.22 revolver?

I am always ranting about how there is no reason a .22 should cost less than a centerfire. Consider this that rant.

If the OP can, I would strongly suggest stretching the budget to include a used S&W, even if forced to buy online. These things are nearly impossible to wear out, and even one that looks nasty usually won't need anything more than a good cleaning - whereupon it will likely be a better revolver than just about anything available new today.

I am a revolver man through-and-through, but considering the new .22 revolvers I have handled over the past decade or so, if constrained by the OP's list I would strongly consider a Ruger Mark IV.
 
tubeshooter said:
I plan to get a Taurus 942 with a 3" barrel at the next good opportunity.

I will report back on how it goes.
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I picked up a 3" 942 almost 3 years ago. I had to shim the rear sight screw because it was letting the sight drift left and right but after that it's been a phenomenal gun. I had purchased a S&W 17-3 around the same time and have since sold the 17. I know the Smith's are great guns but I didn't look over that one enough and discovered the barrel was canted. And even with it's 6" barrel I could get better groups with the Taurus.

Whenever I hit up my handgun range I always used to take either my Ruger MKI or Buckmark to plink with after I was done with centerfire, but I like the 942 enough that it goes as often as the other two combined now. I use it as a .22 trainer to my 3" K6s.

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I have a friend who recently bought a Charter Arms Pathfinder. It doesn't ignite 2 or 3 rounds on pretty much cylinder full. He needs to send it back to them to get that sorted out. He's thinking about selling it and getting a S&W 617 like I had originally suggested. I bought the Heritage Tactical Cowboy a year or 2 ago and while I haven't had any problems with it, I haven't shot it much do to the mediocre accuracy compared to the other .22's I own. Personally I'd either go for something in the $150 to $200 range and set my expectations accordingly or bite the bullet and get something quality.
 
I bought a new Charter Arms Pathfinder target in 2022 and it had to go back to the factory twice then I sold it.
 
Totally worth the money to get a quality .22. An older S&W model 17 or 18 is likely to be far more accurate than you can shoot, and will bring you joy forever. Buying new, I can’t recommend a S&W due to quality issues but I can say that the Colt King Cobra Target is a high quality asset. Lastly, if you can find an older H&R Sportsman 999, get it. Mine are 30’s and 40’s production and are excellent in every way. Sometimes good examples can be found in the $400 range.
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IWAC said:
Thinking of buying a .22 revolver for plinking, etc. Smith & Wesson, Ruger & Colt all have beautiful .22s, but...stratospheric prices! I'm thinking perhaps Taurus, Charter Arms, and maybe Rossi. Nobody around here ever seems to have used .22 revolvers, or any of the "better, cheaper" ones in stock and I am hesitant to do an on-line purchase.
What advice can you give a novice revolver buyer?
Thanx.:)
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The Ruger Super Wrangler is a good buy ... it has adjustable sights and two cylinders ... one that shoots 22 CB Caps , 22 Shorts , 22 Longs and 22 LR and a second cylinder to shoot 22 Magnum with .
The local Cabela's has them advertised at $229 ... two years ago I bought the fixed sighted Wrangler with no 22 magnum extra cylinder for $199 ... I should have waited ... the Super Wrangler is a much better deal !
Now ... it is a Single Action ... but I like single actions ... and you just might also !
Gary
 
Having missed a H&R Sportsman a couple years ago, I bought this on a good deal. Very nice but slower to reload. Aftermarket grips.
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tubeshooter said:
I saw a pre-model 17 Smith at a show recently, made in the late '40s.
Excellent condition; at least 98%.
No box.


Vendor wanted $1200.
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Yeah, shiny ones bring big bucks. Guns with honest wear seem to go for the $800 range, though, and great guns with "cosmetic challenges" can sometimes be found in the $600 neighborhood.

All of that shocks me - my 1950s "Combat Masterpiece" which is perfectly reliable and so accurate that I don't actually know how accurate it is, but looks like it was dragged through the desert behind an angry mule - came to me for four hundred bucks, although that was a few decades ago. It's such a perfect and useful gun, though, that if I didn't have it, I'd wipe my tears and pay the $800 for it...
 
.38 Special said:
Yeah, shiny ones bring big bucks. Guns with honest wear seem to go for the $800 range, though, and great guns with "cosmetic challenges" can sometimes be found in the $600 neighborhood.

All of that shocks me - my 1950s "Combat Masterpiece" which is perfectly reliable and so accurate that I don't actually know how accurate it is, but looks like it was dragged through the desert behind an angry mule - came to me for four hundred bucks, although that was a few decades ago. It's such a perfect and useful gun, though, that if I didn't have it, I'd wipe my tears and pay the $800 for it...
Click to expand...

I got my cosmetically challenged fixer-upper for about $575, maybe 2 years ago.
Had to buy a new ejector rod.


Didn't do quite as well as you did, but still worth every red cent.
 
i can’t add much to what has been stated here so far. i have owned or shot many 22lr handguns: heritage, ruger, taurus, beretta, s&w, jimenez, h&r.

my 22 handgun advice is to simply pick some flavor of used or new ruger as a foundation. revolver: single six or bearcat or super wranger or wrangler single action. pistol: sr22 or mark4 standard or mark4 22/45 semiauto. one of these rugers will be easiest to live with for a lifetime.
 
The OP said he wants an affordable .22 revolver and as with all .22 revolver topics it becomes a K-22 lovefest. Enough, we get it, K-22 is a great revolver, but it's not what the OP wants so stop talking about it.

Someone mentioned the Diamondback Sidekick, every review I've seen the DA is considered awful, not just in weight, but consistency. Single action seems okay and you do get 9 shots and the faster reload of a swing out cylinder, but the Super Wrangler is still going to be better.

Given the low price, I'd get the birdshead Sidekick and the Super Wrangler. Two guns that overcome the weaknesses of both for less than what most DA .22 revolvers sell for. Then if you find you don't like one, sell it.
 
I've previously posted strong support for Ruger Single Six and continue to echo that.
Some have spoken about success and short falls of the entry level 22 RF SA revolvers - Wangler and Heritage.
In the middle [between Single Six and Wrangler/Heritage] may be a Uberti Cattleman - 12 shot.
In my area, a new Single Six is around $ 700, Wrangler/Heritage (model dependent) roughly $250 and the Uberti
about $600. I believe there may be a similar Cimmarron or EAA model, haven't ever seen one.
My question - Does anyone have any actual experience with the Uberti Carrleman 22 RF revolver ?
Thanks !
 
I don't bring it up very often, because it's so seldom mentioned that I sometimes wonder if I imagined it. That's the Taurus Model 96. That was the Taurus version of the Smith and Wesson 22 Masterpiece/Model 17. A K-frame sized revolver in 22 long rifle, with a 6" barrel, target sights, and target grips. I've owned two of them over the years and they were both outstanding. Maybe not quite as nice as a Smith and Wesson, but pretty darn close and sold (used, I've never seen a "new" one) for about half what a S&W was going for at the time. The trigger, the physical trigger, looked somewhat odd to me, having more of a curve to it, but it was a very nice trigger for shooting. Alas, I was in my gotta have the next gun phase, and let both of them get away. I guess they were made back in the 70's or so. They do not make anything like it today.

If you ever see one, take a good hard look. Might be worth your while.
 
.38 Special said:
Yeah, shiny ones bring big bucks. Guns with honest wear seem to go for the $800 range, though, and great guns with "cosmetic challenges" can sometimes be found in the $600 neighborhood. All of that shocks me - my 1950s "Combat Masterpiece" which is perfectly reliable and so accurate that I don't actually know how accurate it is, but looks like it was dragged through the desert behind an angry mule - came to me for four hundred bucks, although that was a few decades ago. It's such a perfect and useful gun, though, that if I didn't have it, I'd wipe my tears and pay the $800 for it...
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Getting a .22 revolver that'll you'll never need to "upgrade" at some point, and that has a more reasonable price tag is asking a lot in today's hyper inflated gun market. All of that said, Ruger's Wrangler is getting good solid reviews here and elsewhere from posters I know and trust. It appears to be a first rate option.

Too, it's my opinion, that .22's tend to improve with years of shooting whereas a centerfire can go out of time or suffer other wear with lots of shooting. Buying a .22, if the muzzle crown isn't completely savaged, is almost a sure thing for accuracy and function.

But if you're interested in a lifetime gun (and in my opinion, .22's tend to stay around for decades), one of the more expensive models might be available if you shop the used gun counters. Locally here in N. Kentucky, even Cabelas has had some Ruger Single Sixes that were reasonable. A decent one showing some holster wear or even a bit more, is always a good choice IMHO. I've owned 3 since the early 70's and all....all....were outstanding for accuracy and function.

Colt's new re-entry into the revolver market with the "Snake" guns....especially the King Cobra .22 Target model are expensive...and in the case of my KC .22, entirely worth the extra $. For adults, Smith's M-63, 17, or 617 are also first rate....and worth the wait while you accumulate funds for their purchase.

My druthers are to buy the gun I REALLY want, vs. settling on one that's more economical. In my younger years this resulted in a sometimes lengthly wait...but the anticipation was also part of the fun. Several of those 'lengthly wait guns' have stayed with me for over 50 years.

Hope you find a good one...the wait'll be worth it over the decades. Rod
 
IWAC said:
Thinking of buying a .22 revolver for plinking, etc. Smith & Wesson, Ruger & Colt all have beautiful .22s, but...stratospheric prices! I'm thinking perhaps Taurus, Charter Arms, and maybe Rossi. Nobody around here ever seems to have used .22 revolvers, or any of the "better, cheaper" ones in stock and I am hesitant to do an on-line purchase.
What advice can you give a novice revolver buyer?
Thanx.:)
Click to expand...
I’m sure it’s been said but Ruger Wrangler is great and only around $200
 
My Wrangler experience, for what it is worth, was fairly poor, though minimal.

The first gun I tried was at a shop. I asked the salesman if I could look at it. He took it out of the case, struggled with the loading gate, shrugged, and handed it to me with the gate closed. I assumed he was just unfamiliar with single actions, but then I couldn't get the gate open either. I eyeballed it from the side to ensure it was unloaded, then tried the trigger. It wasn't crazy heavy, though it was certainly heavier than needed. It was very creepy, though, with a great deal of overtravel. Combined with the huge gaps and "proud" metal fitting, and the very basic level of fit and finish, it seemed to me that the $180 price tag was about right.

The last gun I tried was a rental. I could open the gate, but had to push cartridges in with heavy pressure, as whatever the surface finish is had slopped over into the chamber mouths. Ejection likewise took heavy pressure, and left scratches on the brass. The trigger was in the ten pound range, creepy and gritty, and even when I could manage a decent group, it was several inches away from POA at 10 yards.

So while I am sure good examples exist, I can't really recommend the model based on my experience. If nothing else, I figure gunsmithing is likely to be required, and likely to at least double the price of the gun.

And that's all assuming the OP is even interested in an SA...

Despite having been forbidden, I will continue to suggest an older S&W to anyone who asks. :neener:
 
.455_Hunter said:
I stopped looking for a better .22 revolver when I got my K-22.
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I stopped looking for a better .22 revolver when I got my Browning Buckmark.
If you don’t want to spend at least Ruger money, a d/a revolver is not going to be that great. I’ve got an older (1930s) H&R 999, and it’s not as GOOD as it is COOL. And parts are not really available for the older versions. I’ve got the Diamondback too. Definitely inspired by, if not a straight up copy of the High Standard (got one of those too). None of them are great.

For a s/a, I’d go with a Ruger Super Wrangler right now.

But my search ended with my Buckmark.
 
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