What options for a 22 LR SA/DA trainer...better a revolver or a pistol??

[saturno_v]

I would love to buy a 22 pistol for low cost plinking and training that is functionally close to "real" caliber service/hunting handguns....so no Ruger or S&W autoloaders (at least the models I know).

I already own a 44 Mag revolver (S&W 29) and 3 semi autos in 9mm, (Kel-Tec P-11) .40 S&W (Bersa Thunder 40) and 10mm Auto, (S&W 1006)...probably I will buy a 45 soon (S&W 4506)

As you can see I'm a fan of DA/SA actions (well the P-11 is DAO but it is a pocket piece) so I would love the DA option to train with..this is the reason why the classic target 22 LR pistols are not an option.

I was thinking about a SIG Mosquito but I heard mixed reviews about it.

Another inexpensive option would be the Firestorm 22 (it is a Bersa Thunder 380 chambered in 22 LR) but I would like a barrel length of at least 4"

I do not mind buying another service caliber pistol with a 22 LR conversion as long as the combo doesn't break the bank (I would not like to go for more money than a Mosquito...~$400)

Any suggestions out there?? Any other option in semiauto than a Mosquito?? How is the Walther??

A revolver may be better??

Am I worrying too much about having the DA option for training?? (well the problem is not only the lack of DA...the target .22 pistols have a different balance and feel compared to regular defensive handguns)


Thanks


Regards

 

[9mmepiphany]

i think you best buy out there, given what you already have and are thinking about getting, would be a Sig 220 2-step combo.

it is the 220 frame (.45ACP, DA/SA) with their .22lr conversion upper installed...for just a bit more than the Mosquito. it comes with a discount coupon for a CF upper. if you redeem the coupon within a year, the price works out to the conversion until being practically free.

of course, you'd have to want a .45 Sig to begin with

 

[saturno_v]

Just looking around online I read good things about the Firestorm 22-6.

Even some THR members seem to like it.

Basically it is a Bersa Thunder 380 (which is a DA/SA) chambered in 22 LR and with a 6" barrel.

Very solid company and CS.

www.impactguns.com them at $259.....hmm nice nice....looking good....

 

[saturno_v]

9mmepiphany

That SIG combo does look interesting but I do not see mantioned anywhere (I did check the SIG website and Impact Guns)

I only find couple of them on gunbroker for $800!!!

Maybe it has been discontinued??

What was the final price for the 45 and the 22 LR upper at the end of the day??

 

[content]

Hello friends and neighbors // I have a S&W 6" 586 .357/.38 6 shot DA/SA

I chose the S&W 6" 617 .22lr 10 shot DA/SA to train with. They both have a full lug and the stainless 617 is almost the same balance/weight as the the blued 586.

My 617 was like new, no box, SS cylinder out the door for $550.00 including a nylon case and ATF check(Jan. 2010) . I feel like the price was very fair.

I could have bought reloading equipment for the .357/.38 and saved money on training that way, but I love shooting/teaching with the .22s.

 

[orionengnr]

the target .22 pistols have a different balance and feel compared to regular defensive handguns

Yeah..well, in reality, what you really need in a trainer is cheap ammo, so you can train frequently. Any .22LR accomplishes this.
I train with a bull-barreled Ruger MkII, which is very unlike my actual carry gun (which, when I started this exercise, was a 3" polymer-framed DAO/striker-fired Kahr PM9). Nonetheless, the benefit of practicing with the .22LR was immediate and measureable.

What you gain from repetitive practice is the mechanics:
1) sight picture
2) trigger control

These days I shoot mostly 1911s, so the trigger of the MkII is more "like" the 1911. But the grip angle is different, the mag release position is different, the safety is different, the slide(bolt) release is different.

No matter. I can and do practice presentation and dry firing with my carry pistol, and have no "muscle memory" problems. What I have gained from many .22LR rounds downrange has transferred directly to my 1911 and revolver shooting, even though each is very different from a 1911 or the MkII. I am a far better shot today than I was two years ago when I bought the .22 and started firing it regularly.

So, my advice is this: Do not discount a "mainline" .22LR just because it is "not exactly like" your preferred platform. There are far more transferrable similarities than there are dissimilarities. Yes, I'd really like a 1911 Kimber .22LR, and I've looked at a couple of used ones...but at $600 for a .22, I can't justify it. I'd even like a .22 conversion for one of my .45acp Kimbers, but that is $250-300, and that is the price of my .22, which I already own.

I also have a beautiful S&W M-18 that I bought to complement my revolver shooting, but I seldom use the M-18 and will probably sell it. Somehow, shooting that MkII has made me a much better revolver shooter too

 

[saturno_v]

Orionegnr

Very good points...


Many people, unless they want to target shoot professionally, do not want to spend a lot of money in a 22 handgun.....maybe is not right but, as you said, I really do not feel like laying down more than $4-500 max for a rimfire.

Basically I want only one reasonably priced 22 SA/DA action with a somewhat longer barrel (> 4") to be the best "approximation" to firing a big caliber handgun (Pistol or revolver) and I want the DA trigger to practice in that mode. I do not even plan to buy a semi auto and a revolver in 22.....just one to mimic both as best as I can...in that regard that Firestorm 22-6 look like a good bet.

Or maybe I should look at reloading and leave alone the 22.....however even with loading your own ammo you cannot even approach the economics of shooting 22 LR.

 

[9mmepiphany]

What was the final price for the 45 and the 22 LR upper at the end of the day??

i want to say $600, but i'm not sure...it was less than a regular 220...and redemming the coupon for the upper only added about $26...so <$650

i paid >$300 just for the conversion, but then i already had the 220 and 226...they were down to $249 over christmas

EDIT: i found it on the SIG site...$608
http://www.sigsauer.com/Products/ShowCatalogProductDetails.aspx?categoryid=6&productid=262

 

[BCRider]

Does CZ sell their Kadet kit in the US? If so you have the option of turning a CZ 75/85 into a .22.

But to tell the truth I was like you and worried about the look and feel of a .22 practice gun and how it should be as close as possible to my 9mm match gun (we can only shoot for matches up here as carrying isn't permited). But in the end I found that as long as the grip feel and overall weight of the .22 pretty closely matched the grip of my center fires for size and angle that it really wasn't a big deal. This means that such options as Ruger 22/45 and the Browning Buckmark will not be a bad practice gun if you get them with a shorter bull barrel to more closely replicate the weight and balance point of your other semi handguns. Don't mind that you're looking down past a rounded shape instead of a flat sided slide. If the grip feels like a close match and the swing weight to lift the gun to your sight picture is close to your other semis then all the other stuff will only matter when you're looking at them all laid out on the cleaning table for the family portrait.

For revolvers there isn't any .22cal N frames so you're out of luck for finding a match for your 29 However the model 17 or K-22 are classy options that at least have the nice full K size grip frame and the same heft as a Model 19.