chris downs
New member
I would like a .22 revolver that shoots whatever .22 ammo I buy. Does such a beast exist? How do I find one? How do I know it does work the way I wish before buying it?
.22 Revolver Recommendations
- Thread starter chris downs
- Start date
Aguila Blanca
Staff
Do you want a single action "cowboy" style revolver, oir a more modern double action?
chris downs
New member
I would LOVE a single action, but as long as I can fire a full cylinder reliably, I would be satisfied.
Thinking further, I would want the single action AND a more modern style. How will I know if they will perform if I see one?
Thinking further, I would want the single action AND a more modern style. How will I know if they will perform if I see one?
I have two choices for you that I have found very reliable. My Smith&Wesson 617 and my Heritage Rough Rider.
Both shoot just about anything I can find. The 617 is great because it has Double or Single Action. I shoot it for Steel Challenge Matches and all shots are da. It's very important to not have a misfire during a string of fire and this gun runs 100%. My competition ammo is CCI Blazer or Federal Gold HV.
The Heritage I bought on a whim. I wanted a gun to make cowboy holsters with and could mold them. For practice the Rough Rider fit the bill. Also I could believe the price.
I walked out the door from Sportsman's Warehouse with the gun and 2 boxes of CCI Quiet ammo for $100. If you apply for their credit card you get $50 off. I didn't need the credit card either but it helped. Another Single Action that is nice is the Ruger Wrangler. It's about $100 more but looks like it will hold up better.
Both shoot just about anything I can find. The 617 is great because it has Double or Single Action. I shoot it for Steel Challenge Matches and all shots are da. It's very important to not have a misfire during a string of fire and this gun runs 100%. My competition ammo is CCI Blazer or Federal Gold HV.
The Heritage I bought on a whim. I wanted a gun to make cowboy holsters with and could mold them. For practice the Rough Rider fit the bill. Also I could believe the price.
I walked out the door from Sportsman's Warehouse with the gun and 2 boxes of CCI Quiet ammo for $100. If you apply for their credit card you get $50 off. I didn't need the credit card either but it helped. Another Single Action that is nice is the Ruger Wrangler. It's about $100 more but looks like it will hold up better.
Urbanrecon
Moderator
Isn't the ability to fire any type of .22 rimfire a trait of all .22 revolvers other than .22 WMR?
Stay away from S&W model 17. I have two one for me and one for my wife, they are NOT accurate. My wife's one is inconsistent, it randomly has fliers, I even sent it back, they tested 5 shot and had tight group, they sent it back to me. Mine was not accurate in general. I compare to my Colt Trouper and S&W model 19, there is no comparison. Later on I switched to Ruger Mark II and Colt Gold Cup, they are all a lot more accurate than those two.
One is an accident and bad luck, two out of two is really bad. You can see the two model 17 in the picture, the top one is the Trouper 8", the model 17 are 6" barrel.
A little off the topic, I never understand why Colt Trouper is not that popular, you hear Python everywhere and nobody talk about Trouper, It's a mighty good gun. Accurate of cause, the double action has a very short pull. Don't quote me on this, I played with the Python before, it seemed to have quite a long stroke for double action, sure it's smooth, but just the long pull will make it harder to shoot accurate in DA. I do a lot of work on the Model 19 and the two model 17 to make the DA pull very smooth, but the stroke is long. I much prefer the Trouper with short stroke in DA. I stop shooting the Trouper after I got the Ruger Mark II and Colt Gold Cup, but it's a very under rated gun.
One is an accident and bad luck, two out of two is really bad. You can see the two model 17 in the picture, the top one is the Trouper 8", the model 17 are 6" barrel.
A little off the topic, I never understand why Colt Trouper is not that popular, you hear Python everywhere and nobody talk about Trouper, It's a mighty good gun. Accurate of cause, the double action has a very short pull. Don't quote me on this, I played with the Python before, it seemed to have quite a long stroke for double action, sure it's smooth, but just the long pull will make it harder to shoot accurate in DA. I do a lot of work on the Model 19 and the two model 17 to make the DA pull very smooth, but the stroke is long. I much prefer the Trouper with short stroke in DA. I stop shooting the Trouper after I got the Ruger Mark II and Colt Gold Cup, but it's a very under rated gun.
Attachments
Last edited:
TruthTellers
New member
If you get the .22 Mag with the spare LR cylinder it's not an issue, but shooting .22 Short down a chamber the length of a .22 Mag is interesting.
OP, if you want to go single action, get a 9 shot Heritage Rough Rider with adjustable sights. They're only available in the 6.5" barrel length tho, so if you want a shorter barrel you'll have to make do with a 6 shot.
If you want to go double action, the only convertible I know of is the Taurus and it's a very large revolver.
I'd suggest getting separate .22 LR and .22 Magnum revolvers.
My experience with .22 LR in revolvers has been this: If the it doesn't fire, it's the ammo, not the revolver. There might be an accuracy problem that would be the fault of the gun, but reliable ignition is almost always a function of the ammo.
The guns already mentioned are good quality products. I will add the Ruger LCRX .22 LR with the 3" barrel. I have a Single Six convertible and an LCRX and both have been as reliable as any centerfire revolver I've owned.
The guns already mentioned are good quality products. I will add the Ruger LCRX .22 LR with the 3" barrel. I have a Single Six convertible and an LCRX and both have been as reliable as any centerfire revolver I've owned.
Jim Watson
New member
Strange, my elderly (ca 1960) M18 Smith is quite accurate. It is also ammunition dependent. There are a lot of reports of K22s needing their chambers honed for easy extraction.
Ruger Single Six is as close to stone ax reliability as you will find.
I don't know about the Single Ten on the same frame.
Ruger Single Six is as close to stone ax reliability as you will find.
I don't know about the Single Ten on the same frame.
I've had some .22 rounds that appear not to have primer compound in them.
Load, attempt to fire.
Rotate in cylinder so the firing pin strikes a separate area, attempt to fire.
Up to 4 times.
So, that round was never going to fire.
Most common issue though would be not having the round seated all the way into the cylinder. Then the first strike basically just seats the round properly with a light indent in the rim. Usually fires the second time just fine. Clean chambers help. If you have a minimal spec or "tight" chamber then it may be a picky about ammo brands that have rounds closer to "maximum" diameter spec for .22.
If I were in the market for a new revolver I'd be looking at the Ruger Single-10.
Load, attempt to fire.
Rotate in cylinder so the firing pin strikes a separate area, attempt to fire.
Up to 4 times.
So, that round was never going to fire.
Most common issue though would be not having the round seated all the way into the cylinder. Then the first strike basically just seats the round properly with a light indent in the rim. Usually fires the second time just fine. Clean chambers help. If you have a minimal spec or "tight" chamber then it may be a picky about ammo brands that have rounds closer to "maximum" diameter spec for .22.
If I were in the market for a new revolver I'd be looking at the Ruger Single-10.
I have a S&W model 17 that is as accurate and consistent as anything. A real tack driver.
BUT... the cylinders are so tight that after 12 or so rounds it starts getting very hard to insert new rounds, and after 5 or so cylinders, forget it.
Fun as heck to shoot, but you can't do much of it without cleaning it.
BUT... the cylinders are so tight that after 12 or so rounds it starts getting very hard to insert new rounds, and after 5 or so cylinders, forget it.
Fun as heck to shoot, but you can't do much of it without cleaning it.
chris downs
New member
Interesting. My limited experience shows that "misfires" in one gun turn into fires in another. Not that there isn't an ammo related correlation as well (ie Remington).
chris downs
New member
After shooting this morning (I love Mondays!), I went to the LGS and saw a Wrangler and a Heritage. Both seemed very nice. They are asking $200 for either. There was also a $700 Smith that was WAY nice.
Aguila Blanca
Staff
The Heritage has that silly cross-bolt type safety (which is there because import rules require some sort of safety and that's their solution, but for me it's a deal breaker). I think the Ruger Wrangler is an ugly gun, and there's no magnum cylinder option, but I would choose a Wrangler over a Heritage just because of the safety issue.chris downs said:
Last edited:
chris downs
New member
God help me, but these things are so darn pretty:
https://heritagemfg.com/small-bore/6-shot-rough-rider
I saw that safety thing. I think I can live with that. There are all sorts of stuff available to customize the gun. And I saw my LGS has lots of room in their asking price.
Please tell me why I should buy a different single action.
https://heritagemfg.com/small-bore/6-shot-rough-rider
I saw that safety thing. I think I can live with that. There are all sorts of stuff available to customize the gun. And I saw my LGS has lots of room in their asking price.
Please tell me why I should buy a different single action.
I would recommend the Super Single Six because of the adjustable sights. Ger the convertable .22WMR if you want, I have one, I never use the WMR cylinder, just not worth it, to me.
I had a S&W M17-6 with the full underlug barrel 6", got it with the idea of using it for practice as it was the same weight as my .357, but while an accurate and good gun, it just never "did it" for me and eventually I traded it.
Have kept my Super Single Six convertable for about 30 some years now, I don't think there is a better SA .22LR out there for the price.
One thing to have with you is a bore brush on a pistol rod. My Ruger has "tight chambers" and you need to be sure you fully seat the round in the cylinder when loading. A little bit of firing makes that even worse, but a quick pass with a brush once in a while does wonders.
My understanding of how .22 rimfires are made is that the primer, as a drop of liquid is put in the case, then the case is spun so that centrifugal force sends the liquid into the hollow rim where it dries and becomes active primer compound.
Sometimes, the primer is not equally distributed around the rim. If the round doesn't fire, and then you replace it in the chamber so the firing pin hits a different spot and it fires, this is the usual cause. Complete duds are rare, but they do happen sometimes.
If you want the best .22 DA revolver, I'd go with S&W but they aren't cheap, often they cost more than a centerfire. SA revolver? Ruger Single Six, hands down no question in my mind.
I had a S&W M17-6 with the full underlug barrel 6", got it with the idea of using it for practice as it was the same weight as my .357, but while an accurate and good gun, it just never "did it" for me and eventually I traded it.
Have kept my Super Single Six convertable for about 30 some years now, I don't think there is a better SA .22LR out there for the price.
One thing to have with you is a bore brush on a pistol rod. My Ruger has "tight chambers" and you need to be sure you fully seat the round in the cylinder when loading. A little bit of firing makes that even worse, but a quick pass with a brush once in a while does wonders.
My understanding of how .22 rimfires are made is that the primer, as a drop of liquid is put in the case, then the case is spun so that centrifugal force sends the liquid into the hollow rim where it dries and becomes active primer compound.
Sometimes, the primer is not equally distributed around the rim. If the round doesn't fire, and then you replace it in the chamber so the firing pin hits a different spot and it fires, this is the usual cause. Complete duds are rare, but they do happen sometimes.
If you want the best .22 DA revolver, I'd go with S&W but they aren't cheap, often they cost more than a centerfire. SA revolver? Ruger Single Six, hands down no question in my mind.
Carl the Floor Walker
Moderator
Ruger LCR22 is the most fun 22.cal I have ever had the pleasure of shooting. Shoot the small barrel gun often enough with the DAO trigger and it hones your shooting skills tremendously. Point and shoot skills are consistently improved over time. And Yes, very few bad rounds. About as good as your are going to get in a 22.cal.