Golddiggie
NES Member
Also looks like the mark III and IV uppers are different enough that the lowers are not interchangeable. So if you want the mark IV frames features, you need to get a full gun to start with.
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Beginners .22 pistol?
- Thread starter In God We Trust
- Start date
I’ve had my share of .22 pistols.
On my 21st birthday, I marched down to my LGS in central FL and purchased a Mountain Eagle in .22. I sold that one when money got tight, but man I wish I still had it!
Then a Ruger Mk2, that was fine if uninspiring. Had that one for a while. Only ever completely broke it down once
. That was pre YouTube though.
Then an SR22. I understand the love for them from a functional standpoint. It operated like a little centerfire, and ate everything I fed it. But it was NOT an accurate gun by any standard.
Had a Sterling, which was super picky about ammo, and would go full auto if the firing pin channel got dirty. About every 10 mags. Got rid of that one QUICK.
High Standard Sentinal from the 60s. That was a neat little piece. The sights were an afterthought, so it wasn’t super accurate, but it was a fun shooter.
Ruger Wrangler that was a complete POS. All the things that were bad about the Sentinal, in a far less cool package.
Ruger LCP2. This one was great for me. Far more accurate than it should have been and pretty diverse in the ammo it fed. Wasn’t compelling enough for me to keep it though.
I currently own:
Beretta Bobcat. That one is cool, and I enjoy shooting it, but it’s not accurate, is too ammo sensitive, and will likely be for sale soon…in fact, anyone have anything interesting to trade?
Heritage Rough Rider - everything the Ruger Wrangler was trying to be. This one I’ll keep because the 16” barrel always makes people smile, and it’s not worth anything on the secondary market.
Ruger 22/45 Mk3. This is the gun that I give to people when I want them to smile big from hitting bullseye after bullseye. It was fine out of the box, but I replaced the front site with a FO, and upgraded all the internal with the Volquartsen kit, and now it just tears the center out of targets all day long. I actually think every gun owner should own a MKxx .22. There’s a reason you see so many of them at competitions. They are boringly easy to shoot well with just about any ammo. Mine is so boring that I don’t shoot it as frequently as I should. Every time I shoot it, I just hit what I am at with boring consistency.
Which brings me to my latest - a Taurus Tx22 competition. That might be my favorite.22 I have ever owned. It’s a little more finicky and every so slightly less accurate than my 22/45 (which might have to do with the 2lb trigger on the Ruger), but it makes up for it in fun! It’s still accurate enough to flap the plate in the middle of the torso at 25yds over and over again as fast as I can hold the dot on the target. This might be the first .22 pistol I actually wear out. In which case I’ll buy another!
Honorable mention to the S&W Victory that lives in my safe, but I bought for my (now 16yo) son to shoot. He shoots it great. I can’t hit crap with it. I much prefer the Ruger MK series.
On my 21st birthday, I marched down to my LGS in central FL and purchased a Mountain Eagle in .22. I sold that one when money got tight, but man I wish I still had it!
Then a Ruger Mk2, that was fine if uninspiring. Had that one for a while. Only ever completely broke it down once
. That was pre YouTube though. Then an SR22. I understand the love for them from a functional standpoint. It operated like a little centerfire, and ate everything I fed it. But it was NOT an accurate gun by any standard.
Had a Sterling, which was super picky about ammo, and would go full auto if the firing pin channel got dirty. About every 10 mags. Got rid of that one QUICK.
High Standard Sentinal from the 60s. That was a neat little piece. The sights were an afterthought, so it wasn’t super accurate, but it was a fun shooter.
Ruger Wrangler that was a complete POS. All the things that were bad about the Sentinal, in a far less cool package.
Ruger LCP2. This one was great for me. Far more accurate than it should have been and pretty diverse in the ammo it fed. Wasn’t compelling enough for me to keep it though.
I currently own:
Beretta Bobcat. That one is cool, and I enjoy shooting it, but it’s not accurate, is too ammo sensitive, and will likely be for sale soon…in fact, anyone have anything interesting to trade?
Heritage Rough Rider - everything the Ruger Wrangler was trying to be. This one I’ll keep because the 16” barrel always makes people smile, and it’s not worth anything on the secondary market.
Ruger 22/45 Mk3. This is the gun that I give to people when I want them to smile big from hitting bullseye after bullseye. It was fine out of the box, but I replaced the front site with a FO, and upgraded all the internal with the Volquartsen kit, and now it just tears the center out of targets all day long. I actually think every gun owner should own a MKxx .22. There’s a reason you see so many of them at competitions. They are boringly easy to shoot well with just about any ammo. Mine is so boring that I don’t shoot it as frequently as I should. Every time I shoot it, I just hit what I am at with boring consistency.
Which brings me to my latest - a Taurus Tx22 competition. That might be my favorite.22 I have ever owned. It’s a little more finicky and every so slightly less accurate than my 22/45 (which might have to do with the 2lb trigger on the Ruger), but it makes up for it in fun! It’s still accurate enough to flap the plate in the middle of the torso at 25yds over and over again as fast as I can hold the dot on the target. This might be the first .22 pistol I actually wear out. In which case I’ll buy another!
Honorable mention to the S&W Victory that lives in my safe, but I bought for my (now 16yo) son to shoot. He shoots it great. I can’t hit crap with it. I much prefer the Ruger MK series.
It'll be a little more pricey, but you'll have 2 pistols well 1 pistol and 2 uppers for later on down the road when he gets to 9mm.
Beretta 92 an a 22lr kit
Beretta 92 an a 22lr kit
In God We Trust
NES Member
I have no idea
Golddiggie
NES Member
If you want cheap, you could always just get a Ruger Wrangler. Could be the kids first wheelie. 
Agreed, avoid the SR22 like the plague. I got one for my 8yo son thinking it would be lighter than my 22/45, but the SR-22's upside-down safety is just dumb, and teaches bad habits. I ended up finding a knockoff ATI/GSG 1911/22 that my son likes, with a manual of arms like God intended.
I don't want people to think the SR22 is a bad pistol, it's not, it's probably the best in terms of a .22 for self defense because it's hammer fired and I think that helps with reliable ignition as a hammer hits with more force than a striker and it has a second strike ability with the DA trigger. Strikers and internal hammers with no DA pull have to be manually recocked, which means the round in the chamber is coming out.
My issues are it's not a good beginners or training pistol.
silversquirrel
NES Member
This.
Buckmark is by far the most reliable .22 out there.
I compete with both the Buckmark and 22/45. The Buckmark never has issues.
I compete with people that use the Victory, one week they love it, one week they hate it.
Only downside about the buckmark is cleaning, but it takes 2min, remove the back screw of the top rail and remove the barrel screw to clean the barrel without removing the rail. DONE.
Buckmark is cheap, changing barrels is cheap and doesn't require an FFL, changing the trigger is cheap and takes around 5min.
I have shot 1300 rounds of the dirtiest .22 there is in one range session. @richc and @chris_1001 were there. I only had 2 or 3 failure to eject (makes sense when you understand how dirty it was). My hands were so black when I was done, no one would shake my hand. Took several wipes to clean. The gun delivered.
I have a Taurus TX22. It is similar to a Walther 9MM IMO grip wise more than a Glockish style. I have over 1K rds through and it has been flawless.
It breaks down easily like a Glock. Unlike a SR22 (Ruger has a fixed barrel). I would be confident carrying it also. I have the 16 rd magazines ( in Maine)
BTW, do not buy used, Taurus will not warranty it after the original owner. That's a fact.
It breaks down easily like a Glock. Unlike a SR22 (Ruger has a fixed barrel). I would be confident carrying it also. I have the 16 rd magazines ( in Maine)
BTW, do not buy used, Taurus will not warranty it after the original owner. That's a fact.
