I picked up my SR22 pistol last week and gave it an abbreviated first run (howling wind and snow make a proper break in run a little tough).
First impressions:
1) Fit and finish were excellent. After cleaning the excessive packing grease and a light lube with CLP the action was very smooth. The trigger was a little gritty but a few drops of CLP in the trigger and hammer area blown in with some compressed air smoothed it right up. The finish on the slide was very clean and smooth. It actually looks like a quality pistol.
2) Feel - The pistol fit my larger than average hands quite well especially with the larger grip and finger extension mag floor plates. Very comfortable and easy to control.
3) Field strip and reassembly - Very easy. Takes literally a second to remove the slide and maybe 2 or 3 seconds to reassemble. No excuse to leave this one dirty after some fun at the range.
4) Reliability - Went through 100 MiniMags, 50 Blazer, 50 Federal 510 with zero issues. I shot a couple of mags of CCI SV and had a couple of instances where the slide did not cycle far enough back to pick up the next round in the mag. I attribute this to the weaker SV rounds. After some more shooting with high velocity stuff it may digest the SV better.
5) Accuracy - Given the conditions outside getting a good read on accuracy was tough. Still I was able to keep in a 2 1/2 inch circle offhand at 7 yards. For me that's not bad. I'm sure that the limiting factor in terms of accuracy will be, in my case, the shooter.
6) Misc. - I was unaware of the loose barrel screw issue that some have had with this pistol. I read about it after my range trip and checked it this morning. The screw on mine is very tight. I'll continue to check it as I go. Also, some have reported unusual wear on the slide where it contacts the slide stop. After my limited outing I don't notice any of that on mine yet.
I bought this pistol primarily for fun. I have a Walther P22Q that has been very reliable and enjoyable to shoot. The Ruger seemed like a step up so since I was in the mood for a new 22 anyway I decided to take the plunge. Normally I don't buy a new model until its been out for a while but thought I'd be a guinea pig this time. I have four small 22 autoloaders now (Walther P22Q, Bersa Firestorm, Beretta 87, Ruger SR22) and plan to do a more thorough comparison of the four when I get a chance to put some more serious rounds through the Ruger.
UPDATE:
Was able to get out and put another 250 rounds through the SR22 today. (100 MiniMag, 100 Blazer, 50 Federal 510) The pistol functioned flawlessly. Weather conditions were a bit better than last time so I was able to dial in the accuracy a little more. I was shooting 2 inch groups at 10 yards and 6 inch groups at 25 yards (all off hand). With me at the controls thats really good. Point of impact and point of aim were right on with no adjustment to the sights. Looking forward to running a wider variety of ammo through next time out.
If anyone is waiting to get one of these until all the bugs are worked out (and I'm usually that guy) I'd say this one is pretty much bug free so jump on one if you find it at a decent price (I paid $310 for mine shipping included). In reality, small combat styled 22s have been around for a little while now so I think most manufactures have the ability to make a reliable pistol right off the block. Manufacturing defects are of course always a possibility with any item but at least with Ruger, you have a manufacturer that is domestic and willing to make right any problem you might have.
p.s. Checked the barrel screw afterward and its still tight.
First impressions:
1) Fit and finish were excellent. After cleaning the excessive packing grease and a light lube with CLP the action was very smooth. The trigger was a little gritty but a few drops of CLP in the trigger and hammer area blown in with some compressed air smoothed it right up. The finish on the slide was very clean and smooth. It actually looks like a quality pistol.
2) Feel - The pistol fit my larger than average hands quite well especially with the larger grip and finger extension mag floor plates. Very comfortable and easy to control.
3) Field strip and reassembly - Very easy. Takes literally a second to remove the slide and maybe 2 or 3 seconds to reassemble. No excuse to leave this one dirty after some fun at the range.
4) Reliability - Went through 100 MiniMags, 50 Blazer, 50 Federal 510 with zero issues. I shot a couple of mags of CCI SV and had a couple of instances where the slide did not cycle far enough back to pick up the next round in the mag. I attribute this to the weaker SV rounds. After some more shooting with high velocity stuff it may digest the SV better.
5) Accuracy - Given the conditions outside getting a good read on accuracy was tough. Still I was able to keep in a 2 1/2 inch circle offhand at 7 yards. For me that's not bad. I'm sure that the limiting factor in terms of accuracy will be, in my case, the shooter.
6) Misc. - I was unaware of the loose barrel screw issue that some have had with this pistol. I read about it after my range trip and checked it this morning. The screw on mine is very tight. I'll continue to check it as I go. Also, some have reported unusual wear on the slide where it contacts the slide stop. After my limited outing I don't notice any of that on mine yet.
I bought this pistol primarily for fun. I have a Walther P22Q that has been very reliable and enjoyable to shoot. The Ruger seemed like a step up so since I was in the mood for a new 22 anyway I decided to take the plunge. Normally I don't buy a new model until its been out for a while but thought I'd be a guinea pig this time. I have four small 22 autoloaders now (Walther P22Q, Bersa Firestorm, Beretta 87, Ruger SR22) and plan to do a more thorough comparison of the four when I get a chance to put some more serious rounds through the Ruger.
UPDATE:
Was able to get out and put another 250 rounds through the SR22 today. (100 MiniMag, 100 Blazer, 50 Federal 510) The pistol functioned flawlessly. Weather conditions were a bit better than last time so I was able to dial in the accuracy a little more. I was shooting 2 inch groups at 10 yards and 6 inch groups at 25 yards (all off hand). With me at the controls thats really good. Point of impact and point of aim were right on with no adjustment to the sights. Looking forward to running a wider variety of ammo through next time out.
If anyone is waiting to get one of these until all the bugs are worked out (and I'm usually that guy) I'd say this one is pretty much bug free so jump on one if you find it at a decent price (I paid $310 for mine shipping included). In reality, small combat styled 22s have been around for a little while now so I think most manufactures have the ability to make a reliable pistol right off the block. Manufacturing defects are of course always a possibility with any item but at least with Ruger, you have a manufacturer that is domestic and willing to make right any problem you might have.
p.s. Checked the barrel screw afterward and its still tight.
