The Perfect .22LR Hunting Handgun- What Is It?

[catblaster.375]

Say a guy was gona be shooting squirels on the ground and in the trees and running jacks and cottentails. And he wants the gun to be easy and quick to clean, extremly accurate, and under $500. Preferably an autoloader and preferably stainless. Any thoughts on Sig Trailside or any others? Thanks so much

[pastorp]

Catblaster, with the guidelines you have stated I would buy a Browning Buckmaster. Get whichever model appeals to you, I don't believe any are over your price point. And most way under. Regards, Byron

[Questor]

I like revolvers as hunting guns and my vote is for the S&W 617. However, if you want an auto, then be sure you get a good holster that doesn't flip the safety off while you're carrying the gun holstered. Either that, or keep the gun in your hand when hunting and unloaded when you're not.  The Browning Buckmark is an excellent pistol, much better than the Ruger in my opinion. It requires very little cleaning and takedown is not too bad. One piece of advice with these 22 autos is that they often have cycling problems in cold weather. I've found that lubricating the slide with Brownell's Action Lube really helps enormously.  Our Buckmark, purchased last year, needed a trigger job because trigger pull was too heavy.  The trigger job cost $65. The trigger now has no creep and is really excellent. Some Buckmark models come with an adjustable trigger. I think the Bullseye model is one such model.

[Jim101]

Ruger 22/45 or a Single-Six combo.............The Single-Six would make it a little more of a challenge......

Jim

[Tacoma]

I' d also vote ( S&W 17/617 or Ruger SS) revolver for ammo handling versatility but given your guidelines, I'd probably vote a 5.5" or 6 6/7/8" Ruger MK II or III. Some will argue that the ruger is not "quick to clean' but I would say that most overclean their MK II's it by un-necessarily pulling the receiver every time out. This is WAy overkill IMH experience.
Best of all , used Rugers in SS are everywhere.

[DakotaElkSlayer]

I just got the Beretta Neos and think it will fit your needs well.  Simple to take apart and clean, real accurate, and is available with a stainless barrel.  I am going to use mine for squirrels also, so I put on a 1x30 Bushnell Trophy red dot with 4 reticles...

Jim

[fyrepowrx]

i am a K22 fan so i am prejudiced a bit. Got 5 of them in various styles i hunt with, 2 scoped & 3 open sights. Not sure i could pick up a running rabbit in a scope though... i mounted a 1x Burris dot reticle scope on my older S&W model 17-2 and i shoot it about as well as my 17-8 that has a 4x Leupold,  for stuff within reasonable distance.

That new Ruger Mk-3 fluted barrel ruger does look pretty interesting to me, and with a bit of trigger tinkering seems like it might be a good candidate. Guess it boils down to whatever feels good to you, dont think you could go wrong with the Smith, Ruger, Sig or Beretta.

better yet just get 'em all... :wink:

[Vern Humphrey]

Say a guy was gona be shooting squirels on the ground and in the trees and running jacks and cottentails. And he wants the gun to be easy and quick to clean, extremly accurate, and under $500. Preferably an autoloader and preferably stainless. Any thoughts on Sig Trailside or any others? Thanks so much

That's a tall order.  Although my favorite .22 pistol for squirrels is my Colt Officer's Model Target (a revolver) it's not what I would choose for shooting running jacks and cottontails.

A Ruger would be a fine choice, but they're NOT easy and quick to clean -- stripping a Ruger for cleaning is a chore.

I'd go with a Buckmark and a holosight or red dot sight.

[Old Griz]

:cb2: Well, when you say "Preferably an autoloader" you exclude the very best gun for the criteria you describe. S&W 617. Extremly accurate, will naturally handle any kind of .22 ammo w/o jamming (unlike an automatic), easy and quick to clean, and of course, stainless. Easy to mount a scope on as well. If you are shooting at a lot of running rabbits you might go with the 4" barrel, but the 6-shot, 6" is probably the most popular.

[catblaster.375]

Thanks so much guys. Tommarow I am going to the shop to order my Ruger KMK10(10" stainless bull barrel MKII) - love this gun! Perfect for my needs. Don't think that barrel is too long-I love them- the longer the better. Thats just been my opinion and my expirience for me. I won't be carrying it very far and even if I do Its realy not too bad(my other handguns are 8" plus). Looked at new MKIII - hate all the lawyer proof features. Don't mind MKII mag release(gotta reach down there anyway). I plan on just cleaning the bore and breech and will totally clean the whole gun every 500-1000 rounds.
Old Griz- I love revolvers(this will actualy be my first semi) and especialy the 617(the small version of my beloved 629) but the 617 is way out of my $$$ range. Also I feel this KMK10 is the best choice for my needs.

I plan on adding some Hoghue rap around grips, "OneHole" rear sight, 3 more mags, and maybe some custom trigger stuff down the road a ways.
Thanks guys

[Questor]

Have the 617's really gone up that much in price? What are they retailing for now?

[Uncle Howie]

Have the 617's really gone up that much in price? What are they retailing for now? -Questor

I think the 617s retail in the $500+/- neighborhood brand new. A quick look at Gunbroker.com shows prices ranging from about $450-525. Add shipping and FFL transfer, you're back up over $500.

[WNY_Whitetailer]

Recently I have become a fan of the Ruger Single Six Hunter in 22lr/22wmr.  I should have ponied up the extra dough and bought one of these instead of that POS Buckmark that has been at Browning for almost 6 weeks for repair.  I had the Buckmark in my hand a total of 24 hours before it went back to the manufacturer.  I am not too happy with Browning right now and I doubt that I will ever buy another product from them again.