Good .22 pistol?

[coshooter]

In the interests of saving money on ammo and introducing my daughter to shooting, I'd like to get a .22 pistol. My concern is that it's hard to imagine how a .22 round can produce enough energy to move the slide and chamber a new round, and I don't want a revolver because the main purpose of this gun will be to practice for my 9mm pistols.

I've heard Sigs aren't reliable in .22 caliber, but basically that's all I've heard about this subject. I like the feel of the compact S&W M&P .22, but I have no idea how it shoots. Can someone recommend a good .22 pistol that's reasonably priced?

 

[SwaneeSR]

Ruger Mark III will be a favorite of many. I love my Browning Buckmark, good for my wife to shoot and really fun for plinking. Reliable too. A little tougher to clean than some others IMO.

 

[Swing]

Ruger Mark Ⅲ and the Walther P22, at least in experience, are solid plinkers.

 

[Tallball]

My daughter is ten. She loves to shoot my Browning Buck Mark, and her grandpa's Ruger Mark II. Both of them are very reliable and very accurate.

 

[MCgunner]

Skip the zamac slide Walther (really a Umerex). The Ruger Mark 2/3 is a traditional favorite for a reason. If you want a gun the size of the Walther, get a Ruger SR22, very reliable and an aluminum alloy slide which is much tougher. Been pocket carrying mine all week as I've been running trot lines every day. The SR22 is my fishing gun. I have occasion, now and then, to shoot a snake or nutria or other varmint when I'm on the river. The Browning buckmark, I'll own one of those someday. They're solid, accurate guns.

 

[2011redrider]

I have a Ruger 22-45 and the wife shoots a SW 22a cause it is lighter than the ruger with its bull barrrel. Both are very reliable.

 

[MedWheeler]

My concern is that it's hard to imagine how a .22 round can produce enough energy to move the slide and chamber a new round

There are countless .22 caliber autoloaders that run just fine with full-length slides instead of Mk-II/III-style bolts. The blowback operation of these guns channels all the rearward energy into cycling that slide. Believe me, they work. However, the slide does get the full force of the recoil, so they tend to be stiffly sprung to protect them from the most the hotter ammo (such as CCI MiniMags) can dish out. The down side is that the stiff springs may be too much so for the cheaper ammo. A lot of people buy one of these guns, then complain it's a piece of crap because it won't run the ammo the owner cheaped out on when they bought it.

Now, go get yourself a Ruger SR-22. Good beginner gun that can double as a duty trainer, at least, for hammer-fired 9mm guns.

 

[rcmodel]

My concern is that it's hard to imagine how a .22 round can produce enough energy to move the slide and chamber a new round

Well, hard to beleive or not.
They have been doing it quite reliably for about 100 years.

For target accuracy.
Look at the line of Browning Buckmarks.

For less weight and a functional little popper.
Look at the Ruger SR-22.

rc

 

[bannockburn]

1) Ruger Mk. II/III
2) Browning Buckmark
3) Beretta Neos

Let your daughter try them on for size and go with the one that she is the most comfortable with in terms of operation, balance, and handling.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

Ruger MK or Browning Buckmark for long term satisfaction.

 

[ttarp]

Its not reasonably priced, but take a look at Brownings 1911-22, its scaled down size might be a benefit.

 

[UpperAtmosphere]

The one and only complaint I have about the Mark pistols is that it's Black Magic to get one reassembled until you learn "this one weird trick," to borrow a dumb advertising phrase.

However, we'll be more than happy to share the trick with you at the low, low price of free.

Once you learn how to reassemble it after cleaning, it will give you a long life of great shooting.

 

[Olympus]

You really want a Ruger Mark 3 22/45. They are very light weight and very reliable. Great little guns with a world of aftermarket parts to trick them out with if you get bored

 

[F-111 John]

My recommendations are either the Ruger 22/45 or the Ruger SR22P

 

[djont57]

I have a S&W M&P 22; works great, it just doesn't like Win Super X bulk. But, then I have had a few FTF with this ammo in my Ruger SP101.

 

[ku4hx]

I don't want a revolver because the main purpose of this gun will be to practice for my 9mm pistols.

.22 pistols are great for many things, one of which is training & familiarization and learning the basics of handgun shooting without "scaring off" the novice.

But once you learn the basics, if you want to become competent with your 9mm, you need to be practicing with your 9mm.

 

[MCgunner]

.22 pistols are great for many things, one of which is training & familiarization and learning the basics of handgun shooting without "scaring off" the novice.

But once you learn the basics, if you want to become competent with your 9mm, you need to be practicing with your 9mm.

Meh, you'll never outgrow a .22...rifle or handgun. I've been shooting, now, for 56 years and own more .22s than any one caliber of centerfire. I love my rimfires and shoot them more than about anything else, even though I handload and cast my own and ammo cost isn't a problem even with my .45 Colt.

Once you learn the fundamentals, you can break out the 9 once in a while just to stay used to it and shoot your .22s EVERY range trip. There is a problem with amoo availability the last couple of years, but that will only last until November 2016, I'm hoping. I'm still finding ammo, just that I don't get my choice and I've got a purchaste limit on it. I do, however, have .22s for any ammo. Even that worthless Winchester 333 bulk pack functions well in my Remington bolt gun and Rossi revolver. Heck, I've got some .22 short left I picked up that works in those guns and isn't bad for accuracy just for plinking spinner targets.

 

[Onmilo]

My daughter likes shooting this Browning 1911-22 as much as I do.


She is also quite fond of this S&W 2214
enough so that I may end up giving it to her someday.



Edit to add.
With all the "Get a Ruger" posts on this thread, I must say that I bought my daughter a Ruger Mklll 22/45.
We took it out twice and she absolutely HATED that gun.
Sold it to a friend of mine.

 

[zoom6zoom]

The biggest issue you are likely to have with a 22 autoloader isn't the energy needed to cycle the action, it's that some of them can be very picky as to what ammo they like. For example, i have one that functions like a champ with mini mags and T-22 shells, but try to run the cheap stuff and it becomes a jamomatic.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

Yes, some 22 autoloaders are picky. I have six Ruger MK pistols that will eat anything. I feed them nothing but bulk box ammo.

 

[tuj]

Ruger MK3 or Browning Buckmark.

And yes, a 'lowly' 22lr can not only move and cycle the action, it can kill too.

 

[aarondhgraham]

Consider a Ruger SR-22,,,

Consider a Ruger SR-22,,,
It's very similar in shape and size to the S&W M&P Compact.

If you liked the feel of the M&P Compact,,,
You will find the SR-22 to be very similar in feel.

In my not-so-humble opinion,,,
Is has better features than the M&P Compact.

The M&P is a single-action with internal hammer,,,
That means it works like most target pistols,,,
Once you chamber a round it is cocked,,,
There is no way to de-cock it,,,
You rely on the safety.

The SR-22 is double action/single action (DA/SA) with external hammer and de-cocker,,,
When you chamber that first round the gun becomes cocked,,,
You then use the de-cocker or manually lower the hammer,,,
It has a safety as well but I prefer an un-cocked gun.

When the gun is de-cocked with a round in the chamber,,,
You have two options to fire that first shot.

You can either thumb back the hammer and fire in single-action mode,,,
Or you can fire in double-action mode simply by pulling the trigger.

I really don't think that one type is inherently better than the other,,,
But my personal preference is a DA/SA with external hammer and de-cocker.

In my way of thinking it's the way a handgun should work.

The other guns people have mentioned are fine target style pistols,,,

• Beretta U22 NEOS
• Browning Buckmark
• Smith & Wesson 22A
• Ruger MK-III
• Ruger 22/45 Mk-III

But they all operate in single action mode,,,
And none of them have a de-cocker or external hammer.

Also the smallest of them (NEOS) is still a fairly full-sized handful,,,
You say this is for your daughter so this might be a factor.

I own all five on the above list as well as the Ruger SR-22,,,
I take a lot of young ladies shooting and they all like shooting the SR-22.

To be fair most of them liked a few of the target style pistols,,,
But the larger-fatter grips and heavier weight was often a negative factor.

The SR-22 fit all of their their hands very nicely.

Anyways, that's my 2-cents on this matter,,,
If I had a daughter and was buying her a .22 pistol,,,
I would not buy her a target style but get her a duty style gun instead.

From the current selection,,,
It would definitely be a Ruger SR-22.

Have fun teaching your daughter to shoot,,,
You will generate memories that can't be topped.

I hope this helps you.

Aarond

.

 

[PantherHead]

+1 for Ruger MkII & III

 

[OpticsPlanet]

Ruger MK III is a great way to go except that it doesnt have much in common with your average centerfire semi auto

I have a Sig mosquito and it runs fine as long as I use high velocity ammo (aguila and CCI are preferred)

Walther P22 is another that I own and probably the best combo of the two

-Matt S.

 

[WestKentucky]

Your doing it wrong...kinda. look at a 22 conversion for the gun you already have that you want to practice for/with. Some kits suck, some are awesome. My kit for my pt99 is unbelievably accurate.