Reliable .22 pistols?

[Spyder]

You just cost me a hundred bucks!!!

...but saved me much more, as I'm not on the hunt for a PPT MkIV anymore!

[cudakidd]

my 617 and 63 are great, my two single sixes are built like a tank and shoot everything.

[Mr. Blue]

I’ve gathered that a solid wheel gun is the best way to get a 22lr to run reliably. Since getting my Buckmark back from browning I’ve about 1200 rounds through it. I’ve had 11 failures, not a huge deal as this gun is never intended on defending my life. However, intentions don’t always play out as we would like them to. That said, I think I’m going to take the whole thing down and see if I can smooth out the action at all. I hope I don’t lose parts and have to bring it back to the gunsmith.

[Chukar hunter]

I have a Mk2 bull that is a pretty good runner, but I like the reliability of my single six and also love my H & R 999 Sportsman . I think you would like the 9 shot capability of the 999.

[SomeGuy75]

S&W 617. I’ve never had any malfunction with it. Remington, Aguila, Winchester, Federal, CCI...you name it the 617 fires it.

I have 8 .22 pistols, the 617 wins by a mile.

[Someday]

Have you tried any Winchester ammo in your 617?

No, but I don't see why it wouldn't work; revolvers are pretty good at eating anything you feed them. I believe .22 Plinkster does a "what will work" video on the 617 and goes through several types of ammo. The ONLY ammo that I have ever had a problem with was Thunderbolts. One blew up in my gun. While it didn't harm the 617, it deformed the bullets in the other chambers (took me four. hour to clean that thing!). Of course I was also shooting my AA kit for my G19 and one round form that same batch messed up the barrel to the point that I actually had to replace the barrel on the AA kit! So far, that is the only ammo that I wouldn't take even if someone gave me a truckload of it!

[Mr. Blue]

Buck Mark purchased on January 27th, first 4000 rounds were great. I’d clean it every 300 rounds, without taking it apart. At around 5000 rounds it started malfunctioning every mag with every kind of quality ammo. Browning says to not take down the pistol for cleaning. I think this was my main issue, after went against their advice and took it apart, I cleaned out A LOT of carbon build up and it has run really well since. I think its a big mistake for browning not to help gun owners learn how to take apart their buck marks. When I spoke to them over the phone, they would give me no help but suggested I just send it to them.

[Joe95y]

I have a p22 target version and love it. Itll eat anything I feed it. Although I do get an occasional failure to eject after around 400 rounds.

[Can't buy anything here]

Wheel guns are always reliable, semi autos, sometimes.

True. But Sometimes, depending on the ammo, casings can stick really hard in my Model 17.

[Mr. Blue]

[TheFlash]

Love my Ruger MkII and also my two S&W 63's (new and old).
Can't go wrong with either of those...

[GeorgeMG]

I've got a little p22. I heard all the horror stories as well. But, after breaking it in, and using good ammunition, it's as reliable as any other 22 semi I've had.

[SkyHawk]

Paul Harrell did a video of the LCP II .22 eating everything he tried.

[ScottsBad]

I have a Ruger Mk II that has been amazingly reliable over the years, but I cannot speak to the newer pistols.

[slamfire1]

Well the first ones were a nightmare. I convinced a bud to buy a Ruger MKIII when they were new, I assumed it would be as good as my MKII. It was not. His was an early model where the loaded chamber indicator rested on the rim of the cartridge. That loaded chamber indicator knocked the case off the bolt face as the round was extracted and bud could not go through a magazines without having to clear a stove pipe or two. It was very frustrating. And then, we looked closer at the loaded chamber indicator and discovered that if you dropped the gun on it, or hit it, the force of the drop or blow would be transmitted directly to the rim of the cartridge. We decided that was dangerous. A gunsmith friend milled the flange off that thing and Bud's pistol ran reliably. Both of us were surprised that a major manufacturer would put out such a dangerous product.

But, the magazine disconnect made disassembly a problem. You had to insert the magazine and pull the trigger, and then you had to remember to remove the magazine. Separating the halves with the magazine in the pistol will result in damage to the magazine. The magazine disconnect also made reassembly a nightmare as you had to remember to insert, pull trigger, remove, it. Even with my MKII it takes multiple trigger pulls to align that hammer strut with the mainspring housing.

Because alignment of the hammer strut and mainspring housing is blind, even assembling my MKII gets to be frustrating. Plus the hammer strut is constantly getting itself stuck under a frame cross pin. Now, if I had X Ray vision, I could see the interrelationship of the parts and tilt the pistol just right, to get everything to align, but I don't. Unlike the other guy, when my space ship arrived on planet earth, I lost my X Ray vision! The MKI and MKII version were difficult enough to assemble, but the MKIII version is what forced Ruger to come out with the MKIV. That and competition with other brands which were not so difficult to assemble and disassemble.

However, the MKIII with the new loaded chamber indicator is a reliable pistol once assembled and will go bang. It is my opinion the best thing to do with a MKIII is buy the parts that convert it back to a MKII configuration, and I have Bullseye shooting buds who have done just that. It is the smart thing to do.

I think there are several features that make the Ruger MKI, MKII reliable, and the first is a great magazine. It is durable. I have handled other brands and they are not as rugged and easily get out of alignment. Also, Ruger created a robust ignition system, which is critical. His ignition system is powerful for a rim fire pistol. I love the trigger pull on my M41 but S&W, to achieve that wonderfully crisp trigger pull, installed a marginal mainspring. The M41 mainspring is not that powerful. Therefore 22lr ammunition that works perfectly well in rifles, and in my Ruger MKII, often gives misfires in the M41. Rifles have more robust ignition systems than pistols. I have had to search around for reliable pistol ammunition in my M41. Most of the good shooters are using SK, Eley, or Lapua pistol match ammunition, and I believe that the pistol match ammunition is make with more sensitive priming compound and a higher pressure curve, to function the pistol, than the rifle match. My rifle match ammunition has proved to be unreliable in my rimfire pistols.

I have a bud who bought a MKIV and he loves it. Maybe that is the best of the bunch, but I am keeping my MKII's