Recommendations for a .22LR handgun

[Beiruty]

This has served me very well. Works plenty reliable at the range. The red polymer is my daughter choice. It came in black.

[Lynyrd]

I've had one of these little Walther P22's for about 10 years or so. The wife loves to shoot this little pistol. Is it the perfect gun? No. Has it ever jammed? Yes. Is it reliable? Maybe 1200 rounds through it, and only 2 or 3 misfeeds(sp?). I've had more bad rounds than misfeeds. Would I carry it, or let my wife carry it? No. It's an inexpensive little gun that's fun to shoot, and we have killed more than a few snakes and turtles with it.

[Lynyrd]

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

[Legionnaire]

As far as semiautomatics go, another Buckmark fan here; I have a couple. They can be somewhat ammo sensitive, but mine run very smoothly on CCI standard velocity. I like the Buckmark because it feels more like a full-sized gun than many others ... that Walther, for instance. Not knocking it at all; just think it feels like a toy.

Also a big fan of the Single Six.

[lfinsr]

I'm not going to try and sway you one way or the other, but, if you decide on a Ruger or Buckmark you definitely need one of these. A few places I've seen are selling them for a couple of bucks less than McFaden if you look around. Worth it at twice the price. Makes shooting a .22 fun when your thumbs are sore at the end of the day.

[Lynyrd]

...that Walther, for instance. Not knocking it at all; just think it feels like a toy.

Also a big fan of the Single Six.

It does kind of feel like a toy. One of the reasons the wife likes it so much is the small size. It's not for everyone, that's for sure. But it is kinda fun.

[jason812]

I've had one of these little Walther P22's for about 10 years or so. The wife loves to shoot this little pistol. Is it the perfect gun? No. Has it ever jammed? Yes. Is it reliable? Maybe 1200 rounds through it, and only 2 or 3 misfeeds(sp?). I've had more bad rounds than misfeeds. Would I carry it, or let my wife carry it? No. It's an inexpensive little gun that's fun to shoot, and we have killed more than a few snakes and turtles with it.

My dad, brother, and myself all have one of these with the 5" barrel. Each one has probably had more than a few thousand rounds through them. Not perfect, not as accurate as a Ruger or Buckmark but fun to plink with. One day we went through a brick a piece try just having fun but that was before .22 ammo became like the Loch Ness Monster.

[hovercat]

Go to a gunshow and find a good condition Colt Woodsman. Not cheap, but you will feel the hand fitted quality. Bring a lot of money.

[Teamless]

Ruger Mark III 22/45
Great shooting gun
Lots of range fun!!

The only downside is you to do the "Ruger Dance" when you reassemble it

But it's worth doing the dance!

[puma guy]

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.

I have a Sig 1911-22 and several Buckmarks. Colt and Browning also make 1911-22's. I tested the SIG with several brands and velocities of .22 LR from HV, SV, Target, subsonic, right down to CB Longs. It is a fun gun to shoot as are the Browning Buckmarks. In the SIG 1911-22 the HV, Target and SV all fully cycled; the subsonic ejected, but failed to feed and the CB long wouldn't move the slide. I have had some FTF with SV on the Buckmarks. I've never tested anything less than SV on the Brownings. I have a Jennings .22 LR paper weight that was given to me; it has yet to make it through a full magazine.

[jason812]

100 percent reliability is right up there with honest politicians and unicorn jerkey

Unicorn jerky sounds tasty.

[puma guy]

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

My Ruger and S&W.22 revolvers all cycle 100% of the time with any ammo I feed them.

[C-dub]

I have a Colt 1911-22, Ruger Single Six .22, and now a Ruger Mark III .22 Hunter. All three are great and loads of fun when kept clean. The Single Six is less dependent on cleanliness than the semi-autos. An advantage to the Colt is that the controls and size are the same as the full size .45 and it will hold 12 rounds instead of just 10.

The Mark III out shot the Colt in accuracy when I had them both out together after just getting the Mark III. I haven't had the Single Six out with the Colt yet, but think it will also be more accurate. It will be interesting to get them all out together. I have a feeling the Single Six will beat them both.

As for being inexpensive to shoot, that is true when you can find .22 ammo.

[puma guy]

I have a Colt 1911-22, Ruger Single Six .22, and now a Ruger Mark III .22 Hunter. All three are great and loads of fun when kept clean. The Single Six is less dependent on cleanliness than the semi-autos. An advantage to the Colt is that the controls and size are the same as the full size .45 and it will hold 12 rounds instead of just 10.

The Mark III out shot the Colt in accuracy when I had them both out together after just getting the Mark III. I haven't had the Single Six out with the Colt yet, but think it will also be more accurate. It will be interesting to get them all out together. I have a feeling the Single Six will beat them both.

As for being inexpensive to shoot, that is true when you can find .22 ammo.

C-dub, Does your Single Six have a fully adjustable rear sight? I'm seeing lots of .22 available; even .22 WMR.