NEW TOY! Phoenix HP 22A

P

Prof Young

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Shooters:

Got a used Phoenix HP 22A at an auction. Came with a three inch barrel, a five inch barrel and two 10 round mags one of which has an extended pinkie grip. I paid a touch more than it probably is worth, but hey it’s more fun stuff.

First pic below is on the cleaning bench. I found the owner’s manual on line and learned how to disassemble it. The mag release took some coaxing as did the barrel once the mag release was released. Both the barrels needed a good scrub, but rest of gun was relatively clean.

Once all was cleaned and oiled I read the assembly instructions. Twenty minutes later I was still struggling to get the return spring to stay in so I could reattach the barrel. Watched a youtube on the process but it didn’t help much. Then reread the assembly instructions. Some language that, at first, seemed cryptic came clear. The secret is to lay the back side of a magazine (or any long, flat, thin object) over the return spring to hold it in place while you pull the slide all the way back until it locks in place. This fully compresses the spring and it stays in place making barrel insertion easy. Whew.

Second pic below is at the range. I put 180 rounds down range via four brands of ammo. 50 through five inch barrel and rest through three inch barrel. Only had three fail to feeds and those were all with Armscor hollow points. May polish the feed ramps and see what happens. I did one mag dump, with the blazer ammo, and it ran fine. Both mags worked well.

At five yards I could get 3-4 inch groups no sweat. Concentrate a little and the groups got down to 2-3 inches, concentrate a lot and the groups got down to 2.5 inches. All easier to do with the five inch barrel. I may paint the front site (non-adjustable blade) so I can see it better. Rear site is black and adjustable.

The mag will not come out unless the gun is on SAFE. Kind of a pain but okay. There is also a hammer block safety that works well. No last shot slide hold back. No plastic save for grips.

Could be a CC gun but not ideal. Would make an okay BUG. A great addition to my collection of little guns. All in all a lot of fun. It may be the gun I use to learn to shoot with my non-dominant hand.

Thoughts and comments welcome!

Life is good.
Prof Young
 

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There are youtube videos on how to disable that safety needing to be on to eject the magazine.

I had one that I bought new for $99.95 about 15 years ago,,,
I broke the firing pin dry firing it though.

It was reliable and easy to hit with but seemed to be a bit heavy for such a small pistol,,,
The 5" Rangemaster kit would be a fine first pistol for a kid.

Nice score my friend.

Aarond

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aarondhgraham said:
There are youtube videos on how to disable that safety needing to be on to eject the magazine.

I had one that I bought new for $99.95 about 15 years ago,,,
I broke the firing pin dry firing it though.

It was reliable and easy to hit with but seemed to be a bit heavy for such a small pistol,,,
The 5" Rangemaster kit would be a fine first pistol for a kid.

Nice score my friend.

Aarond

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I concur with Aarond, a nice score there Prof Young. ;)
 
Nice! I shot one before, could ring a steel torso at 25 yards if you aimed to the right (I know, that range had a minimum distance though). Something about cheap guns that are fun. Maybe like scratching a bug bite you're not supposed to. Good find!
 
hah hah hah. feel sorry for you.. so many things go wrong with that gun and its design... it makes a hammer a better option for anything,,, even suicide.

if you put the spring in wrong, and there is no actual way to know what the right way is.... other then in a line drawing in that manual... you get FAILURE TO FEED< FIRE< EXTRACT.

and any issue with the safety in the grip,,, you also get failure to feed.

its one gun that makes me say id rather have a charter arms
 
I’ve had one for many years, a very, very reliable gun,,, fun to shoot, fairly accurate for a short barrel, and once I learned it, no problem to take apart and put back together
 
ive dealt with 3 different pheonix arms 22lr semi autos.

the slide spring causes so much problems. get it in wrong it wont work, but you dont KNOW if you get it in wrong unless you install it, and do a function check.
 
With exception of the ridiculous safeties I like mine very much. I have about 1000 rounds through mine.
 
Lol, I have to laugh at the nay sayers. I have owned and still own two of them. One of the most underrated 22'cal out there. Amazingly accurate and reliable. And I Say BS to the comments about the recoil spring. I can put one in blind folded. I hear the negative comments like the above and I have to wonder how much time the owner actually spent with the gun.
Gun test magazine did a review and comparison of different 22.cals and said. "We did not think much of the Phoenix before testing due to the low price, but when it out performed guns costing 4 times as much, it got out attention. Now I do not always agree with Gun Test, but IMO they got that one right.

Congrats to the OP. These little guns are addicting and a whole lot of fun. And you do not need HI velocity ammo. As far as the spring install, just use the gun and the technique to install is a piece of cake.
Great little trainers for small short barrel pistols.

SUs2D0h.jpg
 
I hear the negative comments like the above and I have to wonder how much time the owner actually spent with the gun.
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Enough to know the safeties are ridiculous. It is a good little gun Prof Young, I don’t think you will regret buying it.
 
I’ve taught a couple young ladies on the. Phoenix,,,,, They had never shot handguns before so, the double safety thing just came automatic to them after they learned it.
 
Slide spring . . .

According to the owner's manual you have to have the "end" of the spring coil at the top for the spring to be in correctly. In other words the actual end of the spring wire has to be rotated around so it's on top at the front of the gun. I can't imagine what possible difference this can make. But after I figured out how to get the thing in I've had no problems.

Will check back in after 1000 rounds.

Life is good.
Prof Young
 
I agree with Carl the Floor Walker

Phoenix's HP22 is one of the most underrated .22LR semi-autos on the market, and probably constitutes one of the last great bargains to be had in the U.S. handgun market.

I don't particularly love the multiple safeties, but have never had any real issues taking the little gun apart and putting it back together again.

The gun's best feature is probably its micro-grooved barrel, which delivers reasonably good accuracy out to 25 meters.
 
Lol, I have to laugh at the nay sayers. I have owned and still own two of them. One of the most underrated 22'cal out there. Amazingly accurate and reliable. And I Say BS to the comments about the recoil spring. I can put one in blind folded. I hear the negative comments like the above and I have to wonder how much time the owner actually spent with the gun.
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They're always out there lurking. For a long time Hi Point was their target. As they were repeatedly proved wrong about Hi Point, they moved on.
I've been toying with the idea of a phoenix, just haven't stumbled onto one at the right time. Kind of thinking I'd like the two barrel set just for fun.
Last time I was "up North" the evil gun shop lady had a used Phoenix pretty cheap. But before I got past the first case I was laying down seven Benjamins for a anib S&W 617. Needed to save a little beer, and dinner money for the rest of the trip. LOL
Good find, enjoy!
 
Cheapshooter said:
They're always out there lurking. For a long time Hi Point was their target. As they were repeatedly proved wrong about Hi Point, they moved on.
I've been toying with the idea of a phoenix, just haven't stumbled onto one at the right time. Kind of thinking I'd like the two barrel set just for fun.
Last time I was "up North" the evil gun shop lady had a used Phoenix pretty cheap. But before I got past the first case I was laying down seven Benjamins for a anib S&W 617. Needed to save a little beer, and dinner money for the rest of the trip. LOL
Good find, enjoy!
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Love your observation and comment, Cheapshooter!

You should have just asked the evil gun shop lady to give you the used Phoenix as a bonus to go with your S&W purchase!
 
You should have just asked the evil gun shop lady to give you the used Phoenix as a bonus to go with your S&W purchase!
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LOL!
Actually she was pretty tight on what she had in it. The tag price was $725, and I asked what she could do with real green paper, not plastic. First she said $640, but that was before the Governor's cut. So she just made it $700 OTD.
I told her "you know I probably would have bought it for the tag price, but you also know we had to do the dance! "
She smiled, and said "YEAH, I know".
We have a very special merchant/customer relationship!
 
What would our purchases be without the dance!??

Ha-ha!

Love that story! Sounds like the beginning of an ideal merchant/customer liaison!

I'll wager that if you had asked the evil gun shop lady to put the Phoenix on hold for you, it would still be there the next time you came in (!)

Enjoy your S&W 617, it's definitely a cut above the Phoenix!
________________________________________________

I love gun control. It lets me hit what I'm shooting at!
 
That relationship has been on going for some time.:D
Seems I always come back from a fishing, hunting, or just hanging around trip up there with more guns than I took.
She often has a Phoenix or two around, so it's just a matter of time. When she doesn't have something else that jumps out at me.
 
As I mentioned, I have two of the Phoenix 22'cals now for 10 yrs. Have used them many times as a trainer for short barrel firearms which I love to shoot and carry. Recently bought a Ruger LCP22. Paid $300.00. Lol, the Phoenix eats that guns lunch and at half that price.

Gun-test did a review of a couple of 22.cal guns and said this. 'We were not expecting much from a gun that had a MSRP of $140. But when it out performed guns costing 4 times as much, it got our attention' and of course it got a A rating.
I do not always agree with Gun Test, but they were right on the mark with this gun. And I will say this. The Little gun can shoot. Extremely accurate for the fast action style point and shoot skills I do.
 
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