Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Some new, really cool pistols from Ruger.

My first handgun was one of the original Ruger Standard .22's. I paid $37.50 for it. Sold it a few years after buying it and haven't owned a Ruger semi aauto since.
But that might change. Ruger has a couple of fascinating looking new pistols coming out.
One is called the 22/45 Lite. And light it is. 22.8 ozs. 4.4 inch barrel. Not only is it nice and light, but it's got fully adjustable sights. Something I insist on in a .22 rimfire. MSRP is $469.
To me, even more exciting is the SR22. 10 shot magazine, 3.5 inch barrel, outside hammer w/ safety, 17.5 ozs. and, again, fully adjustable sights. MSRP $399.
I sure hope the triggers can be adjusted to break well.
Anybody see or play with either of these ? I'll be looking hard for them. E

I like heck out of my buddies SR22 but have a Walther P22 so I see no need to trade for a like gun. If I was buying today and had the choice I would buy the Ruger just cause it is made here.

The 22/45 lite I am waiting to lay hands on to see whether or not it will pry any money from my wallet.

If they would have had the Lite when I was buying my suppressor I would have bought it. I went with a 22/45 and added a Tactical Solutions threaded Pac-Lite barrel. It is about time Ruger offered something like this one. It should steal some of Tac-Sol's thunder.

Ruger's marketing department doesn't appear to be dumb. I'm sure they pay attention to what people say they want but pay a lot more attention to what people are really buying.

Note the heavy barrel 10/22 rifles - target, "tactical" and so forth. Bringing out the .44 Flattop as a production item after Lipsey's run sold out. Direct copies of Kel-Tec's pocket pistols, a 1911 that is going like hotcakes even though the marketed is flooded with them and now the lightweight Mk III and the little Walther clone.

Pretty smart - let someone else take the gamble to see what kind of a market there is, then step in and grab a big chunk of that market share with their well known name and established reputation.

Maybe that part of ol' Bill who was a lover of classic firearms is turning a bit in his grave but that part of him who was a real savvy businessman is probably smiling if not laughing out loud.

I was at a store with my wife looking at a Ruger SR22 for a relative with small hands. My wife liked the looks of it, held it and liked it, and told me to get two so she could have one. I put about 100 rounds of Federal bulk pack through it shooting steel with no issues. The double action pull is a bit heavy at this point, but probably will wear in.

My wife got to shoot it for the first time today. We probably put another 100 rounds through it. I had not cleaned it since the time I shot it. We were in the woods and did not have the benefit of a proper target but she did well. We had a few malfunctions where the empty would barely get out of the gun and the next round would not chamber, leaving the chamber empty. That happened mostly when going from the double action first shot to the second. I had such a great initial range session that I thought it was my wife. I shot it and had the same issues. I chalked it up to needing to be cleaned. (On the other hand, a Smith M&P22 went 500 rounds of Federal bulk pack over 2 range sessions before it started to get sluggish.) There were no misfires with chambered rounds.

The sights on the Ruger are decent and easily adjusted. The magazine needs to really be hit hard at the very end to seat, or else you can push the magazine forward slightly to get it to lock. (I picked that tip up in a YouTube review.) With a magazine disconnect safety, it is critical to ensure the magazine is seated when the slide is forward. I pull down on it after it is seated to double check, a la AR15. The magazine release is ambidextrous and rattles a little bit, and takes some effort to learn compared to the traditional magazine release switch. The magazines are interesting, and the 5 rounds at the top of a loaded magazine stagger in a funky fashion.

My wife is used to revolvers, the Sig DAK trigger and single action 1911 style autos, so she had to be walked through the unique DA/SA manual of arms with this gun. This is especially confusing on this gun because the safety is on the frame and not the slide like most DA/SA guns (with a safety as opposed to a decocker only), and the safety has to be flicked up to put it in the fire position. It has a firing pin block, so a person used to SA autos probably should carry it decocked (hammer down) with the safety off.

My wife does not have large hands, and she thought the grip was small. The gun comes with an extra grip that I will put on before she shoots it again.

The gun is a decent value. It could serve as an "only gun" for a person on a budget because it has all the modern safety features and also has a light/laser rail. It only weighs 18-1/2 ounces loaded, and should conceal well. It comes with 2 magazines, and the magazines each come with extra base pads with a pinky extension.

I mucho like my Ruger handguns, especially my SA revolvers and 22lr MkIII pistol.

As far as the Ruger SR22 (clone), I'll stick with my Walther P-22. I also have some other great Walther pistols and sure treasure them.

Thanks for the report, Cheyenne. E

The sp101 22lr is interesting as well,

Good report.. I've handled the SR-22 as well and it's one of the most comfy, best-feeling 22s I've had the pleasure to hold.. Early reports from buyers around here is quite positive in the accuracy dept.. No feedback on trigger yet.

I want one - and I'm gonna get one.. As to your issues with feeding/extraction - it's most likely due to fouling.. The .22 rimfire is one of the dirtiest rounds today and many firearms in that chambering benefit from frequent cleaning..

Best wishes..

I like mine, it's breaking in nicely and while the trigger will never match a pre-war K-frame S&W, it is still pretty darn good for a small frame DA 22lr.

whats the accuracy like with 22's it likes?

I don't shoot for groups, or shoot from a bench, but I was able to keep all my shots on a 3x5" card at 25 yards, off-hand slow-fire with Federal Blue Box 22lr ammo. I didn't buy it intending it for target use. I've got K22's for that. I find it easier to shoot accurately than my S&W 317 3", as the added weight of the SP101 makes it easier to keep the gun on target when pressing the trigger.

You might want to check & make sure the barrel screw hasn't come loose... interesting thread on the SR-22 at RFC. http://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=429502

The SR 22 is next on my list.

It's not fouling or the barrel. I think it's the ammo. I went to the range this morning before work to get in some chrono work. I had the same issues with the Federal Bulk that fired well in other guns, but not from the same box I was using Sunday and today. I had no issues with any of the other 3 brands I shot except some issues using the slide release lever when the gun was at slide lock. Pulling the slide back and letting it go resulted in all of those rounds chambering. The other ammo I shot was Remington bulk that other guns don't like, and CCI Stingers and Mini-Mags.

If you guys want chrono data, I used an Oehler 35 with the screens at 5-1/2 paces. The Federal bulk was a 6 shot sample that averaged 963, ES 62, SD 28. I had many that did not register. I was shooting this right as the sun was coming up.

Next up was the Remington bulk. A 12 shot sample averaged 850, ES 150.
Next up was CCI Stingers, 10 shot sample. Average 1085, ES 102, SD 20. Very positive ejection.
Next up was CCI Mini Mags. Average 990, ES 98, SD 37.

There sure is a lot of shot to shot variation with these rounds. I was surprised the Remington fed considering the lower velocity than the Federal, but I guess it was the shape of the bullet. The Remingtons were fired right after the Federals, and I only had a couple of blinkers that I had to disregard. Go figure.

As for the barrel, it is tight. Our gun was test fired on 3/12/12 and we bought it about a month later. The barrel issue seems to have been addressed by the factory. In any event, whenever I try to fix something, I fix it until it breaks, so I am glad all is well with the barrel.

If the SR had been out when I bought my Bersa T22 I would of bought the Ruger instead. But that's neither here nor there for now that they have the "Lite" out either of the other guns will/would hide forever in the dark recesses of the gun locker unless someone want to take it off my hands. Just waiting for more of the Lite's to become available again.

CB

Herasy!!

My youngest son saved up his yard work $, and other funds and we went out and picked up an SR22 for him this past weekend. He has had his eye on it since it came out. That pistol is awesome. The trigger it just OK but is shined in the accuracy department. We even tried it out at 50 yards (not feet!) and were hitting 6" paper plates every time. I used CCI mini mags, plus bulk ammo from Remington and Federal. Accuracy was consistant with all three. We put about 250 rounds through it with only one FTF on the Remington in the first magazine.

RH

Absolute truth, George.. The buildup of crud, fouling, etc., on .22s is the first thing that'll cause 'em to fail.. Strip it down, remove all crap, lube lightly and reassemble and you'll be right back in business 99% of the time..

Congratulations to your son!

Agreed. In a semi auto pistol, they crud build up can get to the point where you'll have problems. Not hard to clean this.
In a rifle, due to more vigirous actions, this is rarely a problem. E