.22 Pistol Recommendations

ShadowByte · Post by **ShadowByte** » Fri, 13 Jan 2012 08:12:36

I am looking for some recommendations on .22lr pistols, preferably from personal experience. This will be a present for my wife, so I am looking for something that isn't too heavy, but still accurate enough to have a fun day of plinking as well as small enough she could carry it if she ever had the desire.

Originally I was looking at the Ruger MK III 22/45 target, but I am a little concerned about the weight on the wrists and it is a little bulky to conceal carry, though the latter isn't as major of a concern at the moment. The other two I have had my eye on will be the Sig Sauer Mosquito and the Bersa Thunder. Initially I was leaning toward the Sig, but there seems to be a lot of grumbling about reliability issues.... I would love to hear anyone's personal experiences with the above or any other .22lr pistol.

Thanks!

meak99 · Post by **meak99** » Fri, 13 Jan 2012 09:42:25

I've got the Ruger 22/45 and you're right - it's heavy, and not what i would call "easily concealable". Whether or not to carry a .22LR for personal protection is another discussion - but any gun is better than no gun.

As far as reliablility, I have several thousand rounds through it this year - cheap bricks of Rem, Win & Fed, very few issues other than duds in the ammo. However, I am running Volquartsen internals on it so i can't speak for the factory setup - but I've not heard anything bad about Ruger .22 pistols.

Check out their new SR22 - looks like their SR9/40 lineup... I'd like to try one out.

Post by **allingeneral** » Fri, 13 Jan 2012 09:45:36

Read all about it here:

http://www.spentbrass.com/pistol/walther/p22/review.php

Post by **Taggure** » Fri, 13 Jan 2012 09:49:20

In My Opinion the Ruger Mark 3 is the best one that you listed. I have heard good things about the Bersa and not so good things about the Sig. The one that you did not mention was the Walther PK22; It is lite and compact and a lot of fun to shot.

The key to a 22 is understanding that .22's rifle or pistol are notoriously a dirty round, and that after a good day of shooting that a through cleaning is required.

My 16 year old daughter loves shooting the 22’s and the Walther PK22 fits her had perfectly.

Post by **Taggure** » Fri, 13 Jan 2012 09:57:09

Walther P22 would also be a good choice and if she did decide to use it for a carry pistol lite and easy to conceal. The Stinger .22's are very lethal and accurate. You can ask a few squirrels and crows during last years hunting season. Oh wait a minute; Sorry they all died of Lead Poison: hysterical:

ShadowByte · Post by **ShadowByte** » Fri, 13 Jan 2012 12:16:28

I can't believe I over looked the Walther, thanks for the information on the P22. I am liking what I have read on that so far. That and it comes in pink (I know, I know, but it would be a nice touch for her)!

I really like the Ruger MkIII myself and originally wanted to get the one with the heavy barrel for her, but I think it would weigh too much on her wrists and not make the experience as enjoyable. I want her to be able to shoot all day and not get uncomfortable, so the MkIII will have to take a backseat for now.

That Ruger SR22 is pretty nice looking, seems similar to the P22. I will have to check into that one as well during my research phase, though the Walther has gained the lead for now.

As far as the self defense aspect of a .22lr, I know there are some pretty nasty loads out there that I can put in there for her to have on hand. They may not be the most powerful things, but if she gets proficient, I am sure she could make the aggressor decide to pick on someone else

Post by **Taggure** » Fri, 13 Jan 2012 12:23:55

this is at 25 yards pretty impressive.

Post by **Palladin** » Fri, 13 Jan 2012 19:37:42

ShadowByte wrote:
I really like the Ruger MkIII myself and originally wanted to get the one with the heavy barrel for her, but I think it would weigh too much on her wrists and not make the experience as enjoyable. I want her to be able to shoot all day and not get uncomfortable, so the MkIII will have to take a backseat for now.

Aw, get the Ruger - you won't regret it. She won't either. She has to put the thing down to reload anyway.

My 75yo mom took two groundhogs with hers this past summer, and she can still shoot it all day.

For teeny tiny pocket, try the Beretta Bobcat... just keep it clean and run Stingers and Minimags through it.

M1A4ME · Post by **M1A4ME** » Sat, 14 Jan 2012 08:26:38

I bought a Ruger Mk1 30 years ago and never found the need for another .22 pistol. My brother got one and then my dad and other brother bought one each. No issues with them over the years.

I had a buddy in college than bought a High Standard target pistol. It cost more than twice as much as my Ruger, it wasn't any more accurate than my Ruger and every couple of boxes he'd have to pull the bolt and clean it up because it was so tight the dirty little .22 cartridges would binding it up with gunk.

Nope, I don't carry it concealed but I've killed ground hogs and squirrels with mine back when I used to hunt. Lots of paper, cans, shotgun empies, rocks, and even a couple of bumble bees with mine.

ShadowByte · Post by **ShadowByte** » Tue, 24 Jan 2012 08:37:20

After reading up on things, I think I am settling on her the Ruger SR22P. That gun seems to follow the Mark series in that it can chew through any ammo without griping and seems to be fairly accurate. Plus it is just over 1 lb. empty. Seems to be a nice compromise between the Ruger Mk III and the Walther P22 as far as size, weight, accuracy and reliability.

Now I just need to locate someone with one in stock...seems its either too new or fairly sought after (or both) at the moment, most places seem to be sold out.

Thanks for the input everyone, I really appreciate the insight and suggestions!

ShadowByte · Post by **ShadowByte** » Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:01:45

I picked up the Ruger SR22P (03600) this past Saturday and I am pretty impressed with the little pistol. I haven't had the chance to shoot it yet, so that could change, but I doubt it from all I have read.

It is very solid, not cheap feeling int he least. Very smooth action, nice trigger and the changeable hand grips are a really nice touch. I also love the fully adjustable rear sight too.

As an added bonus, taking the gun down for cleaning is super simple as well, easier than my Glock and its just as easy to get it back together. It looks like they could offer aftermarket barrels and grips for the thing pretty easily too.

She seems to really like it as well, which is what I was aiming for. It'll be a nice one for everyone in the family to shoot I think.

Chasbo00 · Post by **Chasbo00** » Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:57:45

Should you decide to get another .22 pistol (many of us have more than one)...

What I look for in a .22 pistol is the ruggedness to shoot many thousands of rounds and an ability to reliably function with cheap bulk ammo. To date, two pistols the Ruger Mark III (including the 22/45) and Browning Buckmarks have worked well for me. Also, regarding inexpensive ammo, I've had the best luck with Federal copper coated 36 grain bullets. They usually have them at Walmart for about $19/550.

ShadowByte · Post by **ShadowByte** » Wed, 08 Feb 2012 10:42:33

Chasbo00 wrote: What I look for in a .22 pistol is the ruggedness to shoot many thousands of rounds and an ability to reliably function with cheap bulk ammo.

This was the biggest deciding factor for me as well. The Ruger SR22P seemed to do great with the bulk ammo and worked with pretty much everything else as well. The Federal 550 packs are pretty much all I have used on my Savage Mark II and it does superb with them, so the fact that I can keep the same type of ammo for both is great. I am going to probably load CCI Stingers in there for carry, but Federal for plinking.

The Mark III has been bumped up to second on my list, only behind the Weatherby Vanguard S2 .308 (I don't think this "list" ever stops growing...you get one, then another just takes its place!

) My friend had a Ruger Mark II and that was alot of fun to shoot. The nice thing with the 22 pistol is you can shoot it all day long without breaking the bank or your wrist...so my hope is to hone our skills (grip/trigger control/sight acquisition) with that and then translate them to the bigger pistols...we shall see...

TheWolfhound · Post by **TheWolfhound** » Thu, 22 Mar 2012 22:13:14

Let me throw a monkey wrench into the discussion. I know you have already purchased the SR22P. Check out the Browning Buckmark. It is a bit lighter than the Ruger, every bit as accurate, and with a more comfortable grip, making it a nearly perfect plinker. Like the Ruger it will eat anything. I do reccomend the Sigg Mosquito as a combat pistol trainer. It will jam. It teaches you how to get past that.

Chasbo00 · Post by **Chasbo00** » Tue, 03 Apr 2012 16:42:20

ShadowByte wrote: The nice thing with the 22 pistol is you can shoot it all day long without breaking the bank or your wrist...so my hope is to hone our skills (grip/trigger control/sight acquisition) with that and then translate them to the bigger pistols...we shall see...

I think you can use a .22 to learn and practice about 80 percent of those things needed to shoot a pistol extremely well. Anyone who shoots pistols should have at least one .22. I practice with mine a lot - about three times as much as I do with a center-fire pistol. Two things you can't do with a .22 pistol (they are related) are learn/practice to effectively manage recoil, and shoot both quickly and accurately with service caliber or larger handguns.

XSNOWMANx · Post by **XSNOWMANx** » Tue, 03 Apr 2012 17:35:43

I have a few .22 pistols and to date my favorite is the Browning Buckmark. I have a full size and a mini buckmark. Its been reliable albeit occasionally picky about what ammo it likes, and I have easily put over 10,000 rounds down it without any issues what so ever.

If I was to purchase another one now however it would be a Walther.

Empire · Post by **Empire** » Mon, 09 Apr 2012 10:35:09

Another fun choice would be the Ruger Charger.
Comes with it's own bi-pod and basically feels like a 10-22 "sniper pistol".
A bit bulky for concealed carry unless you wear MC Hammer pants but fun to tote thru the woods.

It's the one on the right side of the table.
My kids love shooting it......hell, I love shooting it.

Mindflayer · Post by **Mindflayer** » Mon, 09 Apr 2012 10:46:43

Another vote for the Ruger SR-22 pistol. I love mine. A blast to shoot, light, and yes, even concealable.

kanata67 · Post by **kanata67** » Thu, 12 Jul 2012 20:39:00

I love my walther p-22 pistol 5" barrel. A gun shop up the road has my pistol but with the integrated laser which is mighty tempting. I am amazed nobody mentioned the walther SP-22. Look it up. Friggin awesome. Adjustable everything. Scoped, laser, both... etc.

CDRGlock · Post by **CDRGlock** » Fri, 13 Jul 2012 07:08:14

One thing to consider is an 8round 22LR revolver. Smith and Wesson and Taurus make one.

There's always a Ruger SP101 or LCR in 22, also.

As much as I love my Mark II,it's not ideal for the reasons of field stripping.

The Walther is a good choice. It handles high velocity CCI ammo. The external safety is a plus.

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