BlisteringSilence
Member
After doing searches with multiple strings, I have come to the conclusion that this subforum needs a thread with some cohesive ammo on the myriad of choices of .22 plinkers/target pistols out there.
I have chosen to start with the plinkers, because that's what I'm in the market for.
First, let's do some definitions. I consider a plinker to be a pistol that is accurate out of the box to 25 yards or so, not terrible expensive (under $500), and easy to obtain. Moreover, I'm only doing production guns. If it's no longer made (and there are some awesome ones that fit this bill), I'll make another thread for it. So, with that out of the way, let's go to town.
Next, a caveat. I am not an expert. While I have shot many of these pistols, I have not shot all of them. I hope to edit this original post with information that others suggest.
Finally, the pistols.
Beretta:
Beretta offers one pistol in this class, the U22 Neos. It looks strange. Because of this, there are many people that don't like it. Owners seem to like them.
It looks like this:
or
The Neos can be had with 4.5", 6", and 7.5" barrels.
Prices new range from $200 to $300. If you pay more than this, you've been had.
Bersa
The Bersa offering, masquerading under the label of Firestorm, looks just like their Thunder .380. While I personally have never shot one, the reviews of this little baby are mostly positive.
It looks like this:
They can be had with barrels in 3.5" and 6."
Price wise, this sucker's a little hard to nail down. You really shouldn't pay more than about $250 for one, and I'd be hard pressed to pay more than $175. That being said, they're kind of scarce, so negotiating your way into a good deal is more difficult than your average glick.
Browing:
Our friends at browning offer the buckmark. This pistol has been around the block more than a two-bit whore on times square before Rudy. Well, more actually. People love them. I love them. They currently come in 24 flavors (accoring to the website), and every one of them will likely shoot well.
It looks like this:
The varieties of barrels for the buckmark is amazing. Bull, target, tapered, in lengths of 4", 5.5", and 7.25."
If you can find one new in the $250 range, snap it up. The upper end on these puppies is $800+.
Ruger:
Ah, yes. Ruger. Makers of the esteemable Mark III (and its predecessors) and the 22/45. Hard as hell to put back together after cleaning (it's always easy to take apart, isn't it?), they're tack drivers. Literally hundreds of thousands of handgunners started off with these beauties. And for good reason.
The Mark III looks something like this:
And the 22/45 looks like this:
Rugers, like buckmarks, have tons of barrel options. Target, bull, tapered, fluted... It's like a salad bar. The Mark III can be had in lengths of 4.75", 5.5", 6", and 6.875". The 22/45 offers 4", 4.5", 5.5", and 6.875".
Also just like with the buckmarks, there is quite the range in price for these babies. A Mark III will start around $250 for the base model. Expect to pay in the $400 range for a good one. The 22/45 starts around just north of $200, and there is no good reason to pay more than $400 for a new one. Unless it comes with things like extra magazines. Or a maid.
Smith and Wesson:
Our friends (we can call them that now, right? It's long enough after their pact with the devil?) from S&W have another popular offering, the 22A, and its friend, the 22S. I really don't know much about them, other than a couple of guys I know have them, and won't let me shoot them. I don't know why. Jealousy? Embarassment? Only time will tell. That being said, they have them and won't sell them, so they must not be too bad.
It looks like this:
It's available with 4", 5.5", and 7" barrels.
These suckers are pretty reasonable, price wise. You get S&W's lifetime warranty to boot. They start in the $175 range, and top out around $300.
Sig-Sauer:
Our friends at Sig bring two different animals to the table. First is their Trailside. This little beauty is lots of fun to shoot, assuming it doesn't wear out after 1500 rounds. Allegedly, they have fixed the reliability problems. I don't know. I will attest to it's accuracy.
It looks like this:
Barrels available are in 4.5" and 6".
These are getting harder to find new, but you can expect them to start out in the $350 range, and go up from there.
Sig's other offering is the Mosquito. This puppy is probably the least accurate of the pistols listed here, but it is fun to shoot, and has the same features as the 230 line of sigs.
They look like this:
Here, you can get barrels in 4" or 5".
You can expect for them to start at $300, and top out at $450.
Walther:
The boys at Walther (by way of S&W) offer their competetor to the mosquito, the P22. This weapon is functionally similar to the P99 (in the same way as the Sig), and is just as much fun to shoot.
It looks like this:
The barrel options on this one are pretty limited. You can get it in 3.4" or 5".
These are similarly priced to the Sig, as well. You can expect to pay between $250 and $375 for one, and will be glad you did (assuming you have a P99)
An interesting development of the P22 line is the SP22 pistol. Ostensibly the target version of the P22, it is priced nicely enough to make it onto our list here.
Check out this pic:
It's available with 4" and 6" barrels, and will set you back somewhere bewteen $250 and $350.
Phoenix Arms
The entry from our buddies at Phoenix is a nice little pistol called the HP22. I don't know much about this little puppy, so hopefully someone else can fill in some details here.
It looks like this:
It is barreled in 3" and 5", and is cheap. CHEAP. Did I mention it's cheap? You can expect to shell out less than $150 for one of these puppies.
Olympic Arms
The guys at Olympic Arms took a break from their AR clones long enough to restart production on a .22 plinker that looks, well, like a ray gun. From the 1950's. I'm not kidding about this. It really does. They call it the Whitney Wolverine.
Anyway, it's a nice, inexpensive plinker. The design is classic, and the one guy I know who's shot a new one seems to like his. So, there you go.
It looks like this:
With the only barrel option being 4.625", this is not a gun you can trick out. It does look cool, though, and can be had for around $220.
OK, that's all I've got for the moment. You all fire back, and lemmie know what's up.
edited to include the Walther
edited again to include the Bersa
edited yet again to include Phoenix, Olympic, and put barrel length info in
I have chosen to start with the plinkers, because that's what I'm in the market for.
First, let's do some definitions. I consider a plinker to be a pistol that is accurate out of the box to 25 yards or so, not terrible expensive (under $500), and easy to obtain. Moreover, I'm only doing production guns. If it's no longer made (and there are some awesome ones that fit this bill), I'll make another thread for it. So, with that out of the way, let's go to town.
Next, a caveat. I am not an expert. While I have shot many of these pistols, I have not shot all of them. I hope to edit this original post with information that others suggest.
Finally, the pistols.
Beretta:
Beretta offers one pistol in this class, the U22 Neos. It looks strange. Because of this, there are many people that don't like it. Owners seem to like them.
It looks like this:
The Neos can be had with 4.5", 6", and 7.5" barrels.
Prices new range from $200 to $300. If you pay more than this, you've been had.
Bersa
The Bersa offering, masquerading under the label of Firestorm, looks just like their Thunder .380. While I personally have never shot one, the reviews of this little baby are mostly positive.
It looks like this:
They can be had with barrels in 3.5" and 6."
Price wise, this sucker's a little hard to nail down. You really shouldn't pay more than about $250 for one, and I'd be hard pressed to pay more than $175. That being said, they're kind of scarce, so negotiating your way into a good deal is more difficult than your average glick.
Browing:
Our friends at browning offer the buckmark. This pistol has been around the block more than a two-bit whore on times square before Rudy. Well, more actually. People love them. I love them. They currently come in 24 flavors (accoring to the website), and every one of them will likely shoot well.
It looks like this:
The varieties of barrels for the buckmark is amazing. Bull, target, tapered, in lengths of 4", 5.5", and 7.25."
If you can find one new in the $250 range, snap it up. The upper end on these puppies is $800+.
Ruger:
Ah, yes. Ruger. Makers of the esteemable Mark III (and its predecessors) and the 22/45. Hard as hell to put back together after cleaning (it's always easy to take apart, isn't it?), they're tack drivers. Literally hundreds of thousands of handgunners started off with these beauties. And for good reason.
The Mark III looks something like this:
And the 22/45 looks like this:
Rugers, like buckmarks, have tons of barrel options. Target, bull, tapered, fluted... It's like a salad bar. The Mark III can be had in lengths of 4.75", 5.5", 6", and 6.875". The 22/45 offers 4", 4.5", 5.5", and 6.875".
Also just like with the buckmarks, there is quite the range in price for these babies. A Mark III will start around $250 for the base model. Expect to pay in the $400 range for a good one. The 22/45 starts around just north of $200, and there is no good reason to pay more than $400 for a new one. Unless it comes with things like extra magazines. Or a maid.
Smith and Wesson:
Our friends (we can call them that now, right? It's long enough after their pact with the devil?) from S&W have another popular offering, the 22A, and its friend, the 22S. I really don't know much about them, other than a couple of guys I know have them, and won't let me shoot them. I don't know why. Jealousy? Embarassment? Only time will tell. That being said, they have them and won't sell them, so they must not be too bad.
It looks like this:
It's available with 4", 5.5", and 7" barrels.
These suckers are pretty reasonable, price wise. You get S&W's lifetime warranty to boot. They start in the $175 range, and top out around $300.
Sig-Sauer:
Our friends at Sig bring two different animals to the table. First is their Trailside. This little beauty is lots of fun to shoot, assuming it doesn't wear out after 1500 rounds. Allegedly, they have fixed the reliability problems. I don't know. I will attest to it's accuracy.
It looks like this:
Barrels available are in 4.5" and 6".
These are getting harder to find new, but you can expect them to start out in the $350 range, and go up from there.
Sig's other offering is the Mosquito. This puppy is probably the least accurate of the pistols listed here, but it is fun to shoot, and has the same features as the 230 line of sigs.
They look like this:
Here, you can get barrels in 4" or 5".
You can expect for them to start at $300, and top out at $450.
Walther:
The boys at Walther (by way of S&W) offer their competetor to the mosquito, the P22. This weapon is functionally similar to the P99 (in the same way as the Sig), and is just as much fun to shoot.
It looks like this:
The barrel options on this one are pretty limited. You can get it in 3.4" or 5".
These are similarly priced to the Sig, as well. You can expect to pay between $250 and $375 for one, and will be glad you did (assuming you have a P99)
An interesting development of the P22 line is the SP22 pistol. Ostensibly the target version of the P22, it is priced nicely enough to make it onto our list here.
Check out this pic:
It's available with 4" and 6" barrels, and will set you back somewhere bewteen $250 and $350.
Phoenix Arms
The entry from our buddies at Phoenix is a nice little pistol called the HP22. I don't know much about this little puppy, so hopefully someone else can fill in some details here.
It looks like this:
It is barreled in 3" and 5", and is cheap. CHEAP. Did I mention it's cheap? You can expect to shell out less than $150 for one of these puppies.
Olympic Arms
The guys at Olympic Arms took a break from their AR clones long enough to restart production on a .22 plinker that looks, well, like a ray gun. From the 1950's. I'm not kidding about this. It really does. They call it the Whitney Wolverine.
Anyway, it's a nice, inexpensive plinker. The design is classic, and the one guy I know who's shot a new one seems to like his. So, there you go.
It looks like this:
With the only barrel option being 4.625", this is not a gun you can trick out. It does look cool, though, and can be had for around $220.
OK, that's all I've got for the moment. You all fire back, and lemmie know what's up.
edited to include the Walther
edited again to include the Bersa
edited yet again to include Phoenix, Olympic, and put barrel length info in
Last edited:
I have a Rugar single six that will put a single hole in paper at 25 yards all day long. The problem is it takes forever to load and remove the spent shells. This give me a start point, thanks for looking up the info.
