Best .22lr pistol

[7.62x54R]

Ruger MK 3

[zhyla]

[CSACANNONEER]

The OP asked about "the best" .22lr pistols not "the worst". I do speak from experience. BTW, I did forget about mentioning the S&W 41. The 41 is an awsome gun it's just a bit pricey now-a-days.

[pennys dad]

Dang that Hunter is nice!!

[mauser]

Just throwing in my $.02 - The Ruger, IMHO, is the best bang for the buck, no pun intended. It's not cheap, but the quality, accuracy, and durability will pay for themselves over time. I have 2 Mark II pistols, one bull barrel, one target, and I would gladly pit either one against any other .22 on the market (except, perhaps, the TC contender....). If you are willing to go used, the Mark IIs are not that expensive either. No cocobolo grips, though....

Yes, they are a pain to reassemble, but once you get the hang of it, it's not bad.

If you are willing to go the revolver route, I think it's impossible to beat the S&W 617, incredibly accurate, and a trigger that would make a strong man weep with joy. Again, not cheap, but the quality and value are incredible.

-Mauser

[SalfromCal]

OH yeah! S&W 617 great .22 revolver but Mauser is right "not cheap". There is a SS up for auction at GunBrokers.com with no reserve. At the moment is going for $625.00 and still more than 9 days 'till the end of auction. Check it out! auction # 146600808

[cali-man]

Smith & Wesson 41 and I happen to have one for sale on the board for reasonable price. I have two and need only one. Trying to fund another hobby.

[SalfromCal]

I seen the one cali-man is selling, looks very clean and in excellent condition and the price is right. I'm very surprise still available.

[traptrix]

Here's another couple of choices.

S&W model 63. My wife's got one, I love it.

CZ 75 Kadet, I have the kit for my 75B, it's excellent.

[peter455]

Just ordered my 4th Ruger MK, just can't go wrong with these in any configuration.

[tay]

+1 for SIG Trailside.



My dream .22 handgun, Hammerli 215:

[gunn]

I was seriously considering a SIG trailside before I purchased by Ruger MKIII and the only thing that prevented me from pulling the trigger on it were the pricey PLASTIC magazines.

I ended up sticking with my MKIII and 3K rds later, I'm still quite happy with it.
-g

[BamBam-31]

I have the Sig Trailside Comp. Switched the Olympic grips for Essex sport grips, slapped an Ultradot on it, and it's one sweet shooting pistol for sure. IIRC, the 25 yd. test target that came with it was a sub 1/2" ragged hole. Thing is, as mentioned, mags are plastic and pricey, it's discontinued (although I believe Larry's Guns will still work on them), and you're not supposed to shoot high velocity ammo out of them for fear of cracking the slide. The last part is why mine rarely gets out to the range, while rare is a range trip w/o my TacSol Buckmark and a brick of bulk .22lr.

[cudakidd]

I tend to be a gun snob since money isn't the issue it was when I was young and broke!

I had a Ruger hated to disassemble it, shot OK but I upgraded to S&W 41(s) and never looked back, easy disassembly, interchangable barrels ( I have lots) and scary accurate...

Here's mine, Millet red dot on Clark Barrel with Hogue Tulipwood Ambi Target grips, the other one is 5" bull barrel, Hogue Kingwood Ami Target grips


I sent my 617 back to S&W for the bead blast, had minor work done, very accurate, fun to shoot for Bianchi Rim Fire class, JM Speed Grips, Bushnell Holosight



Or a classic model 17 with Craig Spegal crips,


All very nice choices.

[maxwellca21]

I have a ruger mark II with a 10 inch barrel and it shoots fantastic , if I want to do some bench shooting with a 22 I bring the contender pictured below . I have shot groups as small as .283 at 50 meters and have embarassed more than a few rifles with its performance.

everytime i look at this pistol...i just cant understand why people would buy this.