Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Semi-Auto .22LR pistol

Thinking of getting one. I'd like to stay around $500 or less.
Ruger, Browning, S&W, other? What would you pick and why?
I would be mounting a red dot reflex sight.

Hard to go wrong with Ruger or Browning. Browning is fairly accurate. Ruger is built like a tank. Heard good things about SW Victory but they are ugly to me.

Ruger SR -22

go threaded..... thank me later

Yep.

ugly is, as ugly does.....

beauty is, as beauty does.....

functional.....

Hunts, is that Tandemkross mount an improvement over the pic rail?
I'm kind of leaning S&W after checking out some reviews.

I'd hate to be a small furry animal anywhere near your place!

yes

S&W 2206

I have a threaded SW22 Victory, but have a owned a few Buckmarks and Ruger Marks.

The Victory still looks ugly as hell to me. Not a fan of the tack/plug welded ejector, the sheet metal "receiver", or plastic buffer, but the trigger is better than the Rugers and Brownings that I have owned. Mine fails to eject and double feeds on occasion, but I've tweaked the ejector and just need to try it out. It shoots dang good though.

Not a fan of the takedown for the Browning or the plastic buffer (similar to the Victory). In theory that is. Never had an actual failure or issue with one.

If I had to do it all over again, I think I'd just stick with the Marks. I'd like a stainless 22/45 but it doesn't look like they make one now.

Ugly with FF3 and zombie grips.

I like those grips!

My Marks were II-versions and I haven't owned the III or IV, but my buddy brought his new Mark IV Comp rat shooting. It's a sweet shooting pistol, but he did replace the trigger with a VQ. And new grip panels.

He whacked this sage rat at 25 yards. I just shot rocks with it.

First time I made a purchase on E-t-s-y!

Does the Mark IV takedown easier than the earlier ones?

Much easier. Just push the button and the thing practically falls apart in your hands.

But...the other disadvantages of the IV make the II the best choice.

Takedown and reassembly of the pre-MarkIV pistols is exaggerated. It's a piece of cake, if you simply remember what to do.

Never should have sold my Mark II pistols. But the 22/45 had the molded grip frame, which I think sucked. Now there are people making grip panels for it and you just need to D/T the grip frame for them. Recall that the 22/45 MKIII has removeable grip panels that the 22/45 MKII didn't.

Another minor complaint with the standard MKII is the heel mounted mag release. I have no issue with that location, but I was shooting my standard MKII so much that when I shot my centerfire pistols I would try to thumb the heel, when those centerfires have thumb-position mag releases. Not good, but I suppose more training would help.

I'd have no issue with the new Mark IV, but I wouldn't just buy it for the takedown feature.