best .22 plinker

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pier-rat

New member
I want a low priced gun for plinking only. I have never owned a gun, I am am leaning towards a revolver due to the lack of jams and ease of cleaning compared to a semi-auto. But I am thinking of buying a Taurus Tracker, Ruger single 6, or Ruger Mark 2, what do you think?
 
Ruger Mark ii is the way to go. It does have a steep learning curve for reassembley. But the good news is that it'll last a long time so you'll have plenty of opportunity to learn how to take it apart.

The Ruger single six is a good gun as well.

Ether gun will make a great first gun for plinking.
 
While I usually suggest a revolver for a first handgun (because if you can master a DAO revolver, you can shoot anything well), since you want a .22lr go with a semiauto. The best thing about .22 is that you can blast through tons of it for cheap. Depending what you plan on shooting at, I'd say a Mossberg plinkster rifle or Ruger Mk pistol.
 
Any Ruger. Mk I, II, III, or a Single Six. Old Harrington & Richardson revolvers are decent. Heritage Rough Riders, while not pretty seem to shoot well enough for what you're talking about.
 
The Beretta Neos is a joy to shoot,and unlike the Ruger (which is also a great gun) is a piece of cake to take down and reassemble.
 
Might as well get a Buckmark and you wont have to learn the Ruger field stripping. Barrels are easy to swap out for a TS unit without having to go to an FFL.

Beretta Neos is pretty good as well.

Im not anti Ruger but the MK series brutal field stripping turned me away from them. I can do it but I dont ever want to. If you buy one I would advise never field stripping it unless you just have to and try to clean it as good as you can with the thing together.
 
i like the mkii 22/45 or buckmark for autoloaders

like you said, revolvers are great for fun plinking without having to clear jams and such.... of course you still have to fiddle with emptying and loading carts.
Still, .22 revolvers are a joy. I especially enjoy the (super) single six from Ruger like so many have said before. I don't have one (yet), but my dad has one that he bought in Germany in 1963, and it is so gorgeous and so much fun, I love to shoot it when we go to the range together. One of the only revolvers I can thumb for hours without pain or callous. In addition, it is great just to lay eyes upon. I've never seen blueing go deep and thorough like that on a newer gun.

hth
 
A semi 22 is much more fun IMHO. I've had several 22 revolvers. I have kept my grandpa's H&R 22 but in my eyes it is more of a tool than a fun gun. My MKII is the govt version, 7.5" barrel and it is fun in a long range accuracy way. For shear fun I grab my Walther P22. A regular MKII/III is a solid gun. Fun and accurate.
 
Owning several rimfire handguns and rifles, I do not necessarily agree that revolvers are always more trouble free and easier to maintain.

Most S&W K-22/M17 revolvers have awfully hard extraction and cleaning them properly appears as time consuming as cleaning a semi automatic rimfire handgun.

The Ruger MkI -III pistols are robust and accurate, disassembly and reassembly is not at all hard if one just tries to understand how the parts have to work together.

Cleaning a Ruger MkII is not taking me any longer than cleaning my S&W 22A, which might be another rimfire worth mentioning. The 22A can be bought at bargain prices and mine has now endured around 90,000 rounds.
 
I've have/have had both the Rugers. They are both quality guns. If you want a revolver, I suggest getting a double action. Helps learn trigger control.
I also do not recommend Taurus to anyone, unless buying them very cheaply(not new prices). If you buy them cheap, you can always resell them and get most of your money back.
 
So many choices,,,

Ruger Mk II or Mark III - Great shooting guns at a good value price
Beretta NEOS - Same as above (4" has better balance than the 6".
Browning Buckmark - Great guns but a bit more pricey.
S&W 22A - nice handgun but mine was ammo picky so I sold it.
Walther p22 - Sold mine quick, it was a Jam-O-Matic.

There are many others but all told the Ruger and the Beretta are the ones I have been most happy with,,,

The Rugers are somewhat traditional in style,,,
The Beretta is very Buck Rogers (Han Solo for the younger crowd).

Hope this helps,,,
 
Buckmark, Ruger mk 2, NEOs are all great guns. pick what you like and you won't be disappointed. Rugers are a bear to reassemble when you first try. :rolleyes:
 
I have a heritage rough rider and it's accurate even with .22lr. the ruger single six is about twice as much but worth the extra cash.

I was very close to getting a ruger MKIII but ended up getting a .22lr conversion for my 1911

it's hard to go wrong with a ruger
 
Best one I ever had was the Ruger MKII. Heck of a gun.

Had a couple of the H&R revolvers, but sold them off. Terrible DA trigger, probably the worst one I've ever experienced.
 
When I had to make this decision I went with the Buckmark. I didn't like the idea of a gun that is difficult to field strip. The only thing I change on the buckmark is the plastic sight ramp. Overtighten and it will crack.
 
I have a Taurus 94, Buckmark, Ruger MkII and S&W41. I would much rather shoot the semi autos over the revolver.

Anyone who can't re-assemble a Ruger maybe should take up bowling, no assembly required, the targets are set up automatically and the ammo is returned to you.
 
lol bowling thats great. :D All im saying is that first time can be daunting. Granted mine had a broken part which made it a billion times harder...:mad:
 
If you are comparing new gun prices, you might consider just being a bit stubborn and persistant and go with a Smith Model 17 or Model 18 for a bit more money. They are around and you can get a first class double action 22 revolver as you originally wanted.
 
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