Input on gettin the right (or a good) .22

[Bullcoop]

[nimbus]

I have a Ruger 22/45. It is awesome and has run over 10k rounds over the two years I have had it. Browning Buckmarks are good too but the Ruger was cheaper.

[Kodachrome]

I have a couple of Ruger MKII's. Blue and stainless, the aftermarket parts availability is very good with Rugers. Same with magazines. My friend had a Buckmark and had problems trying to find mags for his. It is a very reliable pistol and as for cleaning once you learn the trick for dis-assembly and re-assembly its no problem.
Good Luck.

[shooting4life]

S&W, no magazines to worry about


Or Dan Weason

If you insist on an auto loader then I would get a browning buckmark

[BajaJames83]

take a look at the walther P22, when they first came out they had magazine problems but that has been feixed long time ago, love mine shoots good....

[jben]

Another vote for the Ruger 22/45.

Less expensive than most of the others. VERY accurate. Controls and grip angle mimic a 1911 so you can practice for cheap.

The only downside to a 22/45 I can think of is mine doesn't like to run dirty.

[Red Devil]

Have Two (2)...

A Ruger Mk. II automatic w/ the 6-7/8" target Barrel and sights... Simple, easy to field-strip and clean, and shoots Quarters at 25 yards.

And a High Standard Sentinel R-101 9-shot revolver w/ the 4" barrel... my "ugly duckling"... Alloy frame, light weight, and shoots ~ 2"-3" at 25 yards.

Got it at a big-time pawn-shop during a "50%-off-everything" wknd sale a hundred years ago. It was originally $150 so it was marked down to $75. The bore was full of what looked like rust and the gunsmith on site couldn't clean it up even using a brass bore brush... so he sold it to me for $50 bucks. (it was goin' to be a tackle-box pistol anyway) Got it home, put some hoppe's #9 in the bore and soaked it for ~ an hour, ...then ran a stainless steel military 5.56 bore brush through it once. Turns out the fouling was caramelized cardboard fibers and some sort of resin...

...the bore turned out to be damn near brand new w/ zero (0) rust or pitting.

It is now my "light" pistol in the field and a lot of fun to shoot at the range.

[SandDiegoDuner]

I'm partial to the S&W 22A. I've shot a countless ammount of rounds through it and the only part that has let me down was the firing pin after 10 years of shooting. It was a 3 dollar part on brownells and less than 5 mins to fix. It is definitely as accurate as I can shoot (I have hit clays laying on the side of a hill at just over 100 yards away... 5 out of 10 shots with the stock fiber optic sight).

I also like the Buckmark but you have to unscrew the top part of the barrel to remove the slide assembly for cleaning.

If you live in SD I will let you blast away with mine to get a feel for it.

[BayouBullets]

Ruger mark II, Buckmark for auto's
High standard for cost. Really good revolvers are available, but price will become a factor. There's a reason you keep hearing these exact same answers from everybody, every time someone asks this post.

[22popnsplat]

I have a ruger mark II that has been worked over and a mark III with all the trick parts in it that at a cost that you could buy a nice used Smith 41 for , I did a trade for a old smith 41 and shot it last weekend and I like it much more than the rugers .

[rogervzv]

A Ruger Mark is impossible to beat. Not at all hard to clean once you get the hang of it. Wonderful quality weapons. I have three and I'm not done yet!
Ruger Single Ten or Single Six are great fun.

[PanaDP]

In my opinion, if you get a ruger mark 2 or 3, 22/45, single six, or a 10/22 then you have a good .22 and the right .22.

[rogervzv]

In my opinion, if you get a ruger mark 2 or 3, 22/45, single six, or a 10/22 then you have a good .22 and the right .22.

Yes, if we are also talking rifles, the 10/22 is iconic.

[Go Navy]

Ruger Single Six, interchangeable cylinders for either .22LR or .22Mag. (Top handgun in the picture.)

[Bullcoop]

Agreed. The 10/22 is iconic.

Forgot 1 part of my criteria. As this will be a teaching tool, revolvers are out, I am going to use the firearm mainly for plinkin' and teaching the functions of "standard" semi-auto pistols. I'll explain single vs double action and all the little nuances of different semi-pistols later, I just need one that basically functions like the average g.i. issue pistol.
I dont need to get as fancy as like the .22 conversions of the 1911 for $1300!

Heres is a good example, if the Ruger 22/45 had a "regular" slide it would be perfect.

BC