Beginners .22 pistol?

@In God We Trust you said you want something Glock-ish… why not a Glock 44 then?

The M&P Compact in .22 is also nice in the hand and feels more comfortable then either the Ruger SR22 or the Walther .22 due to frame size — both the Ruger and Walther are smaller “pocket size” pistols. My Walther had several FTF issues, but the Ruger, S&W, and Glock are all reliable.

Also, +1 for the MKIV 22/45, although it is not Glock-ish, it does have the same grip angle as a 1911.


IMG_0974.jpeg

Final thoughts — I’d get him started shooting on a long gun like a Ruger Precision Rimfire or something similar before pistols, IMO if you haven’t yet.
 
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Golddiggie said:
No trip safety on the Ruger Mark line of pistols. The 22/45 has a THUMB safety though. IIRC, to split the upper from the lower, you cock it, put it on "safe" then press the rear button to split. Easy enough for a libtard to do. :oops:
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Magazine lockout? Something in the grip. I haven't even looked at the gun in years. Dumb safe queen, but alas, that's what it is.

www.rugerforum.net

Why disable the magazine safety disconnect?

www.rugerforum.net www.rugerforum.net
 
appraiser said:
Ruger MK IVor any of the Ruger MK series

Some say the earlier models are hard to reassemble after cleaning

the thing is they never have to be cleaned, you can put 100K rounds down the pipe and it will still work.
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This. I have never understood people complaining about taking them apart to clean them. I'll take mine apart when it stops working. I have cleaned out my .22 can more then I have thought about cleaning my 22/45.
 
weekendracer said:
Yeah, but for a 'first' gun?

I'd rather suggest a turn key gun. Work into the armorer stuff later. Like I said, it's been years since I shot it, maybe a decade.
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Then run it stock for a while and perform upgrades later on. You don't HAVE to do anything right out of the box, for the Mark IVs at least. With the upgrades available though, it becomes even more fun to shoot. It also eats everything I've fed it from standard velocity to mini mags and the like. As long as it's not total crap 22LR ammo, you'll do fine.
 
I have to agree with T-Unit about other .22s . I used to own the Rugers and Smiths and shot only them. But, now I have a family that doesn't know how to shoot, so when I finally do get another one it will be one of the 22 versions of their full size brothers. I have seen the ISSC, Beretta, Sig, and others like the GSG's both 1911 and Sig 226 style, at both the Mill and NH gun shops. Just my opinion, but I have changed my view of 22's to "train for the larger versions".
 
My sig 322 had to go to sig at the 50 round mark for light strikes when I got it in March.

I’m just a hair under 3K rounds now and it has been fine with a wide range of ammo that’s been fed into it. Newer and younger shooters have done fine with it as well.
 
Another Browning Buckmark vote here. Mine has shot everything I’ve put into it, WWB to Federal to Mini-Mags. It’s not picky.

The Ruger Mark IVs are popular too, as evidenced by the support in this thread too.
 
I have the SR22 and it’s fun to shoot and for a plastic gun I find its quality very good. It is limited in as far as its 3 inch barrel. Good if you are learning CC/self defense. Maybe a trail gun. If you want target and hunting get any longer barrel. The SR22 is pretty accurate I will say. Different grips also for smaller hands.
 
AFVet said:
I have to agree with T-Unit about other .22s . I used to own the Rugers and Smiths and shot only them. But, now I have a family that doesn't know how to shoot, so when I finally do get another one it will be one of the 22 versions of their full size brothers. I have seen the ISSC, Beretta, Sig, and others like the GSG's both 1911 and Sig 226 style, at both the Mill and NH gun shops. Just my opinion, but I have changed my view of 22's to "train for the larger versions".
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I was going to suggest the SR22, since I have one and it's been a great first gun for my kids, but your post reminded me of another gun that I'd highly recommend...the Browning 1911-22. I've got the 380 version, and I love that little thing and wouldn't hesitate to use it as an EDC, except with my eyesight these days, I need a gun with a RDS. The 1911-380 and 22 are approximately 85% the size of their full size namesake, and would make a great trainer and intro to the 1911. Here's my little Browning with one of my full size 1911s:

full



Frank
 
In God We Trust said:
I’m probably overthinking this, but I’ve never owned a .22 pistol (besides an NAA mini) and I’d like to get one for my son to learn on. He is old enough and I trust him enough to go with a semi auto.

I guess I’m looking for something Glock ish and the rugers caught my eye. This will just be a range plinker and I don’t care about any bells and whistles, no red dot BS or any of that. Are the Rugers decent or should I look at something else?

Any recommendations are greatly appreciated. Thank you gents!
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Ruger22/45 for the win. [smile]
 
Mtn_Guy said:
@In God We Trust you said you want something Glock-ish… why not a Glock 44 then?

The M&P Compact in .22 is also nice in the hand and feels more comfortable then either the Ruger SR22 or the Walther .22 due to frame size — both the Ruger and Walther are smaller “pocket size” pistols. My Walther had several FTF issues, but the Ruger, S&W, and Glock are all reliable.

Also, +1 for the MKIV 22/45, although it is not Glock-ish, it does have the same grip angle as a 1911.


View attachment 948951

Final thoughts — I’d get him started shooting on a long gun like a Ruger Precision Rimfire or something similar before pistols, IMO if you haven’t yet.
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I’ve read that the Glock has some reliability issues. I don’t mind an occasional jam as it will help him learn to clear them, but I don’t want one every mag either.

His hands are smaller than mine, so I’m actually considering the Walter that KAG has in the classified.

Anyone have experience with the Walther?
 
Lots of different opinions and I’m going to counter T-Units point. My son started shooting around 9. At the time I owned a Ruger SR22 that I’d started him on. That gun was a little downsized, so it fit in his hands, and was great for teaching him the fundamentals of gun safety and handling. But his accuracy with it was only so-so. Thinking this was just him learning to shoot, then he started coming to competitions that I shot. Clay pigeons at 20 feet head to head. He did good. Especially for his age against adult men. But he still missed a fair number of shots. Then a friend handed him a S&W Victory and he cleared the rack. He had his own a week later, and he was better with it than most of the adult men there. The point I’m making, is that his enjoyment shooting increased immensely as his hits increased. I think part of what gets kids hooked on shooting is the feeling of accomplishment at accurate shots. The Ruger Mk/Buckmarks/Victory’s of the world are few beginner friendly, and very easy to make accurate hits with.

A kid that falls in love with shooting will still love shooting when they graduate to a bigger cartridge. My son is now 16, and most often shoots my 1911. It was no problem training him up when it was time.

I, for one, REALLY wish Ruger made a Mark pistol in 9mm. Take my money, Ruger.
 
In God We Trust said:
Anyone have experience with the Walther?
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Out of all of the .22 pistols I have owned, including the Glock 44, Ruger SR22, Ruger MKIV 22/45, S&W M&P .22 Compact and the Walther P22, the Walther was BY FAR. the most unreliable jam queen out of the bunch so I got rid of it.

Maybe your mileage will vary. I love my HKs, so I felt the Walther with the paddle mag release was a good analogue, but it was so unreliable I couldn’t stand it.
 
Ruger mark iv if you want a newer one but I've had great luck with my mark iii and got it used for 275 bucks.....original box, a set of target sights and fiber optic sights and a rail to attach optics. I put a cheep red dot on it I had laying around and its been a fantastic fun target and plinking pistol. Eats everything but for accuracy it likes cci standard.
 
jamison55 said:
Lots of different opinions and I’m going to counter T-Units point. My son started shooting around 9. At the time I owned a Ruger SR22 that I’d started him on. That gun was a little downsized, so it fit in his hands, and was great for teaching him the fundamentals of gun safety and handling. But his accuracy with it was only so-so. Thinking this was just him learning to shoot, then he started coming to competitions that I shot. Clay pigeons at 20 feet head to head. He did good. Especially for his age against adult men. But he still missed a fair number of shots. Then a friend handed him a S&W Victory and he cleared the rack. He had his own a week later, and he was better with it than most of the adult men there. The point I’m making, is that his enjoyment shooting increased immensely as his hits increased. I think part of what gets kids hooked on shooting is the feeling of accomplishment at accurate shots. The Ruger Mk/Buckmarks/Victory’s of the world are few beginner friendly, and very easy to make accurate hits with.

A kid that falls in love with shooting will still love shooting when they graduate to a bigger cartridge. My son is now 16, and most often shoots my 1911. It was no problem training him up when it was time.

I, for one, REALLY wish Ruger made a Mark pistol in 9mm. Take my money, Ruger.
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That's why I didn't make the SR22 my first recommendation, in fact I'd put it down the list, possibly below even the Phoenix Arms due to the trigger and the upside down safety. Seriously Ruger, flip the lever UP to disengage the safety? Must have been some H1B Indian engineer who designed it that way...

It depends on what your goals are and if it's that you want him to have fun and in him having fun requires accuracy at competitive environments, then the Marks and similar pistols are the better choice. My focus was teaching fundamentals for modern pistols today and even if Ruger made a 9mm Mark, that's not a type of pistol anyone is going to use outside of competitive shooting events. If I was teaching a kid, after I show him where the jugular is and how deep the knife has to go to cut it, I'd want him to know how to safely and effectively operate a pistol for when he might possibly have to defend himself.
 

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