.22 LR Handguns

Huntinfool

Huntinfool

New member
I'm going to be looking into buying a rimfire.22 LR handgun.

I've owned revolvers S&W, Rugers and High Standards.
I'm leaning towards a Semi-Auto this time around. I've previously owned Rugers, Browning Buck Marks, And an AMT .22 Magnum.

I'm leaning towards the Browning but they have so many to choose from these days. There are at least 27 or 28 different models to choose from. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused1.gif

I was just wondering what some of you like and use. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif

Chuck
 
Thanks, I might add that I'm looking for a non-scoped carry handgun one that I will keep on my hip at all times. Even when doing chores around the camp! Looking at maybe 5" barrel.

But your vote for Ruger duely noted. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif

Chuck
 
Generally, I've always used revolvers.
However, recently I needed to replace the old gun I had been using for years.
I shopped around quite a bit.
Although I was torn between the Buckmark & the Ruger 22/45, I finally decided that the 22/45 fit my hand better.
Is it a better gun? Really, I can't say.
I just felt it works better for me.
(I suppose I may be a little biased though, since I had owned an older MKII standard about 20 years ago.)
 
I love to hunt squirrels with either the Ruger or the S&W.
They are both wickedly accurate!

I tend to be most accurate with the Smith because of the barrel weight and a finely tuned trigger.

But I really love to shoot the Ruger! It has a VQ sear and trigger. It is just as accurate - when I'm not drinking coffee!

The Taurus is just there to pack when I feel I need to carry something with me...

me!

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I would vote for the ruger...I have 3 and they all shoot like a house afire, and there are more aftermarket parts so you can fit it out anyway you like...My 2 cents worth
 
Both the ruger and the Browning are fine guns. Sig also makes a high qualithy pistol. along with smith and Bretta although i never cared for the looks of the bretta. I did like the feel of the sig trailside. The sig cost a little more than the browning or the Ruger but that is a sig. for me it was a toss up between the Ruger Mk3 hunter or the sig trailside.


I too have been looking around for a 22 pistol. I had a Smith m17 k-22 masterpiece 8 3/8" barrel target trigger, hammer and micro click adj match sights.
 
Not sure, chances are you won't hunt with the gun? just for plinking, shootin snakes, etc? i've never owned a Buckmark, they shoot good, good guns. the old Ruger MKII we have is a good shooter also. a friend has a MKII, heavy BBl, forget 10" or 12" with a scope, he coon hunts with his, he can plunk-out a coon in the top of a scyamore tree, nearly every shot. i carry a High Standard 6" while trapping, but shots are usually 5 feet or less. every now and then i get a grouse with it.
 
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Not sure, chances are you won't hunt with the gun? just for plinking, shootin' snakes, etc?



Actually I plan to do some hunting with it mostly small game and plinking. In the past I taken lots of game with a handgun simply because it was with me when I saw the game.

Everything from grouse to groundhogs. As I think back over the years I've taken turkey, squirrels, rabbits, crows, grouse, ringneck pheasant, many fox and such on the trapline.

Put the coup degras on a few deer with them also which is legal here after legally downing them with a centerfire.

Basically I'm looking for a gun that can do it all, a gun of opportunity if you will! That's why I'm not too crazy about a scoped one I find them to be too bulky to carry all the time. With a scope they become a special purpose weapon and lose some of the utilitarian qualities that I'm looking for.

Chuck
 
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....utilitarian qualities that I'm looking for.


Then you definately want stainless. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif

A barrel of about 6" /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif will give you a decent sight radius for accuracy. Anything longer gets awkward. Shorter is less accurate; not because of any inherent tendencies towards inaccuracy of shorter barrels, but because of the sight radius. (The sight radius on my 5 1/2" Ruger is almost an inch longer than on the 6" S&W because of positioning on the different mechanisms.)

Another good gun to consider would be the Taurus Tracker in 6 1/2". Pricing is very right. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif It has a phenomenally crisp /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif single action trigger - although it is somewhat heavy. Double action is nothing to brag about. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif I had one for a while in .22 WMR and found the accuracy to be on a par with any other handgun I've owned. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif I only sold it because I found the WMR round to be too loud when shot from a handgun-length barrel for me to tolerate when hunting squirrels without ear muffs. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif The grips are kinda funky /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif - but who notices when you're busy watching a big red fox squirrel drop out of the trees! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

me!
 
I have a couple of .22 autos and have my Sig Trailside set up with an Optima 2000 reflex sight for speed competitions and take it off for in the field with regular sights.
SigTrailside.jpg

With the 4" barrel, it's really light and the grip lets it point very naturally.
 
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I want a Ruger MK III Hunter. Never owned a semi-auto .22, but the Hunter looks sweet. Good reviews of it out there too. I just have too many other projects right now.
 
I like the Buckmark. It is less prone to jam than my Ruger was. Still wish I had bought that Buckmark Varmint several years back. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smiliesmack.gif
 
I like my Buckmark so much I bought another one. Had a berreta with a 10 pound trigger. It didn't live her long. Bought the wife a Ruger MKII. It's alright but doesn't measure up to the gold triggers.
 
I wouldn't part with my Ruger MKII 678 G/C "slabside". The thumbshelf makes it steady as a rock and action is always reliable with decent ammo, no Wildcat or Rem. yellow/green junk, BTW I clean it about every 800 to 1000 rds. Stainless won't rust under the truck seat, mags load easy, and accuracy is exceptional with open sights. They also come with the base and integral Ruger rings. Volquartzen makes an awesome trigger kit for them about $80. At 25yds charcoal and golf balls are pretty easy targets off-hand. At 50 yds skeet are very likely (stationary ones of course, I'm not one of those internet shooters /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif)and at 100 yds gallon milk jobs can be hit pretty regular with a good holdover.
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Ruger Single Six with the two cylinders, one for .22 mag and one for .22LR. The mag load is almost as powerful as a 9mm parabellum, so it 's good for personal protection when I'm camping/fishing. For hunting or plinking the LR version is sweet and very accurate. Rides nice on the hip or in a shoulder holster. I usually carry mine on the back of my backpack where I can still draw it with the pack on. The lefty/PPETA/eco-nuts don't even know I'm packing when they see me on the trail (unless I also have my black rifle in hand)!!
 
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The mag load is almost as powerful as a 9mm parabellum, so it 's good for personal protection when I'm camping/fishing.



You either carry some really hot 22 mag rounds, or have shot some real anemic 9mm!
 
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