suggestions for a .22lr target pistol?

[rinker_32]

I'd have to agree with some of the following comments about a S&W model 21a/s. I personally own a walther p22, S&W model 21s and a S&W model 41. If your looking for something cheaper but very accurate at 15 to 20 yards, the S&W 21s or 21a are a great gun with easy breakdown and cleaning. I prefer my S&W model 41 with a burris fastfire reddot, but it is a little pricey. If you are wanting to compete cheaply a model 21 is the starting .22 for you. I wish you the best of luck on a hard decision.

 

[pudly]

I can now load them by hand perfectly but you have to develop a bit of 'touch' with them when putting them into a magazine.

That sounds like a defect to me. I'm glad your 22/45 works well. When mine does feed properly (~2/3), it shoots well. Please share your secret for loading magazines. With my magazine loaded, I can swing the tip of the top cartridge up and down about 10 degrees with no effort. That doesn't seem right at all, but I can do it with all 3 mags.

For more details on the problem and some solutions that gun owners have come up with, read here. I'm hoping one of these helps me. I have yet to see anyone report that Ruger has helped them with this problem.

 

[ChalupaCabras]

For semi serious bullseye competition, your going to need a modified Ruger MKIII, or a Beretta Target Cheetah. A Hammerelli wouldn't be a terrible choice either. Your going to spend about $500 on the Hammerelli or Ruger, and probably $650 on the Beretta.

 

[BE Mike]

For semi serious bullseye competition, your going to need a modified Ruger MKIII, or a Beretta Target Cheetah. A Hammerelli wouldn't be a terrible choice either. Your going to spend about $500 on the Hammerelli or Ruger, and probably $650 on the Beretta.

I've never heard of anyone using a Beretta Target Cheetah for NRA bullseye pistol shooting. I suppose you are suggesting the Beretta model 87. It may be ok, but it would be pretty much an unproven gun. Any of the models of Hammerli pistols will run around $1,500 and up used. The preferred Hammerli Model 208s will cost over $2,000 used.

 

[U.S. Patriot]

Browning Buckmark

 

[sloughfoot]

For serious NRA Pistol Bullseye competition, sorry, but you will end up spending about a thousand dollars.

Buy a S&W 41 and put a Ultra Dot on it and go out and compete with it.

Or buy a $200 pistol and spend $800 dollars on it to get it to shoot up to a S&W 41 then put a Ultra Dot on it and go out and compete with it.

I have shot with and against all of them. The S&W 41 does the job right out of the box.

This is the reality. Just my experience though. BEMike may have said it best. Go to the club, see what they are shooting, ask for advice from the top shooters, then make your decision.

Heck, most of the guys there will loan you most of the 22's mentioned so you could try them out.

Good Luck. See you on the firing line.

 

[dubsac]

does anybody have any input on the colt cadet?????? btw i love my mark II.

 

[barrelmaker_2002]

You can start shooting bullseye and/or NRA marksmanship qualification w/ just about any .22 pistol. But if you are serious about it, the P-22 is not a good choice due to its mediocre accuracy and less than great trigger.

I love Smith & Wesson model 41's, but they are not cheap and it sounds like you do not want to spend too much. I also know a guy that shoots bullseye with a Kimber Custom II Target with a Marvel .22 conversion kit on it. This works very well, but again, is very expensive.

Here is what I think you should look for:

- barrel length of around 7 inches
- adjustable sights
- grips that you like / feel good in your hand
- good single action trigger (hopefully the dealer will allow you to dry fire)

Here are some examples:

Smith 22A (MSRP around $325)
Product: Model 22A Pistol

Buck Mark Target (MSRP is $549)
Buck Mark Bullseye Target URX, , Browning Firearms Product

Ruger Mark III Competition (MSRP is $606)
Ruger Mark IIIRimfire AutoloadingPistol (KMKIII678GC) Overview

Ruger Mark III Target (MSRP is $417)
Ruger Mark IIIRimfire AutoloadingPistols

Walther SP22 - M4 version (MSRP is $784)
Product: SP22 - M4

(there is also the M2 version, which has a more conventional grip and is cheaper)

Beretta U22 Neos (no idea on MSRP)
U22 Neos

I have shot Ruger's and Buck Marks extensively. My personal .22 is a Buckmark and I reccomend them to others, though I am not pushy about it. I have zero experience with the S&W 22A and the Beretta. I have dry-fired 3 or 4 different Walther SP22's and most of them had mediorce to bad triggers. There was an M4 in the group with a nice trigger, but I am not sure it was worth nearly $300 more.

As I said, I own a Buckmark. Right now, it has a 5.5" barrel, but I plan to get a longer one. If I had more $, I would likely buy a S&W 41. If I was rich, I would get Hammerli, or Pardini. To give you an idea how much that would cost, my first car cost less.....

One final note - bullseye is addicting. No matter what gun you buy to start, you will likely want something nicer some day. It may cost a bit more to buy something that meets my 7 criteria above, but that is money well spent in my book since the "urge to upgrade" may not come as quickly.

 

[barrelmaker_2002]

Here is what I think you should look for:

- barrel length of around 7 inches
- adjustable sights
- grips that you like / feel good in your hand
- good single action trigger (hopefully the dealer will allow you to dry fire)

OK, one clarification is needed. When I suggest a good single action trigger, I really should have been more specific and said good single action only trigger.

Note that all of the guns I gave links to are single action only. Well, the SP22 might be striker fired, but that is a technical detail.....

 

[cklein6576]

I checked out a couple of smiths and a buckmark today. I hope this "buy anything that goes bang" craze ends soon. Barrelmaker had a good ideas, and i intend to go shoot some borrowed guns. The people at the range are great folks.

 

[davedolli]

I have a High Standard Supermatic Trophy, with 7.25 fluted barrel, and love it. Somewhat pricey now, but worth it, in my opinion. Very accurate, very well made.
Dave

 

[Crimson]

The ruger 22's are nice.

 

[NHT3]

I have a Buckmark with a Tactical Solutions barrel that just suits me perfectly. Very light and VERY accurate.

 

[jimbo-indy]

Depends on what you like. If you want the "tactical" look that is currently popular, look at the SIG Mosquito, Walther and such. If you just want accuracy and function rather than the cool look, go with Ruger or a Buckmark. The old High Standards are excellent too but are pricy due to collector market. The S&W 41 is in the same catigory. The S&W 22 A series are quite good for the money but don't fit some larger hands well. If you can find a Biekol IZH-35, grab it. They go for $400-$500 now but were the Russian's rapid fire olympic pistol. Really a head turner at the range.
The target style Rugers and Buckmarks will shoot better than almost anyone can hold them. Both are reliable and fairly easy to maintain.

 

[Benjamin]

Browning buckmark, Smith 22a, or beretta neos all are good guns and very accurate.

 

[Dr. Pretorius]

My Smith 22A loves the Walmart Federal bulk box. Very Accurate and reliable. My buddy has a Buckmark that is also very sweet, but much more expensive. I tried a Ruger Mark III and sold it soon after, not very reliable.

 

[barricade]

def sig mosquito or walther p22 put thousands of rounds thru both of em and never ftf

 

[chizzle]

Ruger Mark III Pistols

I'd recommend avoiding the Ruger Mk3 22/45. There are a large number of people (including myself) having serious FTF/FTE problems with that gun. There are fixes for the problems out there, but they are coming from the gun owner community, not Ruger.

I had some FTF / FTE issues with my Ruger Mark III 22/45 until I replaced the extractor with a Volquartsen extractor and started shooting only CCI mini mags. I would much prefer this gun being more reliable with all types of ammo, but at least I found a recipie that works for me.

 

[edsinger]

Browning Buckmark, Its just plain awesome!

 

[m_deaner]

I think Ruger or Buckmark is the way to go.
Regarding Ruger reliability - I have a Mark II, a Mark III, and my son has a Mark III 22/45. I can honestly say I've never had a malfunction from them that wasn't a fault of the ammo, and we've shot 10s of thousands of rounds through these guns.