S&w model 22a

[Nighteyes]

Originally Posted by SVTRay

Now a word of warning, the Mark series pistol new out of the box is probably the hardest pistol I have ever tried to field strip!!!

They're not terribly difficult to take down, but they are the dickens to re-assemble! To get mine back together I had to stand on my head, put my right foot in my left pocket, close one eye, and whistle "She'll Be Comin' 'Round the Mountain" in G-major.

I'm obviously exaggerating to make a point, but you know something? Most Ruger Mark series owners are likely to say it's really not all that much of an exaggeration! These days I just run a Bore Snake thru the barrel a few times.

Mine, by the way, is an older bull-barreled 22/45. It takes tack-driving to an entirely new level. I wouldn't sell or trade it for love nor money!

[Happy in Wyoming]

The best .22 plinker is the Browning Medalist. To get a more accurate .22 you'll need to spend several thousand. It has a dry firing device so you can practice in your living room. It may seem insulting to call this pistol a plinker but it can no longer win international matches. However its reliability has made it a favorite for plinking among top target shooters. It was made from 1962 to 1974. These guns are almost always in pristine collection as they went in a gun case to the shooting grounds.

It's the most comfortable .22 I own. No matter how good you are this gun will never disappoint.




There aren't too many floating around. But should you have a choice between one that seeems a bargain with no accessories compare to one with everything included for two or three hundred more take the latter. Accessories are expensive.

[Nite Ryder]

Sounds like the OP is very happy with his S&W 22A. I have had experience with enough 22 handguns that I know which one's work well and which ones to stay away from. What ever you do, don't get a Kimber Rimfire Target. I had one for a year and it was trouble. The stainless steel looking model has an alloy frame, is very light weight, and misfires about every other round. My Kimber blued steel 22 upper which is designed to fit and be used on a model 1911 lower, on the other hand works very well and is quite accurate. I've owned S&W model 41's, and various models of Hi Standard pistols over the years, and they have all been good pistols. Presently I own 5 Ruger Mk pistols, no Mk III's in the bunch. Two are the early version of the 22/45 with the hard plastic grip frame, and three are the steel versions that were the first version produced. I had a late model 22/44 same as the one pictured in post #2 and had nothing but trouble with the magazine wanting to fall out, causing failure to feed problems. One of my 22/45's had a 4" Pac Lite barrel made by Tactical Solutions, and the other one has a Volquartson barrel that is made of an alloy with a steel barrel and molded in picatinny rail on the top of the slide. Volquartson makes many after market parts for Ruger Mk pistols, they are expensive but very well made and useful. I especially like the magazine release which I feel is a design flaw in the original Ruger part.