Recommendations for a .22LR handgun

[Soccerdad1995]

I would like to get a .22LR handgun to use for inexpensive practice / general plinking. Ideally, I would like to get something that has a similar look and feel to the guns that I use for carry / home defense, where I have pretty much standardized on guns that follow a 1911 manual of arms (Officer/Commander/Government length 1911, Sig Sauer P226 X5, Sig P938). I know that there are 1911 conversion kits out there, but I am a bit concerned about reliability when I am shooting a .22 in a gun that was originally designed to fire .45 ACP. What do y'all recommend?

And why in the heck do all of the .22LR handguns seem to have only a 10 round capacity? Am I missing something here?

[Middle Age Russ]

SIG makes a 1911-22 (a re-badged GSG), which is a decent gun. Takedown is a bit different than a regular 1911. I also saw that SIG is selling a 1911 .22 conversion on their website. SIG also makes a version of the 938 in .22LR. Beyond SIG there are others, of course, but I only have experience with their 1911-22 in 1911 format guns.

As for why the limit on mag capacity, the rimmed cartridge is the big driver. The rim can cause problems feeding from a straight box magazine that is too long, and double-stacking rimmed cartridges in a magazine is a recipe for magazine related failures when the rims don't all behave just so during loading or shooting.

[flechero]

I have a conversion for several of my guns and all are very reliable. The Kimber (1911 conversion)- with decent ammo runs like a sewing machine. You can buy a 1911 in .22 but that's seems awfully expensive for a result no better (in my experience) than the conversion. It's very accurate, too. I've thought about a dedicated lower to make my conversion a permanent fixture... but haven't run across a good enough deal yet on the lower (or donor gun)

I've heard Marvel conversions are tops and the Ceiner units get good reviews as well. (ceiner private labels for several other makers as well)

If set on buying a .22, there are LOTS of good guns out there for reasonable prices. For that, i'd just say- happy shopping!

[Charles L. Cotton]

There's only one reliable semi-auto .22LR handgun. One, not one model or one manufacturer, just one reliable semi-auto .22LR handgun. God has it and He isn't selling.

Chas.

Edited to add: There aren't any reliable semi-auto .22LR handguns on earth.
Edited 2nd time to add: "semi-auto" Jusme is right about the Ruger Single Six

[Jusme]

There's only one reliable .22LR handgun. One, not one model or one manufacturer, just one reliable .22LR handgun. God has it and He isn't selling.

Chas.

Edited to add: There aren't any reliable .22LR handguns on earth.

Well.. it's not a 1911 but..



... I hear it's pretty reliable

[TxRVer]

How important is reliability in a plinker? It's not like you're relying on it in a life or death situation. I like my Buckmark, but it does fail to fire at least once in fifty rounds. Other than that, it's been totally reliable. It won't feel like your other handguns though.

[TexasTornado]

We have a Browning buckmark and it has been very reliable. The only time it has even jammed, it was me not the pistol (bad habit of having a loose grip/limp wrist)...the pistol itself though is solid if a little pricey for a .22.

[Pawpaw]

I have a KImber .22 conversion that lives on a Rock Island frame. It's been super reliable, using HV ammo. I'm sure I've had malfunctions (it's the nature of .22LR), but I really can't remember any.

It's the most pure "fun to shoot" handgun I own. I like it better than the Ruger 22/45 I used to own.

Also, you can get 14-round mags for it: https://www.midwayusa.com/product/39431 ... ymer-black

You might have to do a little filing on the plastic mag to get it to go in and out smoothly, but they do work.

[rotor]

We have a Browning buckmark and it has been very reliable. The only time it has even jammed, it was me not the pistol (bad habit of having a loose grip/limp wrist)...the pistol itself though is solid if a little pricey for a .22.

I second that.

[G26ster]

I have an Advantage Arms .22lr upper that sits on a dedicated Glock 26 frame. It also is super reliable if I run a bore snake thru it about every hundred rounds, and use the .22lr ammo they recommend. Most fun gun to shoot I own.

[mr1337]

Whatever you get, run it through multiple different brands of ammo. My wife's Ruger SR-22 only likes one particular brand & load. Most everything else either fails to eject or fails to feed occasionally. (And by occasionally I mean once every mag or two, which is too much failure for a firearm.)

[Skiprr]

We have a Browning buckmark and it has been very reliable. The only time it has even jammed, it was me not the pistol (bad habit of having a loose grip/limp wrist)...the pistol itself though is solid if a little pricey for a .22.

I also have a Buck Mark, brilliantly purchased just months before .22 LR became hard to find and doubled in cost. I'd had a Ruger, but back then, with 9mm cheap enough, I decided to get rid of the caliber and sold it.



I normally hate finger grooves on handguns: let me get the grip I want, and that means as high and tight as possible. But on a no-recoil .22, I don't mind as much. While not precisely the same, the Buck Mark's grip angle is very similar to a 1911, and it does have a nub of a thumb safety. Cleaning is a bit bizarre...but it's also odd for the Ruger. Browning recommends you not field strip the gun, just swab the barrel, wipe what you can reach of the innards, a little lube, and good to go. Yeah; right. Like I'll own a gun and never strip it.

S&W's new M&P22 series looks pretty interesting. I might want to shoot the 12-round model. It's possible I could be convinced I need another .22.

As to reliability, Charles is spot on. Semi-auto rimfire will never cycle perfectly. Good thing we aren't defending ourselves with them. But three tips. First, always use a relatively high velocity cartridge, as in around 1,100 to 1,200 fps. Doesn't take much pressure to actuate the slide, but it also doesn't make much variance on the low side--especially if the gun is a bit dirty--not to actuate the slide.

Second--and this is personal preference only--lean toward copper plated bullets. My preference is the now hard-to-find and relatively expensive CCI Mini Mag. It's easy and fun to send a lot of rounds downrange with a .22. Lead can build up in the barrel faster than copper. I do shoot a lot of Federal lead roundnose, but I'll also send send some copper plated bullets through it before I leave the range. Seems to help scrub out some of the lead.

Third, a Hoppe's Boresnake or, even more likely for me lately, an Otis Ripcord. The Ripcord has no metal brush embedded. If you're going to plink a brick of ammo on a cool, sunny, Saturday morning, take a break every couple hundred rounds, put a little solvent on one of these handy devices, pull it through a couple of times, and go back to knockin' down plates. I really never liked cleaning any smallbore guns...until I started using Otis products and boresnakes. AR-15s with a standard cleaning rod were a pain. But 60 seconds to pull a handy little cord a couple of times from breach to barrel...easy! Great invention.

[Soccerdad1995]

How important is reliability in a plinker? It's not like you're relying on it in a life or death situation. I like my Buckmark, but it does fail to fire at least once in fifty rounds. Other than that, it's been totally reliable. It won't feel like your other handguns though.

Good point on reliability. I want this mainly for cheap practice time, and lack of reliability would give me more practice on clearing malfunctions. So much to think about......

[JustSomeOldGuy]

I'll cast the dissenting opinion(s).
- Ruger 22/45 (MkII preferable, if you can find one)
- S&W Victory 22 (it doesn't claim to be 1911 similar, but it's good enough that you won't care)
The S&W is right around $400.00, and I have no idea what a Ruger MkII or MkIII is going for....

[CoffeeNut]

I have a Ruger 22/45 Lite that I really love shooting. It's suppressor ready, got good sights and feels like a 1911 in all but weight. It's also very, very accurate with CCI ammo. The only thing I can't stand about the pistol is the fact that I can't get it apart. Not even when using the Ruger recommended rubber mallet method. It's the most frustrating disassembly process for a handgun.

I've taken to just pulling the bolt and running a rod through the whole length of it. That or taking a 9 shot Taurus .22 revolver to the range instead.