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Getting back into shooting 22 cal again, it's been a decade since I last owned one.

2592 Views 35 Replies 22 Participants Last post by Lshaw, 8 mo ago

sevycat

Discussion Starter · Jun 5, 2022

I Picked up a few older High Standards and a Colt. I guess I missed it more then I cared to think about the last decade has been all about the larger pistol calibers for me, but I have fond memories of my plinking days. So I was wondering if others here like their 22 cal pistols and what fond experiences do you have or at least are willing to share with the lot of us here? I thought these days were over, but as they say, never say never!

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KenBry

· #2 · Jun 5, 2022

Dumb as it sounds in my younger days, we used to try to shoot flying sky rats (seagulls) with 22s. Couldn’t shoot em while on the ground was a rule, only in the air flying. None of us ever hit one that we know of.

Now days, I shoot my Volquartsen, 10-22s, Ruger Mk4 and new Sig P322 at paper targets.

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Tip

· #3 · Jun 5, 2022

Looong ago, in a much simpler time when water was new and dirt was young… (back when a 50 round box of 22’s was $1.50 or so at the corner hardware store)
.22lr precision shooting competitions….
Buddy reloaded 12 gauge shotgun. He would take worn out cases, load a primer, light powder load and wad only. We’d take em out to the levee, stick them in the mud banks, walk across the train trestle and shoot at ‘em with 22’s, hit the primer and they’ll go off. Range was probably 50ish yards. We’d compete - rifles prone, kneeling, standing and sometimes pistols sitting and standing.

Side notes….
Did you know if you shot a Carp that was sucking air on the surface of a drying up levee puddle in the head it’d jump 3 feet outta the water. We were actually doing em a favor because in a week or so the puddles would be dry….
We also fished them same puddles for bass with M-80’s - toss one in and then wade in harvesting the stunned bass. Puddles were cut off and drying up so fish would be dead in a week anyhow….

I don’t suffer from insanity. I rather enjoy it.

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ShooterGranny

· #4 · Jun 5, 2022

I never shot .22's back when. I am a recent .22lr shooter and that is due to the physical problems I have with my hands and wrists. THEY ARE JUST PLAIN TOTAL FUN!

Granny says.

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dsk

· #5 · Jun 5, 2022

Like many people I cut my teeth on .22s as a teenager, but once I got into centerfire guns I all but stopped shooting .22s for many years. The ammo panic got me back into shooting them, and since then my collection of .22s has grown. I now shoot far more .22 ammo than I do centerfire, although it's really not by choice. When I can get a 325rd bulk-pack of .22s from Wally World for $21, while a single 50rd box of 9mm costs that much you can see the reason.

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Sigarms228

· #6 · Jun 5, 2022 (Edited)

4

Love shooting 22LR and since price explosion on ammo in early 2020 been shooting a lot more. I am pretty good shape with 9MM and 45 but want to try and stretch it out. I can either shoot 150 rounds of 9MM at a range session or 100 rounds of 9MM and 300 rounds of 22LR for the same cost.

My favorite 22LR by far is my Browning Buckmark Camper. It fits my hand perfectly, has a stellar trigger, extremely reliable with a wide range of ammo, and is superbly accurate all for $325 after Browning rebate in the fall of 2019. I had been wanting one for a long time and when I finally saw them at a good price I thought "I better grab one now" and so glad I did as they were all gone by the next summer. When I do my part I can shoot 10 rounds of bulk range ammo into a 3 inch group at 75 feet with fiber optic front sight that cost me all of $23 and is the only change I have made to it. Love my Ruger Standard too but my Buckmark fits my hands better and is more reliable. I have a 22LR conversion kit my P226 and wow is that fun and useful when I want to practice DA and DA to SA transition. Also have an M&P 22 Compact which is also sweet but a little small for me. It has been superbly reliable with a wide range of ammo and decently accurate.

BTW my wife finally got into shooting too. She did not like shooting 9MM but fell in love with our Buckmark and shoots it very well. It also gave her the confidence to try 9MM again and I started her with the big and heavy CZ SP01 Shadow that she was shooting good too though she could not reach the trigger DA but it did it's job. After taking a couple classes she picked out her first very own 9MM pistol after trying more than a few. She bought an S&W EZ Shield 9MM Performance Center and is very happy with it. She now has her CCW too.

I can't wait to try the new SIG P322 some day. I mat get one of those too if I like it. Still have quite a bit of 22LR ammo from buying during 2017-2019 period.

A few weeks back my son and I went to an outdoor range something we had not done in several years since local one shut down

. It was a 90 minute drive by oh boy was that fun and only $30 for the day for range shooting, clay pigeons, the "pit" area, and 22 plinking pit area. I had not shot my Browning Auto 5 in 50 years but she worked perfectly and busted clays almost every time. With the Buckmark I was hitting a mini gong (maybe 10 inches) at about 50 yards rapid fire most of the time while standing with no support. Even had my old Marlin 99 semi automatic 22LR with me. It was not working as well as I remembered decades ago but I ordered and replaced a few parts in it already (recoil spring/hammer spring/firing pin) and we are planning for more trips this summer on a week day.

When I take a new shooter to the range I always start them out on a 22LR pistol.

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ShooterGranny

· #7 · Jun 5, 2022

Nice collection of .22 handguns you have, @Sigarms228

When I first looked at .22 handguns I tried a Buckmark but could not rack it - not even close. Not sure if that would be different now or not but I know they are super great guns and if I see one in a store I'll see if I can rack it or not.

I have a Mark IV Lite but "divorced" it after spending too much money and way too much time and effort getting it to work properly. Hubby loves it, which is very nice.

I would not mind adding another .22 to my Browning 1911-22 and my two M&P .22 compacts, but every one I've tried in a store was "meh" to "ugh" and that includes that Taurus that people have raved about. I haven't checked out the SIG P322 yet either but probably won't like the grip size or ergonomics of it. You don't know till you try, though, do you?

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BitOfANoob

· #8 · Jun 5, 2022

2

I picked up a TX22 in January. It's my only gun chambered in .22lr but it's probably the most fun to shoot out of anything I have. One of my 16 round magazines has a +9 extension on it and I'm probably going to keep it loaded with Federal Punch. The gun is mostly a range toy, but, I can't ignore the potential of 26 rounds even if it's .22lr.

Mine has been very reliable so far and it's hard not to like the full sized grip and controls that are familiar to my other striker fired guns.

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Here's a pic of the SS guide rod I installed.

Trigger Gun barrel Gun accessory Auto part Metal

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PaulWVa

· #9 · Jun 5, 2022 (Edited)

2

I love shooting .22s. I've been shooting them since I was eight years old (I'm 67 now) and I still have that first .22 rifle. Today I have five .22 handguns, five .22 rifles and about 40 thousand rounds of .22 ammo on hand. I have two ammo cabinets one just for my .22s. I've shot the rimfire class in NRA Bullseye (precision pistol) and NRA Silhouettes in both pistol and rifle.

Every range trip includes at least three pistols, two rifles and lots of ammo.

If you've never really been into .22 rimfire you need to come to the club with me and shoot this ... (down there VVV).... My favorite range toy these days. HK MP5 A5 .22LR ....or as we call it, The HK Rapid Ammo Disposal System. A couple of 25 rd mags or the 50 rd drum and you'll be a fan of the .22 round.

Shown with both a sweet Leupold 1x4 glass scope and a brand-new SIG Romeo 7 RDS ... both work great. Really hard to put down ... I've shot 500 rounds through it on a single range trip without a single failure as long as you stick to high velocity ammo ... which it calls for right on the receiver and in the manual. If you like to shoot it's just way too much fun.

Machine gun Air gun Trigger Shotgun Gun barrel

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Sig Bulldawg

· #10 · Jun 5, 2022

I never stopped, they are my favorites to shoot.

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billj47

· #11 · Jun 6, 2022 (Edited)

I have a Ruger 10-22, a S&W 15-22, a S&W 617-6 and a Keltec P17. They are all lots of fun.

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hauki

· #12 · Jun 6, 2022

2

me too. I bought 2 .22 pistols in the past few months

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tommyh

· #13 · Jun 6, 2022

I think a lot of people who got started on 22 and get more serious about shooting migrate away from them. I hadn't shot 22 for years before my dad and I took a couple to the range just for some diagnostic stuff, and it reminded me how fun 22 is to plink with.

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PaulWVa

· #14 · Jun 6, 2022 (Edited)

I have three Rugers ... two MK 2, one 4 and a Walther P-22 Target that are all great shooters. But I have to say that my best shootin' buddy's new FN 502 has one the best out-of-the-box triggers I have ever shot on any .22. It's right up there with my Volquartsen tuned MK IV. I was really surprised at how good it is. It came with the threaded barrel and he's waiting for his suppressor paperwork to clear.

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221531

· #15 · Jun 6, 2022

5

My wife and I are fans of the Ruger MK pistols. I have a MK II I've had since '91 and a MKIV 22/45 Tactical. She has a MKIV 22/45 and a Walther PPQ-M2 22 that she also enjoys. I've also always liked the Ruger 10/22's. I enjoy building them, I've done 10 of them so far.

Air gun Machine gun Wood Trigger Gun barrel

Air gun Trigger Machine gun Wood Shotgun

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LEEEAGLE

· #16 · Jun 6, 2022

PaulWVa said:
I love shooting .22s. I've been shooting them since I eight years old (I'm 67 now) and I still have that first .22 rifle. Today I have five .22 handguns, five .22 rifles and about 40 thousand rounds of .22 ammo on hand. I have two ammo cabinets one just for my .22s. I've shot the rimfire class in NRA Bullseye (precision pistol) and NRA Silhouettes in both pistol and rifle.

Every range trip includes at least three pistols, two rifles and lots of ammo.

If you've never really been into .22 rimfire you need to come to the club with me and shoot this ... (down there VVV).... My favorite range toy these days. HK MP5 A5 .22LR ....or as we call it, The HK Rapid Ammo Disposal System. A couple of 25 rd mags or the 50 rd drum and you'll be a fan of the .22 round.

Shown with both a sweet Leupold 1x4 glass scope and a brand-new SIG Romeo 7 RDS ... both work great. Really hard to put down ... I've shot 500 rounds through it on a single range trip without a single failure as long you stick to high velocity ammo ... which it calls for right on the receiver and in the manual. If you like to shoot it's just way too much fun.

View attachment 458480 View attachment 458481

I also have been shooting 22 since I was a tadpole, 60 now. I must say my favorite always has been my Ruger 10/22 got it brand new in the early 80s, done a lot of work to it since to keep it up to date, most recently the Franklin Armory binary trigger, my Ruger single six with LR and mag cylinders go to the range every time I do, and although finally got my mosquito to run correctly I'm still looking for another 22 semi-auto pistol. Wondering when all the smoke will finally clear on the p322 and the fn502. I've had both of them in my sights for some time, each time I get close to figuring it out somebody puts Another Bad News Post think it's me start to looking elsewhere all over again.

Sigarms228

· #17 · Jun 6, 2022 (Edited)

ShooterGranny said:
Nice collection of .22 handguns you have, @Sigarms228

When I first looked at .22 handguns I tried a Buckmark but could not rack it - not even close. Not sure if that would be different now or not but I know they are super great guns and if I see one in a store I'll see if I can rack it or not.

I have a Mark IV Lite but "divorced" it after spending too much money and way too much time and effort getting it to work properly. Hubby loves it, which is very nice.

I would not mind adding another .22 to my Browning 1911-22 and my two M&P .22 compacts, but every one I've tried in a store was "meh" to "ugh" and that includes that Taurus that people have raved about. I haven't checked out the SIG P322 yet either but probably won't like the grip size or ergonomics of it. You don't know till you try, though, do you?

Have you tried the method of racking the slide where you grip the slide but then grip the pistol with your strong hand and move it forward instead of trying to pull the slide back? If not give that a whirl and there are a lot of YT videos on that just search "rack pistol slide the easy way". BTW you can't rack a slide on a Browning Buckmark if the safety is on.

I hope you find another 22LR pistol you like. Might want to look at the Ruger SR22 if you have not done that yet and being hammer fired you could cock the hammer and then rack the slide to make it easier. Good luck!

Reactions: 2

221531

· #18 · Jun 6, 2022

Sigarms228 said:
Have you tried the method of racking the slide where you grip the slide but then grip the pistol with your strong hand and move it forward inslide of trying to pull the slide back? If not give that a whirl and there are a lot of YT videos on that just search "rack pistol slide the easy way". BTW you can't rack a slide on a Browning Buckmark if the safety is on.

I hope you find another 22LR pistol you like. Might want to look at the Ruger SR22 if you have not done that yet and being hammer fired you could cock the hammer and then rack the slide to make it easier. Good luck!

Tandemkross makes a "Halo", a ring that attaches to the bolt ears of a Ruger MKIV and it enables you to cycle the pistol with just a finger. My wife has arthritis in her hands and finds it extremely difficult to rack a slide on any pistol. She also found it very difficult to cycle the MKIV before she had the Halo. Now that she has the Halo she loves her MKIV. I like it so much I added one to both my MKIV and my MKII. I had to use a MKIV bolt in the MKII to use the Halo, but no big deal since they're interchangeable.

ShooterGranny

· #19 · Jun 6, 2022 (Edited)

Sigarms228 said:
Have you tried the method of racking the slide where you grip the slide but then grip the pistol with your strong hand and move it forward inslide of trying to pull the slide back? If not give that a whirl and there are a lot of YT videos on that just search "rack pistol slide the easy way". BTW you can't rack a slide on a Browning Buckmark if the safety is on.

I hope you find another 22LR pistol you like. Might want to look at the Ruger SR22 if you have not done that yet and being hammer fired you could cock the hammer and then rack the slide to make it easier. Good luck!

That video you posted is one of the best among the dozens on you tube. I send it to a lot of women.

I teach women how to rack a slide properly as in the video and it has been amazing: Over half the women in our group could not rack the slide of their gun originally. Now when we say "show me empty" they all whip it back to slide lock like they've been doing it forever.

None of them are as old and weak or have as much damage to their hands and wrist as I do. For some time now I have been cocking the hammer on my SIG P238's to make them so I can rack the slide back to slide lock.

As part of the "too much money" I spent on my Mark IV to get it workinig properly I added the halo and THAT made it possible for me to pull it back to slide lock. However it is now hubby's gun and he's having a lot of fun with it.

I tried my friend's SR 22. I hated it. Really hated it. That "from Chicago to New York" Ruger trigger pull, plus the initial DA pull produced a "no way in God's green earth!" reaction.

I guess you could say I'm a "special needs shooter."

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221531

· #20 · Jun 6, 2022

ShooterGranny said:
That video you posted is one of the best among the dozens on you tube. I send it to a lot of women.

I teach women how to rack a slide properly as in the video and it has been amazing: Over half the women in our group could not rack the slide of their gun originally. Now when we say "show me empty" they all whip it back to slide lock like they've been doing it forever.

None of them are as old and weak or have as much damage to their hands and wrist as I do. For some time now I have been cocking the hammer on my SIG P238's to make them so I can rack the slide back to slide lock.

As part of the "too much money" I spent on my Mark IV to get it workinig properly I added the halo and THAT made it possible for me to pull it back to slide lock. However it is now hubby's gun and he's having a lot of fun with it.

I tried my friend's SR 22. I hated it. Really hated it. That "from Chicago to New York" Ruger trigger pull, plus the initial DA pull produced a "no way in God's green earth!" reaction.

I guess you could say I'm a "special needs shooter."

That's really too bad about your MKIV. We've been fortunate and lucky with ours. However I do think my MKII is a better shooter. Maybe you could take a look at a Walther PPQ M2 22. I don't know if that's a pistol in which you'd be interested, but the slide on that is extremely easy to rack. My wife has bad arthritis in her hands, and she likes the Walther. She said the slide is very easy to operate, and the grip feels good in her hand. Her only gripe about the gun is its rear sight, but everyone's eyes are different.

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