tradja
Member
Well, I'll throw in another recommendation for a pawn-shop blue Ruger MkI or MkII. Depending on your area and negotiation skills, you should easily come in under $200. (At the last gun show, a walker sold a minty blued MkI for $150, but another guy got it before I could get to the ATM. :banghead: ) My MKII is simply a delight.
I searched high and low for the Bersa/Firestorm .22 (a Walther PPK clone), but mine was especially finicky about ammo - wouldn't cycle Federal bulk, and since I didn't want a .22 that would only run on $$$ CCI, it got replaced. Keep in mind the warning in previous posts that almost all .22 autos can be picky about ammo - that has definitely been my experience as well.
Another budget consideration would be to get a .22 conversion kit for an auto that you already own, like a 1911, CZ, many Glocks, etc. I had a 1911 conversion kit but it could barely group a mag on a sheet of paper at 15 yds, so I sold it too.
Every gun is different, but my buddy's Buckmark is a jam-o-matic that sprays hot debris out of the action with every shot (powder residue, lead shavings, or ???). No gunsmith that he's contacted will work on it, so he's stuck.
A friend in Washington paid $150 for a H&R Sportsman 9-shot .22LR revolver. I haven't fired it yet, but it is in great shape and the trigger is not nearly bad - DA is somewhat heavy but very buttery, and the SA is crisp. If I found one like that, I'd get it.
I searched high and low for the Bersa/Firestorm .22 (a Walther PPK clone), but mine was especially finicky about ammo - wouldn't cycle Federal bulk, and since I didn't want a .22 that would only run on $$$ CCI, it got replaced. Keep in mind the warning in previous posts that almost all .22 autos can be picky about ammo - that has definitely been my experience as well.
Another budget consideration would be to get a .22 conversion kit for an auto that you already own, like a 1911, CZ, many Glocks, etc. I had a 1911 conversion kit but it could barely group a mag on a sheet of paper at 15 yds, so I sold it too.
Every gun is different, but my buddy's Buckmark is a jam-o-matic that sprays hot debris out of the action with every shot (powder residue, lead shavings, or ???). No gunsmith that he's contacted will work on it, so he's stuck.
A friend in Washington paid $150 for a H&R Sportsman 9-shot .22LR revolver. I haven't fired it yet, but it is in great shape and the trigger is not nearly bad - DA is somewhat heavy but very buttery, and the SA is crisp. If I found one like that, I'd get it.