Cheap 22 Handgun

i have the walther p-22 target model with a reddot on it. it's fantastic and mine loves the federal automatch from walmart so its cheap to shoot too. interchangeable backstraps, fully ambidextrous (my wife's a lefty), sweet trigger, and it's light enough for my 5 yr old son to shoot(definitly with help)
 
I keep reading that the Ruger 22/45 is a pain to clean, or is it just the first couple times? I'm driving over to Shoot Stright in WPB today to look at what they have new and used.
 
Ruger pistols in general can be a little tricky but once you understand whats suppose to happen and in what order things fall together very well. Also, there are many many ruger pistols that are cleaned without dis-assembly there whole life. You can get to everything that needs getting to without taking it a part.


And haveing owned both the 22/45 and the Bersa's I can definetly say that the Ruger is 10 times the gun as the Bersa. Only time to buy a Bersa over a Ruger is if size is important but you give up big in all other areas.

LK
 
Ruger 22/45 and you won't have to clean it. Spray it with gunscrubber, wipe it off, put a couple of drops of oil on it and go on about your business.

BUT if you insist is tearing it down to clean it, just FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS. You're not rebuilding a small block Chevy.
 
Oh goodie!,,, I get to post this again,,,,,

These are the 5 most common .22 pistols out there,,,
Any one of these 5 will give you years of excellent performance.

I've not listed them in any order of preference.

Browning Buckmark = Great pistol but I found the grip to be funky.
Ruger 22/45 Mk II or MK III = Great pistol with a 1911-ish grip
Ruger Mk II or MK III = Great pistol with a luger-ish grip.
Beretta U22 NEOS = Great pistol with a very slender grip.
S&W 22A = Great pistol with a very fat grip.

Any of these will serve you very well,,,
They are all reliable firearms that aren't ammo picky,,,
Rather than sweat over which one is better, get the one that fits your hand.

For those who want a non-target DA/SA .22 pistol that is reliable at an affordable cost there are two that consistently get great reviews:

Bersa Thunder 22 or the Firestorm 22,,,
Virtually identical pistols made by the same company,,,
These pistols are very similar in size and shape to a Walther PPK.

I own both the Thunder 22 and the Thunder 380,,,
Both have been very fine performers for me.

Then there are the high-end (high dollar) models,,,
CZ-75B Kadet - With the exception of the Kadet having adjustable rear sights, it is virtually identical to the CZ-75B in 9mm.
Sig-Sauer Classic .22 - There are 3 models to choose from. They start as a full frame .22 semi-auto that are convertible to their centerfire counterpart using what Sig calls the X-Change Kit.
Beretta 87 - The .22 counterpart to the Beretta 84/85 in .380 ACP.

Two other pistols I will mention out of fairness to their brand names,,,
I do not recommend either of them but bear in mind I have no personal experience with them.
I just hear a lot of the owners cursing them at my range.

The Sig-Sauer Mosquito and the Walther P-22 are pistols that get very mixed reviews,,,
People who own them either absolutely love them or adamantly hate them.

The main concern of these guns is that the slides may (and sometimes do) crack under normal use,,,
Both have slides made of Zamak which is a Zinc alloy,,,
Commonly called "pot metal" or other bad names,,,
I can not verify or deny these assertions,,,
But myself,,, I like steel slides.

Last and (in my not-so-humble opinion) Least is the Phoenix HP-22
A small inexpensive .22 pistol that people either love or hate.

Mine is worthless as it quit shooting after about 150 rounds of CCI Blazer,,,
Two trips back to California and it’s still not fixed so I gave up.


I own the Bersa Thunder 22, the Beretta NEOS, the Ruger 22/45, the Beretta Model 87, and the CZ-75B Kadet,,,
They are all reliable shooters that aren't ammo picky (for me) at all.

I hope this helps,,,

Aarond
 
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We all knew aarondgraham's post was coming. Who needs anything else? I will only add that the only problem I have ever had with my Neos is a couple of FTEs when the extractor gets dirty. Give it a little attention when cleaning and it runs like a champ.
 
I laughed out loud TailGator,,,

We all knew aarondgraham's post was coming.
Click to expand...

I keep a copy of this post as a text file,,,
So I can copy and paste it when it's appropriate,,,
It's kind of like doing a tactical draw for an oft repeated question. ;)

I do modify the post quite often though,,,
As new info hits me I try to pass it on to my fellow TFL'ers.

Later my friend,,,

Aarond
 
Best cheap one has to be the Smith & Wesson 22A. Good performer, accurate, reliable as all heck, easy to clean, and can be had for $200 on sale usually. Mines gotta have over 5000 rounds through it by now, was the first pistol I ever bought. It was a little ammo picky at first but now shoots most anything. For a just little more money the NEOS also fits the bill. The NEOS shoots everything, also is very reliable, easy to clean, and for me they are more accurate than the 22A (balanced better). My favorite of all my .22's is the 4.5" SS (INOX) NEOS.
 
P-22 is not cheap was $340. Ruger mark 3 is $280 which I know is the better deal. But you know try something different. I like my P-22, 1000 rounds now through it(even count, I count all my firearm rounds through them) Had a few problems with Blazer ammo and American Eagle, that lead stuff. It feeds best with Federal 550 bulk HP pack. I only had 1 problem with the Federal pack vs constant failing to chamber a round with Blazer and AE.


1 550 bulk pack copper plated hp ~ 4 to 7 problems to chamber outta 550
1 100 pack CCI lead nose ~ IDR any problems(I dont recall)
5 AE packs lead nose~ must have racked the slide 3 or 4 times in a pack of 50 to chamber a round so outta those 250 rounds I racked the slide close to 20~35 times to just chamber a round. I would fire like 2 to the head and one to the chest and it would fail to load sometimes.

1 Blazer lead nose ~ still problems
1 aguila hp copper plated ~ rounds where different than all the ammo, sticky feeling(lub was more so on this ammo than all the others) had one failure to chamber.
 
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About a month and a half ago, I picked up a Smith & Wesson 22A from Academy for $ 229. So far I've put about 1k rounds through it, everything from Federal to CCI to Remington GB and I've only had 1 hiccup. It's a great little gun to go plinking with. Cleaning it isn't too big of an issue after you break it down the first time, it's pretty easy to handle.

You might want to take a look at one and give it a shot.

ETA:

The 22A is very accurate. I've shot it along with a friend's Ruger and Buckmark and it's just as accurate as either one of those. The grip on the 22A is a little thicker than the other 2, but nothing that makes it uncomfortable to shoot with.

The downside to the 22A is the front sight on mine isn't interchangeable. It would be nice to have a fiber optic sight on it to shoot with.
 
+1 on the NEOS. Easy upkeep. Reliable. 4.5, 6, 7.5 (if you can still find 'em), & 16" (carbine) barrel options. Slim grip for a young'en. Upper rail.

AND...a carbine kit for $220 to $250 that legally turns your pistol into a carbine and back.
 
Since we're on the subject, has anyone had a chance to try out the Kel Tec P30? Anyone know the retail price on that one, I thought I heard it would be in the $ 350 range?
 
^ If they made it in 22lr I would be all over that, those 30 round magazines :-) beats 10 rounders...
 
Last night I ended up with a Mosquito in my hand and loved the feel of it. The price seemed right at $200.00. It was used but had the box and manual. It looks brand new, I'll put some rounds through it this weekend (I hope) and let you guys know what I think.
 
The Sig-Sauer Mosquito and the Walther P-22 are pistols that get very mixed reviews,,,
People who own them either absolutely love them or adamantly hate them.
Click to expand...

You need to look deeper. The Walther had a lot of problems for the first few years of production, but they have been redesigned. Any gun made after 2006 or so should be fine.

Walther changed the angle of the extractor claw, and extended the cartridge transition space in the magazine. This solved both the feeding and extraction issues. I had two P22s, both made after 2006, and neither ever had a problem that wasn't related to a dud round.
 
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