chris in va
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I had two 22/45's. got bored with them soon after getting my 9mm. One was a 5.5" bull barrel and it was absurdly top heavy.
22LR Semiauto shopping help
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aarondhgraham
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So you want to buy a quality .22 pistol?
These are the 5 most common target style .22 pistols out there,,,
Any one of these 5 will give you many years of excellent performance.
I've not listed them in any order of preference.
Browning Buckmark = Great pistol but I found the grip to be funky.
Ruger 22/45 Mk II or MK III = Great pistol with a 1911-ish grip.
Beretta U22 NEOS = Great pistol with a very slender grip.
Ruger Mk II or MK III = Great pistol with a luger-ish grip.
S&W 22A = Great pistol with a very fat grip.
Any of these will serve you very well,,,
They are all reliable firearms that aren't ammo picky,,,
Rather than sweat over which one is better, get the one that fits your hand.
For those who want a non-target style DA/SA .22 pistol,,,
That is a reliable shooter but at an affordable cost,,,
There are a few that consistently get great reviews:
Ruger SR-22
I own one of these puppies and it is a very fine shooter,,,
It runs federal bulk ammo like it was made for it,,,
And is of the modern "square-ish" style.
Bersa Thunder 22 or the Firestorm 22,,,
Virtually identical pistols made by the same company,,,
These pistols are very similar in size and shape to a Walther PPK.
Two other pistols I will mention out of fairness to their brand names,,,
The Sig-Sauer Mosquito and the Walther P-22 are pistols that get very mixed reviews,,,
People who own them either absolutely love them or adamantly hate them.
The main concern of these guns is that the slides may (and sometimes do) crack under normal use,,,
Both have slides made of Zamak which is a Zinc alloy,,,
Commonly called "pot metal" or other bad names,,,
I can not verify or deny these assertions.
Then there are the high-end (high dollar) models.
CZ-75B Kadet - With the exception of the Kadet having adjustable rear sights,,,
It is virtually identical to the CZ-75B in 9mm.
Sig-Sauer Classic .22 - There are 3 models to choose from,,,
They start as a full frame .22 semi-auto that is convertible to their centerfire counterpart using what Sig calls the X-Change Kit,,,
They are the only production pistols that are designed to convert up to a centerfire pistol.
Beretta 87 - The .22 counterpart to the Beretta 84/85 in .380 ACP.
Last but not least are the .22 Mouse Guns.
Phoenix HP-22
A small inexpensive .22 pistol that people either love or hate,,,
The main gripe is too many California lawyer features,,,
The little pistol has too many safeties.
The Taurus PLY.
A very small semi-suto pistol with a polymer frame,,,
It is based on their Model 22B Beretta copy,,,
Very lightweight and easy to shoot,,,
It has a very nice grip.
I own, shoot regularly, and give a personal recommendation to these .22 pistols,,,
These seven are all reliable shooters that aren't ammo picky (for me) at all.
Bersa Thunder 22,
Beretta Model 87,
CZ-75B Kadet,
Beretta NEOS,
Ruger 22/45,
Ruger SR-22,
Taurus PLY.
I also own a Phoenix HP-22,,,
It quit working after 150 rounds,,,
Two trips back to the plant in California.
As far as a functioning pistol goes, Mine is a very cute paper-weight.
I hope this helps,,,
Aarond
.
These are the 5 most common target style .22 pistols out there,,,
Any one of these 5 will give you many years of excellent performance.
I've not listed them in any order of preference.
Browning Buckmark = Great pistol but I found the grip to be funky.
Ruger 22/45 Mk II or MK III = Great pistol with a 1911-ish grip.
Beretta U22 NEOS = Great pistol with a very slender grip.
Ruger Mk II or MK III = Great pistol with a luger-ish grip.
S&W 22A = Great pistol with a very fat grip.
Any of these will serve you very well,,,
They are all reliable firearms that aren't ammo picky,,,
Rather than sweat over which one is better, get the one that fits your hand.
For those who want a non-target style DA/SA .22 pistol,,,
That is a reliable shooter but at an affordable cost,,,
There are a few that consistently get great reviews:
Ruger SR-22
I own one of these puppies and it is a very fine shooter,,,
It runs federal bulk ammo like it was made for it,,,
And is of the modern "square-ish" style.
Bersa Thunder 22 or the Firestorm 22,,,
Virtually identical pistols made by the same company,,,
These pistols are very similar in size and shape to a Walther PPK.
Two other pistols I will mention out of fairness to their brand names,,,
The Sig-Sauer Mosquito and the Walther P-22 are pistols that get very mixed reviews,,,
People who own them either absolutely love them or adamantly hate them.
The main concern of these guns is that the slides may (and sometimes do) crack under normal use,,,
Both have slides made of Zamak which is a Zinc alloy,,,
Commonly called "pot metal" or other bad names,,,
I can not verify or deny these assertions.
Then there are the high-end (high dollar) models.
CZ-75B Kadet - With the exception of the Kadet having adjustable rear sights,,,
It is virtually identical to the CZ-75B in 9mm.
Sig-Sauer Classic .22 - There are 3 models to choose from,,,
They start as a full frame .22 semi-auto that is convertible to their centerfire counterpart using what Sig calls the X-Change Kit,,,
They are the only production pistols that are designed to convert up to a centerfire pistol.
Beretta 87 - The .22 counterpart to the Beretta 84/85 in .380 ACP.
Last but not least are the .22 Mouse Guns.
Phoenix HP-22
A small inexpensive .22 pistol that people either love or hate,,,
The main gripe is too many California lawyer features,,,
The little pistol has too many safeties.
The Taurus PLY.
A very small semi-suto pistol with a polymer frame,,,
It is based on their Model 22B Beretta copy,,,
Very lightweight and easy to shoot,,,
It has a very nice grip.
I own, shoot regularly, and give a personal recommendation to these .22 pistols,,,
These seven are all reliable shooters that aren't ammo picky (for me) at all.
Bersa Thunder 22,
Beretta Model 87,
CZ-75B Kadet,
Beretta NEOS,
Ruger 22/45,
Ruger SR-22,
Taurus PLY.
I also own a Phoenix HP-22,,,
It quit working after 150 rounds,,,
Two trips back to the plant in California.
As far as a functioning pistol goes, Mine is a very cute paper-weight.
I hope this helps,,,
Aarond
.
Browning's never sold us out to the anti-gunners. Bill Ruger did sell out. The Buckmark's thumb safety is much faster/easier to manipulate. Somebody makes an aluminum upper receiver for the Ruger's. With a short, skinny barrel and polymer 2245 frame, that can equal a very accurate .22, for sub 24 ozs. But the 22 oz, 8" Smith 422 is very accurate, nice sights, fine trigger pull. Its safety is even more awkward to manipulate, tho. There was a 6" barreled version, too. the "622".
heycods
Member
I shot my daughter in laws neos beretta, i found it very accurate. Rail top a plus. Side note Daughter in law couldnt hit the side of a barn with it. I think grip angle wasn`t acceptable to her.
You'll love that Ruger. After a few weeks of screaming, loud cursing and a couple bottles of Valium, you'll be able to disassemble and reassemble that beauty!
I highly recommend the VQ target trigger and sear. I opted for the entire VQ kit for my first 22/45. I'd also suggest 86'ing the bolt stop spring and detent and getting rid of that ridiculous mag cutoff mechanism,in favor of the appropriate bushing.
TheRyno865
Member
Ruger SR22 and extra mags
Any Ruger Mk is a great way to go. I have a plain Jane Ruger mkiii and a hunter mk iii and they are both great shooters and eat most any ammo. Great aftermarket support but you need to learn how to clean them.
I also have a SW 22A. Shoot great, nice gun, mine note quite as dependable as the MKiii. Also have a Ruger SR22, fun gun but NOT a target gun.
I also have a SW 22A. Shoot great, nice gun, mine note quite as dependable as the MKiii. Also have a Ruger SR22, fun gun but NOT a target gun.
The MkIII can take a beating, because that is what I had to do to break it down and reassemble it. The pin had to literally be beaten into place several times. It did get easier. Only took about 3 hours. Will be awhile before I do that again. Still have not gotten to fire it yet.
It doesn't get too bad on field stripping. If you punch out the trigger group pin, THAT is when it gets interesting.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DLuwGnmg1E
ALL of those little parts, pretty much fall out at the same time in to a pile on your bench.
And the first thing everyone does when this happens is go "oh {favored expletive}, what have I done...!!!"
I punched the pin the first time, out of curiosity.
Boy, did I regret that.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DLuwGnmg1E
ALL of those little parts, pretty much fall out at the same time in to a pile on your bench.
And the first thing everyone does when this happens is go "oh {favored expletive}, what have I done...!!!"
I punched the pin the first time, out of curiosity.
Boy, did I regret that.
That's a good plan. 
You sort of need 6 hands and a lot of luck to get it all back together again. When I did it the first time, much cussing was involved.
Of all the stuff I've done with firearms over the last 2 decades, detail stripping and reassembling a Ruger MK III is one of the low points.
You sort of need 6 hands and a lot of luck to get it all back together again. When I did it the first time, much cussing was involved.
Of all the stuff I've done with firearms over the last 2 decades, detail stripping and reassembling a Ruger MK III is one of the low points.
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