Have decided to get a 22 semi-auto pistol. Currently looking at the top 3, Ruger Mark, Buck Mark, S&W Victory. Will be used primarily for fun target and general plinking. Price is an issue and I am wondering if the price difference of the 1st two over the 3rd is worth it. any comments welcome!
Choices of 22 pistol
- Thread starter curly45
- Start date
I have the ruger 22/45 lite. Love it. Very accurate and reliable. I have probably 10,000 rounds through it. At first it did not feed Remington ammo well (in all its varieties). I was getting about one misfeed in 50. So I started trying Winchester and Aguila and those issues went away. Later I learned that the Remington stuff is now complete garbage so I stay away from it in all my guns. Made a huge difference in all of them. Keep the 22/45 relatively clean (one cleaning per 1000 or so) and use good ammo and it is completely reliable. Mine will do a two inch group at 25 yards. Cost me about $350.
lee n. field
New member
Have a Ruger Mark II Target. Very fun piece. Would definitely work for your purpose.
b.m.baumgartner
Inactive
I have a buckmark with a red dot mounted on it. Its a blast. It doesnt like winchester ammo but wirks with cci...agila...federal...pretty much everything else. My only complaint is its hard to rack the slide with the optic on it. There is an aftermarket slide handle you can have added for under 50 bucks I think. Have been meaning to get that done for a while now.
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Three great guns but I would go with the a Ruger Mark. I have a few and they are high quality very accurate pistols that are 100% reliable. Parts are cheap but rarely needed and there are more after market parts if you want to customize your pistol to your needs. My oldest is a 1969 Mark I and it has over 35,000 rounds through it and is as accurate today as when it was new.
Ruger MK1
I have a liberty model Ruger MK1 Target. It has the 6 7/8 th's heavy tapered barrel.I put a set of Rugers thumb rest wood grips on and shot with my local Piston club. Runs great with any .22 ammo and is very accurate.( MADE IN THE 200TH YEAR OF AMERICAN LIBERTY ). hdbiker
I have a liberty model Ruger MK1 Target. It has the 6 7/8 th's heavy tapered barrel.I put a set of Rugers thumb rest wood grips on and shot with my local Piston club. Runs great with any .22 ammo and is very accurate.( MADE IN THE 200TH YEAR OF AMERICAN LIBERTY ). hdbiker
Smith, like Colt, have been marketing on the name for eons. A Smith Victory is still an entry level pistol. Just like the Ruger(dislike 'em intensely myself. Poor triggers that are a nightmare to work on. Still hard to beat for an entry level pistol.) and Buckmark. Any of 'em will do for shooting for the sake of shooting.
mikejonestkd
New member
Its hard to go wrong with a buckmark or a Ruger Mark series 22.
I have two of each and at least one of them goes with me on every range trip.
I have two of each and at least one of them goes with me on every range trip.
larryf1952
New member
I have no experience with the S&W, but I can recommend either the Ruger or the Buckmark.
Way back in 1973, I bought a Ruger Standard Model (precursor to the "Mark" series) with a 6" barrel. Thousands of rounds through the pipe and no issues. But, I haven't shot it in probably 5 or 6 years.
This past January, I started to think it'd be fun to have another .22 in the collection, so I bought a stainless Buckmark Camper UFX. What a great little rimfire this gun is! I love the the fact that the gun has an actual slide release, and the grip and trigger are really, really nice. I put a Dawson FO front sight on it, and it is a tack driver.
Way back in 1973, I bought a Ruger Standard Model (precursor to the "Mark" series) with a 6" barrel. Thousands of rounds through the pipe and no issues. But, I haven't shot it in probably 5 or 6 years.
This past January, I started to think it'd be fun to have another .22 in the collection, so I bought a stainless Buckmark Camper UFX. What a great little rimfire this gun is! I love the the fact that the gun has an actual slide release, and the grip and trigger are really, really nice. I put a Dawson FO front sight on it, and it is a tack driver.
carguychris
New member
AFAIK the Smith is not a "copy" of the Ruger in any substantial respect other than its general design – i.e. it's a SAO pistol with an internal bolt, internal hammer, thumb safety, and ejection port on only one side.
Notably, the Smith's barreled receiver attaches to the frame with a screw, and the takedown procedure is significantly simpler as a consequence of this. The Victory also uses a cast frame rather than a stamped-and-welded frame, and the barrel can be separated from the receiver by removing another internal screw, so you can swap barrels without swapping the entire "upper" (and executing a Form 4473).
Although I don't know precisely how the S&W trigger functions compared to a Ruger, I've dry-fired a Victory and was quite impressed. It had some mushy takeup that my MkII lacks, and there was a little more overtravel, but the actual break was lighter and crisper. (My MkII trigger is stock.)
IMHO the SW22 Victory has the potential to be a decent competitor to the Ruger and Buckmark unless some serious reliability or durability flaws begin to surface; it doesn't look and feel chintzy like the discontinued 22A series did (also IMHO of course), and its design is more conventional.
All that being said, my next .22LR pistol purchase is going to be another MkII, but with a bull or slab-side barrel and adjustable sights this time.
