I Want to Buy a .22 Pistol with My Pops Penny Jar. Recommendations?

[CyberJCM]

Hi fellas!

My grandpa passed away on the 8th, and we just got home from my home town after the funeral and everything. It was a sad time of course, but he's in a better place now than the last months of his life. My Pop was a great man, they don't make them like that anymore. One of his hobbies was firearms. I grew up with him teaching me to shoot, safety, helping him reload. I have a true appreciation for all things shooting thanks to him, and finally as an adult I am in a place where I can start to take up the hobby as well.

For my lifetime, 34 years, my Pop saved his pennies for me in an old heavy glass 5 gallon jug. He wanted me to take them home last time I was visiting, cash them in and get myself something nice. Well I did take them home this time, that thing weighs probably 200+lbs BTW, and I am in the process of checking for rarities and rolling them up. When thats all done, I have decided I'd like to purchase a .22 pistol. I think this would be a fun gun to have, to just shoot the heck out of, teach my kids to shoot with, and in a way, honor Pops saving for me by continuing the shooting hobby.

So, thanks for your patience in reading, we now come to the question: Which .22 pistol would you recommend? I've done some preliminary research, and narrowed down the choices to a few. I had to check the CA approved list, and I decided against a revolver. I also decided against the ubiquitous Ruger MK variants, as I'm pretty sure Pop had an older model that I may end up with one day. Last thing was price... while thats a ton of pennies, its not all that much actual money. So what I'm looking at is,

The Ruger SR22
Walther P22
S&W 22a
Berretta Neos (This one is not on the CA list, but I'm looking to see if I'd be allowed a Gun Broker type purchase in CA or not. Anyone know?)
The new Walther PPK/s .22 (same situation as the Berretta)

So what do you guys think? Which would you choose or already own? Pros/Cons, experience with, any other advice?
Thanks alot!

 

[Mick]

I am a big fan of single shot target pistols but they are harder to find than the more common ones.

If you wanted to get a vintage single shot instead of something new, this would expand your choices greatly.

Something like an H&R USRA would put a smile on your grandad's face that you could see from your house

 

[Commander Quan]

If I were to get a .22 my first choice would be a Ruger MK. If you think there is a good chance you may be inheriting one, another consideration is a .22 conversion for your G23.

 

[Obiwan]

Sorry for the loss of your Grandfather. That was by far the finest genreration of men IMO.

As for the gun, I'd look at the Ruger MK3.

 

[Wid]

I would recommend the Ruger MK3 or a Browning Buckmark.

 

[CyberJCM]

Thanks so far guys!

Turtle, that is a pretty neat vintage gun right there! I may keep my eye out for one. And I think you are right, my grandpa would dig it; he was a very traditional firearm owner. Nothing he has is poiymer, or aggressive looking, just good old solid steel American made guns! (except for that Ruger MK if I'm correct)

Derrick, thats a neat idea that I will research more. At my first glance, it looks a little pricey, $275, so it may be more cost effective to get an all around new gun. But I do like the idea! As far as the potential Ruger MK inheritance, I wish I had looked closer when I was there. I'm not 100% sure it is the Ruger. Its definetly an older one, as I remember shooting it at around age 10 or so. I guess I'll know when I see it again.

David, thank you. And you are exactly right. They don't make 'em like that anymore.

Rick, I forgot the Buckmark. Its fairly similar in appearance to the Ruger. How is it different?

Like I said in the OP guys, I know the Ruger MK's are one of the standards for .22 pistols, but there may be one in my future so I'd prefer not to buy one. Any advice on some of the ones I mentioned?

Thank you all!

 

[Gray Wolf]

I'd look for a Colt Woodsman or a High Standard Sport King, or maybe a HD Military. A nice Browning Buckmark would be good too.

 

[Wid]

Those old High Standards are real nice. I once owner a Dura-Matic, it reminded me a lot of the Buckmark. The only bad thing was it was real finicky with the mags and ammo.

The Ruger SR22 is a pretty fun gun to shoot, just bought one. Mine didn't like Federal bulk so much but shot CCI mini mags with no problem. It would be a great pistol for teaching the kids.

 

[CyberJCM]

Sounds like there's some nice classics to keep an eye out for! I will do that. I'm curious, does anyone know why the German Luger style is so popular in the .22 pistols? That design or variants of it seems to be the norm almost!

Rick, thanks for the tip on the SR22. I think I saw what you said about the cheap Federal ammo in a YouTube vid. Right now, it and the Walther are top of my list!

 

[Wid]

I didn't do a youtube vid but I did make a post here. I'm going to try the Federal bulk again. When I broke the SR22 down I found the recoil spring wasn't seated in the guide rod. After some reading this could have been the problem with it not feeding the bulk stuff right.

 

[MikeOfAllTrades]

The P22 is a great little gun. It has no trouble with bulk Federal, and has a fun little kick when you load it with CCI Stingers. Feels good in the hand, but the sights could be a little better.

I've shot close to 8000 rounds through mine and have only had problems when it gets dirty. The chamber tightens up and the next round doesn't slip into battery. You'll have to shoot a few hundred in a range visit for that to start happening though. It's a dirty round so I suppose that comes with the territory.

 

[Goober]

I have a Buckmark and a 36 year old Ruger and both are excellent shooters. Sig mosquito is another choice. Some bad press on the sig but I have found it shoots and cycles well with good ammo, especially when new.

 

[Wid]

The P22 is a great little gun. It has no trouble with bulk Federal, and has a fun little kick when you load it with CCI Stingers. Feels good in the hand, but the sights could be a little better.

I've shot close to 8000 rounds through mine and have only had problems when it gets dirty. The chamber tightens up and the next round doesn't slip into battery. You'll have to shoot a few hundred in a range visit for that to start happening though. It's a dirty round so I suppose that comes with the territory.

Most reviews of the Ruger shoot all brands, no problem. That's what leads me to think the guide rod spring assembly might have been the problem.

 

[Mick]

Thanks so far guys!

Turtle, that is a pretty neat vintage gun right there! I may keep my eye out for one. And I think you are right, my grandpa would dig it; he was a very traditional firearm owner. Nothing he has is poiymer, or aggressive looking, just good old solid steel American made guns! (except for that Ruger MK if I'm correct)

The Harrington and Richardson USRA models are some of the finest shooting target pistols ever made. I've owned a few of them over the years but at present do not own any. We found 2 in the same shop up in Maine while on vacation (all good things end up in Maine it seems). Blew me away. The shop owner was an older fellow and there were some other "grey customers" sitting around in some over stuffed chairs when we walked in (we had called around to just about every gun shop in Maine looking for USRA and other single shot target pistols and rifles). After he showed them to us and told us everything he knew about them, he asked us which one we wanted and when we said BOTH he almost didn't sell either of them to us

They are few and far between so if you see one DON'T let it out of your hands while you think about it as you might not see another one in your lifetime. I don't think I have seen one come up for sale in 15 years now (but I am not actively looking for them any more either).

here is a little online info about the H&R USRA target pistols: http://www.ogca.com/usra_single_shot_pistols.htm

Sounds like there's some nice classics to keep an eye out for! I will do that. I'm curious, does anyone know why the German Luger style is so popular in the .22 pistols?

Are you talking about the modern Erma 22 cal Lugar? They are not all that great. I believe Stoegar made some starting in the 1960's that were nice. Both are a blow back 22 that "looks" like a Lugar. I believe that there were 22 conversions made for the P-08 before the war by Mauser. They are rather hard to find and you need a P-08 to put one in so you get double whammied on cost (buy a Lugar then buy the conversion kit if you can find one).

You do know that Cold made a model 1911 in 22 cal? it is called the Colt Ace. Fill size full frame just like the 45 but a blow back 22 cal. Lots of fun to shoot.

Walther made a 22 cal version of the P-38 in the mid 1960's which is a very nice 22 version of the WW II German military side arm. They are just as nice as the early (late 30's) original P-38

You can also find PPK and PP models in 22 cal from the 1930's/40's. Scarce but they are around

If you look, you will find that there are a LOT of very nice 22 cal pistols that have been made over the years.

 

[ChefJohnBoy-ardee]

I like my MK3 22/45... Wasn't impressed by the way the SR22 felt in my hand.

 

[eightysixCJ]

Browning Buckmarks are great and have lots of drop-in upgrades. If you have a few more pennies a S&W Model 41 is my top pick.

Tom

 

[jkingrph]

My preference in a semi auto is the S&W model 41, generally thought of as a strictly target model. You can get it with ( or at least when I bought mine about 20 years ago) with a short heavy barrel , 5", or a longer barrel 7 1/2" I chose the longer barrel off a rest it shoots better than some rifles. Neat thing about it is that the barrel with attached sights, front and rear can be changed in a matter of a few seconds. you remove magazine, lock slide back, pull down trigger guard lift off barrel, set new barrel in place, move trigger guard back to up position, insert loaded magazine, release slide and you are ready to shoot. I purchased field barrel, which is a shortened verison of the long barrel but with a ramp front sight, same rear sight as other factory barrels and it gives a weight and balance more like a Colt 1911, 45 APC. Since I bought mine some specialty gunmakers are offering barrels with intergral rail systems for easy installation of scopes, red dots ect. When I said the barrels have both front and rear sights, the rear sight is on an extension that extends back over the slide and increases the sight radius by about 3 1/2 to 4 inches. The extension is machined from the same blank that forms the barrel. For a revolver I prefer the S&W K-22, a larger K framed target model. Mine has a 6" barrel . It is a big heavy revolver identical in size and almost in weight to the sister model K-38, 38 special. The same K frame has also been used for 357 mag revolvers so is quite strong.

 

[Graybeard57]

Sorry for the loss of your grandfather. Nice that you had him well into adulthood.

I have a handful of 22s, including the Ruger MK3, by far the most accurate of the bunch. Since you don't want that, I'd go with the S&W, a great American firearm YOUR grandchild may one day inherit. BTW, 200lbs of pennies is going to add up to quite a bit of money, I believe. You may be surprised. Instead of rolling, why not take them to a bank and have them counted? My bank provides that service to its customers, perhaps yours does, too.

 

[GA Gator]

I have been on the look out for a Beretta model 70, or 71 in good condition , for a few years. I also would prefer the 6" barrel.

 

[Katia]

I've shot the P22 because I've seen it well-recommended (though it seems some years were better than others). It is supposed to be good for small hands, which is good if you want to teach your kids to shoot it. I found it comfortable for my small hands. Also, since it's like "little sibling" to the P99, might be easy to "upgrade" to larger caliber later? It's a nice-looking (IMO) little firearm, and of course there's the choice in barrel lengths. (I've not shot the others so can't speak to them.)

Cons: the mag release is on the trigger guard, which seems weird. And they're hit-and-miss as far as ammo, from what I've read-- some will only take the expensive stuff (Stingers), some will eat anything, and some are fine with the el-cheapos as long as you've fed them some of the expensive stuff for a while first.