Good choices for a .22 handgun???

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Green Lantern

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I have a Henry Survival Rifle as well as a Rossi pump-action .22 rifle, but I'm starting to feel like my collection is "incomplete" without a .22 pistol of some sort for inexpensve plinking, or introducting new shooters to handguns.

A 1911 is hopefully in my future, and I know they make .22 conversions for it. But since a Glock 19 is my main CCW weapon, I checked and found a conversion for IT too. Offhand I would think that that would be the smartest choice.

OTOH, I hear that the .22 is not overly fond of feeding in semiautos at times. Maybe a wheelgun would be smarter? My first "real" gun was a Taurus 94 9-shot revolver, which I sold a while back. But, the DA trigger on mine was pretty terrible....

One gun I would NOT consider would be a Ruger .22 auto. None of you people know my brother, but let me assure you - when HE has to take a pistol back to the store to get them to help him put it back together? Something is WAY over-complicated! ;)
 
Green Lantern;

There are many possible selections. Kinda depends on what grabs you, so try as many as you can.

Here are my suggestions for things to try:
1. A Smith & Wesson 617. These are a double action revolver, stainless, with either 6 or 10 round cylinders, 4" or 6" barrels. Not inexpensive, but excellent guns for either plinking or target shooting.
2. Ruger Single Six, single action revolver. Available in stainless or blue, several barrel lenths, but 4 5/8", & 6 1/2" are the most common. Others lengths are out there, even Buntline long barrels.
3. Browning Buckmark. All sorts of configurations have been marketed over the years. You should be able to find something that you like.

900F
 
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The Ruger Mark III, 22/45 is accurate and I've never had a jam in thousands of rounds. Plus, it's fun to shoot. Will cost you less than a Buckmark. Just make sure the hammer is forward when re-assembling the Ruger.
 

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Why is it that most gun makers design their 22 handguns to look more like toys than real guns? Most of them look like something you'd buy at Toys-R-Us and not at a gun store.

With ammo prices going up so much I've been thinking about buying a 22 pistol. But between toyish looks, difficult to field strip, and chronic reports of unreliability on many models, I've yet to find one that has appealed to me enough to buy it. The Sig Trailside was looking good for awhile, then it disappeared when Walther bought Hamerli. It has a bit of a toyish look also, but at least it had a great rep for accuracy.
 
OTOH, I hear that the .22 is not overly fond of feeding in semiautos at times. Maybe a wheelgun would be smarter? My first "real" gun was a Taurus 94 9-shot revolver, which I sold a while back. But, the DA trigger on mine was pretty terrible....
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Autos are more picky about ammunition -- my Colt Woodsman won't feed wide-mouth Winchester hollowpoints well at all. My Colt Service Model Ace conversion kit shares the same aversion.

However, you need to experiment with ammo anyway -- even with a revolver you will find some brands and lots shoot well, others not so well.

The Smith 617 and the Ruger Single Six are very good choices.
 
The best .22 semi automatic pistol I know of is the Hämmerli 208. You won't get a new one because it isn't built any more and I don't know whether it's widely available in the US, here in Europe it's a common gun.
I'm using a 208 for competitive shooting and I'm very pleased, it's accurate and enduring(my one is quite old but looks, feels and shoots like a brand new gun).
klein%20%20Haemmerli%20208.jpg
 
Why is it that most gun makers design their 22 handguns to look more like toys than real guns? Most of them look like something you'd buy at Toys-R-Us and not at a gun store.
Click to expand...

just curious, which 22s do you think look like toy guns?
 
Hey--I had to have a gun shop put a borrowed Ruger mk 1 back together for me years back (it was borrowed from a pal's Dad, so I broke it all the way down to make sure it was clean). That said--please--give the Rugers another look. It is something that Ruger does well They are excellent pistols, if too expensive.
 
just curious, which 22s do you think look like toy guns?
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Browning Buckmarks, Ruger Mark III, Colt Woodsman, among others. They look like the old dimestore squirt guns I used to buy when I was a kid.
 
My fav is the S&W 351 pd airweight model. 22 magnum weights 10.6 oz`s holds 7 rounds. Good for plinkin & ccw
 
As for how it shoots for the money I would still go with the Ruger Mark II or III. Once you put it back together one time you will see that its not so bad.
 
I finally off-loaded my Ruger 22/45 (a Mark II with a 1911 style grip) today and traded it off against a new Beretta Neos 4 inch.

I followed everyones advice when buying the Ruger, and I can honestly say that it was the biggest piece of junk I have ever purchased. It suffered every type of fault from feedway jams to FTEs and no matter what I did it never improved.

My Neos was tagged at $240, I'm happy so far, I'll know for sure in a week or so.
 
Another Buckmark (051361490) Classic Plus SE vote here~!

Comes standard with Rosewood laminate Pro Target grips, and Tru-Glo
(Green) marble fiber optic front sight; on a 5.5" bull barrel.

Going back to 1982, I just last week added a very solid 99 percent 2" barrel
Smith & Wesson model 34-1 "Kit Gun" that is factory nickeled, and comes
with a square butt. These are the only .22LR caliber pistols that I own.
 
If you can find an old High Standard, especially one of the military models, get it. I have a few .22 pistols icluding a S&W model 17 as well as a Model 41. In my experience you get what you pay for, but one thing to take into consideration is that some pistols shoot better with specific ammunition. It's worth buying and testing a few different kinds to find what works best.
 
Donut,
That's a very noce looking .22 pistol, especially for the price.

I would buy the Ruger Mark III (in a Hunter) over the Mark III 22/45.
The Ruger Stainless Bearcat is a good SA .22 revolver.
A used S&W Model 17 is a great DA revolver.
 
I'll second that Ruger Bearcat. I have a Mark II. It's a real pain in the ass to break down and reassemble. The only ammo that doesn't jam in it is CCI, for some reason. I've never had a jam with any CCI .22 LR ammo.

A Colt Frontier Scout is a lot of fun, too, but it'll cost you about $500 for a nice one.
 
If you're looking for a .22LR for both CCW as well as plinking, Beretta Bobcats are still available and Taurus makes a clone of the Bobcat called the PT-22. Both are pocket-sized semi-autos with the tip-up barrel which I feel is a nice feature in a small gun without a slide lock.
 
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