New Shooter

[Zeroe]

Hey everyone, I've been looking at buying a handgun. I was wondering if I could get everyone's help. I was looking to get a .22 LR handgun semi-auto, however I've looked at a few guns already and I'm not sure. I was looking at the Browning buckmark camper and the ruger mark III but I didn't like the way it felt in my hands.

I was looking at a Sig Sauer 1911-22 but then I heard that there was a few problems with cracking on the barrel and causing an explosion (don't mean to be dramatic but that's what has been said). After their problems with the gun, they said that the company would not replace the gun.

All in all I just would like your opinions and own experiences to help me in this. If it matters, I'm used to rifles that is what I mainly shoot.

Thanks in advance!

[Sigfan220]

I assume the slide split/cracked, a 22lr wouldn't have enough power to crack a barrel. There should be some pics on MNGT, I know this has hapened to others.

I am a Ruger guy, MKII not MKIII but plenty of guys shoot the MKIII's. I like the all steel construction of the Rugers. They are a little tricky to clean the first couple times after that you will get the hang of it. I don't have anythings against Browing, I am just a Ruger guy.

There are a bunch of different grips for the Rugers. I like the 22-45 vs the standard. Plus you can get some wild stuff if you want, they have been around forever so parts are easy to come by.

[rugershooter6823]

I own the sig 1911 .22 and like it! Granted I've only ran a few hundred rounds through it. Bit flawless performance so far! I did use cci mini mags though. Thats what the suggest to use so i figured i would for break in period then switch to regular .22 and see how they perform. My father in law has a browning buck mark. And has had to send it in for ftf And light striking.


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[Countryfried Frank]

You might like the Ruger 22/45. It has a more upright grip that some people prefer. Another one you might like to try is a Smith and Wesson 22A or if your budget permits a model 41. I've also heard that the Ruger SR22 is minimally ammo sensitive but I have no personal experience with it.

[ZardozCZ]

I'm a new shooter (in 30+ years anyway) in this past year myself. More familiar with .22 rifles. A colleague got me interested in shooting at the .22 pistol league at Metro last autumn. I had my father's 1940's vintage High Standard Model B so figured why not? It would help me improve my skills. Except the dumb gun needs new springs as it loved to FTF, FTE, and for fun, drop the mag! I got so frustrated I was asking what a Ruger would cost, when a fellow came around asking if anyone might be interested in his S&W Model 41.

He brought it the next week and let me shoot with it, and my score improved by 200 points! I didn't know what it was when he first mentioned it but by the looks of the others at the table, I figured I'd check it out. Expensive. Accurate. Holds resale value like gold bullion. I figured I could at least finish the league and get my money back. Nothing doing. It's a keeper. It shoots so well it has a lot to teach me yet about shooting. If I had to go out and feed myself with small game, I'd use it first, leaving my rifle home.

My colleague needed to repair his Ruger, so tried the 41. He shot his best match with it, and didn't even take the see-through lens covers off the red dot! Now that's saying something. It also is fussy about what you feed it. Like so many others, I find that CCI Standard Velocity works well, so I'm sticking with that. I also had a trigger problem after cleaning that messed with me for a bit until I figured it out.

So you didn't mention what type of shooting you're looking to do with a .22 pistol, but if you want a precision shooter, it might be hard to do better than the S&W 41. Certainly avoid neglected abused 75 year old High Standards unless your'e driving nails, with the butt!

[XDM45]

Hey everyone, I've been looking at buying a handgun. I was wondering if I could get everyone's help. I was looking to get a .22 LR handgun semi-auto, however I've looked at a few guns already and I'm not sure. I was looking at the Browning buckmark camper and the ruger mark III but I didn't like the way it felt in my hands.

I was looking at a Sig Sauer 1911-22 but then I heard that there was a few problems with cracking on the barrel and causing an explosion (don't mean to be dramatic but that's what has been said). After their problems with the gun, they said that the company would not replace the gun.

All in all I just would like your opinions and own experiences to help me in this. If it matters, I'm used to rifles that is what I mainly shoot.

Thanks in advance!

If you ever want to fire off a few mags from my Ruger Mark III 2245, it's an open offer to you or anyone on here, just let me know.

[mc762x54R]

+1 on the Rugers...they shoot every brand of ammo I ever tried..accurately..and to the same point of impact

Having a 22 that only likes expensive CCI ammo is very frustrating..

I have a Sig Mosquito too..and the slide cracked in half one day..they fixed it..for like $50 shipping...but come on. The barrel is super thin compared to the Rugers..and the rear sight isnt elevation adjustable.

[commonguy001]

I'm new on the board but shoot fairly often and own both a Ruger MK III and Buckmark Camper.
Both shoot really nice and eat pretty much any bulk ammo you feed them.
I prefer the Ruger as I like how it tears down (a bit tricky but I like that about it) but the Buckmark shoots just as nice, both are very accurate.
If it's a grip feel thing both guns come in multiple grip variations and you can get target grips for a few bucks too if that's what you didn't like. I have wood grips on both mine and really like the way they feel.

Pretty sure you can rent nearly any 22lr at Bills if you wanted to try before you buy.

[sgruenhagen44]

In my experience the sigs like the CCI stuff. Which IMO defeats the purpose of buying a .22 you might as well buy a 9mm. Plus if you really get into it you will probably want something larger anyway. I had a S&W 22A and loved it. Shot it a ton with cheap ammo and 99% of the time it ran fine. Anyone who tells you they have a .22 auto that has NO FTE or FTF is a liar. I have yet to see it. It's kinda funny, when I bought my 22A how many years ago it was $220 bucks out the door.

[Special Projects]

I have a Sig Mosquito. It is an accurate pistol and has been 100% reliable with CCI MM. That said, if I knew then what I know now it would be the S&W Model 41 or a Ruger Mk if $ was the driving factor.

[XDM45]

I'm new on the board but shoot fairly often and own both a Ruger MK III and Buckmark Camper.
Both shoot really nice and eat pretty much any bulk ammo you feed them.
I prefer the Ruger as I like how it tears down (a bit tricky but I like that about it) but the Buckmark shoots just as nice, both are very accurate.
If it's a grip feel thing both guns come in multiple grip variations and you can get target grips for a few bucks too if that's what you didn't like. I have wood grips on both mine and really like the way they feel.

Pretty sure you can rent nearly any 22lr at Bills if you wanted to try before you buy.

Did you remove the magazine disconnect on it yet?

[wrench]

I've got a few .22s, but my everyday go to pistol is my Browning Buckmark. Reliable, accurate, great trigger, mags are easy to find and reasonably priced.
If you like the feel of the Ruger MkIII, I wouldn't talk you out of it, but mine needed a lot of work and $$ to be as nice as the Browning.

[commonguy001]

I'm new on the board but shoot fairly often and own both a Ruger MK III and Buckmark Camper.
Both shoot really nice and eat pretty much any bulk ammo you feed them.
I prefer the Ruger as I like how it tears down (a bit tricky but I like that about it) but the Buckmark shoots just as nice, both are very accurate.
If it's a grip feel thing both guns come in multiple grip variations and you can get target grips for a few bucks too if that's what you didn't like. I have wood grips on both mine and really like the way they feel.

Pretty sure you can rent nearly any 22lr at Bills if you wanted to try before you buy.

Did you remove the magazine disconnect on it yet?

I did along with the LCI

The buckmark was better out of the box but I like to tinker so the bushing mod along with removing the LCI didn't bother me at all.

[OldmanFCSA]

"Did you remove the magazine disconnect on it yet?"

"I did along with the LCI"
================================================

I'm not a pistol guy and a Ruger III owner.

Please explain the modifications, and why.

I did modify a Mark II Volquartsen rubber target grip to fit mine, like the feel with my big hand, but getting the magazine out is a pain - it won't fall out when released, needs a push from top.

[XDM45]

"Did you remove the magazine disconnect on it yet?"

"I did along with the LCI"
================================================

I'm not a pistol guy and a Ruger III owner.

Please explain the modifications, and why.

I did modify a Mark II Volquartsen rubber target grip to fit mine, like the feel with my big hand, but getting the magazine out is a pain - it won't fall out when released, needs a push from top.

When you remove the magazine disconnect in a Mark III, the magazine will freely and fully eject vs only going out 1/4" of an inch. Also, once the magazine disconnect is removed, the magazine will seat itself better inside the gun. Before removing it, my Mark III had some major feeding issues compared to now. Next I'd like a set of new grips for it, but that's about all that gun really needs for any kind of upgrades (at least for me.)