.22 target/plinker that isn't a pain to clean

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TL1234

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Okay, I've done some searching and I still have questions. Is there a good .22 pistol out there that is decent quality, that isn't a pain to clean?

Rugers and Buckmarks seem to be the most popular .22s on the forum, but I would rather have a pistol that is simpler to take down. I heard the Neos is easier, but man it is UGLY.

And I know some folks like them, but I've heard too many bad things about the Walther P22 or Sig Mosquito to want either one of those.

Are there some other good choices out there? If a gun is going to be a pain to clean, I know that I just won't use it that much, which would defeat the purpose of getting it in the first place.
 
Don't believe everything you hear about a certain gun. I own a P22 and love it. Not trying to convince you, but if you can rent one it's worth a shot (no pun intended).

Never seen the point in writing off a product because of what you've "heard' about it.

Sorry I don't have anything more helpful to add...
 
I have a Ruger and it can be a pain to break down, but I don't break it down that often I run a Bore Snake through it and thats about it. I break it down about once a year and I shoot 3000 to 5000 a year in bullseye. Don't pick a gun just because it easy to clean pick the gun because it fits your shooting style, budget and your hand.
 
With a little practice, the lil Rugers are easy. The MIIs aren't bad, a few seconds to take apart, and about 15 seconds to put back:)
 
IF you follow the directions, the Rugers are not that hard. I know, I locked mine up so bad I thought I was going to have to get a gunsmith, or send it back to Ruger, not once but twice.

Then I actually READ the directions, not just skimmed over them. Now it comes apart and goes back together in a snap. I still use the directions every time I do it just to make sure. There is a reason for every step.
 
The Ruger Mark IIs are just as easy to put back together as a 1911, IMO. If you want simple cleaning without needing to break one down, then maybe you should look at revolvers.
 
Pick one that fits the type of shooting you want to do, feels good and fits your budget. Most .22's available are pretty good. Each has its strong and weak points. My opinion of the ones I own and shoot:

Ruger MKIII and MKIII 22/45: Solidly built pistols. Very accurate and reliable. Large aftermarket for upgrades and tweaks. Hard to disassemble and reassemble the first couple of times if you don't read and follow the instructions. With a little practice, quick and easy.

Browning Buck Mark: I have the Standard. Well built, very accurate pistol. The more I shoot it, the more I like it. The one "no big deal" negative I can find is that you need an allen wrench to field strip the pistol. There can't be many flaws if you get to that level.

S&W 22A: Well built, accurate and reliable. Probably the easiest semiauto to field strip. Not much in the way of upgrades (barrels and grips) available. Holds its own with the Rugers and Buck Marks.

Walther P22: Not as well-built or well designed as the others. Not as accurate. Needs some user tweaks to prevent the soft slide from galling and to prevent the extractor from throwing the casings back into your face. High marks in the light, small and cool categories. Probably the most tolerant of low cost bulk ammo. Fun to shoot as long as you don't care about tight groups.

Ruger Single Six: Thrown in because SA revolvers are a blast. Easiest to break down. Accurate and well built.

If you are looking for a semiauto, the Rugers, Buck Marks and 22A are good choices to look at. I'm not as high on the P22.
 
Ruger MKIII and MKIII 22/45: Solidly built pistols. Very accurate and reliable. Large aftermarket for upgrades and tweaks. Hard to disassemble and reassemble the first couple of times if you don't read and follow the instructions. With a little practice, quick and easy.
Click to expand...

Agreed. It only takes me a few seconds to dis/assemble my Mk II 22/45. Reports of it being some confusing, time-consuming process are grossly exaggerated--provided you read the manual Ruger kindly provides for you.
 
The Cheetah is a sweet shooter, easy to carry, and a cinch to take down. But they're expensive and hard to find. They also have fixed sights, rare among .22's, and something that could be an issue, given the variable quality of .22 ammo.

I concur with your evaluation of the Rugers and Buckmarks. They're a pain to clean.

My favorite .22 auto is the CZ Kadet. Nice SA trigger, easy takedown, excellent sights, total reliability with cheap high velocity ammo (forget most of the tepid target stuff), very good accuracy (extraordinary in some of them), great ergonomics.
 
Smith and wesson 22a. It can be found for 180$. there is a takedown button under the barrel. Push it, barrel comes off, then there's just the slide and guide rod with recoil spring. It accurate too and has a weaver rail along the top.
 
Another vote for the CZ75 Kadet. Get a regular CZ75 and get the Kadet upper, two guns in one.

Rugers and Buckmarks seem to be the most popular .22s on the forum, but I would rather have a pistol that is simpler to take down. I heard the Neos is easier, but man it is UGLY.
Click to expand...

The appearance of the gun doesn't sway me one way or the other but the grip angle takes some getting use to. Very rakish. Shot a friends and couldn't hit the broad side of a telephone booth standing inside with it. Not a very natural angle for me in a semi. (I do OK with single shot free pistol though.)
 
Beretta Neos and S&W M22A are very easy to clean because the slides are open on both sides making it easy to flush out the crud without disassembly. When dissasembly is required the Neos is and M22A are a wash coming apart, but both leave springs under tension so you have to be careful. Going back together the Neos wins as with the M22A a third hand would be nice.

Ruger, P22, and Buckmark are all more trouble than either above.

Conversion kits don't qualify as plinkers IMHO because the way they gouge on extra mags and usually only come with one, at least the above pistols come with a pair of mags.

Last I looked, CDNN still had Beretta Neos magazines for $10 each!

--wally.

Edit, once I started shooting the Neos with a cheap red dot sight it started looking a whole lot better to me. The full length rail makes it pretty easy to mount the optic with the "right" balance. I used to think XDs were ugly too, Glocks remain ugly for me since I don't shoot them well compared to anything else.
 
Ruger MKIII 22/45. The first couple of times tearing it down to clean was a pain but now it's a breeze.
 
There is nothing complicated about tearing down a Buckmark at all, I have owned both the Buckmark, an a Ruger MkII. The only reason I gave up the Buckmark is that I prefer to do things to most of my guns, and there are limited aftermarket items for them. That said in my experience the Buckmark target model I had, had a better out of the box trigger than my Ruger Competition model(so I replaced the trigger). Unless you are going to shoot competition I think the Buckmark is one of the BEST bang for your buck .22's out there. As far as the "competition" thing goes, it's not cause the Buckmarks aren't accurate, cause they are pretty darn accurate, they just aren't quite the tack driver that my Ruger Govt Competition target is. Just MHO.

Toby
 
Plinker, something to introduce new shooters with, easy to use, inspect and maintain...

OLD High Standard Duramatic.

Size akin to a Ruger Standard.
Has a thumbscrew. Just un-snug it and it comes apart in a jiffy.

Old
S&W 422 (blue steel and Al) or 622 (stainless and Al)
This before the 22a.
They had a really short one, about the size of a Beretta 21A
a 4" and 6"

I liked the 422 4" and this was a great teaching tool ,especially for kids and physically limited folks.

Really light (almost too light) still folks never got tired holding it, and shooting it a LOT!

Rack slide back and insert this orange doo-dad. I used a spent .22 casing.
Pull up this inverted "U" and that was it.

Odd in a way, the barrel was on the bottom spot. Meaning look at the muzzle and "the barrel is on the bottom, and the recoil stuff up top".

Still I could tote this gun all day long, and never even know I had it.
Heck, I'd check to make sure,it was that light.

Factory sights (I have never used optics) and I felled lots of squirrels , small game with this and the Duramatic.

Just two of those forgotten and not talked about guns, that work, and be bought for little monies compared to some new offerings.
 
My vote goes to the S&W 22a. Sweet little shooter. Accurate. Easy to take down and clean. Thousands of rounds through mine (10,000 maybe?) and no significant trouble. I'm on my second little white thingy. The first one was smashed to crap, but the gun still worked fine.
 
I love my 22/45. It's a tackdriver and a joy to shoot. Taking it apart was a huge pain with the directions the 1st time. Now it's like riding a bike...I don't forget even after 16 months away. I turn it upside down, pop the pin up through the hole in the slide, look for the little lever in the frame and wiggle a little for it to settle in the right spot. 15 seconds tops.
 
The Ruger Mk-__s I've shot have been quite accurate. Never owned one.

Owned a Buck Mark and liked it a lot until it started failing to feed at around 2,000 rounds, then I sold it. Come to find out from others, it probably just needed a new set of springs, which you can get from Browning. The Buck Mark pistols are not bad to disassemble. Read the directions and work someplace with a flat surface and plenty of light. There are a few tiny parts (lock washers) that you don't want to lose.

My "target .22" is a revolver, a S&W 617 ten-shooter. Excellent gun. It is very simple to clean (you don't have to disassemble anything!) but not quick to clean (you have to scrub out those ten little holes in the cylinder as well as the barrel and the cylinder faces).

For more of a small, knock-about, "trail gun" .22, those little FireStorm / Bersa .22 pistols look great. Spare mags are fairly costly and hard to find in stores. Disassembly and cleaning will be a snap if they are anything like my .380 Bersa (which is likely - both blowback guns on same frame).
 
Mk III isn't a pain --- it just requires attention. My stainless is a little on the heavy side, but it shoots like a mini-carbine. Very, very accurate, esp with Fed Premium, Eley Biathlon and !$!$!$!$ Lapua.
 
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