Buying First .22lr Pistol

[AKguy1985]

I got a browning buckmark.

 

[jmusteen]

the first .22 handgun i bought was a ruger mk3 with a taper barrel for 325$ lot of fun, only down side i can think of was reassembly and the californa mag safety thing i didn't care for, but other than that it was alote of fun.

 

[aarondhgraham]

So you want to buy a quality .22 pistol?

These are the 5 most common target style .22 pistols out there,,,
Any one of these 5 will give you many years of excellent performance.

I've not listed them in any order of preference.

Browning Buckmark = Great pistol but I found the grip to be funky.
Ruger 22/45 Mk II or MK III = Great pistol with a 1911-ish grip.
Beretta U22 NEOS = Great pistol with a very slender grip.
Ruger Mk II or MK III = Great pistol with a luger-ish grip.
S&W 22A = Great pistol with a very fat grip.

Any of these will serve you very well,,,
They are all reliable firearms that aren't ammo picky,,,
Rather than sweat over which one is better, get the one that fits your hand.

For those who want a non-target style DA/SA .22 pistol,,,
That is a reliable shooter but at an affordable cost,,,
There are two that consistently get great reviews:

Bersa Thunder 22 or the Firestorm 22,,,
Virtually identical pistols made by the same company,,,
These pistols are very similar in size and shape to a Walther PPK.

Two other pistols I will mention out of fairness to their brand names,,,
The Sig-Sauer Mosquito and the Walther P-22 are pistols that get very mixed reviews,,,
People who own them either absolutely love them or adamantly hate them.

The main concern of these guns is that the slides may (and sometimes do) crack under normal use,,,
Both have slides made of Zamak which is a Zinc alloy,,,
Commonly called "pot metal" or other bad names,,,
I can not verify or deny these assertions.

Then there are the high-end (high dollar) models.

CZ-75B Kadet - With the exception of the Kadet having adjustable rear sights,,,
It is virtually identical to the CZ-75B in 9mm.

Sig-Sauer Classic .22 - There are 3 models to choose from,,,
They start as a full frame .22 semi-auto that is convertible to their centerfire counterpart using what Sig calls the X-Change Kit,,,
They are the only production pistols that are designed to convert up to a centerfire pistol.

Beretta 87 - The .22 counterpart to the Beretta 84/85 in .380 ACP.

Last but not least are the .22 Mouse Guns.

http://www.phoenix-arms.com/Products/HP22A.html]Phoenix HP-22[/URL]
A small inexpensive .22 pistol that people either love or hate,,,
The main gripe is too many California lawyer features,,,
The little pistol has too many safeties.

The Taurus PLY.
A very small semi-suto pistol with a polymer frame,,,
It is based on their Model 22B Beretta copy,,,
Very lightweight and easy to shoot,,,
It has a very nice grip.

I own, shoot regularly, and give a personal recommendation to these .22 pistols,,,
These six are all reliable shooters that aren't ammo picky (for me) at all.
Bersa Thunder 22,
Beretta Model 87,
CZ-75B Kadet,
Beretta NEOS,
Ruger 22/45,
Taurus PLY.

I also own a Phoenix HP-22,,,
It quit working after 150 rounds,,,
Two trips back to the plant in California.
As far as a functioning pistol goes, Mine is a very cute paper-weight.

I hope this helps,,,

Aarond

.

 

[gun001guns]

Ruger 22/45 is hard to clean and not that well made IMO, and the sig is known at the jamomatic in the mosquito. I have a walther P22 great gun no issues my eight year old loves it. Browning buckmark is excellent and will probable be what I buy next.

 

[jbrentd]

I bought a Walther p22 as a gift for my kid. He likes the cool factor of the frame options (digital camo for us). First time I shot it using walmart bulk ammo and it wasn't very reliable. I'm headed out this afternoon with a box of CCI mini mags and hopefully, it'll perform better.

But for me, I'll be going with a Ruger MkII/MkIII or an GSG 1911-22.

fwiw, the P22 shot flawlessly with the CCI mini mags.

 

[jc5420]

Well, I have decided to go to Academy's black Friday sale for the heritage. I called and they said they could not tell me anything about the black Friday sale, but I was just wanting to ask if it included the 4.7" barreled models as well... I should have expected they would not tell me anything, so I will just go and have to find out. If not I will be skipping that idea. Plan B would be the Bersa .22lr pistols, that is if I can find a good deal on one. The hardest part in making this decision on which pistols to go with is that my daughter will also have to be able to manipulate / handle the gun well.

Thank you guys for all your input!

 

[Biggsly]

I am still debating. I may go to Academy on BF as well.

 

[Nobody]

Have the Walther P22 and its great. Would prefer a bigger frame for a cheap training alternative.

Thought about the Glock 22le conversions but they dont get very good reviews and Mags are $30 a pop.

Like the M&P 22lr, gets good reviews but mags are also in the $30 range and i prefer to keep it below $20 per for volume reasons.

 

[okiebryan]

Another major recommendation for the Ruger SR22. Great little shooter, and it looks and feels like a typical carry gun...this would make it good for training someone new to firearms. Also very easy to disassemble and clean. I've also had my hands on a Mosquito, and it was junk junk junk. I liked the 22/45 lite as well, but the SR22 was $100 cheaper.

 

[n423]

good read aarond, but I really liked my Buckmark.

Buckmark--- excellent
Ruger 22/45----- excellent also , but a little hard to disassemble
Bersa Thunder 22------ very underrated but good pistol


I had a Mosquito and really jammed until I polished the ramp. then it worked fine.