D.B. Cooper
Member
- Joined
- Oct 2, 2016
- Messages
- 4,396
I jut finished my second club-level pistol league. I've been my shooting my Redhawk with 44 Spl handloads. I've had a lot of fun and made a lot of gains in competency with the gun. The 9 mil and rimfire semi-auto guys are killing me. I swore off all rimfires "never again" I said during the ammo shortage (which still exist to some extent in my area.) But I'm considering buying a rimfire handgun for the summer league.
What's my best option?
I can go with a Ruger GP100 in 22LR. Pros: I think this will be the closest thing to my Redhawk. HKS even makes speed loaders for it. This would help me un-train the flinch I've acquired. Cons: MSRP is $829 (nearly as much as my Redhawk 44.) I'm reloading at 15¢/rd so, at the rate I'm going, I could shoot 44 for two years on the same money.
The only other option is some sort of autoloader. Browning Buckmark and S&W Victory seem the most popular. I once owned both a Ruger Marksman (I forget which "MarK" it was, but it was in the late 80's) and a S&W 22S (the olympic-looking one with 5" bull barrel and the massive wood grip.) Both were supremely accurate. The S&W had a POS plastic recoil buffer that broke like every month. I regret selling both of them. Pros: Cheaper to buy. A Victory is like $400, the Ruger is around $700. 10 rd mags = less reloading. (I'm losing 10 seconds every time I reload, and I have to reload a LOT more than the other guys.) Much easier to shoot accurately in rapid fire or weak-handed. The other "con" I can think of, is that most of the rimfire guns (and a few of the centerfire autoloaders) I've seen on the range turn in to jam-o-matic POS when then the temp drops down below about 20˚F.
So I'm kind of at a loss here. None of these options are a slam dunk for me. What are your thoughts?
What's my best option?
I can go with a Ruger GP100 in 22LR. Pros: I think this will be the closest thing to my Redhawk. HKS even makes speed loaders for it. This would help me un-train the flinch I've acquired. Cons: MSRP is $829 (nearly as much as my Redhawk 44.) I'm reloading at 15¢/rd so, at the rate I'm going, I could shoot 44 for two years on the same money.
The only other option is some sort of autoloader. Browning Buckmark and S&W Victory seem the most popular. I once owned both a Ruger Marksman (I forget which "MarK" it was, but it was in the late 80's) and a S&W 22S (the olympic-looking one with 5" bull barrel and the massive wood grip.) Both were supremely accurate. The S&W had a POS plastic recoil buffer that broke like every month. I regret selling both of them. Pros: Cheaper to buy. A Victory is like $400, the Ruger is around $700. 10 rd mags = less reloading. (I'm losing 10 seconds every time I reload, and I have to reload a LOT more than the other guys.) Much easier to shoot accurately in rapid fire or weak-handed. The other "con" I can think of, is that most of the rimfire guns (and a few of the centerfire autoloaders) I've seen on the range turn in to jam-o-matic POS when then the temp drops down below about 20˚F.
So I'm kind of at a loss here. None of these options are a slam dunk for me. What are your thoughts?