Best .22 revolver for EOTWAWKI

[Dixie Dude]

Almtnman, is this from a 22lr or 22mag?  I'm just trying to justify a 22lr-22mag revolver.  Since I already have a Ruger MK II bull barrel 5 and some odd inches.  Would a pistol scope help me shoot to say 30-40 yards using 22lr ammo?  The 22lr-22mag I am looking at has slots for Ruger scope mounts which come with the gun.  It also has good iron sights.  I'm just wondering if the 22mag would give enough more distance to justify the cost and shoot mags for hunting.  This is a $450 gun.  My Mk II is stanless and I think I can get some special clamp on scope mounts to fit for scope. 

[kynardsj]

I was in the same hunting club for 37 years before it got sold to some doctors and such that wanted a ready made club. It wasn't unusual to shoot up a 550 count box of Federals in a weekend on most anything that needed to be shot. Small rocks, cans, pine cones and green walnuts still in the trees and such. My favorite place to shoot up there was a bluff that was 20 feet or so above a creek. We would save out beer bottles and when we had a drum full about 5 or 6 of us would haul them to the creek and line up along this bluff. We would throw a bottle as far up stream as we could and take turns shooting them. Closest shot was about 35 yards on a moving target. After doing this for years you can get pretty good with a 22 pistol. No bottles escaped and in all those years of being around that creek we never found a broken piece of glass. I've taken newbies up there for a day of fun and when the creek shooting would start they all wondered how someone could hit a target that far off and moving. 50 yard or more shots were not uncommon. After a trip or two they were getting where they could hit them too. Dang, writing this makes me miss it all over again.

[Almtnman]

Dixie Dude, I usually use the CCI mini mage and Yellow Jacket 22's for squirrels and rabbits. I have used the 22 mag and killed a couple of good sized beavers with those. If you want a single six, you might want to look around some and find a nice used one at a bargain. Mine has the 5 1/2 inch barrel and that is a handy size especially as a woods walking gun like I use mine for. I killed several timber rattlers with mine using a regular 22 round, one had 12 rattlers and a button on it that was making a strike at my wife. She jumped back and I plugged it right through the head. Myself, I would like to have the Ruger with bull barrel for plinking around with and have been looking for one. I don't know where you live, but if close enough there's a gun show in Cullman, AL on the 27th & 28th of this month. I'm going over there to see if I can find some ammo and reloading components and maybe a rifle if they have what I am looking for. I prefer iron sights myself as I had a scope on my Ruger Super Blackhawk 44 mag and like shooting it better with the iron sights and it's a lot easier to carry for me.

[Dixie Dude]

You think my .22 lr auto is ok with the bull barrel 5-7/8".  I usually carry a .44mag in the woods with shot shells in the summer.  I would like to get good with a .22 handgun to take while deer hunting.  Usually the squirrels and rabbits are abundant.  I live in Auburn.  Hunt in the Tuskegee national forrest. 

[kynardsj]

Your semi auto will be fine. Practice a lot with it and keep it clean so that it doesn't jam at an in-opportune time. As far as barrel length, my Single Six has a 4 5/8 inch barrel. On the creek bottle shootings I mentioned above I could do as well as some of the other guys with 10 inch semi auto Ruger 22's. Just shoot a lot in different enviornments, get really used to the pistol and have fun.

[Almtnman]

I'll go along with kynardsj as it will do great, just get a brick of 22 ammo and practice a lot. You'll get better with practice. On my 44 mag, I usually stuff it with some of my hard cast reloaded 44 special loads for summer time venturing around the woods.

[Victor3]

 As far as the LR/mag combo revolvers in a survival situation go, would any advantage gained by a slightly higher powered option justify carrying and keeping track of an extra cylinder and different ammo?

[Victor3]

We would save out beer bottles and when we had a drum full about 5 or 6 of us would haul them to the creek and line up along this bluff. We would throw a bottle as far up stream as we could and take turns shooting them.

Dang, writing this makes me miss it all over again.

 kynardsj - You've brought back one of my fondest memories...

 Dad and I used to camp near a ~50' high cliff overlooking a stream when I was a boy. In the morning, Dad would go down and set pop cans in the stream and I'd sink them with my Winchester 62A as they floated by.

 One more item on the list of things I've gotta do with my Son before he discovers girls.

[jlwilliams]

  My favorite 22 revolver, and the one that fits the original post best, is my Rossi 4" stainless.  Not a fancy gun, just something I bought because it was offered to me when I had cash in my pocket twenty years ago.  Shoots well, won't rust.  If I HAD TO take a 22 revolver as my only gun for a Mad Max movie scenarion, that would be the one.

[dpe.ahoy]

Here's another vote for the Ruger Single Six.  I have 2 , stainless and both with 22 mag cylinders.  Yes the mag is louder than the LR but does give LR rifle barrel speed out of the pistol barrel.  They are slow to empty and reload, that is something to consider as well.  I have had issues with the 22 autos getting dirty using some Federal ammo and starting to jam or stick in the chamber during some plinking sessions with the kids.  Of course we go thru 1-2 bricks a session using several different guns.  DP

[Rex in OTZ]

I found out afterwards that my oldest son went hunting/plinking with friends had used my .22Mag revolver, long story short they ended up shooting a box and 1/3rd of .22Lr through my Taurus 941 .22Mag without a hitch, not so loud and still accurate.
The EOTWAWKI idea of shooting whats in your pocket the magnum revolver will index and fire reliably .22 shorts, Longs, Longrifles, .22winchester magnum.
In the end no damage noted, used a .22cal bore brush and scrubbed the cylinders afterwards, the cases did seem to strech a mite but no damage to the stainless revolver.

[zoner]

my favorite 22 revolver is a 5 1/2" stainless single six convertible with Bisley grip frame,hammer,and trigger.....and it's NOT for sale

[mjh]

My choices would fall in the DA revolver area   A smith 63 would be my first choice,  perhaps a smith 617 I like the 10rounds a bit bigger though.  Perhaps a new model 63 with 8 rounds, not sure they are better than the old model though, then a SP-101 if I actually had one, and finally last ditch effort a Charter Arms Pathfinder, newer stainless 4in model, and they do have a .22lr & .22Mag outfit avaliable now,   An H&R wouldn't be a bad value either.

[Almtnman]

I found out afterwards that my oldest son went hunting/plinking with friends had used my .22Mag revolver, long story short they ended up shooting a box and 1/3rd of .22Lr through my Taurus 941 .22Mag without a hitch, not so loud and still accurate.
The EOTWAWKI idea of shooting whats in your pocket the magnum revolver will index and fire reliably .22 shorts, Longs, Longrifles, .22winchester magnum.
In the end no damage noted, used a .22cal bore brush and scrubbed the cylinders afterwards, the cases did seem to strech a mite but no.

I haven't tried shooting regular 22 rounds through my mag cylinder in my single six, but if it works, that's a good EOTWAWKI reason to have a single six with 22 mag cylinder. Anybody on here tried that?

[SHOOTALL]

I tried it and every case split . 6 total.

[Almtnman]

I tried it and every case split . 6 total.

What about accuracy? If the cases split, couldn't use them anymore anyway if they didn't split, but just wondering if the accuracy fell off.

[SHOOTALL]

We werte shooting cans at about 15 yards and I don't remember how many were hit , not all for sure and the ones that were had very light hits . Read that dents not holes . It would seem flane cutting or crud build up would negate any savings and SD woild be a no go .

[Rex in OTZ]

EOTWAWKI I would carry the magnum revolver for reliability and utility alone.
If it gets to that stage all I had was my trusty Taurus 941 and a hand full of long rifles it would beat the heck outta hucking the revolver at em,they split, spit but they do go bang have a longer range and accuracy than a slingshot.
.22mag revolver's shoot long rifles just fine, batch CCI's I used the cases streched, Remingtons were a mix of split and streched, depends on the batch, the case's split at the case mouth at the base they swell up enough to seal the cylinder had no blow back, I had a single six years back bought used, the guy said it was .22Lr so for years I shot it that way, It really had a magnum cyl in it and shot them Lr's ok.I sold it and forgot about the Lr in a Mag till my son shot lr's in the 941 Taurus,I checked what others my other guns would do, I tested a Highstandard Mk III, I did have extraction problems 20% the time,Stevens model 30 single shot rifle had amazeing accuracy but one had to pluck the semi extracted rounds from the chamber mouth on certain brands of ammo. I never tried it in the Taurus 72 pump as the rounds are too short to feed through the action.
I did try a old DAVIS .22mag darringer, It shot 22Lr just fine the problem is the heavy trigger pull.
What a pitty if your .22lr revolver in EOTWAWKI circumstances you had scrounged up a hand full of .22 mag rounds?

[teamnelson]

At the EOTWAWKI, I suspect a lot of folks are going to discover new and inventive ways to mix rounds with weapons, many of which will have disastrous results, but some of which may have acceptable results when compared to a sharp stick.

[Almtnman]

At the EOTWAWKI, I suspect a lot of folks are going to discover new and inventive ways to mix rounds with weapons, many of which will have disastrous results, but some of which may have acceptable results when compared to a sharp stick.

Using a 22lr round in a 22 mag cylinder might prove to be a little better than a middle finger salute or slinging a spit ball. 

[teamnelson]

In the book The Road, he whittles wooden bullets to make the gun look loaded eventhough he only had one or two live rounds ... any port in a storm.

[thumbcocker]

Ruger bearcat

[Rusty~Gunn]

It would be the .22 that I currently own, a stainless NAA Mini-Master mini revolver .22/.22mag, with 4 inch barrel. I haven't shot it much, so can't comment on it's accuracy potential, but it does appear to a nice shooter. I have not shot to 22 mag cylinder yet. You can shove this baby in your pocket, ammo in the other, and be ready to go.

[LunaticFringeInc]

I think the Ruger Single Six Convertable with at least a 5 1/2 inch barrel is the cats meow.  Thats why I got it!  I do wished though that I would have held off and bought one in SS.  I was on leave, didnt have quiet enough cash on me for a Stainless model or time to wait for one to be ordered in so I settled for the blue model.  Its been a great little gun for me over the years.  Its provided me with a lot of practice making me a skilled shooter with a handgun, not to mention being a lot of fun and cheap to feed.  Its also bagged a lot of small game over the years on hunting and camping trips.  Its the last gun in my collection I will part with without a doubt!

[Couger]

Best revolver for EOTWAWKI?  I see better than I did a couple of days ago why Single-6 owners might like that piece.

Met an old aquaintence yesterday and we got to talking about "things" in general,  more than the "cluster vote" wannabe-tyrrants in Congress are about to force on Sunday as they want to take our freedoms and $$$ as they set us up to impose ...... a degree of (health) slavery!      

This fellow and his new wife are in poor health and would have to hunker down in a SHTF situation.  Despite living in a semi-rural like piece of land in the city limits, if it was me I immediatelty saw their situation would require a minimum of four guns (they might have ONE of those) -

a twenty gauge of some kind,
a shortie (snubby?) .357Mag I'd stoke with .38+P's,
and a M10/22 - purely for its popularity AND versatility (for any repairs or modifying).

The fourth gun would be a .22 revovler!  A MUST HAVE TOOL I REALIZED - after meeting my former friend and his new wife.  (different wife since I last saw him a few years ago).

I've always thought having my die-hard semi-auto Ruger Mk2's and M2245 would serve me well.

But what if I needed a revolver to shoot special loads?  Shorts?  CB caps?  etc.

What if I was slaughtering livestock before a SHTF?  Sheep?  Small hogs?  etc.

Plus I like the idea that a .22WMR with a 4 or 6 inch barrel can rival some .38 loads,  and is an extremely effective weapon at close range with the right bullets.  But a .22LR in a handgun is a must have too, IMO.

The easist "solution" it seems obvious to aquire would be a Ruger Single Six with convertable cylinder - yeah duhhh Couger!  Well, now being able to put a "face" on that "need" after running into that couple, yeah its indeed obvious!  (better late than missing it?)

My thought about having the .22LR in a revolver (with lighter, quieter loads) would enable that couple to dispatch critters (good or bad) without attracting their neighbors on the adjoining 10acre parcels, but still have the more powerful .22WMR to resort to for that duty!

I'm taking a long time to say I will be adding a Ruger (convertable) Single-6 to my must-have list of arsenal tools! 

Yeah, it was more than good for the conversation and "visit" that I ran into Pete.  And I've always respected the Single-6 and its many features, but if I lived in situation like that couple, my family and I would some minimum live stock; chickens, goats, a pig, sheep, maybe rabbits (and indigenous vermine that aboud).  The Single-6 would be a necessary tool and I bet on even most farms in this country as well! (IMO)

This recent epiphony of sorts has also helped strengthen my desire to pick up a North American Arms Mini Master if the opportunity presents itself, too.

When Rusty-Gunn is able to put his Mini-Master through its paces, hope he will share his assesment!

[Almtnman]

I'm taking a long time to say I will be adding a Ruger (convertable) Single-6 to my must-have list of arsenal tools!  

You will like the single six. I've had mine since 1976 and used and carried it a lot. It makes the best woods carry gun of any I have.

[spooked]

Hi men, enjoyed reading this thread.
   A note on firing reg .22's in a magnum, cut the rim and bottom off the magnum empties,  take a wire guage bit of the appropriate size and twist it through the inside of the cutoff empty and slick it up a little with a wire .22 cal cleaning brush and you have a ready made  chamber liner for the .22's. made a half doz a few years back, it's been so long I can't remember the accuracy. The function though was very suitable,. ie. NO split cases. Hope this is of some use...

[SmokeEater2]

This is a great thread! Hmmm..tough choice here, I have a Single six and it's a fine piece of machinery and I do see everyone's points about it being able to fire the .22 mag rounds as well as .22 LR.
 But I just can't shoot it as well as I do my old H&R Sportsman so I'd have to pick it if I could only have the one. It has proven to be tough,absolutely reliable and more accurate than I am and is a little lighter than the Ruger.   

[teamnelson]

Nice to hear praise for the old H&R that probably filled thousands of tackle boxes and back pockets over the years!

[mcwoodduck]

Nice to hear praise for the old H&R that probably filled thousands of tackle boxes and back pockets over the years!

The problem is most are still in the tackle boxes and back packs.
I think I have only seen a few of them in shops.