Need advice on purchase of .22 caliber handgun

[BGDebbie]

I want to buy two .22 caliber handguns. I would like a semi automatic and something that shoots a .22 LR hollow point rounds. I'm not a weapons expert but have grown up around guns and am a decent shooter. I have a .22 now but it is too small for my hand and I don't care for it. This is for self protection and target practice. I am looking for recommendations on make and model.

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[Throckmorton]

I have a ruger and a 'smith and wesson 22a1,and the ruger is by far the better pistol.better trigger,better operating safety,better sights. costs more,but is worth more.
now,my ruger is an older model ,a Mark 2,but lots of folks like the newer Mark 3's just as well.
Lots of good ones out there like the Browning Buckmarks,and the Walther P22.

If u don't have a favorite gun store yet,go see Terry and Jan at LL guns at Dollars Corner. great folks who will help u decide on a good gun for your needs. Good seletion for a small store.

I"d reccomend NOT going with a real short barrel,they are harder to taget shoot with without tons of practice.I just bought a 4 " ruger for concealemant,and I shoot my longer barreled one quite a bit better for plinking. A 5.5 or 6" barrel is great for plinking,imho.

 

[BGDebbie]

I drive by LL Guns all the time. I keep wanting to stop and see what they have, but I'm normally on my way to somewhere and running late. I will have to make a point to stop in. I have a Jennings now and it's very small and has a short barrel. I just don't like it, even for a concealment weapon it's a pain.

 

[G1GRANDEUR]

Ruger

ATI .22 1911

M&P .22 (not made by S&W)

 

[tracop]

I've shot the Ruger Mk III .22 pistol, and it is awesome for target shooting, but not great as a 'fun' gun. I don't care for the weight and I think it's a pain in the neck to field strip and clean. I recently purchased a Walther P22 and I love it. It has a few issues( reassembly requires a guide rod for the recoil spring), but overall, it's a ton of fun. I was able to shoot shotgun casings off of a stick at 15 yards consistently. It cycles about everything I've fed it, and I made a point of feeding it the cheapest crap ammo I could find. Unlike the Ruger or the Browning, it feels more like a home defense pistol rather than a plinkster pistol. I'm not dissing either the browning or ruger, they're great, but when it comes down to it, I think a more 'tactical' feeling .22 is a bit more fun, and for me, the P22 fits the bill.

 

[SKN]

+1 for the Walther P22. Bought one for my then 9 year old daughter 4 years ago and she still enjoys shooting it. It's lightweight, reliable and accurate. I was thinking of getting my 9 year old son a Ruger SR22 since he wants his own pistol instead of his sister's, but have heard of reliability issues with them and they seem to be hard to find locally.

 

[Riot]

Ever thought of a Kel Tec PMR 30?



I know it is in .22 MAG not .22 LR, but even the Walther P22 is a little small in the hands as well.



The Walther is not a bad pistol. It was one of my favorites that I've owned and I have no personal experience with the PMR; it is just a suggestion.

 

[speedtriple]

Ruger is my favorite .22. I traded for a Mark III 22/45 not long ago, and find I am shooting it more and more. Yes, they are a bit hard to tear down to clean, but once you have done it a few times it gets easy.

My Wife LOVES her Sig Mosquito. Many people seem to have lots of problems with the Sig feeding ammo, but we don't have any problems with ours. Don't know if we got a good one, or just the fact that I keep it cleaned and lubed.

In general, I am not sure I would carry a semi auto for self defense. No, not because of the normal "it is too weak, no knock down power" reason usually mentioned. More for the fact that .22 semi autos are not as reliable. You might consider a revolver if a .22 is what you feel you need to carry. I don't have any .22 revolvers, so can't offer what is a good one.

 

[mjbskwim]

I bought a Walther to fit my grandson's hands. Small grip but I can shoot it fine with my big hands. But the buckmark and S&Ws have nice big grips. My buckmark is a 7" model but I wouldn't hesitate to carry a shorter one or a p22 if that's all I had
Accurate a quick firing

 

[rufus]

The Browning Buck Mark is a fantastic .22 pistol. <broken link removed> .

 

[hermannr]

High Standard semi-auto...find one that was manufactured in Connecticut. I particularly like the Trophy and the Victor. The Trophy has many easily interchangeable barrels available, weights, compensator, adjustable trigger..super compitition pistol. (love mine, or should I say my wife's. we've shot thousands of rounds through the Trophy, still just as accurate as when we purchsed it long ago.)

The browning buckmark is nice, as is the colt woodsman.

Revolver? High Standard longhorn (with both 22 LR and 22 Mag, interchangeable cylinders) that is, if you can find one. Also very accurate. Gun broker has them on occation (BTW these were manufactured in the 60's and 70's)

 

[tripleshotsplease]

May I recommend a Bersa 22? its a walther PPK clone (the james bond gun) and it is a bit larger than the p22, so it seems to fit better in hand.
also you can get one for around 190-240 used.

as far as as reliability and accuracy goes, i prefer it over my sig mosquito 22.
just a suggestion. hope it helps.

 

[DieselScout]

The Browning Buck Mark is a fantastic .22 pistol. <broken link removed> .

Another vote for the Buckmark. I was a Ruger MkII fan until I shot a Buckmark. Neither are bad guns, I just like the Buckmark better. I find the Buckmark easier to clean, as I can pass a brush completely through the action. Also, if I ever want to upgrade to a suppressor, I can just buy a new threaded barrel and have it shipped to me. On the Ruger Mk series the barrel is the gun, so you have to have it sent through an FFL and go through the same process as if you were buying a new firearm.

 

[PDXSparky]

The Browning Buck Mark is a fantastic .22 pistol. <broken link removed> .

+1 for the Buckmark. Loads of fun to shoot and mine isn't very picky about the ammo I feed it. The bulk Federal rounds work fine.

 

[netcarrier]

Hi BG, Debbie,
If you live in the Portland, Oregon Area, There is shooting range in Taulatin, North Portland, and Clackamas. Try going to one of the range, Rent a gun and try it out. I like S & W Revolver, Taurus Revolver, Ruger Auto, Sig Auto, and Walther Auto.
Hope this Helps, Tony Portland, Oregon Area

 

[Abiqua]

If you have any desire to suppress in the future, pick up a factory threaded 22/45, otherwise go with either the Ruger or the Buckmark. With the Ruger and Buckmark you will be passing them down to your kids. The Walther is disposable.

 

[Mookie]

Walther and Sig have somewhat bad reputations for feeding and being picky and the Walther for being cheaply made and breaking. Just because something looks "tactical" does not make it better at anything. Granted, the P22 is a cool looking gun, but why not get the SR22 which is very similar but much better made.

Ruger and Browning have excellent reputations for good reason. Ruger has an issue with take down, and it can be bad until you figure it out. Get the Sam Lam bushing for it and you can completely field strip it and put it back together in less than 30 seconds. Plus, it shoots the CCI Sub HP flawlessly and it is a HUGE hollow point. In over 2,000 rounds of no cleaning it has never jammed on me (that doesn't include the other 5k I have put through it with no issues but have kept clean). And it comes in countless designs and barrel lengths/contours. Don't know the ins and outs of the Buckmark but they are super reliable and come in tons of flavors.

 

[ronin223]

agree, I've owned a walther P22 and it was sheer junk, very unreliable and inaccurate. Very ammo sensitive. Only pistol I've had that would keyhole at 25 yards.

I highly recommend you not consider the walther P22.

I have a Ruger 22/45 Mk 2 and Mk3. The Mk 2 I've had almost 10 years, and shoot 500-1000 rounds a week. Still works fine just broke a couple firing pins.

If you are considering using this for self defense, may be too big to carry and with a bull barrel very heavy. You may want to try the new Ruger 22/45 LITE which is very light.

 

[MarkAd]

Enough all ready. Yes the MK series RUGER can be hard to clean. But the guy at Majestic Arms have created the Speed Strip Kit. It makes it easy to pull the bolt and clean without the hassle. It is worth the bucks.
I like the buckmark too.
But like I tell everyone. The only think that really counts is how the gun fits you. I would rather have a 300.00 good fitting pistol then a poor fitting 3500.00 pistol. if it makes you go ummmmmmmm, that is the one for you.

 

[Bill Siegle]

Cleaning a Ruger 22 is one of those things that is easy to figure out. Read your instruction manual. It isn't as simple as other guns but it shouldn't be a deciding factor on a buy. What I did when I got my first one many years ago was to follow the instructions step by step. I then took it down and put it back together about ten times. That will get the process locked in for you and then you can enjoy one of the best 22 designs ever!