best $300 22lr pistol

22 pistols, target, home defense, under $300:

Keltec PLR-22


Barretta U22 Neos


Chiappa 1911-22


Ruger MKIII


Smith and Wesson 22A

The police trade-in Glocks sound like a great idea. Get a Glock OR a 1911, and you can get a .22 conversion fit to shoot all the .22 you want. Eat some mac and cheese, bite the bullet, cover your serious defensive needs FIRST, THEN get a .22.

I have a Taurus tracker that I picked up slightly used for $300, and a Walther P22 for about the same. Im pleased with both.

Actually I just found this:

http://personalsecurityzone.com/cgi...emplate=ProdDetail.htm&CatalogNumber=TI990061

A .22 is better than nothing, especially for sd/hd. A bang is a bang is a bang. If someone hears it pop than they will most likely run.





LONG LIVE GLOCK!!!!!!

Well if the sound is effective, why not use blanks?

The MKII Ruger is my preference and is an excellent choice for anybody.
Regarding self defense a .22 is certainly not the best caliber but if it were all I had I'd use it.
One thing about a semi auto is you can fire multiple rounds very quickly. Three or four .22 hollow points into the chest will definitely make most any BG want a doctor if he's still standing.
If you're new to handguns I'd recommend starting with a .22. It takes much more ammo than a rifle to get any good at shooting them. Ammo is cheap so you can practice. You can get a center fire gun later. The extra cost of .38 Special ammo would cost as much as a gun more than the .22 ammo to get any good with a handgun at all. In effect you would get a free centerfire handgun if you buy the .22.

While I wouldn't recommend a .22LR pistol for home defense they do make for an inexpensive day at the range. I like the Browning Buckmarks. They are right around the price range you're looking at. I own a couple and both are very reliable and accurate to boot. I've mounted a scope on one of mine for plinking/hunting out to 75 yards and then some. Good value for the money.

YOu could find an old H&R 929- .22 for $150. They hold 9 rounds and are uber reliable,
Here is one:
http://www.simpsonltd.com/product_i...13406&osCsid=cf23f448b4ab6a9f92b9b565da8c894d

I have to agree with previous comments.

I wouldn't recommend a .22LR for HD, but, it's is a great beginner pistol and you can always buy a centerfire handgun in the future.

I would look for a used Ruger MI-III. I have a MKI and MKII. They are great guns and can be had for well less than $300 in good condition. It's a gun that you will shoot a lot, a very good idea for HD training, and cheaply.

If you're looking to move up to a centerfire caliber for HD, a used S&W K-frame (Model 10 -19) is a great choice. Police trade-ins are still showing up and will run $150-$300. These revolvers are very reliable and an excellent choice for HD.

Another option, as stated by others, is the S&W Sigma line of semi-auto pistols. New with a rebate, they are a very good deal. Yes, the trigger is problematic in the length of the DA pull and the weight. I have a .40SW VE I use for HD. 15 rounds of .40SW in a dead reliable platform. I have run well over a 1,000 rounds through my Sigma, and, while I don't like the heavy trigger, it's never failed me. The heavy trigger does offer confidence that you won't have an accidental discharge as might happen with a lighter tirgger. I chose the Sigma for the HD role over 1911's, Beretta 96, Glock, Sig, and many revolvers because of the reliability and trigger pull.

Matt

I disagree. If you are an adult, and ready to think about SD/HD, this means you have a need to be filled right now. This poster has demonstrated that he doesn't really want a .22 so that he can upgrade later, he wants one so that he doesn't HAVE to upgrade later. I feel I need to repeat, get the real gun now, fill the defensive need, if you want to get the .22 later or even at the same time go ahead. Don't get the .22 so that you can say to yourself everything is fine.

I commend those of you who actually answered the OP's question without challenging him on it. If he's smart enough to figure out how to find us, register, and post his inquiry, I'm sure he's already seen at least ten percent of the eleventy-billion posts here that say a .22 can never serve as a defensive round.
While I routinely carry a .38 or a .380, and keep a 4-inch .38 (.357, actually) with +P ammo for HD, I do keep my .22 guns loaded. The best defensive gun ever will be the one you can get to or have when you need it and, in my house, several guns stand ready, regardless of caliber.
There just aren't enough BGs around that would actually continue to march onward through a hail of .22LR bullets just to get at my meager possessions to make me discount the round. Any that would do so would likely not be felled by any of my other available rounds easily, either.
As far as round reliability goes, in some 8,000 or so rounds of .22LR fired, I've had one jam (a FTE in a Ruger Mk II with Winchester Super X, not the gun's favorite ammo), and no misfires.

Used Ruger Security Six, 357 mag. Will last you forever.

S&W 22A for a good .22 semi-auto. i have one with the 5.5inch bull barrel and its a absolute tack driver. i got mine for $180 lightly used.

I feel I need to repeat, get the real gun now, fill the defensive need, if you want to get the .22 later

Click to expand...

A .22 isn't a real gun, eh? Fascinating.

I'm going to start keeping a rocket launcher near my bed just in case the Russians are coming. I guess my P22 is worthless, the bullets will bounce off the intruders and they will casually backhand me to the face while they steal my belongings and force me into Communism.

If he's got a "working man's" price limit, he probably isn't gonna want to spend a lot on ammo, which means little or no practice. I'd rather see someone get one they'll shoot enough to get proficient with. Once he gets bitten by the bug, he'll be much more likely to upgrade later, more than if he gets turned off entirely by being put down by gun snobs and web-warriors for his selection.

+1 MedWheeler

I really like my Ruger MKIII that I got for 300 bucks new. Very accurate and reliable.

While a .22 isnt a great HD round it still will kill you rather easily if placed correctly. Ive seen it at work a few times. Out of a pistol it actually has a surprisingly good amount of penetration. Shot placement counts much more than caliber.

Personally if I was using one for HD, I would be more worried about reliable ignition over the wounding ability. Thats the reason I wouldnt trust one to it.

I really like my Ruger 22/45. It's a nice pistol but it's a bit of a pain to reassemble after cleaning. (nothing's perfect) I got it new, pre-Obamaphobia, for around $250 so hopefully it'll still be in your ballpark.

I picked it because the mag release, safety and slide stop/release are in the same place as most other automatics. That way if you do move up to a bigger caliber you won't have to learn where the controls are all over again. Under stress, you will forget until you put hundreds of rounds through a new type of gun.

Unless you're sold on autos, there are some nice new & used revolvers out there. I find they are easier to use for a beginner and they have only 1 malfunction drill: pull the trigger again. In a small pistol they are also much easier on the hands than the .38SPL or .357. They are easier to clean too, with very little or no disassembly required.

I carry larger calibers, but I shoot 10X more .22 than any of them simply because it costs so much less. Lower cost leads to more practice. More practice = MORE HITS.

Your mistake was using the term "home defense" in your question. If you hadn't added that, you'd have gotten recomendations and not lectures.

The Ruger (MK I, II, or III, doesn't really matter) and the Browning Buckmark are about the top of the heap. You might have to look used to get in under your budget, I haven't priced any lately, but I'd probably look used for myself anyway. You might find some others too. Revolvers are generally more expensive.

With good ammo, like CCI mini-mags, I've never found 22's to be any less reliabe than anything else.

Stingers would be my choice of .22lr defensive ammunition.

I sleep well with either a Delta Elite 10mm or a Browning buckmark loaded with 40gr Velocitors under my bed.

I totally second what rogertc1 said, with an addition:

Since self defense was one of the requirements, I'd go with an H&R or High Standard convertible. They're all double action; H&Rs were six shooters while High Standard's Double Nine held nine. I have an H&R 676 with a 7.5" barrel, an awesome gun. Very accurate. The Double Nine isn't nearly as accurate but would be much better in the self defense department with 50% more capacity. However, the H&Rs are a bit sturdier. If you diligently hunt around on line, you'd stay within your $300 budget. The Double Nines are going up, though. Get 'em soon.

My Double Nine:

I currently carry SW Model 60 .357 3-incher but I would be most comfortable with the Ruger MKIII. Probably 100% stopping power with good head shots. In my experience the MKII is much less reliable than the MKIII. And I would surely prefer it to the Sigma which in my case in highly unreliable. Remember the .22 pistol is the only autoloader that fires a rifle bullet.

RUGER MK II

All you need to know. Mess with the rest, but eventually you'll buy the best.