Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Rimfires How accurate can a .22 pistol be?

I don’t currently have a semiauto .22 pistol and am wondering how accurate they can be for something like squirrel hunting? Thought it might be enjoyable taking to the woods in September with something a little more challenging and just trying to have some fun with it. Any particular models and what would you do for sights? Also, how far out could I expect to be accurate and take squirrels at?

Smith and Wesson model 41. This gun is as accurate as a person is capable of shooting. You wouldn’t regret getting one…

What's your budget? Hint.

I only have (2) Marvel Unit One's,but they reliably outshoot my 41's and their extra barrels(Irons/Dots,5.5's and 7's),if only for starters. Ruger destroys both,in Rugged Reliability and their mags are without peer. Hint.

I'll greedily take a 3MOA dot and Holosun beats Trijicon,at their own game. RMR's don't do worth a fhuqk in Real Weather. Hint.

I tote a 22/45 LITE MKIII day in and day out,with said 'Dot and CT grips. I prefer TK flatty triggers and VQ sears. Mag Safeties bypassed,as are LCI's. Standard fare. Hint





Just sayin'..............

RickyBobby: I have several heavy barrel Ruger MK pistols with non-magnifying red dot type sights on them as well as a couple of Browning BuckMark heavy barrel pistols with similar sights.
I have killed Ground Squirrels with these pistols out to 75 yards (laser ranged) off of steady rests (sand bags/window bags).
Using quality hollow-point Hunting type ammunition I am VERY pleased with the accuracy using these pistols.
If you are talking Tree Squirrels I would think that would add to the difficulty of attaining humane/lethal accuracy out there in the woods?
Best of luck to you.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

They'll shoot as well as you can see & hold !! Half-3/4 inch @ 50 yds.

Exactly, they not the limiting factor. It's always the "nut behind the trigger"...

In a Ransom rest with target ammo, they'll impress ya.

DF

Custom Volquartsen Ruger is accurate, shoots better than I can hold. Gives my Hi Standards a run for the roses, and they pretty accurate.

For a revolver, this pre-war Officer's Match Colt is about the best I've seen, including K-22's, etc..

DF

I’ve had several Ruger MK versions over the years. The current and without a doubt best of them is the .22/45 lite.

I would like to believe I’m just an amazing shot, but people that don’t shoot much shoot it like some kind of trick shooters.

I had a vortex red dot, worked quite good and really fast to acquire my aim point. Also easy to carry.

I accidentally figured out how much better sub sonic ammo shoots after screwing on my suppressor. It’s quite a lot better at least out of this gun with the dead air mask.

Also so much fun to shoot with it being near silent now. It’s less noise than a mechanical staple gun. The majority coming from the action. I recently swapped the red dot for a 2-7 illuminated reticle pistol scope. That really shows the accuracy potential.

Hitting empty shotgun shells at 20 yards without a rest is pretty consistent. Hitting them laying down with the base facing you is more challenging.

From a solid rest it’s near 100%. I feel pretty comfortable you could shoot most small game to 50 yards or a bit more. The sub sonic rounds are only slightly less power than full power LR rounds. I’ve not seen a difference in killing power with them.

10 yard with iron sights
25 yard with 2x Leupold

JJ- don't get him started on killing power. His 6.5 kills stuff "more dead" than other cartridges. 😂

His words, not mine.

Was at a buds range one day shooting 22's. Guess he'd heard enough about me missing my Hi-Standard & not thinking the Ruger MKII wasn't up to stuff. He never said a word, just got on his ATV & went to the house. About 5 minutes later he handed me a MkII with a 3-12 scope on it. It put 5 in a half inch at 50, like I was shooting a rifle.

He said, maybe the H-S sights were better, but the barrel? maybe not. Shy of a Ransom rest, this was a way to prove things.

Ruger 22/45 with a Holosun and suppressor is more accurate than most are capable of shooting a pistol. Do the Volquartsen and TandemKross mods and you’re good to go.

I hunt only with subsonic hollow points. Thing is deadly +P.

Side note - I’d like a Volquartsen Mamba as a dedicated suppressor gun.

I’ve only got a couple of 22 semi automatic pistols.

My Kimber aluminum frame dedicated 1911 Match .22 will put 5 rounds of the “good stuff” into a 1/2” hole at 25 yards. With open sight and off a sand bag, I consider it pretty damn accurate.

Been looking for a good clean used Ruger MK 3 22 Lite to put a suppressor on. I don’t care for the new Mark 4 versions, personally.

Admittedly,I'd never heard of these things,until this Thread. Hint.









Just sayin'.............

When I was competing in bullseye pistol shooting, I started with a Ruger Mark II 5.5" bull barrel. Shot well enough with CCI std vel (3/8++" - 1/2" groups at 50ft, and ~1" @ 25 yards). Sold it.

Acquired a heavily used S&W m41 5.5" bbl, used. Unreliable until I sent it back for a rebuild, including new bolt and extractors. Shot better than the Ruger, but was heavy. Sold it.

Finally found a Hammerli /Sig X-esse . Absolutely loved it. Most accurate 22: pistol I owned. Just the right weight. Excellent trigger. Injured my right /shooting shoulder and my serious competitive pistol shooting came to an end. Sold it. Great pistol. Highly recommended. Shot 1-one-hole groups at 50 feet, an sometimes one-hole groups at 25 yards with CCI std vel. I used UltraDot red dot sights on my bullseye pistols including: 30 mm tubed with 4 moa dot, UltraDot (4-8-12-16 moa dot, MatchDot (2-4-6-8 moa dot). The standard fixed 4 moa dot is just fine (1 inch or 30 mm tube).

Another option to consider is a quality 22 conversion for a 1911. I'd get one with a combo rail (open adjustable sights with Picatinny rail for red dot /optics.

I still have my dad's S&W k22. Many many rounds fired from it, and several squirrels taken with it. A lot of fun, and many memories.

encyclopedia of bullseye pistol/ equipment

By Gawdd,I've never heard of ANY of this stuff. Hint.










Just sayin'..............

What don’t you like about the Mark IV? I’ve been thinking about getting one.

I have a Thompson Contender with a 14” 22 barrel that is deadly on squirrels out to 50 yds. Also a Ruger MK III target with a 4 x scope also deadly on squirrels. The Contender has a 2x6 scope.

My Browning will shoot tight groups

Liked my High Standard Sharpshooter better than my dads Model 41s ( he offered me one and I declined ).

Better was the 6" Kart conversion on a Colt 1911 frame worked by a smith of some note.

Was a bit heavy for a field gun though. There the 6 inch Woodsman match target was nice

Exemplar w Burris 3-12x was awesome but so big might as well take a rifle. Same for Contenders w optics.

Old eyes......Have a Buckmark w reflex as my clunker. Maybe get a Walther CSP if a 2nd .22 is needed

I suffer Buckmarks,but there Reliability and Precision,are second to Ruger and most everything else cited. Hint.







Just sayin'..............