A Pheonix HP .22 w/field kit way my first gun, and if I had to guess I'd say honestly 20,000 rounds by estimate. Thats all I did for two summers, up in the woods @ my dads. Frist the clip release fell off & I replaced it, then the recoil spring started loosing its poop and before I could replace the spring the slide started sticking badly. I tried everything - even a little dremel work here and there but the thing was toast. For the last Q -I still have it for sentimental value. (First pistol!?) Hope to have helped. -SMOKES-
My HP.22 is quite accurate and useful as a field gun that'll fit in a pocket. It loves Stingers in it's 3" barrel, a little more accurate with Federals in the 5". The slide cracked on the first one and they had a redesign of that slide, thicker metal where it cracked. Was fixed for free. The recoil springs last maybe 500 rounds before they get limp, biggest complaint. It feeds and functions fine, though, and is really accurate. I don't put a lot of rounds though it, just bought it because it was cheap. It's got maybe 3 or 4K guestimating, maybe 5K, and is doing okay. I just keep sticking recoil springs in it when needed. :banghead:
It's the only gun I've ever had, though, that can shoot 3" groups at 25 yards, accurate enough for rabbits and that, and fits in a friggin' pocket! For that reason, I kinda like the cheap POS.
I own much better .22s, but it's got its place in my collection and if it quits, a new one is a hundred bucks.
Yes, for that money, I'd replace it.
You can't expect a pot metal POS to last forever, but if you got 20K rounds out of yours, that's about as good as forever!
I mean, I sure wouldn't complain! I'd just go out and get another one.
I have not yet figured out how this thing could be so accurate. The barrel mounts really loose, the rear sight is on the slide while the front is on the barrel. It friggin' defies logic, but I've warmed back up to it lately. For a while, I couldn't make the recoil springs work in it. I don't know why, but the ones I started getting were too long to allow the action to cycle all the way back. I put it up and ignored it for a long time, then one day was playing with it, ordered three new springs and they came in. They were too long for it, too. There had to be a change in design somewhere. Anyway, I got the bright idea to trim a little off the spring and by golly it worked! Now, it shoots again.
Strangest little POS gun I've ever experienced, but it's so cool cause it's so tiny and so accurate. OF COURSE I'd never rely on this thing for self defense or something, but for plinking, shooting snakes, rabbits, whatever afield, it's tiny, pocketable or can carry in an ankle holster, and I can't knock it! Even if it did jam, which it doesn't so long as the recoil spring is fairly fresh, it'd still be useful for what I do with it. When the recoil spring starts to get limp, you can tell because an occasional round won't go all the way into battery and you'll get a failure to fire, have to cock the hammer and hit it again. Recoil springs are a couple of bucks. LOL! Like I say, if I shoot it to death, I'll get another, no big deal as cheap as they are.
