Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns IF you could only have 1 .22LR pistol, what would it be??

I have shot everything, 41's, High standards, Buckmarks, K22's and on and on All are too good for the ammo today.
I hate to hear POOP, CLICK and CRACK when I shoot.
Long ago I had a Marlin 39 Mounty and it would do 3/4" at 100 yards all day with WW high speed, HP's. Every squirrel I shot with it was shot in the head at any distance. Most in the eye.
don't matter to me what gun you love. Finding something that shoots will be the problem.
I can't believe how poor our .22 ammo has gotten. Then the prices when you find some! I can shoot my .500 JRH cheaper.

This old thang.


DMc

+1 ...hands down favorite...next is my 317 3"

Either of my old k-22's.

Duuude!!! That thing is beyond cool. I always liked Huntsman's ivory stocked Woodsman but a short barreled King gun pegs the needle on the cool meter.

It's bitchin, but.... something cooler always comes along.

Start with a Woodsman Sport, then you think you need a Match Target, which you spend months & months looking for just the right one.

All's cool after you get it, then..., a King pops up. bye bye MT. Irony is..., the King is a customized SPORT!

I used to have a 1948 "Ace" that I really loved, but accuracy wasn't acceptable. However I still think the front sight of an original Ace is the sexiest ever.

Don's Ivory-handled Huntsman is Old School Cool! Just like him!! I swiped his grips when he wasn't looking.



DMc

Took a lot of thinking because I have a lot of "nice" very accurate .22s...so I had to ask myself what I actually use .22s for.

#1 is an understudy for a similar big bore.

#2 is training others to shoot.

#3 is a light weight trail gun when fishing, camping, woods walking and boating.

So since my "if you can only have one gun" choice was a 1911 in .38 Super, then my one .22 would have to be a 1911 .22.... Would take either a 1970s vintage Colt ACE or one of the all aluminum Kimber Target .22s. Love the workmanship of the ACE I have and it is just as accurate as the Kimber. That said the all aluminum Kimber is VERY accurate and easier for a beginner shooter to handle... Also since it isn't prone to rust would make a better trail gun and around water...

That said, IF I was able to cheat and have a .22 Conversion Unit for the 1911 then I would go with a S&W 63. I have one with a fitted .22 Magnum cylinder so it will shoot everything from Shorts to Magnums...

Bob

...nothing..especially when you add a "can"....

So the groove diameter takes a Mag in a 63?

Is that a Kings Gun Sights Co. Woodsman?

Scoped, I can shoot a Colt or S&W heavy 22 revolver better than I can can shoot a heavy Colt semi auto.

At best I can shoot a 1" 5 shot group at 25 yards.
My brother can shoot groups half that size with the same gun, right after me.
He says it is my trigger pull.
That means the revolvers are not giving me as much change with trigger pull.

I'd have to stick with my old Ruger Mark 1 6 7/8 inch tapered target model. Got it in 1978 when I was 17 years old. I may look at putting an optic on it though. For some reason the factory sights have gotten a bit fuzzy the last few years.

Dang those are old mounts. You must be old as dirt like me.

The two mounts on the Colts I made. But the 3 scopes are Bushnell phantom, the first handgun scope.

That was a great scope and it is still hard to beat. I think mine cost me about $30.
Over the years we let stuff go that we never should.

I had an Old Model Ruger Super Blackhawk drilled and tapped for Bushnell Phantom scope mounts back in the 70's. The original mounts were two upside down cone shaped pegs that screwed into the receiver like the ones on the bottom right below. The scope mount clamped down over those reverse cones.

It didn't take long for the clamps to work loose from those pegs and while I forget the exact number of shots, I do remember that on my first range session using full power .44 Magnum loads the scope "let go" over my right shoulder and landed several feet behind me.

Can't have just one, I will Keep my 4 digit Bearcat AND my Walther P-22.

Jim, brf,

Two years ago there were some new old stock Bushnell 1.2x Phantom pistol scopes on the Ebay without mounts.
The scope with a mount was worth $65.
The scope without a mount was worth $35.
The bottom rail of the Phantom is a bastard.
But the phantom scope has a big advantage over a 1" pistol scope with 1" rings, if you are ever to have a prayer of getting the handgun into a holster.
In 1995 on a gunshow table, I found a 1955 Smith and Wesson K22 with Phantom scope and modified Smith and Wesson 21 36 [K frame] holster for $250. See pic in above posts.
Over the past 20 years I have learned what a good combination this was.
So when all those phantoms got dumped, i started making non invasive scope mounts for my Colts.

There is only .0015 difference between a Long Rifle barrel and a Magnum barrel. Have had zero issues with not only the 63 but also added Model 48 cylinders to a 17 and an 18...all shoot great.

I think I have about a half dozen of those Bushnell Phantom scopes... Had them on TC Contender barrels and also my favorite Model 53 .22 Jet... Very clear tough little scope...

Bob

The Phantom's were, and are, a great scope but the weakness is the mount.