The joy of the .22 handgun

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Hi Onmilo, et al...

I'm with you guys - the .22 handgun is the best investment a guy can make.
I've had a Ruger super single-six since '69 and bought a Browning Buckmark the first year they came out (whenever that was). Still have both of 'em and they have spit enough lead to fill in The Sea of Japan.
 
the shooter who doesn't have a good 22 handgun is missing out on some real shooting fun!!!
 
I picked up a Ruger MK2 22/45 stainless steel with the standard 4 inch barrel shortly after the MK3's were introduced. It was a NIB closeout, and I bought it pretty much as an impulse buy. I have to say, that it is one of the best purchases that I've ever made. It is the only gun that goes with me EVERY time I hit the range. I usually end my day with some easy/fun shooting with my trusty MK2.

Tim
 
The most enjoyable part of shooting a 22 is the fact that one never has to bend over to pick up the brass!
 
The most enjoyable part of shooting a 22 is the fact that one never has to bend over to pick up the brass!
Click to expand...

Wish I could say that. Our club requires that all brass be policed up and put in buckets or taken away. Not too much of a problem with larger calibers but my Buckmark puts a lot of the brass in the grass in front of the shooting line. I put over 40 bricks through the Buckmark before the Corps of Engineers laid that on us. Now I seem to shoot mostly from the bench next to a fold up clothes hamper. Still looking for something better in the way of a decent shell catcher. I took my wife to the range a couple of times and she thinks picking up shells is theraputic but she's just not going for therapy as often as I require.
 
My first gun was a Ruger MKII Standard Auto. It was the only gun I had at all for years. I was in college, and I went shooting as often as I possibly could. I'm glad I got that one first, as I could actually afford to shoot it and became a decent pistol shot. There were days I outshot my brother with his .22 rifle.

I remember driving up to my shooting area on a windy, cold, snowing winters day, hiking about a half mile in wearing nothing but a light jacket and scarf, shooting my two loaded magazines, reloading one with my frozen fingers, and hiking back out.

There were snowmobilers out that day, not far from the range I was at.

Sometimes I look back at how simple it was to go shooting then: gun, brick of ammo, targets, earplugs. Now, I have to decide what to take, then track down ammo for all of them, decide if the muzzleloader is worth taking since it takes so long to load to shoot and clean after, etc. Ah, the burdens of life!
 
I was forced by open heart surgery to rediscover the joy of the .22. For several months after my bypass, I was limited in what I could shoot to .22s. I hadn’t been shooting .22s much lately, but I certainly made up for it this summer. Extreme accuracy with no recoil. What a combination. I even expanded my inventory of .22s.

Beretta 21A
Ceska Zbrojovka (CZ) CZ-75 .22 Kadet Conversion on CZ-75
Smith & Wesson 617-5 (6”)
Smith & Wesson 41 (5”)
Marvel Precision 1911 .22 Conversion Unit on a Colt Series 70 frame
Ruger New Bearcat (blued and SS) (4”)
Ruger Single Six SS (5 ½”)

Ceska Zbrojovka (CZ) ZKM 452
Marlin 39M Mountie (20”)
Marlin 39/A (24”)
Ruger 10/22 (20”)
Ruger 10/22 Magnum (20”)
Weatherby XXII
 
I hadn't shot pistols much in a very long time and decided to get a .22 as a training pistol. One led to another and another. As said more than once: low recoil, accurate and inexpensive to shoot. All three of mine are more accurate than the shooter and loads of fun to shoot. Everyone should have one, or two, or three, or...
 
Ultimate Cliploader

I have a Ruger Mark II Target and a Buckmark Bullseye. My wife and I shoot them a couple of times a week. Recently I purchased a magazine loader which is marketed under the misnomer "Ultimate Cliploader". Very simple hopper and chute affair which makes loading the magazine for either pistol about a three-second non-chore. About $22 as I recall. To find one, Google on ultimate cliploader then go to the site of the maufacturer. I forget the name but it is something like Zelzinick Industries. They sell direct and have the lowest price.

Liked it so much I bought a second one in case one breaks!

Here's the URL if anyone is interested: http://zaliznockindustries.com/outdoors.htm
 
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Every shooter should have a .22. It teaches you trigger control and all that other stuff.
I've been shooting for over 40 years. If I had to make one shot to save something near and dear to me I would use my oldest .22.
It's the one gun I know as well as I know myself.
Still have it and it's not going anywhere as long as I'm alive.

AFS
 
AFShooter, you could start the endless argument about .22's and defense, but you are right. You'd use the gun you are most famaliar with and have the most confidence in.

.22 ammo is always in my range bag, the other stuff has to be put in on purpose. I always carry a .22 or two to the range. Even when I intend to shoot something else, I will "warm up" with a .22 and will use a .22 to check the shooter if I think I'm having problems. I can afford to shoot hundreds of rounds of .22 compared to 10's of rounds of higher caliber. Besides, they are just plain fun to shoot.
 
Borrowedtime69... I'm glad to see I'm not the only one with a Hubble telescope on their .22! Here's my first .22 handgun, recently mated with a new piece of glassware. Its a Ruger Mkii 6 7/8"bbl with a Leupold 2.5-8 power variable zoom scope rugermkiileupold2.jpg

45Broomhandle ... I can't believe you are looking for GEVARMS.... I know very little about them, but I just gave one away... couldn't get it away from me fast enough! An old junker of a .22 rifle, operated via slamfire. No firing pin to break, but scary as !@%!!
 
I went to the range today to learn to shoot my new M&P9. I always take a rimfire or three to the range. I was shooting near a couple of guys who were shooting .40 and 9mm. As usual, we started talking about guns. I admired his new H&K .40 and he trashed my M&P. Not to be outdone, I opened up the bag with my MKIII Hunter and told him to try it. He allowed as how he didn't like rimfires and had only one. He tried the Ruger and developed one of the biggest grins I've seen. Since he didn't like rimfires, he only shot a 150 rounds of my very expensive Walmart Federal Bulk .36g hp. When he left, he was muttering something about having to get one and the trouble he was going to get into with the boss.

I always carry the rimfires to the range. I started out with an old gym-type bag as a range bag. I recently bought a tool bag as a range bag. If I keep it up, I'm either going to have a radio flyer or one of the wheeled luggage bags. Seems that more stuff gets crammed into the range bag.
 
Shawnee, the only solution to that "problem" is to buy bulk boxes, and every time you go to the store, don't leave without some. Walmart Federal .22 is cheap enough that a couple or four boxes a month doesn't impact the budget too much. Yeah, you can shoot that much up, but it takes some doing.
 
Love'em.

I just bought a new Super Single Six today; tomorrow I'm going up to a friend's ranch with his 9 year old son, some pumpkins, canned soda pop and whatever else we can find. His son is going to get to put the first rounds through the new gun. His Mom tells me the little guy can't sleep tonight...

This, ladies and gentlemen, should be fun. And what else but a .22?

Jeff
 
Bearcat on Order

Took my 9 yr old son out to shoot his Daisy pellet rifle. Broke out my Single Six with CB Longs. Caught him by suprise when I shot it. Let him try it and 150 rds of the CB's later the pellet rifle is history. I had him put on the ear muffs and let him shoot a couple of Mini-Mags. Big Grin.:)

Will be ordering a Bearcat for him this week and stocking up on the CB's.

Probably should buy some stock in CCI.
 
I love shooting .22s! I can go through a brick in no time but--it's cheap enough to plink with for hours. I use mine to improve my accuracy and I have used my Beretta Neos in competition. I get lots of looks with it because of its "space gun" look. I also have a Taurus revolver to play with. Just plain ole fun!!!!!!
 
I have 2 .22 revolvers already and was just offered a deal on a very nice condition H&R 9-shot with target grips in a presentation case. I can't remember the model number but it's a lot nicer looking than the pics I'm bringing up online. It locked up great and I'm having a hard time ignoring the offer.

It's no Smith but it was a better gun than many of the Taurus revolvers I've handled. Very tempting.
 
I just bought a new Super Single Six today; tomorrow I'm going up to a friend's ranch with his 9 year old son, some pumpkins, canned soda pop and whatever else we can find. His son is going to get to put the first rounds through the new gun. His Mom tells me the little guy can't sleep tonight...
Click to expand...
And which little guy is that?

Watch out for them Single Sixes, they are a bit addictive. They also tend to want to hog ammunition. Recovery is a 12-step process: 4" blued, 4" stainless, ....
 
Well, this time around the little guy was my friend's son....honest! The day went beautifully. He got to shoot a 10/22, my 5.5 SS Single Six, and the new blue 4 incher, which he sort of thinks of as his gun after today. It was definitely his favorite, by a long margin.

The look on his face when he he hit a well-shaken can of orange pop was about worth the price of the gun. The pumpkins never stood a chance.
Jeff
 
Well.. I have to do it.. I have to disagree with just about every post on this thread. Let me first say though.. when I was young I certainly loved my .22 marlin bolt rifle. But now ? I have to say that I find the .22.. just.. well.. boring. I do generally take my Beretta Neos to the range when I go, but I just really don't enjoy shooting it. And it's not the gun, it's definately the caliber. It's very accurate, especially with the red dot mounted on it. It's very cheap to shoot, a definate plus. And yet, I find it to be just no challenge or entertainment. I guess I've just got to have a big bang, or else it just isn't satisfying for me.
 
Hex: each to his own. I've got a couple of loudenboomers and will probably add another to that collection. I enjoy shooting them. I'm past needing the big bang. I had a rich uncle who encouraged me to regularly shoot 203 mm, 155mm, 40 mm, 7.62 mm, .223, .50 cal and .45 cal. A 7+ ton barrel with a 53" recoil is enough bang for most folks. Except for the size of the hole in the paper, up to 100 yards, there isn't much you can do with higher caliber you can't do with .22. If I'm going out for a few hours of shooting fun, the pop guns are really enjoyable. The challenge is to hit the center of that black dot as it jumps around.
 
My .02

Model 12 .38
Beretta 96 .40
Makarov 9x18
Henry .22
22/45 .22
heritage birds head .22/.22mag

when i go to the range i take a brick of .22 and a box each of the others.

I'll shoot the entire brick and about 2 boxes total of the other stuff.

So i guess that equals out to about 10 - 1

just as much fun, smaller holes in the paper, I can hit a shotgun hull with a .22 and giggle to myself, I've yet made myself smile with anything bigger.
 
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