Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Rimfires Revolver or semi auto preference

I mainly shot auto’s. I have a 41 with 3 different barrels. Biggest decision is which barrel to install. I also enjoy my mark 2’s. I usually carry one of these when my wife is shooting. I have 10 magazines and a speed loader. I’m the speed loader operator. Hard to keep up when she’s shooting.
But when hunting I carry my K22 model 48. For those that say there is not much difference between a LR and magnum version need to shoot the 83/8 magnum version. Hasbeen

I enjoy them all. Rimfire is a sickness. For in the field for small game I usually carry my MK3 22/45 lite as it is slim and light. With the red dot, it is deadly. I also love my revolvers. Especially my NAA. There is something so satisfying about the tiny pocket revolvers.

Jerny: You said it VERY well indeed!
"Rimfire, is a sickness"!
The simple truth.
And welcome to the CampFire by the way - bring your sicknesses with you - there will be others here with the same ailment - including me.
Our poor family got their first 22 rimfire Rifle when I was 7 years old and my two brothers (one older and one younger) and I shared it.
It has been 68 years since then and I have been an enthusiastic rimfire "sicko" ever since.
Long live the 22 rimfire (revolvers, semi-auto pistols and all manner of Rifles).
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Sickness indeed and it's not curable at least I don't want to be cured. I just bought 800 rounds of CCI 22 mag ammo to feed the new CZ and a Smith M48. For some reason I'm thinking about a Browning Medalist.........why????? To top off the rimfire madness I just got a Cooper Western Classic and boy it's a shooter

For strictly target shooting a semi-auto. Real world my S&W m34-1 for a plinking and a hiking partner. What tips the scale toward a revolver is their ability to shoot everything from CB caps to Mini-Mags. Growing up we shotgunned a lot of barn pigeons with a m1100 and improved cylinder barrel. Lots of pigeons needed a finisher and while a long rifle cartridge was effective, it was way more than what was needed and a short or CB cap was all that was needed and safer and quieter around a barn yard. I started with a 6” barrel K22, but that morphed into that 4” barrel m34-1 because a .22 and J frame just seemed like a better match.

I was always a revolver guy. I carried for years, and still have, my old Ruger Single Six. It has accounted for piles of rabbit and grouse and dispatched a few truckloads of trapped coyotes. But then I got a Glock 44. Seems I grab it more than anything when I go afield with a 22 handgun. At just one pound fully loaded, it doesn’t feel like much on the hip. I even used it last year to dispatch my spine shot caribou. I won’t be parting with my Single Six. Too many fond memories but the Glock gets the nod more often than not nowadays.

I seem to shoot my SS Single Six better than my 4" 617 Smith, and I shoot it better than my varous .22 pistols, too. Overall, it's probably my favorite. I suspect the sight radius of the Single Six (6.5" barrel) makes the difference. My .22 pistols are a 4.5" SR-22 and a Smith M&P Compact, neither of which could be considered target pistols. Too light and too short. I've had various Ruger Mks and they all shot very well, but they were heavier and easier to hold steady.

Horses for courses. In the field I prefer a revolver. At the range it’s a semi-auto.

I love them both, and currently have a couple of each, but one thing I rarely see/hear mentioned is, that at least in my experience with every revolver I've ever owned, you have to brush out the cylinder chambers every couple boxes or so to be able to chamber a round because the ammo is so dirty. For whatever reason, not so with a semi auto.

I have not experienced that issue with any of my revolvers from 22 to 44

What if a round could be thrust into a revolver chamber with the same speed and force as with a semi auto?

Maybe. But by about 100-150 rounds or so, I'm starting to have to mash pretty hard to get them fully seated. That was with my Rossi 511, S&W 63, and two S&W 617's. I'm thinking it has more to do with most of the powder residue getting blown out the back of the chamber with the empty case on the semi-autos.

I have a couple revolvers and a semi-auto. The revolvers get shot a lot more since I quite indoor target shooting. Actually I probably have not shot that semi-auto in the last 20 years,

My M17 has tight chambers. Depending upon the cleanliness of the ammo extraction becomes difficult after 100-150 rounds. My M63 is considerably more tolerant but will also get sticky at the end of a shooting session. The Single Six doesn't have those issues. The Single Six is also the least accurate of the three revolvers.

In the 22 rimfire pistol area Ive got.
Colt Woodsman
Colt Huntsman
Ruger Mark 1 bull barrel
Ruger Mark 2 standard tapered barrel (never been fired)
Ruger 22/45 (hate the grip)
Ruger Single Six old model
Ruger Bearcat old model.

I enjoy shooting them all so really cant choose. But my favorites are the Colt autos and the Ruger Single six.
So I'm no help at all.

A Buckmark target with a Fastfire sight is my go to 22. Even with my cataracts I can hold a spotlight and shoot yard varmints at the same time.

I am a semi auto fan. Both the buckmark and the ruger.

Now that you asked, I shoot revolvers more. That is until you get to .22s, then I shoot autos more. Buckmark, Victory & High Standard being the ones that make it to the range the most.

Single action revolver, Colt or Ruger

I have owned oodles of .22 handguns over the past 30 years. Had some really great ones. This is what I have settled on, and I don't see me adding to this group.

When my kids move out, the daughter gets the little Llama, and my son gets the S&W. At that point I may pick up a Beretta M70...or not.

FOR ME, pretty much all of my .22 handgunning is done with my Colt Officers Model Target these days.