Knowing there are so many different opinions on which guns are the absolute best for the money, I’m looking for some help in finding the best 22 pistol around.
I’m not going out to do any serious competition shooting, so I don’t need something that expensive ($1000.00 range) I just want to go to the range and have a literate BLAST shooting a little gun that isn’t as expensive as my 9mm’s are.
I have been looking at the Walther P22 .22 Long Rifle 5" black for a couple of reasons.
During a recent visit to a local Gun Shop I had the opportunity to really check one of these little guns out. I liked everything about the gun except for a tiny spring located right above the grip. After looking at what this spring does, it looked as though it had something to do with the hammer? But this little spring wasn’t enough to sway me from purchasing it at a later date.
Does anyone own a Walther, P 22 that could give me a few ideas why they do or don’t like this gun? Or is there another pistol that uses the .22 Long Rifle rounds someone thinks is a good little gun for the money?
My knowledge about pistols is not that great, so I depend on people in the know before I take that leap.
I’ve owned a Walther P22 (3.4" barrel) for about 7 months now and have put close to 3k rounds through it. I love this gun for plinking around, but if I were to do it again I’d buy a Ruger MKII or MKIII.
The P22 is very picky on ammo. I’ve had good luck with CCI mini-mags no failures of any kind, but when I switched it up and shot the Federal value packs I started getting failures at about 2 rounds per mag. I usually put about 800 rounds down range between cleanings.
Accuracy is ok, but the sights are plastic and if you aren’t careful can be knocked off.
I have also noticed that the trigger has picked up a gritty feel to it that wasn’t there when new.
The Walthers seem way to small to me. Everyone I know that owns a Walther 22 or a Sig 22, tells me that they only run certain ammo.
The Brownings and Rugers seem to do much better. I know my Buckmark eats EVERYTHING that I feed it, and it’s as accurate as you could ask for. I dislike that it requires an allen key to assemble, if that’s important then the Ruger.
I have to agree with the Buckmark as mine has been reliable with everything and is extremely accurate. Here’s a great forum to visit the focuses only on rimfires. There are sub-categories for Browning and Ruger that will probably answer all your questions and then some regarding these two.
I have owned Rugers and Buckmarks. Right now I have a Ruger MKIII that is outstanding. It is very reliable, accurate, and was pretty cheap as well. I like the Ruger for the fact that extra mags can also be had for $15.00. I particularly like the MKIII as it has a traditional mag release versus the heel release on previous versions. I removed the mag safety and it is very nice. I shoot on a 22 league and see several types of pistols. The two most reliable are the Ruger and Buckmark. While there are alot of parts available for the Buckmark, the Ruger is like the Glock if rimfire pistols, more accessories then you could ever want if you do ever want to change it.
I have a Berretta model 21A (.22L) and its been around for at least 20 years. It’s eaten at least a couple thousand rounds of whatever Wall-Mart ammo I could throw at it and it is dead reliable. It’s also beautifull!
The picture is not of mine, but it is an exact same model and coloring.
Most practical and best bang for your buck? Ruger MKIII with the mag safety removed. The Browning Buckmark is a close second.
Most accurate and a joy to shoot and look upon? S&W Model 41. Costs twice as much as the other two but you’ll never regret it. That’s the gun that wins bullseye competitions.
I did a similar search last fall. I found lots of failed Walthers to look at on the web. I too like the ergos and style of the Walther but I was not confident that one would last and I wanted a pistol that I could hand down to my kids.
I bought a Ruger Mark II for several reasons:
Durability, they last forever and are made of steel
Dependability, they seem to work and not be too picky with ammo
Commonality, they are possibly the most common semi-auto .22 so parts (both OEM and accessories) are easy to get and reasonably priced.
Cost, If you keep your eyes open you can pick one up for a killer price. I bought mine used, blued 5.5 inch tapered barrel with three mags, for $150 from Cabelas of all places. It had a bit of rust (must have been a truck gun for a steel worker or such) but it cleaned up just fine.
That was how I made my decision. I am sure that the fact that I had owned a Mark II in the past affected my decision.
oldcrow – Not busting on you, but it’s hard to take a thread seriously that uses the phrases “best 22 Pistol around” and “Walther P22” in the same post.
As you can see from the advice given, there are a lot of different approaches to “the best 22” … you might want to further refine your intended use so folks can be more specific in their advice.
For a general plinker, I’d have to say a Ruger MkII/MkIII. Fairly inexpensive, reliable, and a tremendous range of upgrade options as your needs & wants change. If you want something a bit nicer and even more accurate out of the box, the S&W 41 is very hard to beat. You’ll pay for the difference, but the 41 has a level of refinement immediately perceptible when you handle the two side by side. Having said that, though, the .22 pistol we’ve got in the safe is a Ruger MkII (22/45).
Another option to consider, depending on what your normal carry or home defense pistol might be, is a .22 conversion kit. They’re available for 1911’s, Berettas, Glocks, and other guns.
Have to agree with you on the first statement, but the second, I’ll just have to give my own Colt Woodsman Target model (not the Match Target) as the best to look on and is just as accurate as the Smith you talk about. One other consideration is that when you find a good one, it keeps going up in value as in ‘collectors item’!!!:D:D:D
Not mine but just like it. You can find some good deals on Gunbroker, but this particular one is a little high!!!
Oh and mines taken plenty of squirrels and rabbits for dinner!!! I use to have it with me at college and shot at the ROTC indoor range. I use to be able to slow fire 50ft into a quarter with most shots being covered by a dime…but that was when I was much younger and better eyes. The gun will still do it, but I can’t!!!
When you get into Woodsman/Model 41 territory, it’s all about the shooter. I found my 41 for $650 a year ago which I consider an absolute steal, especially for a 1981 model. I have many guns but this .22 never fails to put a smile on my face.
One thing that is very nice about the 41 is the ease of changing out a barrel. In 10 seconds you can go from a 5.5" to a 7". They are also still in production.
I have to admit that both are true classics in all the definitions!!! I am drawn to the Smith a lot and I will have one someday…my 14 year old son is already claiming my Woodsman!!!:D:D:D
among some of the best .22 pistols ever made are the High Standard of early manufacture. I have a Supermatic Citation that is a phenomenal pistol in terms of accuracy. it’s a treasure…
My experience is pretty much similar to that of wantsum.
I bought a P22 for my wife about a year ago, to help familiarize with double-action handguns. We had trouble finding ammo that it would handle reliably. For me, a few problems isn’t that big of a deal on a .22, but it was a put-off for her. My goal of helping make her more comfortable back-fired and made her more uncomfortable. :o
I still like it a lot. A few failures with cheap ammo doesn’t bother me that much. I’d recommend you look elsewhere if you want a plinker that will eat whatever ammo you throw at it.
I just put a sig saur mosquito on layaway at the gun shop. What do you guys think of it? I’ve heard some good and some bad. Not sure if i made a good purchase or not.
