Advice and opinions please, .22 handgun
 

Grew up around rifles (range shooting) and don't know anything about handguns. My wife was interested in guns so we took a gun safety course together on handguns and she really enjoyed firing the .22 and wants to now have her own gun for target shooting.

What are simple, reliable, well made and easy to upgrade, semi-automatic, .22 pistols to purchase? I plan on her bringing the pistol back to the range and have the instructor work with her again on function, safety, and care.

Good forum, avid lurker.

Re: Advice and opinions please, .22 handgun
 

There was a big thread on this just last week.....

Ruger and Browning Buckmark seemed to be top choices for a reasonable price.

Re: Advice and opinions please, .22 handgun
 

She's a beauty.I would say it performs well.

http://www.ruger-firearms.com/Firear...10103&return=Y

Re: Advice and opinions please, .22 handgun
 

Cool,

Let me search and locate the thread. Thank you.

Re: Advice and opinions please, .22 handgun
 

If she thinks she'll move up to a bigger caliber(say 9mm), it might be more cost efficient to buy a Glock 9mm with a .22 conversion kit (advanced arms or what-have-you)

Re: Advice and opinions please, .22 handgun
 

Just on the off chance that you are one of those people who must have the best regardless of price, there is the S&W Model 41.

Re: Advice and opinions please, .22 handgun
 

Ruger on the basis of upgrades. They're also relatively inexpensive.

Re: Advice and opinions please, .22 handgun
 

Bought my wife a carbon-fiber Walther p-22. She loves it.

Re: Advice and opinions please, .22 handgun
 

BTW, the Glock idea was pretty good.....

Re: Advice and opinions please, .22 handgun
 

Found the thread:

http://goldismoney.info/forums/showthread.php?t=343857

Re: Advice and opinions please, .22 handgun
 

If it ain't an AR-15, it ain't shee-ot!
*tee hee*

Re: Advice and opinions please, .22 handgun
 

The Ruger sounds good from poster sentiment. I have the great pleasure of living in NJ so purchasing a pistol should be a joy (I have the permit open already, just need to find a location that sells them).

If I'm correct, ammo for the .22 Ruger is cheap? Sorry, it's been too long since I was in this (my father and I lived at the range on weekends when I was young, but that was 20 years ago).

Thank you again for all the opinions and enjoy hearing all of them.

Re: Advice and opinions please, .22 handgun
 

lol, thank you Tom. She wouldn't like the "wood paneling" :biggrin:

Re: Advice and opinions please, .22 handgun
 

Depending on your local Walmart's pricing, you should be able to get a brick (500-550 rounds) of plinking hollow point .22 LR for $15 or maybe less. .22 is still the cheapest round out there right now.

Re: Advice and opinions please, .22 handgun
 

My 65 yr. old Mom loves this handgun.
Great choice.

ST

Re: Advice and opinions please, .22 handgun
 

Tom - agree - this is the finest conventional looking 22 pistol ever made. They are awesome....I have one just because they are such a classic. i think they cost about $1000 these days.

I compete with Walther GSP.....I think they were nearing $2000....might come back down with the falling exchange rates. The Walther GSP is the worlds greatest target pistol (IMO).....but they are strictly a competition gun.

Re: Advice and opinions please, .22 handgun
 

I concur with the Ruger and Walther opinions.

Is the intention only for target practice?

Re: Advice and opinions please, .22 handgun
 

Mostly yes, but I don't think a .22 would be adequate for home security?

Re: Advice and opinions please, .22 handgun
 

Yes.. People would do well to search the forums before posting the same questions over and over and over again..

That said.. Ruger MK III Hunter or Ruger MK III 22/45 Hunter are both nice pistols.

Re: Advice and opinions please, .22 handgun
 

I've never been good enough with a pistol to be worthy of anything like your Walther though I would sure love to play with it. Below is a pict of my Hammerli built and Sig marketed Trailside. It's probably the most accurate 22 that I own + it has a feel that has to be experienced. When you hold it, the feel is just so right. Notice the adjustable trigger and the factory target included.

I did take out some of the serial #.

I love 22 pistols and have 4, the Hammerli below, a Ruger, a Browning Buckmark T Model and a S&W Model 22S. I can easily recommend any. You need to maintain a .22 pistol more than a .22 rifle for reliability.


http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x...f/Hammerli.jpg

Re: Advice and opinions please, .22 handgun
 

I'll put a third vote up for the Walther P22. My 85 year old Dad just loves his. He got it with the red dot laser site that attaches to the front. And Walther is made at the S&W factory here in the USA for Walther pistols SOLD in the USA. It shoots exceptionally well. I really liked it. So much so that I'm considering adding one to my collection.

Plus it was literally the lightest handgun we could find (15.1 ounces w/o the mag). I did all the research and the Walther is indeed a very nice pistol. Once you find which ammo it likes, stock up. As with any semi-auto pistol you will find that your wife's pistol will like a specific ammo. And right now, yeah .22 caliber ammo IS fairly cheap. I think I paid like $15 for 550 rounds of Federal at Wally World last week.

Walther firearms

Hopefully this fixes the link. Scroll down to the P22.

Re: Advice and opinions please, .22 handgun
 

How's the trigger on the Walther P22? It looks like a DA semi-auto. I've got a few of those in other calibers but usually that trigger type doesn't come close to a match trigger. A good trigger is so important with a pistol.

Re: Advice and opinions please, .22 handgun
 

TomD,
For less than $400 retail you are expecting a 'match trigger'?

Then you will be disappointed.

BUT, the upside for me is that as a retired gunsmith, I can do a trigger job on ANY firearm until it's pull is exactly where I want it.

Again, expecting a 'match anything' on a sub $400 handgun is unrealistic. Now if it's a $2000 handgun, you should expect a 'match everything'. Somewhere between those two numbers is where a 'match trigger' will fall.

Besides, MOST PEOPLE won't even know what a match trigger is. They will just think that it 'shoots good'...

I felt the trigger on the P22 was just fine the way it was.

Re: Advice and opinions please, .22 handgun
 

The trigger on the Hammerli above is very sweet by the standards of mass produced pistols and it doesn't cost much over $400. It does have external over travel and pull weight adjustments. I've got it at about 2-1/2 pounds now with no creep at all. It's not like the Jewell triggers on my BR rifles that break like a thin glass rod at 1-1/2 ounces but it will certainly do.

Re: Advice and opinions please, .22 handgun
 

I have the Buckmark, my friends have the Ruger, and my brother has the Baretta NEOS.

Buckmark - looks the best
Ruger - most opportunities to spend money on upgrades
NEOS - uggliest, but easiest to break down and clean

All three have reasonable trigger mods for target shooting. I don't like the standard grip angle on the Ruger, but the 22/45 feels nice. The NEOS is very comfortable to shoot, but it is ugly. I think the NEOS is also the cheapest of the three.

The Ruger is a bear to clean. I recently saw a 45 minute video on how to take down and clean a ruger .22 pistol. That shouldn't be necessary.

I hear the SIG mosquito and Walther P22 are fun to shoot, and I think both can be had with threaded barrels.

STAY AWAY from the S&W -- the plastic trigger is spongy. Very poor design.

Re: Advice and opinions please, .22 handgun
 

link posted t p22 not working

Re: Advice and opinions please, .22 handgun
 

I love the "LUGER" styling of the Ruger .22 myself. I think that will be my next purchase, with the bull barrel.

Re: Advice and opinions please, .22 handgun
 

Sorry.

Don't know what happened.

Hopefully the link works now.

Re: Advice and opinions please, .22 handgun
 

Pain in the butt to strip and clean, two hours on the first attempt...