best .22 for plinking under $300

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Young Mainah said:
The Buckmark has a moderatly difficult take down procedure, but after ten or so times I have become very adapt, with only one trouble spot, mentioned below. Below is a good video of a disssassembly and reasssembly of the Buckmark.

A note, for me, the most difficult part of the reassembly comes at 3:15, the man in the video does it very well, but I have sometimes strugged for 5 minutes to get the firing pin, spring, and rod assembley back in, possibly I'm doing something wrong though.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pu0cbV5WXIA
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Thanks for this info. I will have to read it later. On the Buckmark every so often there is a part that MUST be replaced I forget what it is called but it is in the manual. It's wears out and is very inexpensive to buy from Browning.
Up to this point I haven't taken it apart. I just clean out the barrel with Hoppes #9 and oil it down.
 
I'll throw another vote in on the S&W 22A. You should be able to pick one up for less than $300. Options on barrel length, finish, etc. I own one and it makes it to the range on nearly every trip. Also, disassembly/reassembly is quick and easy.
I own 2 Ruger 22/45's and one of them occasionally makes it to the range.
I owned a Neos, but sold it to a friend as his 2nd one. I just couldn't get used to the trigger on it.
I also own a Walther P22 and it makes it very often due to the threaded barrel and is set up as my primary host for my suppressor.
I have Sig Mosquito, but it is way too picky on ammo for my likes. I'll be getting rid of it soon.

So, again - a vote for the S&W 22A.
 
I'd say go with the buckmark or the ruger mk 3 (mk 2 if you can find one). The buckmarks can get by with very minimal maintenance. Running a boresnake through the magwell area and then out the barrel a few times and then reoiling everything is all you really need to do to keep it running well. I wouldn't worry with breaking it down each time you go to clean it.

Personally, I'm not a huge fan of the cheaper 22's. I tend to take too high of a grip on the buckmarks and rugers and the controls get in the way of my fingers. At the same time, a lot of the other cheap ones do not run reliably. That said, I run a CZ Kadet slide on my Shadow custom and love it. It lets me keep the fantastic trigger and feel of my Shadow while shooting cheap .22lr ammo. Adjustable sights, easy to take down and clean, and no problems with it thus far.
 
I got tired of my 22 semi autos having ammo issues. Sold a P22, Mosquito and a few others. I ended up with a Ruger Single Six and a Heritage Single Action. Both with 22lr and 22mag cylinders. Go great with my Henry 22lr and 22WMR lever guns and will shoot any ammo out there.
 
I have 2 Buckmarks, a Neos, a Walther P22Q, and a Bersa Firestorm 22. All have their pros and cons. I'll just list a few for each that I've found in my experience.

Buckmark:
Pros - Excellent trigger
Very accurate
Cons - Mine are both pretty ammo sensitive
A bit on the heavy side for a 22

Neos:
Pros - Accurate
Reliable across a wide range of ammo
Cons - Trigger on mine is just barely north of poor
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

Walther P22Q:
Pros - Most reliable 22 auto loader I have over a wide variety of ammo
Very light and comfortable in the hand
Cons - Its zinc slide suggests it might not have the same life span as say a bukmark
Tends to eject cases back into my face sometimes

Bersa Firestorm:
Pros - Very solid construction
Very easy take down and reassembly
Cons - Mine has a tight bore which causes leading with some ammo
Repair parts are pretty limited. Usually have to ship your pistol (on your own dime) to get it repaired

Lots of good choices out there. Get your hands on a few and see which feel most comfortable to you. 22 pistols are generally about fun. Whichever you choose shoot it a bunch and enjoy!
 
A reminder that price is variable per region and demand in LGS. I have both a 22/45 and a 22A. Both function properly with Federal AutoMatch. Buying used generally means no warranty, except possible short-term with dealer. Until you get your hands on each model of interest, you won't know what will work for you. It will simply feel right. What are your friends using? Try those. Go to gun shows. Don't rush into anything. Be confident in your purchase and buy and use QUALITY ammo. It will outlast you.
 
marb4 said:
I have 2 Buckmarks, a Neos, a Walther P22Q, and a Bersa Firestorm 22. All have their pros and cons. I'll just list a few for each that I've found in my experience.

Buckmark:
Pros - Excellent trigger
Very accurate
Cons - Mine are both pretty ammo sensitive
A bit on the heavy side for a 22

Neos:
Pros - Accurate
Reliable across a wide range of ammo
Cons - Trigger on mine is just barely north of poor
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

Walther P22Q:
Pros - Most reliable 22 auto loader I have over a wide variety of ammo
Very light and comfortable in the hand
Cons - Its zinc slide suggests it might not have the same life span as say a bukmark
Tends to eject cases back into my face sometimes

Bersa Firestorm:
Pros - Very solid construction
Very easy take down and reassembly
Cons - Mine has a tight bore which causes leading with some ammo
Repair parts are pretty limited. Usually have to ship your pistol (on your own dime) to get it repaired

Lots of good choices out there. Get your hands on a few and see which feel most comfortable to you. 22 pistols are generally about fun. Whichever you choose shoot it a bunch and enjoy!
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My Buckmark isn't ammo sensitive and its very accurate. It will out shoot my S & W 10 shot 617 revolver that needed to be returned back to the factory for a cylinder that wouldn't turn after so many shots.
 
Anyone thats fed up with the finicky, ammo sensitive, hard to take down and clean ruger mkII that they own shoot me a PM and I'll take it off your hands! :)
 
I have four Ruger MKII's that feed just about anything. Takedown is a breeze if you follow the manual.

The NEOS is not a "new" design. It's a copy of the Hi Standard design which is fine. I just can't warm up to the NEOS, but many like it.
 
Phoenix HP22A

If you want a very reliable and fairly accurate plinker/pocket .22 then the
HP22A deserves a look. I've had mine now for about a month and have had now problems with it at all after about 300 rounds. YES, it's inexpensive but it is very reliable and it NOT ammo picky as say the Mosquito or the Buckmark, and YES, it's a zinc alloy frame which might be a turn off for some but remember the Walther also uses zinc for their slide and other parts as well and it's 4 times the price. It does have a lifetime warranty and I heard and read nothing but goods things about Phoenix's customer service. It also has a choice of changable barrel lenghts. Wven with it's small size, which the women seem to like very much, it's still holds 10 rounds. I have very pleased with it's operation and performance. It's make very well and for $139 bucks for the 3" barrel model IMHO it's well worth it. Even though this is one of the "ring of fire" companies, I think they got this one right.
 
I like my Rugers. One of them is nearly 50 years old and still shoots like a lazer.

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Hi-Lander said:
I got tired of my 22 semi autos having ammo issues. Sold a P22, Mosquito and a few others. I ended up with a Ruger Single Six and a Heritage Single Action. Both with 22lr and 22mag cylinders. Go great with my Henry 22lr and 22WMR lever guns and will shoot any ammo out there.
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You could go with a S & W 10-shot 617 revolver in .22LR but it is a costly gun, big and heavy but there is alot of workmanship in it.
 
MCgunner said:
One does not have to strip the gun to clean it well. I haven't yet in 5K rounds. Just lock the bolt back and clean it.
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That's pretty much what I have done until I had to send the gun in for something else and the gunsmith tore the gun down and cleaned it out thoroughly.
 
masterofchaos said:
Beretta Neos are easy to clean in comparison to the Buckmark and Ruger 22.
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I have heard that the Ruger .22 LR pistols are a nightmare to clean and take apart.
The BuckMark I took it apart for cleaning and a spring ejected itself. I sent it to a gun smith who fixed that and ended up doing a thorough cleaning. Also found out that that little piece at the end of spring needs changing from time to time.
So now I just clean the barrel and firing pin area where it's very apparent where you see the gunpowder residue.
 
I have heard that the Ruger .22 LR pistols are a nightmare to clean and take apart.
Click to expand...

That is simply not true. Sure the first few times, the parts may be tight but they come apart easier after that. As far as assembly goes, once you learn how the hammer strut and mainspring fit together you will have no problems. They are actually very simple, well designed guns.
 
I bought a 22/45 this spring. The RP version in blue set me back just over $300 after tax. Now I'm about 10k rounds through it, only 1 malfunction and that was the first round. It's loosened up over time and breaks down/reassembles in under a minute each direction. After I did it once or twice it became easy.

It was extremely accurate out of the box and I spent $5 on some brass washers to accurize it. I removed the LCI, mag safety and tapped the trigger for overtravel and pretravel screws. It was fun to think critically about how the machine worked and come up with solutions to make it more accurate. The only problem that I've had with it is that the pin which holds rear sight down was vibrating out during range time. I used a bunch of locktite on it and now it doesn't do that anymore.

It's a fun gun to shoot and It comes with me EVERY time I go to the range. It's cheap to shoot and won't malfunction with 2200+ rounds of dirt in it. it's light enough and small enough to teach friends how to shoot, including ladies. I really can't say enough nice things about it. My only criticism is that the polymer parts do not balance the heavy barrel very well - I'd love to get an all steel receiver in the same grip size and angle.

Erik.
 
The Mark I was the first gun I ever shot. Ruger is the best gun manufacturer (although I love both Brownings I own). If just fun is what you want get a single six used. If you want the auto buy the Mark??? That is available. If you want something else, get a heap used 22 from a pawn shop. The point is: go have fun...
 
Young Mainah said:
The Buckmark has a moderatly difficult take down procedure, but after ten or so times I have become very adapt, with only one trouble spot, mentioned below. Below is a good video of a disssassembly and reasssembly of the Buckmark.

A note, for me, the most difficult part of the reassembly comes at 3:15, the man in the video does it very well, but I have sometimes strugged for 5 minutes to get the firing pin, spring, and rod assembley back in, possibly I'm doing something wrong though.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pu0cbV5WXIA
Click to expand...
http://youtu.be/9uKc7JxyJ8g

Here is a better video with sound and it has 2 parts both about 9 minutes each.
 
I payed $300 for my new Ruger 22/45. My area is probably the highest in the nation. Eats anything. No problems except the rear sight needs locktite as mentioned previously.
 
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