.22 question - Ruger Mk2 vs Single Six vs Smith 22A

[dandean316]

Ok, I have a few kind of newbie to .22 questions. I am looking for a .22 handgun that will get me some very good accuracy. I currently have a 5.5" Buckmark, and with the iron sites I get ok accuracy with CCI Blazer ammo.
I was thinking of scoping either a 9.5" Ruger MkII or the Smith 22A, but I have a few questions if I may.

1) Can I scope the Single Six? - I'd really like that since I can also shoot the .22 mag in that also
2) of the 3, which would be considered the most accurate? I assume the 9" Mk II would have very good accuracy (all else being equal) with the longer barrel
3) are the long barrel .22 kind of "unbalanced"? I've shot all 3 of the above, just in the shorter barrel lengths
4) how far out can I really shoot accurately with a .22 pistol? 50 yards? I'm kind of looking for under 1" at 50 yards - or am I dreaming with these 3 guns?

5) ammo: is the CCI Blazer I am using not the best for accuracy? I have tried the Remington and Winchester (the cheaper stuff) and they seem nearly identical.

Any help is appreciated! Or maybe other suggestions for a .22?

 

[Standing Wolf]

There's a way—or three or four—to mount a scope on any modern hand gun. Unless it's been horrendously abused, your Buck Mark ought to be the accuracy equal of any of the guns you've mentioned. CCI Blazer isn't very many people's first choice for accuracy. CCI Standard Velocity and Green Tag are usually measurably more accurate in most .22 caliber pistols.

 

[V-fib]

I have a S&W 422 (10 shot .22lr pistol). I had it tapped for a scope and placed a BSA red dot on it. When I picked it up the G Smith said he was pretty impressed with its accuracy at 50yrds, and so am I. Really made the gun much more fun to shoot. I use regular Federal bulk ammo with excellent groups.

 

[Okiecruffler]

Before I went out and bought a new pistol (even tho' that is alot of fun) I'd spend some more money on different ammo. I just bought a Mitchell Trophy and tried 12 different types to find what it liked. Best groups were from Aguila Se's and CCI Greentag, Mini mags weren't too bad either. Didn't shoot Wolf Match for crud. From what I've seen those Buckmarks are the equal of everything else in that price range, and you can always put a scope on it.

 

[VictorLouis]

1) Can I scope the Single Six? - I'd really like that since I can also shoot the .22 mag in that also

Yes, you can scope them all, actually.

2) of the 3, which would be considered the most accurate? I assume the 9" Mk II would have very good accuracy (all else being equal) with the longer barrel

Either auto over the Single Six....


3) are the long barrel .22 kind of "unbalanced"? I've shot all 3 of the above, just in the shorter barrel lengths

IMO, yes, in all but the MK series Rugers which have the extra weight of the steel lower frames.


4) how far out can I really shoot accurately with a .22 pistol? 50 yards? I'm kind of looking for under 1" at 50 yards - or am I dreaming with these 3 guns?

Not with either auto, with its favorite load, and scoped, from a bench...

5) ammo: is the CCI Blazer I am using not the best for accuracy? I have tried the Remington and Winchester (the cheaper stuff) and they seem nearly identical

It's been rumored that the Blazer is simply the rejects from the 'Standard' fodder. Hence, the potential is there for some great accuracy. So far, that very same Blazer is my very favorite 'brick' load, vs. loose bulk-packed ammo.


I would experiment with some different ammo in your Browning. Also, I would NOT consider the 22A, just the Rugers that you mentioned. Honestly though, the Single-Six is going to be hard-pressed to compete with ANY auto-loader in the accuracy department.

 

[cigarman]

I have a single six with a 2.5X scope on it and it is extremely accurate. I use it for squirrel hunting and once shot a snapping turtle through the head at 75 feet offhand (one shot with 22 mag).

I also have a ruger with ironsights and it is also accurate. Both have 5-6 inch barrels.
I'll try to post a pic of the single six later.

 

[Chris Rhines]

Okay, I own both an old model Single-Six and a MkII with the 5.5" tapered barrel. Love 'em both.

My MkII wears an UltraDot red-dot sight on a Clark mount. It's an old gun, and some twit with a cleaning rod rubbed the chamber into an oval (clearly visible to the naked eye.) Despite that, I've shot 1" groups at fifty yards off the bench, many times. I've never benched the Single-Six, but I'd be surprised if it wern't capable of similar accuracy. Almost any quality .22 pistol is capable of better accuracy than the shooter.

Not to be offensive, but CCI Blazer .22LR ammo is, well, crap. Cheap Winchester ammo ain't much better, and while I've had very good luck with Remington SV, many others haven't. .22s can be picky about ammo - your best bet is to buy fifty rounds of every brand of standard-velocity ammo you can find, then head to the range and test them off the bench. Here's an article on ammo testing: http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Dreyer_infonet/feed.htm

- Chris

 

[snubby]

.17 HMR

You might also want to consider a Single Six in .17 HMR. This'll give you a little more reach than the .22 rimfires, and it's flatter-shooting (and thus probably more accurate for hunting small game). Not sure if it'll do sub 1" groups at 50 yards, but it might. Ammo is a little more expensive than 22 Mag fare, though.

 

[Omaha-BeenGlockin]

9.5" MKII????----no such animal.

Have seen 8in Davidson's specials and 10in cataloged model----but 9.5---never.

Have a 4 5/8's Single Six and a 6 7/8's stainless tapered MKII Target model----both are very good shooters.

1'' at 50yds????----hhhhmmm----not saying it can't be done---but that's not being very realistic. 1" at 25yds is considered very good for offhand with a pistol.

 

[dandean316]

9.5" MKII????----no such animal.

Yup, you're right. I was thinking the Super Redhawk's. The one I am considering is the 10" mkII.

I thought about the .17, but was more thinking of the .17 in a rifle. Now that I think about it, I could get the Single Six .22, Mk II, and Single Six .17 all for the price of a nice .45. Hmmm...

shot a snapping turtle through the head at 75 feet offhand (one shot with 22 mag).

Nice shot!

Not to be offensive, but CCI Blazer .22LR ammo is, well, crap.

Yeah I agree. Off to the range this weekend for ammo testing in the Buckmark!

Thanks for all the help guys. It gives me something to go on.

 

[Penforhire]

One note about barrel length vs accuracy. I'm no expert but I've searched and read mightily.

What I found suggested 6.5" was the sweet spot length for .22 LR pistols, so no advantage of the 10" MkII over the 6 7/8" MkII (other than a longer sight radius for iron sights). And I can see where it also depends on bullet weight, the actual charge, and twist rate.

And none of the self-proclaimed accurate shooters liked Blazer .22 ammo! CCI standard velocity seemed like the cheapest most-common recommendation, with a significant number of people also happy with Federal Lightning.

 

[Okiecruffler]

I used to love CCI Blaser. Acrossed the board, it shot better in all my rimfires than any other bulk ammo. But that all changed about 6 months ago. I started getting FTF, sqib loads, and accuracy went from 0.5'' at 50 yrds to 1.5'' on a good day.

 

[dandean316]

What I found suggested 6.5" was the sweet spot length for .22 LR pistols,

Do you have the link to this by chance? I would love to read that. Very interesting...

 

[bountyhunter]

Barrel Length

Going past about 5" doesn't increase INTRINSIC accuracy much. One of the guys smoking me in bullseye league was using a red dot on a SW 41 that had a 5.5" (?) barrel. His 24-round groups at 25 yards were the size of a silver dollar.

If you are using iron sights, the added sight radius going to an eight inch barrel improves your sighting accuracy a bit. If you are using a red dot, I don't think the added barrel buys much.

I shoot the long barreled MK II slabside (with Ultra Dot) and can easily shoot 10-shot groups of about 3/4" at 25 yards from a rest.

 

[Penforhire]

Sorry, no linky. Try rummaging over at rimfirecentral.com. I'm almost certain I found that data from a thread-link there.