Any suggestions on a 22 LR Pistol for Practicing

[WildBill]

Well I guess it is time to find something cheap to practice with offhand. I got the handgun bug pretty bad and want something to burn up a bunch of ammo playing.Figure 22 is my best bet. Should I use a revolver or Auto. I hunt deer with a 454 Raging Bull,just wonder if I should stay with a similar setup(revolver) . Whats a good gun at a reasonable price. I would like to stay around 300.00 or less if thats possible. But I don't want a piece of junk either would love some suggestions and maybe what prices to expect. Thanks !

[Mikey]

WildBill:  Go for the semi-auto, it's a lot more fun.  

Although I detested the man's politics, ruger makes some fine 22 semi auto pistols.  You can go from basic to target on either of two different frame styles.  You can get barrels from 4" to 10".  I believe you can still find new ones for under $300.

In addition, S&W makes very good 22 semi autos, as does Browning and a number of other firms.  You just have to shop around.

If you choose to go the single action revolver route, again, ruger makes a fine 22 single action.  S&W makes 22 revolvers in double/single action, as does Taurus and a number of other firms.  

I'd go shopping around a bunch of local gun shops and see what feels best in your hands.  Good luck, and let us know how you do.  Mikey.

[Hcliff]

I love my Browning Buckmark.  I shoot almost all revolvers and was thinking about getting a revolver in 22 for pradctice also.  The auto seemed cheaper in price and more models are available than the revolvers.  Either one will will work just fine.  Mikey is right about the semi auto being more fun.  You can load a bunch of mags and keep plinking away.  

Find something that you like the feel of and have a good set of sights.  Both of those factors are important.  

Hcliff

[Questor]

I'm a member of the "practice with a purpose" contingent.  If you want the .22 as a tool to practice shooting the 454, then get a revolver like your 454.

[willis5]

If your only purpose of practicing is to get better with your RB 454, than by all means use something as close as possible to that gun. if you are gettign a gun to enhance your overall shooting with different guns and such, get an auto.

I was in your shoes a few years ago, and I think putting 5,000+ rounds though my Glock 22 has helped me shoot my RB 454 exponentialy.

If I would have shot something close to the RB 454 5,000+ times would i shoot even better? Yeah, probably, but I like shooting my Glock so much that it has made me a better handgun shooter. I think any shooting is going to help you to some degree. You have to weigh fun and expense with the amount you can shoot. Sorry for the long post. I say go with an auto. Shoot it enough and it will help you. My 2 cents

Cheers,
willis5

[WildBill]

Well I looked at a few different pistols and I ended up deciding between a Ruger mark 2 and a Browning Buckmark. Well decided to go with the Browning not because of the price but it just felt better in my hand than the Ruger which sure was a good lookin' piece. Hope it shoots good cuz I 'm pickin' it up tomorrow. Really like the fiber optic sight to even though it looks kinda big, but then again no bigger than the Ruger.Didn,t care for any of the revolvers that well.Thanks for all the advice is there anything I should know about this critter.Going to shoot Super X 40 grains for starters.

[jterrio]

Wildbill,

I have both the Ruger Mark II with the bull barrel and the Buckmark. I like them both. They both shoot fine. The Ruger dis-assembles for cleaning a little easier than the Buckmark. The Buckmark has a nicer magazine release. When my kids were younger, we did a lot of bowling pin matches with these guns. Had a lot of fun. I would have a tough choice to pick one over the other. Probably why I haven't sold one yet.

In addition, I have the Smithe & Weasel Model 17 22 cal revolver with a 6" full underlug barrel. It has the target hammer and trigger. This is a real nice shooting gun. If you want to practice double action revolver shooting, this is a great gun for it. I shot pins with this one too. I even have speed loaders for it. Although I'm not sure the word speed applies once you try starting those tiny little bullets into those tiny little holes :-D . I had a Dan Wesson 22 before that with a 4" and 6" barrel. I liked the gun but it wouldn't fire the rounds double action . I sent it in for repair and it came back the same way :? . I sent it back again and while it was out I happened to be talking to the dealer where I bought it and told him the trouble I was having. He gave me full credit toward anything in the store and I left with the Smith :grin: .

[Dand]

We had an informal speed shooting competition at our range a few weeks ago.  We were shooting 4x4 blocks at about 15-20 yards. A couple guys brought their S&W semi autos - don't know the model, the newer one, not the mod 41.  Its the one that has the mag release in the front  of the grip strap about half way down. It was about 20 degrees. Both guys had a lot of trouble with the guns.  Don't know what ammo they were using either. One wouldn't feed properly - he was wearing gloves and I think his gloves were releasing the mag and it was dropping just enough to  screw up.  Seems like a real poor place for a mag release - sure was frustrating 'cause the guy was shooting real well and would have won if his gun could have kept shucking shells.  We even gave him 3-4 restarts - no luck.  

The second guy's gun lost the shell extractor and spring. It just flew out of the gun and he was done for the day.  We were all crawling around on the gravel looking for parts.  Don't know what ammo he was using either.  This guy was shooting real well too.

The guns looked great, nice feeling soft rubber grips but their poor performance made a real bad impression on me.  

I'd have to say the Ruger or Buckmarks are the way to go for autos.  I've got a Ruger and its a workhorse, even tho I'm not partial to the cleaning process for it.

[lawall]

high standard's thats my choice on a 22, they are a bit high on the price when new but you can find a good used one for a fairly reasonable price. i like the feel of the browning's. i shoot a lot of bp and love my old army's but i don't like the looks of the ruger 22's. just me i guess. i shot a lot during my years in the air force and my high standard sure improved my skill level in pistols both semi-auto and revolver. on thing i would do is invest in extra clips. amazing how many rounds you can pump through a little semi-auto 22.
i'm not a big semi-auto fan. i usually shoot military surplus and black powder, but a little 22 pistol or rifle sure can bring the fun back to plinking.

[rodmeister]

Nothing is more fun than shooting a bunch of .22's with the Ruger Mark II.  The Ruger is simple and rugged, I don't think you could ever make it malfunction by dropping it.

Another .22 to consider is the Ruger Single-Six in .22LR with an extra .22Mag cylinder.  While not as fun to shoot 22LR's as an auto, the Single Six gives you versatility since you can switch to the .22Mags which pack quite a wallop for a .22.

[southern utah]

ruger 22-45,  mags work better the Marks and all the buttons are simular to a 1911.