.22lr Revolvers

Bill,
I have or had a 6.5" single six, 3 mark II's, taurus 94, and a 6shot 617.
By far the most accurate one is my 617 and that is what I would recomend. The single six doesn't compare to it, but the price is better.

What ever you do, don't buy a taurus 94. I sold mine and never regretted it.
H
 
I have a Heritage Rough Rider and love it.My brothers got one too but he dont shoot it enough to know if it shoots good or not but he probably looks at it every now and then.Their nice shootin guns though and they dont cost an arm and a leg either which is the main reason I bought mine.I think it was a good choice.
But if you aint too worried about the price (which I'm sure you aint cause your wifes buyin)
wink.gif
I'd go with the Ruger Single Six.And if you dont mind havin a gun that does'nt come with a .22Mag cylinder you might look at a Ruger Bearcat or a S&W K22.
 
Humdinger,

I have friends who are looking for their first firearm. I don't think either of them has ever fired a gun. I am convinced the best soulution for them at this point is a DA .22LR.

I was thinking the Taurus might be a good candidate. What were you issues you had with your Taurus 94?
 
DoubleCK:

I'm obviously not Humdinger, but if you're looking at the Taurus revolvers, you might look at the Tracker version in addition to the Model 94.

The Model 94 is a "copy" of the Smith J-Frame Kit Gun, and some of them are not very smooth action wise... The Tracker is built off a larger frame and most are much smoother.

I have a 6" stainless Tracker in 22LR and it is a very functional hard use revolver with a good trigger, and it is a very accurate shooter. I think they make it in 4" also.

Just a suggestion....

-BCB
 
DoubleCK,
I had the 94 that was based on the kit gun and it wasn't a problem gun, but it was nothing special. I special ordered it from a catalog and didn't have a chance to handle one before buying. The trigger was gritty and rough, hard trigger pull, and the grips were very small and my gunsmith made negative comments right away. Could have spent money honing it, but I decide to sell it when I needed a CW SP 1010 357. The 94 kit gun was supposed to be for potting grouse and farm carry, but I didn't carry it much and it was hard to get an accurate shot on grouse. It would be a nice close range compact snake gun if I lived in the SW.
BCB may be right to look at the tracker line, but I've had two taurus revolvers, 94 and a 44 magnum, and have sold them because of fit & finish or locking-up issues and now have rugers or smiths only.
Money to buy is always tight and I was fortunate to find a SS 617 for $350 (still expensive) that shoots groups at 25 yards that people wish they could do with rifles.
Maybe taurus has improved since my last one I owned 5 years ago, but I am a convert to how smooth that smith is. My guns are plain jane and working class, but the 617 is one case where you pay for quality and really get it.
A tracker 94 may be a good first gun choice and probably better than an auto where they will shoot fast and not aim much.
I have bought and sold ruger autos and single sixs, but I will never sell that 617. Hopefully I am not coming off as a "snob", but its nice when you find a gun that makes you stop shopping for more... at least in that category.
H
 
"Hopefully I am not coming off as a "snob"," but being the owner of 9 S&W revolvers in various calibers (current count), including a smooth Model 63 stainless Kit Gun and an extremely smooth 6" K-Frame Model 17 I mentioned earlier, I still think for the money that the 22LR Taurus Tracker I bought is worth the money I spent for it.

And I still own a couple of 22LR Ruger revolvers and several Ruger semi-autos as well as a few other makes of semi-autos and revolvers in 22LR including the 4" Colt Diamondback I also mentioned earlier.

With that said, I'd still buy another Taurus Tracker based on my experience with this one...

On another note, a few years back I owned a Smith 617 and I have since sold it. It had two chambers in the cylinder that were not accurate... Can you imagine: with Smith "quality" and something like that happening...?

There's nothing truly magical about any of them... If it's gonna' be a "one and only" purchase, buy what screws your sox on and fits your budget best..

-BCB
 
I sold my Taurus 94 after the 5th trip back to the maker, let the kids have my Ruger MK 2 target, loaned the kids my S&W Model 18, and still carry my Single Six flatgate.
Mark
 
I've never owned a Model 94 so I can't speak about it one way or the other... I do have a friend who bought one on a whim, and he said the action was rough with a poor trigger, but it shot well considering the price. I have no idea if he still owns it.

I do own a Taurus Tracker - an entirely different Taurus 22LR revolver from the model 94 - and the Tracker I have is very good for the money and for what I use it for. Maybe I just got lucky.....

-BCB
 
It sounds like the tracker 94's may be worth looking at.

Maybe I got lucky with my 617 and unlucky with my 94. Or actually un-happy since it never really failed me.

Be smarter than me and find one to fondle first, bring snap caps, and compare several brands. It took me many years to understand the "buy quality once" slogan. It has cost me hundreds of dollars in gun & scope upgrades later...
 
Originally Posted By: HumdingerIt sounds like the tracker 94's may be worth looking at.

LOL...!

One last attempt... The Model 94 is not a Tracker.

The Taurus Model 94 is the small frame revolver comparable to the Smith J-Frame (Kit Gun) revolvers in size.

The Tracker is a larger frame revolver comparable to the Smith K-Frame (like the old Combat Masterpieces) in size.

For contrast: The Smith Model 63 Kit Gun is a J-Frame revolver. The Smith 617 is a larger K-Frame revolver.

-BCB
 
Sorry dude...
I don't know taurus model names or the product line...
I don't even look at the stuff when I stop at gun shops...
And obviously I didn't read your post close enough on the praises of that particular model when I responded and added the "94" in front of the "tracker"...

The taurus product has left such a poor impression on me that I don't pay any attention to that companies offerings anymore. You have educated me on some of the small and medium size frame offerings now.

Maybe the end of my initial post should have read like this...
"don't buy a taurus 94 revolver because you can polish that turd all day and wind up with a shiny POS".



 
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Originally Posted By: Humdinger.....Maybe my initial post should have read like this..."don't buy a taurus 94 revolver because you can polish that turd all day and wind up with a shiny POS".

LOL....!

And based on my one experience with a Smith 617, maybe I should say, "you can polish that turd all day and wind up with a shiny POS". But what does that prove....?

It definitely doesn't keep me from owning a bunch of other S&W revolvers.... Nor does owning a bunch of S&W revolvers and numerous others cause me to be embarrassed for saying I bought a Taurus Tracker stainless 6" 22LR revolver. As I have stated, it is very functional for what I paid for it and for what I use it for. I suppose I could say its not comparable - nor are the three S&W 22 LR revolvers I currently own (earlier I failed to mention a 4" Model 18 my oldest son has borrowed) - to a couple of other names I could drop from my gun safes, but I wouldn't want to come off sounding like a snob to you as you used the term earlier for owning one S&W...

Speaking of turds... If my post trying to keep facts straight for another person caused you any constipation...so be it... Sorry dude, Indeed.....

-BCB


 
Quote:As I have stated, it is very functional for what I paid for it and for what I use it for.

At base level, that's what it all boils down to.

You pay for what you get. There are no free rides on quality, and while spending more won't necessarily get you a better gun, it can if you spend wisely.

I've had some bad experience with Taurus, and I likely won't buy another one. Even so, I'm not going to look down my nose at another who likes them. They are what they are, and if whatever firearm a person uses works for them, then it's all good.

I prefer the Ruger Single Six, but that's just me.

Daryl
 
Daryl:

Thanks for recognizing what I've been saying... I didn't buy it to be a mantle piece or a family keepsake. And definitely not so I could be a "snob" in my own mind... LOL!!

In the same vane, I have no plans to go "swamping" with any of my 22 LR S&W revolvers or one of my Colt Diamondbacks, or several others that I could take along.

The Taurus has held up well to occassionally getting wet in swampy terrain, and being stainless, it cleans up easily.... And it is an extremely good shooter... for what I paid for it. If I lost this one in a swamp, I'd probably buy another one and hand tune it if necessary. This one was fine out of the box.

And I too like Single Six revolvers.... I own several in 22LR and 32 H&R Mag. But they don't go swamping, either...

-BCB
 
Quote:...In the same vane, I have no plans to go "swamping" with any of my 22 LR S&W revolvers or one of my Colt Diamondbacks, or several others that I could take along.


...And I too like Single Six revolvers.... I own several in 22LR and 32 H&R Mag. But they don't go swamping, either...


Sounds like it works nicely for the purpose, and that's all you need. When there's a risk of loss or damage, inexpensive is good!

Amazingly enough, I don't have a Single Six in .22 anything. I should, but I have a Woodsman that I use a lot, and I haven't found a deal on a Single Six .22 in a while. One of these days I will; maybe a well used 3 screw.

I have a Single Six in .17 HMR, and one in .32 H&R mag that go pretty much anywhere with me, but we don't have swamps in Arizona, either.
smile.gif


Regarless of caliber or cartridge, they do the job for me pretty well. They help keep me in practice for the larger SA revolvers, too.

Daryl
 
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Ouch... Oh my Aching @ZZ... Thank you BCB for the rotorooter service! No more constipation here!
I enjoy reading forums for the opinions, but mostly to see what works or doesn't work for other shooters. Sorry if I don't get wound down in technical details for my occasional post. A mistake was made.

In summation:
I formed my opinion of my Taurus 94 long before I owned my Smith 617. The Taurus 44 Mag thing just left empty after shooting it a while. How many times does a person buy a product/make that left him cold before he avoids them and tells others not to buy them? It's an opinion folks.

Back to Bill's first post (and hopefully he is still reading) - If budget is the case, maybe the single six is perfect. It has the 22LR and 22mag option if his "fun shooting" turns into hunting or he needs more power for armidillos! Mine is for the little extra power for skunk hunting! He owns a 22/45, SA 44, and DA357 so he's neutral on the type he likes.
He asked about the bore dameters and there is some truth to it. People "rework" their rounds with a "paco Kelly" tool to expand their bullets slightly and you can find more information at rugerforum.com. Look for a guy named "flatgate". I had a friend Paco Kelly rework some 22 shells for me for a future range experiment. Previously I compared 22 mags against 22 LR using a borrowed chronagraph and the 22 mag had more consistent velocities and accuracy so I can't tell you if it is bullet diameter or load consistency. The experiment outcome will determine if I buy a Paco Kelly tool.

Bill - First of all - Happy birthday. Try to find a SW and Ruger SS & Bearcat to try first and then use this criteria if you like both...
If the wife is your "Sugar Mama", get the smith to have something that few people have.
If she is your "Sweet & Low Mama", get the Ruger SS.

Happy shooting and you know all of us guys are breaking a comandment wishing our wives would buy us guns!
 
Whatza' matter....you the only one who can talk turds...?

Few people own S&W revolvers....? Yikes..!! LOL!!

I'll just add that the paco kelly tool was designed because the diameter consistency of loaded RF rounds - both 22 LR and 22 Mag - is not that good. A PK makes them all the same diameter out of the same box of ammo. Hence hopefully improved accuracy from the same ammo.

It wasn't designed to cure any inherent issues unique to Ruger Single Six bore variation issues.. Even though the manufacturing tolerances of Ruger SS barrels, and any other factory barrel for that matter, vary slightly from revolver to revolver, rifle to rifle, etc.

Nothing too technical here....? This has all been pretty basic so far...

-BCB
 
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