Phoenix Arms .22LR HP22

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I have one if it's cousins a Jennings J-22. As long as the ammo is not cheap bulk it seems to shoot pretty decent with all tried. Only have about 300 rounds thru it since I bought it (it was second hand)
 
If the Phoenix is a cousin to the Jennings, it's like a third cousin, twice removed. The Jennings (and its current namesake, the Jimenez) is a striker-fired gun holding six rounds in its magazine, while the HP22A holds ten rounds and has a real hammer that can be cocked or de-cocked. The Phoenix is bigger, heavier, and fills out the hand more, and has a rear sight that is at least adjustable for windage. I own both.

The HP22A is complicated by numerous, redundant safety features. The one I detest the most is the "mag-out chamber-lock" This prevents the slide from being opened without a magazine in place, so, to clear the gun, you must remove and unload the magazine, then re-insert it into the gun to draw the slide back. Also, the slide cannot be retracted without the lower safety (yes, there are two manual safeties!) being in the "off" (down) position, but the magazine cannot be removed without that safety being up instead. Try a rapid reload under those conditions!

All that being said, it's actually a fun and reliable shooter, with quality ammunition. I'm not dumb enough to run cheap, bulk ammo through small blowback pistols and then complain the gun is a POS when it won't run with it. I've used only MiniMags so far, but my other inexpensive .22 guns I've tried AutoMatch in have run well with those, so I'd expect the Phoenix to do so as well. The HP22A feels good and solid in the hand, the sights are sharp enough to be seen except in low-light conditions, and the trigger (on mine, at least) is crisp and consistent.

It's a lot of gun for the money, as a plinker and as a trainer. For defense use, caliber aside, it's a less-wise choice due to its weight, sharp lines (which contribute to "printing"), and its something-like-64 safeties. Those people I meet considering one for defense, I steer toward the Taurus PT22 or PLY22.
 
Read and abide the instructions. Std velocity ammo only or your frame will crack.

The mag safety can be disabled in about 5 min with some snips. There are videos on YouTube.
 
They are fantastic shooters. Feel great in the hand. That 1911 style pocket gun. I use them for point and shoot trainers for short barrel pocket guns. I take a standard range target and place about 6-8 stick on glow targets about 3" in diameter and shoot as many as quickly as possible.I was lousy at first but do quite well now after years of training with them. The gun is surprisingly reliable. Will eat any ammo you feed it. NO HYPER Velocity.
I just shoot any cheap ammo around. I like the gun so much I bought two of them. Many complain of the crazy safety. That is a easy fix and video's on line on how to remedy this and still have a very safe gun. Trigger is very nice. These are very Underrated Pistols. They will shoot 22.cal more reliably than may guns costing three times as much. And just plain fun to shoot. There is a learning curve in Cleaning it, but once learned you can do it quickly. You cannot beat it for the Price. Comes with a life time warranty. I have found Customer Service to be very good.
PS Gun does not have last round lock back. I buy a box of Aguila Colibre's and place as the first one in the mag so I will not dry fire. The quiet round is easy to tell when fired even with ear protection on.
 
MedWheeler

Good review of the HP22A. It's also a bit of treat changing out barrels on the gun!
 
bannockburn said:
MedWheeler

Good review of the HP22A. It's also a bit of treat changing out barrels on the gun!
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Not hard at all if you follow the instructions in the owner's manual. They do sell a five pack of recoil springs at a very good price for those that don't follow the instructions and watch that spring go flying to be grabbed by the shop gremlins and disappear. I did find my spring and started doing it the way the manual said. Mine has never had a failure with CCI SV ammo. I see some are using MiniMags which are too hot according to the manual but I bet they cycle the action forcefully.
 
I also love my HP22a. It is everything described by MedWheeler, Jeb and doubeh above. I have found that changing the recoil spring every 800 or so rounds keeps it running the best. The springs are less than $3 each and are well worth it. I also use HV ammo that runs about 1200fps. The cracked frame mentioned so often is the top of the mag well and does not affect safety and function. It is cosmetic and if it bothers you enough, they will replace it free of charge.

I removed the redundant mag safety which was/is the worst safety on the gun and the center of most complaints. I never touch the slide safety so it is always "on" hot so the only safety I use is the frame safety, which is similar to all frame mounted safeties. It is fairly accurate, fairly reliable and actually looks and feels like a real gun. It weighs around 23oz and there is minimum recoil because of it. It is, for the price, a decent little .22. It is the best $125 I've spent on any gun.

 
Zamak or similar alloy for the frame and slide, steel for the hammer, barrel, and magazine.

Oh, and like other hammer-fired guns that can be cocked, the slide is a lot easier to rack manually if the hammer is thumb-cocked beforehand.
 
double

Oh I did follow the directions in the manual but it was still a rather difficult procedure to accomplish. Thought it looked better with the shorter barrel so it was worth the effort.
 
bannockburn said:
double

Oh I did follow the directions in the manual but it was still a rather difficult procedure to accomplish. Thought it looked better with the shorter barrel so it was worth the effort.
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The next time you break the pistol down to clean it dress the edges of the barrel retaining thingy. It's stamped and has small burrs along the edges. I used a fine diamond hone to break all the edges and it makes a difference. The short barrel is very handy and I agree it does look better. I can shoot the longer barrel version better though. A longer sight radius does help.
 
doubleh said:
The next time you break the pistol down to clean it dress the edges of the barrel retaining thingy. It's stamped and has small burrs along the edges. I used a fine diamond hone to break all the edges and it makes a difference. The short barrel is very handy and I agree it does look better. I can shoot the longer barrel version better though. A longer sight radius does help.
Click to expand...
Shooting the short barrel can be amazingly accurate. Just like anything else, accuracy increases with practice. As I mentioned, I can now rapid fire at 6-8 or so 3" target with very good results at 7yds. I rarely shoot the long barrel. When I do, I use a higher velocity ammo. I have seen a number of shooters at the range do poorly with this gun. I always have a urge to tell them to shoot more and those groups will continue to tighten up. The ironic thing about these guns, If you cannot shoot it well, and it is relatively heavy and little to no recoil, then how will anyone shoot a 380 pocket gun, that weighs about half, and like a LCP has a horrible high five Slap in recoil. In truth many can't shoot them well.
 
I’ve had one since 1995 with a target and the regular barrel.If red tree rats, woodchucks and rabid animals count it’s killed my than all of my other guns combined.Woods gun tackle box gun and now my van console just for fun gun.I did remove the mag safety and I will probably never change back to the short barrel.Doin’t use remmington or winchester ammo all other ammo works great.A fun afternoon grab a golf ball ( just one ball or you lose points) and go for a walk in a sand pit follow the ball try to steer it towards a goal ad a bud with their own ball and gun of choice bets for beer.The more expensive their tricked out 10/22 with wonder scope is the more fun I have drinking their beer and ribbing them about my magic $125.00 dollar crappy gun.
 
No experience with the .22LR version. I do have experience with the .25 ACP version: complete and utter worthless, POS, jam-o-matic, pile of plastic and cheap metal. And that is the nice version.

I traded it off when buying a then new mini Glock. I was glad to be rid of it and then some.
 
Locally, the HP22 is considered the best of the inexpensive "vest pocket" pistols. People will single it out to me and say they were surprised with it. They recommended high velocity ammo, not the standard (traget, subsonic) nor the hyper velocity types.

I deleted a lot of experience I and family members have had with "cheap" .22s and 25s. I'll sum up tho' that sometimes the right ammo makes the difference between a jam-o-matic and a keeper.
 
My buddy's HP22 might malfunction on every single round in the magazine. It also has severe accuracy problems.

I guess most people have good luck, but not everyone. Being restricted to standard velocity is also a bummer.

Personally, I'd save up a little more and buy a Buckmark or a Ruger (but maybe not a MK4).
 
When did he last change his recoil springs? I'd bet it's been a long time.Every 800 rounds max is advised to keep it reliable. $3 each from factory. Buy 10 at a time.
 
I have a Phoenix HP25, which is the same gun in 25 ACP. It is reliable but the trigger is heavy and has a harsh break.

A friend of mine who is an experienced machinist thought the frame might be some kind of precision cast steel when he first held the gun, but I think other people have said that Phoenix itself calls it Zamak.
 
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