. It was fine for a couple years until I began seeing the difference between the name brand 22's and brand X. Nothing wrong with Brand X. They just aren't as well made. But they shoot.

Nice Smith Model 18's are hard to find (4"). A Smith Model 17 (typically 6") would be easier to find. Of course, you know the current Smith 617 is the one you see available in shops these days most. Very good revolver.

As far as the Smith J-frames, I wouldn't mind owning a Model 317. A used Model 34 would be fine too. I am especially interested in the Model 63 (5") that is coming out later this year in 22. It won't have as nice a trigger as the larger Smiths, but it should be a good shooter.

The Colts revolvers are all good by the way unless you happen to get a bad one.

Double Action? In .22LR and magnum?

Have you investigated H&Rs? How about a double action revolver with 2 cylinders for .22LR and .22WMR? If you browse auction sites for a while, you can get one that's very reasonably priced. The picture shows two H&R 676s. The short barrelled one in the picture cost me $150 shipped. The other one was more but it was LNIB with all the paperwork so I splurged. The cheaper H&Rs, like a 922, had a pretty stiff DA trigger but their better grades, like the 676, 949 or 999, are pretty nice. Spending $400 to shoot cheaper ammo is questionable, thrift-wise, but to get a convertible .22 revolver for $150 is worth considering. The 676 holds six rounds of either caliber while the 949 holds 9 rounds of 22LR only. There's also the Sportsman model, which is even a nicer piece and costs less than any Ruger or S&W. Oh yeah, both of these pistols are very, very, very accurate.

I have heard nothing but good about the new 4" Charter Pathfinder 22s. I looked at one and it looked good to me, too. No, it is not a Smith K22, but then it does not cost like a K22, either.
I had a stainless Rossi double action 22, I think it was a Model 941 or such, and it was an excelent little revolver. I am still kicking myself for selling it.
A friend had a Taurus 22, 1980s vintage, and it shot very nicely too.
If you decide to go single action, the Ruger is THE standard, but some of the old Colts are great too I know from personal experience.

What 9mm do you have? You might be able to get a .22 conversion kit for it. I'll also second the Buckmark suggestion.

I've handled some of the new Charter Arms revolvers but haven't shot any. I was not impressed with the finish and overall level of quality.

My real recommendation is to decide to wait a couple of months to make the purchase and save another couple of hundred dollars (sell plasma each week, eat mac&cheese and tuna, take coffee and lunches from home, etc.)and get a new S&W.

There are good deals on the used market for .22 revolvers you just have to be patient. It could take a couple months of watching all the auction sites a couple of times daily and visiting your local gun and pawn shops. At the end of a couple of months if a deal hasn't turned up you'll have that extra couple of hundred saved and you can get a new one. I will add that if you are going to buy anything other than a S&W then buy it used so someone else can take the hit in depreciation. This way if you decide to sell it you'll be able to break even or at the worst lose $50. If you buy a new Taurus or Charter and try to sell it later you'll take a bath. They don't hold their value and there is a reason for that.

Seriously. Spending a couple of hundred more than where you are will let you buy a much, much, better gun. If you settle on something less you can save a couple of hundred bucks now but you'll end up with a gun that is just ok and you'll still want that new S&W .22 revolver. By the end of the summer the two extra months you waited will be long forgotten every time you take out your new revolver.

The S&W 317 kit gun is a great little .22 and it's only $547 delivered from Bud's. It has a 3" barrel instead of a 4" but 3" is just about perfect for the little j-frame. This is one handy little .22. Add in $25 or so or a transfer dealer (find on in your area in the buyer's section of gunbroker.com) and you're at $572 out the door for a great gun that will hold it's value.

http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/72/products_id/26286



For $602 Bud's has what is probably the best .22 revolver currently available for only $602 delivered.

http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/72/products_id/26307



If you must have immediate satisfaction the Taurus 4" stainless is only $362.
http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/494/products_id/31355

Bought a S&W K22 in 1950. Couldn't begin to estimate the thousand of rounds that have gone thru it but it shoots as good today as it did on day one. Buy quality and it will go not a lifetime but several.

Ruger currently offers both the 22/45 model, with a more vertical '1911'-style grip, and the 'Standard/Target' models with their more rakish 'Luger'-like grip. Other grip panels - even the one like my 678GC came with, including a RH-ed thumbrest and nicely made of cocobolo - can be purchased. Try the grip 'feel' again at a dealer, before you write them off. I'm not a Ruger-nut anymore, much less a bottom-feeder type, but my MKII is a keeper. Even my wife loves it.

The Target MK111512 blued 5.5" bull barrel adj sighted model listed for $382 last year - a bargain. The current model like mine, KMK111678GC, listed for $555. I advise a careful look at the chamber's rim area on any used MKII, etc, purchase. If the firing pin's cross pin falls out, like they will, during cleaning - and is overlooked in re-assembly, the next dry fire will mar that area, ruining the gun (It is not repairable.). Look for chips or gouges!

Good grief, I am advising against a revolver - and for a case-tosser. I feel dirty...

Stainz

PS Re my 'economics' and the .22 revolver - it assumes a plinker is available - and that the .22 would have to be purchased. The gap is greater with the OP, as he has a 9mm, which is even more frugal locally (here) for factory ammo.

I've had a Taurus M 94 4" stainless for almost 20 yrs and it's served me well. Even a NIB example should be well within your price range.

I did make a couple of small mods to it. Both weren't strictly necessary but helped me make it easier to shoot well with.

The springs on most .22 RF revolvers are purposely pretty stout in order to ensure the most reliable function with the widest variety of ammo under the widest range of conditions. This can make for a fairly heavy trigger action, especially on the smaller, lighter revolvers designed for field use..

I bought a set of replacements from Brownell's and did some experimenting. It ran under $12, IIRC and includes a lighter hammer spring and 2 much lighter rebound springs. FWIW, the stock rebound spring is where most of the excess pull weight comes from.

In my revolver the stock mainspring and the heavier of the two rebound springs gave the best compromise initially. After a couple of thousand rounds, I was able to switch to the lighter rebound spring and still have 100% reliable functioning with an even greater reduction in DA pull weight.

I also removed the serrations from the trigger and contoured it a bit to suit my DA shooting style better.

Other than that, it hasn't needed anything. Nothing has broken or worn out, and it's slicked-up nicely with use. Highly worth your consideration, IMO.

Whoops! Read the opening of your post and thought you were looking for a semi - auto. For a .22 revolver, youll find the Ruger Singtle Six hard to beat.

If you're looking for an "inexpensive" .22 semi-auto plinker, the Beretta NEOS isn't bad. A bit up from that is the SW 22A-1. Somewhat more expensive is the Ruger Mark III. And finally, the SW 41 if money's no object. I've got the SW22A-1 and the Mark III - Both are excellent. My son has the NEOS and has had no problems whatsoever.

NEOS:


SW 22A-1:


RUGER Mark III:

Have a Shooting Budd that has one of the newest incarnations of Charter Arms 4" barrel .22 Pathfinders.

Hey, a S&W "Kit Gun" it ain't, but it is accurate and not too badly fit-n-finished.

I recently got a new stainless Taurus 94 with a 4" barrel. Got it from a local Bass Pro for $320. A buttery smooth S&W it certainly isn't, but then it was at least $300 less as well. Everything I've read seems to indicate that the 94 will generally smooth out after around 1000 rounds, so I'll just keep shooting it. Beyond that it's pretty accurate, comfortable to shoot, but the trigger pull will give you a workout.

Stainz said:

If the firing pin's cross pin falls out, like they will, during cleaning - and is overlooked in re-assembly, the next dry fire will mar that area, ruining the gun (It is not repairable.). Look for chips or gouges

Click to expand...

On the MKIII this has been changed to a roll pin that needs to be driven out to avoid this problem.

Get a dan wesson 722 used. They can easily be found in that price range.



Accurate, cheap, built like a tank and if you don't like the 6" barrel, well just swap it for a 4" or 2". Maybe a 5 minute job if you clean the threads while you have it apart.

The picture above is 50 shots, 15 yrds offhand.

Dan Wesson .22

Agree with Peter above. The .22's come in both blue and stainless and with different barrel lengths and configurations and can be changed readily. They are about the size of a Smith K frame and a bit heavier making target shooting a bit more steady. Probably if one were to tune a .22 revolver the K frame Smiths would be the lightest and they have nice triggers out of the box. I have a Model 18 I have had for 25 years with thousands of rounds through it and is one gun I have kept as haven't found anything with a nicer trigger including a Diamondback I had. Like others have said view it as an investment and avoid later frustration.