Is the Phoenix HP22 the best CHEAP semi auto range toy?

D

deerslayer303

New member
I've been watching and reading reviews on this little dude for a few years. Well I must say I don't hear a whole lot of bad things about the thing. I figure for 130 or 140 bucks I may grab one to plink around at the range. I'll have to find a gun shop that carries them. I won't pay shipping then FFL fees to drive the cost up. So any of you have one?
 
Hmmm, interesting. I've heard plenty of bad things, mostly involving frame-cracking at low round counts, but also about cracks in the zinc slide.

If I were aiming to spend a small amount of money on a tiny .22 LR plinker, I'd spend a few dollars more on something well-made, like a used pocket-size Beretta rimfire of some sort. (Better still would be one of the old indestructible 70-series rimfire Berettas, but even a very well-used one is probably going to be a lot more expensive than a used 21A Bobcat and the like).

For that matter, I'd even buy one of the Taurus copies of the pocket Berettas before I'd buy a Phoenix. You can find a used Taurus PT22 for right around $150. It takes pretty extraordinary circumstances get me to recommend a Taurus over something else, but I guess a Phoenix pistol meets that standard.
 
Jennings/Bryco/Raven/Jimenez/Phoenix .... same idea: make a gun as cheaply as possible. There are better guns.

I would not have one. YMMV.
 
From what I have found, most of the reviews are good and most of the bad reviews are reports of older model guns. Phoenix Arms has made several design changes in the past few years and the newer models run quite well.

As you know, once something goes online it never dies, especially of it's a bad news, a bad review or something like that.
 
I want to grab one to introduce my daughter to semi auto handguns. I think it will be good for this purpose. Run a few thousand rounds through it and chunk it :D I've been looking at youtube vids and read many written online reviews at retailers. Not very many bad things said about them. I'll try one.
 
I had one for 4-5 years and shot it a bunch. It ran great if it was clean and lightly oiled. I thought it was a nice .22. I gave it to my nephew and yes he traded it off.
 
I want to grab one to introduce my daughter to semi auto handguns.
Click to expand...

For twice the money, a Ruger Mk III would be her first handgun, and become a family heirloom.....

Run a few thousand rounds through it and chunk it
Click to expand...

My kids have put more than 1,000 rounds through my Mk III in a single weekend ..... why waste money on a disposable handgun?
 
Mine is and always was a POS,,,

Mine is and always was a POS,,,
It quit firing cartridges somewhere around 200 rounds.

I sent it back to Phoenix,,,
They said the pistol was working fine.

But it still wouldn't fire.

I got them to take it in again,,,
They sent it back saying it worked fine for them.

'Nuff said?

Aarond

P.S. Order your pistol from http://budsgunshop.com ,,,
They ship all gun orders for free.

.
 
I actually shot one and fixed one for a buddy. They are an improvement over the older design but details are details and a buff her and polish there do not exist in the cheap gun market.

If you want a cheap reliable pistol Hi-Point is my only choice that fits the bill. Too bad they never joined the .22 market!
 
I would have to say ruger makes the best 22's for longevity reliability and cost ect...

You can buy a 10/22, 22/45, mk, and pass it down for generations...
 
I was interested in one until I saw that they recommend standard velocity 22s only. That killed it for me. For about double the money you can find a used ruger standard model and shoot thousands of rounds through it and then sell it for what you paid for it. Or maybe a few dollars more.
 
I've had one for a couple of years and it has been a reliable and accurate little critter. It has a lifetime warranty. I have 2 extra magazines and it goes bang every time I pull the trigger. I have both the long and short barrel but that only makes it a little easier for my old eyes to aim. Gun snobs will bash anything they don't choose to like.
 
For those who always show up to suggest a gun for double, or triple the price point of the OP, where exactly did he say he was looking for a high quality heirloom? :eek:
Just like the Hi-Point, they won't win any beauty prizes, but they are good for what they are.
And no, I don't have one..........Yet! But it's one of those some day items. Think I'll get the "Range kit" that comes with a short and long barrel, and extended magazine.
 
Cheapshooter, the OP asked what we thought of the Phoenix and we told him, good and bad as each poster saw it.
Nothing personal.
 
I could see getting defensive if the op asked about a $900 gun and someone recommended a $2000 gun, but when we are talking about about a $270 gun here that is proven and will last long enough for him to will to his grand kids... Thats what I think about it, I think you are better off with a ruger heres a 22/45 bull for $269 http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=454314430 why would you bother yourself with the non sense of a lesser gun than that? The pheonix is known to be problems, I have seen guys at the range, turn them in for $25 dicks sporting goods gift cards!!!

If you really want a cheap 22 pistol, get a chiappa, haws, herbert schmidt, puma, kimmel, savage 101, ect ect ect there had to be 20 companies branding that old german made single action rimfire, I had a few I bought in an estate sale, some of them were marked USA but most were German, my kids and nephews played with them things for years, everytime they came over they sat at the bench with me and popped off a few hundred rounds... Them guns never broke, I have since gave them all away little by little...
 
Just like the Hi-Point, they won't win any beauty prizes, but they are good for what they are.
Click to expand...

I would never put a Phoenix in the same boat as a Hi Point. The Hi Point is a much better built firearm. In fact, I hear about far fewer troubles with a Hi Point than I do about Taurus. Maybe we should put Phoenix and Taurus together in the same boat. :p
 
I would never put a Phoenix in the same boat as a Hi Point. The Hi Point is a much better built firearm. In fact, I hear about far fewer troubles with a Hi Point than I do about Taurus. Maybe we should put Phoenix and Taurus together in the same boat.
Click to expand...

Bingo. Phoenix is one of those brands that I think Hi-Point is unfairly grouped with in most internet discussion (along with Jimenez, Raven, Davis, Lorcin, etc.).

So much for the much-whined-about gun snobbery there, huh?
 
I guess my opinion of the Phoenix might change after I get one. It is probably unfair to the great reputation of Hi-Point held by those like me who actually own, and shoot them to lump them with Phoenix. At least until I have shot one as much as I have my Hi-Points.
What I meant was that they seem to be a similar type of cheap gun that provides a lot of shooting for a minimal outlay of $$$.
After all, the OP did not only say cheap, but put it in caps lock!:D
Now if the OP could find an Iver Johnson TP22 for a hundred bucks like I did at the last gun show I went to he should jump all over it. :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top