.22LR Pistol Insight

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james13

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I have been shooting for about three months and just recently received my LTC-A (ALP). I am a member of a range and have been using their selection of .22LR Rugers for the great majority of my practice. These guns have a lot of rounds through them and they nearly all of them have some problem with the adjustable sights being out of alignment.

Due to the inconsistency of the sights and varying availability of the rentals I have decided to purchase my own .22LR semi-automatic pistol, but my experience is limited to the range’s selection of pistols and I am unsure of what exactly to purchase. My budget is $500.

I like the proportions of the Ruger Mark III (5.5” bull barrel) that I have rented (when available) as well as a Mark III hunter (6-7/8” barrel) that I have had the opportunity to shoot. I have been reading some other posts and people have raised concerns over the weight of the bull barreled MK III as well as the complexity (perceived or actual) in cleaning them.

There have been several threads comparing the P22 and the Sig Mosquito; I have ruled out the P22 as I do not like the feel of the gun in my hand and I don’t have any personal experience with the Mosquito.

I have not been able to find much on the Browning Buckmark Camper, the S&W 22A or the Beretta Neos. Does anyone have an experience with these or any additional .22LR pistols would be willing to share their insight.

__________________________________________________
Member of

GOAL
NRA
 
Man, I say stick with what works, (not that the others don't). A bull-barreled Ruger MarkII is in my future. I've poured ammunition down my old MarkII and it just keeps coming back for more. Thanks to Scrivener and his brake cleaner method, cleaning has never been easier....[cheers]
 
You can't go wrong with the Ruger 22s. I didn't like a friend's mosquito. I'm just not a DA/SA fan, and it only ran well with certain ammo types. My Mk3 stainless bull barrel eats thousands of rounds of cheap federal bulk pack without complaint. The only other 22 handgun I'd consider is the Smith and Wesson 617 ten shot 22LR revolver.
 
I've got a 5 1/2" MkIII blued bull barrel. Learning to take it down is a right of passage [wink]. The first time is a pain but after that it's not that bad. Best $300 I ever spent.
 
I have a Ruger 22/45 and an S&W 22A. For me the 22A is much more accurate. Although I think it is me and not the hardware as my brother shoots the Ruger ten times better than I do. I don't think you can go wrong with a Ruger as there are many aftermarket adjustments available and they are generally very reliable. But definitely try the 22A as well before you make your decision. The intergral weaver base on the 22A is nice also.
I'll let you try mine if you want to make a trip to NH.
 
I have a Browning Buckmark. It has a great trigger and is more accurate than I am. The problem with them is that they are not MA compliant. So, the chances of finding one of the new series will be near impossible. Finding any Buckmark is tough. I had looked for one for about 6 months locally and had absolutely no luck. I did post a WTB here on NES and did come up with one.

If you liked the way the Ruger felt, why change. But if you did, I'd highly recommend the Buckmarks.
 
James13, you could always do what I did - find a used Mark II in excellent condition and buy it.

I freely admit I'm one of the most vocal critics of the Mark III. To me, it looks like it was designed by a committee of lawyers. Product liability lawyers, at that. I was used to the simple takedown procedures used by the Mark I and II, so to have to put the magazine in and out while sacrificing a chicken during the dark of the moon just to clean my pistol was really pissing me off. Sold it to a friend (after warning him about the cleaning procedure) and he's happy with it.

It all depends on whether or not you can deal with unnecessary complexity. Many people here don't care. I did. It may be worth it to you to go to a good gunshop and ask if someone can show you the manual (or even show you how to strip it and put it back together) so you can decide for yourself.

Having ranted and railed about the takedown procedure, I will say that it was an utterly reliable gun and never choked on anything. Just kept pumping out the rounds, and doing so very accurately.

Here is the manual; disassembly procedures start on page 22.
 
Last edited:
I have a Buckmark camper, and I really like it. If you're in MA
then the S&W 22 semi auto is good, only problem for me is that the grips are so big.
 
If you can find a Browning Buckmark, get it. Best of the 'entry' level .22's I've used.

However, the S&W 22A is not bad at all for the price. Just do NOT dry fire it, you'll seriously damage the chamber. That said, we've sent our club guns back to S&W for repair from students who've dry fired it and they fix 'em without any complaint.

I got my 22A used and it had a slight dent from dry fire and I was able to hone it out without any issues. Been a nice plinker/trainer for me.

There are higher quality .22 caliber designed for bullseye, but I don't recommend them until you can shoot better than the other guns.
 
If you could find an old S&W model 41, those are sweet shooters.
High Standards are nice too. (but these will most likely be over $500, if you're lucky enough to find one). I've enjoyed my Ruger MKIII and have no complaints about it. Learning how to take it down and re-assemble was a pain in the ass though.
 
Bull barrels are nice; I think the Government Model - the "slab barrel" - is nicer. It's what the academy teams shoot, hence the "Government" designation.
 
I have a Ruger MkII and a S&W 22A. No reliability problems with either, like shooting them both - both are more accurate than I am. The MkII is the 5" bull with a dotsight, the 22A was too good a deal to pass up, and I was looking for an iron sight 22LR. (Amazing the price break you get when the previous owner hasn't realized the pistol works better with an extractor installed, and the shop couldn't bother/didn't notice..) I'd buy either of them again. The 22A wood grip is huge, so at some point that's going to be attacked with a wood rasp and some sandpaper until it's perfect.

I had a Walther P22 and a Browning Buckmark. I still have visitation rights for the Buckmark, beautiful shooter and one I should have kept. Maybe my dad will get sick of it someday [sad] .....If you see one, buy it!

The P22, I didn't like so much. The biggest issue for me was that it was too small for my hands, even with the large grip insert. It was moderately fussy about ammo, which got better with some work, and did shoot well for me. If it was bigger, I would have kept it. I wanted a DA/SA 22, still do. Haven't tried a Mosquito yet, but it's on the list.

Not an auto, but there's nothing wrong with a S&W 22LR revolver, either.
 
I appreciate all of the insight that you guys have offered. After evaluating all of the information and my personal experiences I decided to go with the Ruger Mark III in a 5.5 inch bull barrel.

However, shortly before making the purchase I was talking with my uncle and he said that instead of purchasing a .22LR I could have my grandfather’s Smith and Wesson model 41.


100_0019.jpg



My uncle does not have much information on this particular gun, only that it was most likely purchased in the 1970s.

The gun does not have a manual, does anyone know if the 1970s model 41 is field stripped the same manner as the current version?
 
james13 said:
However, shortly before making the purchase I was talking with my uncle and he said that instead of purchasing a .22LR I could have my grandfather’s Smith and Wesson model 41.
Click to expand...
Not only a good gun, but it was Grandpa's - man, it just does NOT get any better than that!!

Conga-rats!

congarats.gif
 
james13 said:
I have been shooting for about three months and just recently received my LTC-A (ALP). I am a member of a range and have been using their selection of .22LR Rugers for the great majority of my practice. These guns have a lot of rounds through them and they nearly all of them have some problem with the adjustable sights being out of alignment.

Due to the inconsistency of the sights and varying availability of the rentals I have decided to purchase my own .22LR semi-automatic pistol, but my experience is limited to the range’s selection of pistols and I am unsure of what exactly to purchase. My budget is $500.

I like the proportions of the Ruger Mark III (5.5” bull barrel) that I have rented (when available) as well as a Mark III hunter (6-7/8” barrel) that I have had the opportunity to shoot. I have been reading some other posts and people have raised concerns over the weight of the bull barreled MK III as well as the complexity (perceived or actual) in cleaning them.

There have been several threads comparing the P22 and the Sig Mosquito; I have ruled out the P22 as I do not like the feel of the gun in my hand and I don’t have any personal experience with the Mosquito.

I have not been able to find much on the Browning Buckmark Camper, the S&W 22A or the Beretta Neos. Does anyone have an experience with these or any additional .22LR pistols would be willing to share their insight.

__________________________________________________
Member of

GOAL
NRA
Click to expand...

Get the MKIII in 5". Do not get the Hunter. You might not like the balance. DO not get the 22/45 either for the same reasons.

Through a hi-viz sight post on the front(this will be my next step).

They are easy to take apart. JUST follow the instructions and add one little step and you should be all set. I believe that the instructions do not tell you when to put the magazine back in for the last step.

Bill
 
Actually, the 22/45 is a stellar choice if you also own, or intend to own, a 1911. The whole point of the 22/45 was to provide the same grip angle and controls as the 1911 (as opposed to a Luger) to allow inexpensive practice.
 
Family hand-me-down beats anything you could ever buy.

But if you decide to protect the model 41 and buy a range gun anyway, I think you're right on the money with the Bull Barrel Mark III. Don't let Dwarven1 scare you with his takedown horror stories – dwarves lack opposable thumbs, so sometimes he struggles. But if you read the instructions carefully, you’ll figure it out.

I had a Mark III – only gun I ever regret selling :-(
 
james13 said:
However, shortly before making the purchase I was talking with my uncle and he said that instead of purchasing a .22LR I could have my grandfather’s Smith and Wesson model 41
Click to expand...
Wow...getting one of the best target pistols in the best way possible....enjoy you lucky dog [smile]
 
Save your money for ammo! If you want buy another gun but enjoy your grandfather's 41...absolutely the best target 22 "EVER"!!!
 

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