Ruger Mark II is excellent ive but 8900 rounds though mine this year with no problems that werent ammo related
1 - 20 of 32 Posts
3
Euc,
I have a 22/45 - much as anything because it has a better feel and grip angle for me and - is loosely 1911 controls. There are some sharp edges but they are easily smoothed a tad. I use mine for pin shooting and steel shooting mainly and just plain ol' plinking!
One thing tho - if you get or find one of these or MkII - do consider fitting a Volquartsen extractor - ups reliability a whole heap - particularly if ammo borderline. As long as I keep major crud controlled (and you know how filthy 22's are!) - and, make sure slide stays lubed then it is all but 100%. I have found Federal Champion to be best ammo - not quite as cheap as Fed bulk but from K-Mart $10 a brick - that's still cheap.
For revo - well you might consider a Single Six - maybe find one used. The very early ones tho need carried on empty chamber - later ones are good for fully stoked. Useful option too is having the .22 mag cyl as well - in fact the gun is primarily 22 mag, secondarily 22LR. Only downside for me is fiddle loading/unloading, per any S/A.
Finally - tho beyond your quoted price range ... a Smith K-22 is real nice. In fact IIRC there is an SP-101 in .22 cal as well - I'd rather like one of those.
![]()
![]()
![]()
I have a 22/45 - much as anything because it has a better feel and grip angle for me and - is loosely 1911 controls. There are some sharp edges but they are easily smoothed a tad. I use mine for pin shooting and steel shooting mainly and just plain ol' plinking!
One thing tho - if you get or find one of these or MkII - do consider fitting a Volquartsen extractor - ups reliability a whole heap - particularly if ammo borderline. As long as I keep major crud controlled (and you know how filthy 22's are!) - and, make sure slide stays lubed then it is all but 100%. I have found Federal Champion to be best ammo - not quite as cheap as Fed bulk but from K-Mart $10 a brick - that's still cheap.
For revo - well you might consider a Single Six - maybe find one used. The very early ones tho need carried on empty chamber - later ones are good for fully stoked. Useful option too is having the .22 mag cyl as well - in fact the gun is primarily 22 mag, secondarily 22LR. Only downside for me is fiddle loading/unloading, per any S/A.
Finally - tho beyond your quoted price range ... a Smith K-22 is real nice. In fact IIRC there is an SP-101 in .22 cal as well - I'd rather like one of those.
3
I've had few problems with 22 autos providing that (a) I used plated shells ($9 a brick as opposed to $6-7) and (b) kept them clean.
The Rugers work well, but I've had nothing but personal bad luck with them. That and I ended up with a Standard (not even a Mk 1) without the trigger fix of the Mk 1, and quite frankly, it's fundamentally dangerous. Chambering a round can and will occasionally (1 in 500 or so) detonate on chambering because there is no intermediary between the physical trigger and its' sear. I can't and won't sell it and I can't and won't shoot it any more. I know the problem's fixed in newer models that aren't from 1954, but....
I've had better luck with modern designs. Despite the space-gun looks, the old lady's Beretta Neos that we've had since they came out has been flawless. I clean it for her about once a season, and her idea of shooting is loading all 4 mags and making cans jump as fast as she can pull the trigger and reload so I estimate 500 or more per range visit. It goes a few k between cleanings and I only touch it when it starts to become a problem or if I'm feeling bored and want to clean guns. It used to need it every thousand or so with lead bullets, but once I switched her to plated....
![]()
If I want stupid accurate and one that honestly doesn't care about ammo, there's my evil Commie copy of the Walther Olympia. It'll feed anything and not care and put them in one hole. I have it mostly for the 4H kids but partly for those pesky varmints that you have to discreetly dispatch and be sure where the shell is going is only into varmintland.
![]()
The Sig Mosquito more than anything (and I've had one probably as long as anyone in the US now) is a training tool. It's not as accurate as my Olympia clone, but few things are. It's a hair more ammo picky than the Neos, and I feed it CCI Mini-mags almost exclusively. They're 2x as expensive as the normal brick, but I have 1 failure in 1k on average FTF and none FTE or FTL since the gun got broken in, and it goes 1k rounds between cleanings as opposed to 400. They're accurate to a point where you can be a danger to any pop can, AOL cd, or other plinking target out to the 50m berm, and well, it's the only 22LR I actually enjoy to shoot. The ammo is part of the deal - it gives a little more zing and report than the cheap fodder it also consumes. For me, it's a range toy and training tool, but you can have range toys once you hit the 20 or 30 gun mark. Since I hit that years ago, well, I can have a bunch.
![]()
If I were to pick one as a general purpose last ditch defense gun/varmint/hunting piece, it'd probably be the Olympia. Trigger pull is sinful, clocking in at 2 or so pounds. I warn students and give it to them with a snap cap to illustrate what they're about to learn on. All 8 rounds leave almost instantly if you know where the trigger reset is by muscle memory, and make one very nasty 1" hole out to 15m. I don't want to be on the receiving end of that, and it's accurate enough to pop small critters in the head as long as you can clearly see it.
If I wanted something in the exclusively defensive range, I'd stick with the Sig. I have serious reservations about the caliber, but the double-strike capability of the SA/DA trigger, extremely high quality magazines, and Mini-mags means that I have reasonable faith it'll go off for all 11 rounds. It's accurate enough. It just won't bring home dinner as reliably.
The Rugers work well, but I've had nothing but personal bad luck with them. That and I ended up with a Standard (not even a Mk 1) without the trigger fix of the Mk 1, and quite frankly, it's fundamentally dangerous. Chambering a round can and will occasionally (1 in 500 or so) detonate on chambering because there is no intermediary between the physical trigger and its' sear. I can't and won't sell it and I can't and won't shoot it any more. I know the problem's fixed in newer models that aren't from 1954, but....
I've had better luck with modern designs. Despite the space-gun looks, the old lady's Beretta Neos that we've had since they came out has been flawless. I clean it for her about once a season, and her idea of shooting is loading all 4 mags and making cans jump as fast as she can pull the trigger and reload so I estimate 500 or more per range visit. It goes a few k between cleanings and I only touch it when it starts to become a problem or if I'm feeling bored and want to clean guns. It used to need it every thousand or so with lead bullets, but once I switched her to plated....
If I want stupid accurate and one that honestly doesn't care about ammo, there's my evil Commie copy of the Walther Olympia. It'll feed anything and not care and put them in one hole. I have it mostly for the 4H kids but partly for those pesky varmints that you have to discreetly dispatch and be sure where the shell is going is only into varmintland.
The Sig Mosquito more than anything (and I've had one probably as long as anyone in the US now) is a training tool. It's not as accurate as my Olympia clone, but few things are. It's a hair more ammo picky than the Neos, and I feed it CCI Mini-mags almost exclusively. They're 2x as expensive as the normal brick, but I have 1 failure in 1k on average FTF and none FTE or FTL since the gun got broken in, and it goes 1k rounds between cleanings as opposed to 400. They're accurate to a point where you can be a danger to any pop can, AOL cd, or other plinking target out to the 50m berm, and well, it's the only 22LR I actually enjoy to shoot. The ammo is part of the deal - it gives a little more zing and report than the cheap fodder it also consumes. For me, it's a range toy and training tool, but you can have range toys once you hit the 20 or 30 gun mark. Since I hit that years ago, well, I can have a bunch.
If I were to pick one as a general purpose last ditch defense gun/varmint/hunting piece, it'd probably be the Olympia. Trigger pull is sinful, clocking in at 2 or so pounds. I warn students and give it to them with a snap cap to illustrate what they're about to learn on. All 8 rounds leave almost instantly if you know where the trigger reset is by muscle memory, and make one very nasty 1" hole out to 15m. I don't want to be on the receiving end of that, and it's accurate enough to pop small critters in the head as long as you can clearly see it.
If I wanted something in the exclusively defensive range, I'd stick with the Sig. I have serious reservations about the caliber, but the double-strike capability of the SA/DA trigger, extremely high quality magazines, and Mini-mags means that I have reasonable faith it'll go off for all 11 rounds. It's accurate enough. It just won't bring home dinner as reliably.
Euc...
When I decided that I wanted to buy a pistol soon after my 21st birthday, a co-worker of mine suggested that I purchase a .22LR pistol in addition to a centerfire.
His reasoning is simple. The .22 is cheap to shoot, generally more accurate then a service firearm, and if you take someone else to the range, they can shoot with you.
To that end, as soon as my permits come in (this week, I hope) I'm goign to purchase a HK USP Compact, either in .40 or .45. I'm also picking up a Ruger 22/45 Mrk. 3 w/ the 5.5" stainless barrel.
My co-worker purchased his .22LR, and has just finally (about a year ago) gotten the money together and purchased a 9mm Sig 226. Unfortunately, we live in a state with really restricted CCW, so his decision sort of made sense...
I enjoy shooting the Ruger that my coworker has immensely, and is ultimately why I bought a very similar firearm. The other advantage to the 22/45 is that the controls are located in a similar area to 1911 pistols.
Just my $0.02
--Jim
When I decided that I wanted to buy a pistol soon after my 21st birthday, a co-worker of mine suggested that I purchase a .22LR pistol in addition to a centerfire.
His reasoning is simple. The .22 is cheap to shoot, generally more accurate then a service firearm, and if you take someone else to the range, they can shoot with you.
To that end, as soon as my permits come in (this week, I hope) I'm goign to purchase a HK USP Compact, either in .40 or .45. I'm also picking up a Ruger 22/45 Mrk. 3 w/ the 5.5" stainless barrel.
My co-worker purchased his .22LR, and has just finally (about a year ago) gotten the money together and purchased a 9mm Sig 226. Unfortunately, we live in a state with really restricted CCW, so his decision sort of made sense...
I enjoy shooting the Ruger that my coworker has immensely, and is ultimately why I bought a very similar firearm. The other advantage to the 22/45 is that the controls are located in a similar area to 1911 pistols.
Just my $0.02
--Jim
1 - 20 of 32 Posts
