I'm gonna buy a 22lr pistol, what should I get?

[aarondhgraham]

You should forget the reviews of guns,,,
And don't listen too much to recommendations either.

Go to the gun stores and hold them in your hand,,,
The one that fits you best is the one you should buy.

The following guns are all very high quality,,,
The arguments about which is best could go on forever.

Browning Buckmark - Great gun with a funky (to me) grip.
S&W 22A - Great gun with a really fat grip.
Beretta NEOS - Great gun with a very slender grip.
Ruger Mk II or Mark III - Great gun with a "Luger-like" grip.
Ruger Mk II or Mk III model 22/45 - Great gun with a "Colt 1911-like" grip.

I personally like the NEOS and the 22/45,,,
But that's because they fit my hand very nicely.

These are probably the top five of the readily available and reasonably priced .22 semi-automatic pistols,,,
As I stated before there is no end to the arguments of which is the best of those pistols,,,
Suffice it to say that any of them will be more accurate than most shooters,,,
Handle them all and buy the one that fits your hand the best.

As to the Taurus P22,,,
Man, that's an iffy gun to buy,,,
If you happen to get a good one it will work forever,,,
If you happen to get a bad one it will never ever work properly.

You would be better off getting your wife a used S&W Model 34,,,
That's a snub-nose .22 revolver of very high quality.

If the money is a big factor try a Taurus Model 94,,,
It's a .22 revolver and can be found in a snub-nose version,,,
No where near as high quality as the Smith & Wesson but it's serviceable.

Hope this helps,,,

.

 

[ahlosojoe]

You just cannot go wrong with the Ruger MK II. Rugged, accurate and totally dependable.

 

[ohms]

Ruger MKII

 

[DaveTec]

Another vote for the buckmark. Truly a splendid shooter.

 

[trickydick]

Wow I guess I'll have to take another look at the Buckmark. I had excluded it based on the price, all the ones above are under 300. I have shot a friends browning and my fathers ruger mk1/II neither one seemed that great, I really was leaning toward the S&W before this discussion began. Maybe I'll just go do some overtime at work and buy the S&W and the taurus.

 

[12gabackup]

If you already have a handgun that has a 22 conversion kit available, you might consider going that route.

 

[rlt7272]

Of those listed I picked the Smith. Had one, it shot well, never had any problems.

Now it cannot hold a candle to my Ruger MKIII Hunter but there are few bills difference in the price tags of each.

 

[Honey Badger]

Browning Buck Mark

+++++++ 1

 

[flatwins]

I have owned two of the guns in your poll. The PT22 isn't really in the same class with the S&W 22a and the Neos. The 22a and the Neos are fun, reasonably priced plinkers while the PT22 is a pocket gun. IMO the PT22 is nothing fantastic. My ex has one and we had an awful time finding any ammo that it would run reliably. Her mom has one too and both pistols behaved the same way.

I have never fired the 22a but the Neos is a good time!

 

[rawhide]

Wow I guess I'll have to take another look at the Buckmark. I had excluded it based on the price, all the ones above are under 300. I have shot a friends browning and my fathers ruger mk1/II neither one seemed that great, I really was leaning toward the S&W before this discussion began. Maybe I'll just go do some overtime at work and buy the S&W and the taurus.

Buck Mark Campers can be had for around $270