Looking for a .22

[Guest Aces&8s]

Another +1 for the Heritage Rough Rider... mine is a great little shooter. But I think you have made a good choice with the Ruger... they really have the .22 semi-autos down pat, and they are built to last... one of these days, your son should be able to teach his son how to shoot with the same pistol.

[Guest Kimber45]

S&W 22a is a good pistol and alot of fun to shoot. I bought mine 5 years ago for $219 NIB and have run thousands of rounds through it without an issue. Heck, somtimes I don't even clean it between shoots and it always goes bang.

[JAB]

I thought about trading my 5.5 inch S&W 22A for a Ruger because I like the 'Luger' look. After shooting mine side by side with my grandfather in law's MKII and realizing I shoot the S&W just as well if not a little better (and him telling me I can shoot the Ruger anytime I want) I decided to keep the 22A. The only 'problem' I have had with mine was when I had a case rupture on an Aguila Supermaximum hypervelocity round. The base of the casing looked like a tin can that had been opened and it blew the 22A's extractor assembly to hell and gone. I consider that the fault of the ammo, however, and not the gun. I ordered and installed a new extractor assembly and have had no further issues. I really think it is just as good as the Ruger - the only thing is there is a plastic recoil pad in the 22A that needs changing from time to time and I'm not sure if the same is true of the Ruger. One thing about the 22A is that there is an integrated 'rail' built in to the top of it in case you wanted to put some type of optic on it.

That said, if I were buying one right now, today it would probably be a Ruger just because I do like the look of them. I don't use an optic so losing the 'rail' of the 22A isn't an issue, for me.

I also have a Heritage Rough Rider and enjoy it, as well. In fact, it gets shot more than the semiauto. Personally, I don't think you would go wrong with any of the three.

Edited August 30, 2011 by JAB

[Guest Big-A]

Ruger mk II great lil gun but the MK III 22/45 = Junk. Had nothing but trouble out of that one. Wouldnt feed any quality ammo at least 2 ftf per mag. This was a brand new firearm. Bought a new mag but same thing . Sent it back came back same way. bought a lemon Ruger 345 also but Ruger revolvers are hard to beat. The S&W 22A is ugly but will shoot bout anything even the cheap stuff

[Dolomite_supafly]

Try to find a used Ruger MKII over a MKIII. The magazine disconnect on the new models drove me crazy. I eventually swapped in MKII parts to eliminate it.

Any way you shake it a steel gun is better than an aluminum and an all steel MKII should be pretty easy to find for $250.

Dolomite

[Dolomite_supafly]

Ruger mk II great lil gun but the MK III 22/45 = Junk. Had nothing but trouble out of that one. Wouldnt feed any quality ammo at least 2 ftf per mag. This was a brand new firearm. Bought a new mag but same thing . Sent it back came back same way. bought a lemon Ruger 345 also but Ruger revolvers are hard to beat. The S&W 22A is ugly but will shoot bout anything even the cheap stuff

I had nothing but problems with my 22A. Never made it through a single mag without a failure. I tried every kind of ammo with the same results. It was the first .22 that I have ever had or even seen that fails with CCI ammo.

Dolomite

[kieefer]

I've got two S&W's, 22A and 22S, no problems out of either one. I had two magazines that wouldn't feed well, sanded on both and hadn't had anymore issues.

Heck a lot easier to clean than the Ruger.

[hornett22]

I agree on the Rugers and the Browning. Both awesome guns. The Buckmark fits my hand a little better.

As for SA revolvers,the Ruger is another great gun but feels to small in my hand. I found the EAA Bounty Hunter more to my liking. Its a bigger gun than the Ruger. Excellent quality, made in Germany.

If money is no object, in semi auto I recommend the Colt Woodsman or S&W model 41.

In DA revolvers the S&W 617 with the 10 shot cylinder. My favorite is the Colt Trooper.

[Guest Bane]

The Ruger has been a sweet gun for myself and my family. We fed it some pretty old 22lr ammo that had been setting around for 30+ years and it had no problems firing it off like a champ.

It was a choice between the Browning, Beretta and Ruger when I went to buy it. After a ton of research on the three I went with the Ruger for a number of reasons. For one they can be customized with tons of aftermarket products, they've been around for quite a few years and for the money they can't be beat IMHO.

Have fun with your purchase and make sure to throw plenty down range.

[charlessummers]

We found a pretty nice Beretta Neos and decided to buy it instead of waiting on the Ruger. We shot about 500 rounds through it without a hitch. My son is becoming quite the marksman... I wouldn't have even considered this pistol before the recommendations here. Thanks!

[Dolomite_supafly]

I can, and do, break down my wife's Ruger 22/45 in a matter of seconds. I can easily get it back together in under 30 seconds as well. My wife can do the same but maybe not as quickly. They are just as easy as most others once you have done it a few times. I consider the Ruger easier to disassemble and reassemble than a 1911 or my Taurus 24/7.

Dolomite

[Jonnin]

My 22/45 (Mk II) will go together incorrectly (the bolt will not move if this happens, try again...) and the big lug that goes thru the bolt and handle gets stuck easily (wiggle it for a while and it will eventually slip free). Between these two issues, even though I have done it many, many times, it remains a pain. I have had it go together in under 5 min and I have had it take over 30, depending on whether it wants to go back properly and whether it gets stuck. The 1911s are a pain too, typically I wrench out the bushing far enough to release the spring first, then take out the pin and then take off the slide, once the slide is off I take it on down starting with the bushing. 1911ish pistols are far better... most you just pull a pin, pop off the slide, and its done, its that stupid bushing that makes the 1911 a pain to deal with. The 2 easiest are the DE (push a button and it falls apart) and the makarov (pull down the trigger guard, remove the slide). And one of the oddest is a mousegun 22 ... remove the front sight, which is holding it together.. needless to say its not an accurate gun!

[Guest Lester Weevils]

The Beretta 92FS is the quickest to field strip and reassemble of any pistols I have. There are several pistols about as simple and fast but you either have to push a pin rather than a button, or they fight you just a little bit going back together. The Beretta/Stoeger Cougar is a close second to the 92 in ease, but duh its almost the same gun except the locking mechanism.

1911 doesn't bother me much. Probably takes more time to disassemble/reassemble the PLR-16 but it is from lack of practice. Haven't done it often enough to remember how without glancing at the manual.

With the Mark II GunScrubber is yer friend!

One thing I wonder about-- It is said best to scrub out a barrel from the chamber end to minimize the chance of scratching the barrel crown with the cleaning rod. But with a Mark II or III, you pretty much would have to disassemble the thang every time to avoid breaking that rule? I've looked at the crown with a magnifying glass. After a decade of cleaning from the barrel front mostly with an a aluminum cleaning rod, it doesn't look scratched up much. Would crown damage sufficient to affect accuracy, be really obvious to the eye under a magnifying glass? Or could very subtle damage significantly affect accuracy?

[Jonnin]

I dont use a cleaning rod, I bought a set of soft wooden dowel rods and normally shove a fluffed up q-tip soaked in hoppes down the barrel (for the .22s). I only use a rod once in a great while if I can see something stuck in the rifleing that will not come out with gentle methods. Very slight damage to a crown can ruin a gun's accuracy, if you are shooting long ranges or are very serious. At short ranges, you will not notice the effects. With cheap ammo, you may not notice the effects. It just depends on the specific damage and what level of accuracy you are talking about. The rods are much softer than the barrel and should not be able to damage it much unless you are very rough with the gun when you clean it. I use the wood not because I worry about the cleaning rod damage but because it was easier to work with on partially disassembled guns.

Edited August 30, 2011 by Jonnin

[Bubba0031]

You got to give the Buckmark some love here. I really like mine. I used a Neos when I did my HCP class and it's a good little gun. The Ruger is I think the most popular. You couldn't go wrong with any of the three.

[JAB]

We found a pretty nice Beretta Neos and decided to buy it instead of waiting on the Ruger. We shot about 500 rounds through it without a hitch. My son is becoming quite the marksman... I wouldn't have even considered this pistol before the recommendations here. Thanks!

I have never even fired a Neos but I kind of like the Buck Rogers look they have going. In case you are interested (and didn't know) Beretta offers a kit that turns the Neos into a carbine. Apparently, the ATF have said that it is legal to use the kit and swap back and forth between handgun and carbine.

I had nothing but problems with my 22A. Never made it through a single mag without a failure. I tried every kind of ammo with the same results. It was the first .22 that I have ever had or even seen that fails with CCI ammo.

Dolomite

Now that you mention that, I do remember having issues with my 22A jamming due to failures to feed a lot early on, regardless of ammo used. It got better the more I shot it so I realized it was a 'break in' issue. Then one day I polished the feed ramp to nearly a mirror shine and don't recall having a single failure to feed since.

Edited August 30, 2011 by JAB

[Oh Shoot]

I have never even fired a Neos but I kind of like the Buck Rogers look they have going. In case you are interested (and didn't know) Beretta offers a kit that turns the Neos into a carbine. Apparently, the ATF have said that it is legal to use the kit and swap back and forth between handgun and carbine....

I keep thinking I want that, but it costs more than the original gun. Beretta keeps putting various stuff on sale through web specials, but so far, not the NEOS rifle kit.

- OS

[charlessummers]

Please don't let my son see that! ^ LOL