22lr plinkers

I have a Taurus, I beliove a 94 which has served well, though not excsptional.
Nobody ever mentions Taurus, I guess that is why.
willr
 
I'll go along with what the others have said, but I'll speak up for Taurus also. At least the "older" ones, I have no experience with anything current, but the old Taurus revolvers from say the late 70's to the mid 90's or so, identified by having wood grips have always been good guns for me. They made a small "J" frame size 22 the Model 94. They still make the 94 of course, but I'm talking about the older ones. I had one with a 4" barrel and that was a shooting little trick.

And they made the rarely seen "K" frame sized Model 96, with a 6" barrel, that is for all intent and purposes, a knock off of the S&W Model 17. At first glance you'd have a hard time telling them apart.

I've owned both, sold both, and would buy another if one ever showed up.
 
I like the Ruger Single Six in .22LR with a .22WMR cylinder. Not real expensive, but then I bought mine years ago. It's accurate, utterly reliable and makes a great camp gun. You can plink all day with the .22LR, or change up to the .22WMR and hunt small fury critters for the stew pot. Can't go wrong JMHO.
 
One of the older Charter Arms Pathfinder's with the 3" barrel makes a dandy,well built, light and accurate little 6 shot plinker. Adjustable sights and several grip options to suit any desire. Hard to beat the little bugger.
 
I second the S&W model 17. Finest 22 revolver ever made. Kinda pricey nowadays but worth it.

Thanks! I'll start researching them. I'm willing to wait and pay a little bit more for the right one.
 
The Toughest

The Ruger Single Six with a 6 5/8" BBL.
It'll shoot both Magnumes and regular 22 LR. Great trigger and sights
Never wear out!
Mine has about 1/3 of a million rounds and still tight! Finish is great with just a little care.
Wonderfull Revolver!
ZVP
 
The Heritage Rough Rider is a single action mimic of the Ruger Single Six. It is dirt cheap and some think it the High-Point of revolvers. But believe it or not, it is well regarded. I've never owned one.
 
I second the S&W model 17. Finest 22 revolver ever made. Kinda pricey nowadays but worth it.

I guess that you have not had the luck to have first hand experience with a Freedom Arms model 83, an old Colt OMM, a K-22, or a Korth.

The S&W M17 is a nice basic revolver, though.
 
I have several .22 pistols. All of my .22 revolvers are single actions.

2013-03-05T07-44-33.jpg


The three on the right are all Heritage Rough Riders. They are all good pistols that shoot to point of aim.

The two on the left are a Ruger Single Six and an Interarms Virginian.

I like all of them. They are all very good .22 single action revolvers. If I had to pick just one of them it would probably be the Virginian. Probably because I bought it in 1986 and it was my first .22 revolver.
 
i have or had 22lr: ruger single six, bearcat, shopkeeper, lcr, sr22; s&w 317; heritage roughriders; taurus 94 & pt22; h&r/nef double action.

my sugesstions in rank order for a plinker:
1. ruger single six, new or used, modern two screw, 5.5 or 4". your grandkids will enjoy it with their kids.
2. ruger sr22. very handy, will eat anything. easy to fieldstrip and clean.
3. heritage roughrider, 4", plow not birdshead grip. at $150 new a great value, but im leery of a used one.
single actions are superb for deliberative learning. both s.s. and r.r. fire 22wmr in additional cylinder, credible for protection if using defense specific loads.

other thoughts. bearcat and shopkeeper are elegant showpieces, very small. lcr is a nice snubbie defense piece, needs longer barrel to be a plinker. s&w 317's alloy cylinder freezes after 100 rounds, unexcusable for such a pricey piece. taurus 94 truly bad trigger pull, pt22 for pockets if you can trust defense specific rimfire semiauto. h&r/nef are okay, go bang, not bad but underwhelming, for the same price get a heritage r.r.
 
The one I shoot the most is a Ruger Bearcat. It has had hundreds or rounds ran through it and has killed squirrels, rabbits, snakes and a couple of crows. The nicest and most accurate revolver, (my Ruger NKIII Hunter is lightly more accurate), is my J.P Sauuer & Sohn, 6", copy of a S&W model 17......robin :cool:
 
The Heritage Rough Rider is a single action mimic of the Ruger Single Six. It is dirt cheap and some think it the High-Point of revolvers. But believe it or not, it is well regarded. I've never owned one.

I have a Rough Rider and I like it a lot. It's accurate and looks better than many because it has the case hardened finish. I bought it instead of a Single Six and had enough money left over to buy a matching Henry lever action 22LR rifle.
 
I would look around for a High Standard Sentinel 22 revolver. They can be found used for around $300.00. For a cheap revolver they are reliable and have a smooth double action. They are no longer being manufactured.

I will second the Hi-Standard Sentinel, but make sure you get to inspect it closely. These were aluminum frame guns that gave excellent service, but some were used to the point of "exhaustion." Unfortunately, aluminum will wear out faster than steel.

My childhood friend's Hi-Standard became the community .22 plinker among our group and accounted for probably a couple thousand crabs in the mangroves.

Otherwise, look around for a Smith & Wesson Model 18, a slightly less "fancy" and more practical version of the 17.
 
Last edited:
I much prefer a .22 autoloader to a revolver.

They are easier to shoot well, hold and carry.

I have shot a Colt Woodsman all of my life and got a .22 Kit gun a few years ago and I don't like it in any way.

Woodsmantarget.jpg
 
I'm a big fan of Smith & Wesson K frame rim fires. I like the Model 18 4" for a field gun. Not as compact as the J frames, but nicer trigger and balance.
 

Attachments

  • image.jpeg
    image.jpeg
    82.4 KB · Views: 7
Back
Top