To go beyond the guns you've stated there are a bunch of current production options in what I consider the "plinking" category. I say plinking because I don't consider a $750 Colt Woodsman or some iteration of a vintage Smith & Wesson autoloader to be what most people think of when they say they want something for inexpensive practice. Know that I'm not knocking these guns (I'm still in search of a good Woodsman at a reasonable price), but just wanted to clarify before pressing forward. With that out of the way here are some random (rambling) thoughts on current production .22 pistols that I have experience with. This is by no means an all encompassing list, but lists some of the personal experiences I've had over the years in shooting .22 pistols. Recently my search has been centered around guns that make good suppressor hosts.
1.) Ruger Mk II/III (and 22/45) - These are fantastic guns and infinitely customizable. Just as you can spend $500 and up putting parts and pieces onto a 10/22, the same can be done with these pistols. I have a MkIII 22/45 and it's way more accurate than I am. A great suppressor host and fairly robust operation; however, as everyone has noted the breakdown can be a pain. Even for someone that has done it for years the gun always finds a new way to frustrate me when trying to re-assemble. Not a deal breaker based on its other merits, but something to be aware of.
2.) Browning Buckmark - Another great gun that mirrors some of the same qualities of the Ruger above. When talking about reliable (as reliable as a .22 semi-auto can be) .22s the majority of the crowd is usually pretty evenly split between these two, with the minority falling into the other guns (mentioned below). Slightly easier takedown/re-assembly, and fewer aftermarket options compared to the Ruger (still a very healthy aftermarket), but all in all a very good gun.
3.) Smith & Wesson Victory - Full disclosure, I've yet to fire one of these, I've only held one in the store, that said it does feel great in your hand. This gun is a recent entry into the .22 pistol world (as compared the to Ruger and Browning) so there is still a lot left to discover about the gun. Early indications are that the gun performs well and already has decent support from the aftermarket. Assuming the gun continues to perform well I'm sure we'll see this aftermarket support grow. All that said, man is this thing ugly. Just personal opinion mind you. I'll probably pick one up eventually, but I may have to wear a paper bag over my head the first time I go to the range for fear of being seen with it.
The thing to note about both of the guns above is that they're some of the more reliable .22 semi-autos, and a lot of that has to do with the design. None of these guns try to mimic the slide design/operation of centerfire pistols. Instead they use blowback operation (as do most .22 pistols), but they also utilize reduced slide designs or internal bolts to overcome the comparatively weak recoil of the .22lr cartridge.
The next couple guns mentioned do attempt the mimic the operation of centerfire pistols with fully reciprocating slides and an overall resemblance to their full-size brethren. To do so they rely on lightweight slide materials (often aluminum or some form of pot metal) and an overall reduction in the size of the firearm (typically 80-90% scale of the real deal), this leads to a lighter slightly smaller version of the real thing. I myself don't have a problem with that, however you'll see where some internet commandos will try to tell you that practicing with anything other than an exact replica of the real thing (to include the weight) is pointless. My take is that if I'm going to be out all day shooting a .22 I don't want all that unnecessary weight. Or better yet, if I'm trying to teach a new shooter or adolescent shooter, the reduced weight is huge benefit to prevent fatigue and burn out. So, that said here are some others I have some thoughts on...
4.) Sig Mosquito (discontinued) now marketed as the GSG Firefly - Based on a scaled down P226 when this gun first came out it had all sorts of problem, weak ejection and a dependence on HV ammo to cycle were the main issues. I had an early production gun and found that so long as you could keep feeding it what it liked it actually performed very well and had acceptable accuracy for a plinking handgun. The problem was once folks started buying up all the available .22 at the drop of a hat, it was very hard to find what it liked in stock. As a result I sold the gun off. In later years it appears that these kinks were mostly worked out and recent reports say that it is far less ammo dependent than it was. If you have a Sig 226 this would be another good option.
5.) Smith & Wesson M&P22 Compact - Not to be confused with the Smith & Wesson M&P22, the compact is a S&W produced gun whereas the full-size gun is produced by Walther for S&W. The compact is another scaled down gun that handled very similar to its big brother. Reliably handles most rounds (have not had any issues with it cycling sub-sonics thus far) and is decently accurate (not in the same class as the Buckmark or Ruger Mk series). I've found I'm shooting this one more and more recently as I enjoy the ease of operation and more importantly the ease of cleaning. One note is that these guns come with a magazine disconnect, though its easily enough removed.
6.) Walther P22 - Had one for about a month before I got fed up and sold it off. Same experience that two subsequent friends had. Now, I'm not trying to be curt in my review, but my experience with this gun was so bad I honestly can't think of anything nice to say. It seems others here have had better luck, and maybe like the Mosquito they have improved the quality/function in the years since. I'm hopeful that this is indeed the case.
7.) CZ Kadet - This one boarders on my stated "plinking" category parameters above. The Kadet is a conversion kit from CZ that fits a number of their full-size and compact pistol frames. As such you would need one of these centerfire pistols first before you could use the Kadet kit, thus once you factor in the cost of a centerfire gun and then the kit you're pushing out of the $500-ish category. However, if/when you ever get the chance to shoot a Kadet you'll understand why I'm including it here. The Kadet takes a fully steel slide that is machined in such a way that only a small portion of it reciprocates. Thus, you have the full weight and feel of a full-size gun, but the reliability to feed it most any .22lr rounds. Added to this is that fact that CZ pistols are highly underrated guns, and quite possibly some of the best values out there right now. CZ's quality and fit and finish today are what Sig was in the late 90s and early 2000s. I will warn you, if you every get your hands on a Kadet it will ruin any of the guns above for you.
So there you have it, SigM4's .22 pistol rambling (rantings?). In the next episode we'll focus on .22lr wheel guns...
