recs for a 22 target pistol

How good are you at woodworking? There are a slew of Toz-35 free pistols on GunBroker, but the grips are blanks - you get a big block of wood and carve away anything that doesn't fit you. But they are true Olympic-grade pistols.

I bought my Ruger MK1Target in 1976. 6 7/8 inch heavy tapered barrel

,and shot with a local pistol club until the anti gunners shut our range down. I put a set of Ruger thumb rest grips on it from the start. I shot a bunch of rabbits & squirrels with it over the years and I still own it. I runs any ammo I ever used in it and can't remember any malfunctions hdbiker

My FiL is 6'8" and owns many handguns. The one he is most accurate with is his Ruger Mark II. It has a long heavy barrel, maybe 8" or so. I wish I had a picture of it. He put these big wrap-around soft plastic grips on it so that it looks like a Star Wars blaster or something.

On some days I shoot my S&W K22 Masterpiece better than my Buck Mark. I very much wanted to own a S&W K22, Model 17, or Model 617 (all pretty much the same revolver), but they were out of my budget range. I patiently checked Gunbroker daily for about two months. Finally I won a bid on an old K22 that had finish wear and incorrect grips. The winning bid was around $440. Its trigger and lockup are excellent. I'm mentioning this just in case the OP was considering a revolver, but thought a good S&W was completely out of his price range. You get what you pay for, but sometimes you pay with knowledge and patience in addition to cash.

I got a "proper" set of grips for it, but put the pachmayrs back on because they fit my XXL hands so much better. (I am 6'6".)

I have a bunch of .22 handguns, of which most are plinker's, not target. If I were to pick out one that is the most accurate I would say the Ruger MKII with a 6 7/8 inch tapered barrel.. I've had it for decades and it shoot's as good as the day I bought it. The CZ Kadet kit would be close, but that's a whole different thing. There are some very good suggestions here.

Ruger mk 1,2,3 or 4. Yes, the mk 4 takes down easier but the previous series are available and will save you some $. I see the mk 3 field strip as the best of all because it separates the men from the manlets . It's really not that bad, but it's not great either.
If you want some style get a woodsman or an old high standard .

The "hype" says the KelTec CP33 is supposed to be a good target pistol. I can't wait to get my hands on one!



Of course KelTec has never been know for making "pretty" guns. Personally I will take functionality over pretty any day... but everyone has their own priorities.

Ruger Mark II 7 inch tapered target model. Haven't found anything to out shoot it. Beat some good shooters with it.

I have a Ruger 22/45 which due to its age has the same mechanism as the Mark II. It’s been reliable and it shoots to the point of aim. It feels good in my hand, and the overall feel when using it is that it is “solid”. I’ve had it for 25 years or so, put many thousands of rounds through it, and it’s had zero mechanical failures.

It is also the worst pain in the tail to clean of any gun that I have ever owned. There is a non-obvious trick when you reassemble one that you must do. If you don’t your gun will not go back together right. And if you persist in the wrong approach, you can actually completely lock up your gun. The fix for a lock up is simple, and there is at least one good youtube video out there that shows the trick clearly. For that matter, in one video a guy repeatedly reassembles a Ruger in about 20 seconds, so it can be done fast and easy. My experience has been that I clean it just often enough to forget the trick and that I have to periodically redo the video. YMMV, but for me life it too short to mess with the pain as there are lots of other good shooting .22s out there.

A friend has the Mark IV and it’s much easier to re-assemble. But he’s had to replace his main spring twice now. Ruger sent him a spring for free both times, and I’ve got no idea if he’s just had bad luck or Ruger got a bad batch of springs...

A couple of friends have Buckmarks and they are very happy with them. I also have a Walther P22CA (don’t get the CA version unless you have too) and it’s been fine. Unfortunately for it though, I also have a S&W Victory that I love. It shoots really well and it’s been 100% reliable through many thousands of rounds. I like the fiber sights quite a bit and it’s my “go-to” .22 at the range. I also have a new GSG-1911 (actually the SIG version) and it’s fun to shoot but not so much to clean. So far, the S&W is at the top of my little heap.

mainecoon said:

Thanks for the responses. That Model 41 is nice, but a bit outside my price range. The Buckmarks look great too.

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There are so many great options and a whole lot of good options. You'd said it would be your first handgun and you put a max budget, so value is at least a thought. I'd highly recommend a decent quality .22 with at least a 4" barrel. Don't worry about a target model until you a) know it's something you're actually going to like and b) convinced you can shoot better than your decent quality gun is capable, then move into the higher end. Only thing worse than a gun sitting around collecting dust is a really nice gun sitting around collecting dust. Even a Sig 1911 .22 or one of those GSG .22 1911. Large frame size and can be found pretty reasonably.

mainecoon said:

I've never owned a handgun but am thinking of getting a 22 target pistol. I have big hands and you know what that means: big gloves. I am looking for something with some style to it, not just a boring black gun. Would like to keep it under $600. Any suggestions?

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I like shooting a good .22 LR handgun. I've had several over the years, some of them are gone now but I still have my favorites. The model that I enjoy shooting the most and would be the last I'd voluntarily give up, is the Browning Medalist (or its standard-barreled sibling, the Belgium-built Challenger). If you are the type of guy who appreciates a pre-64 Winchester Model 70 more than you do a current model Ruger American or Savage Axis, the Belgium Brownings may appeal to you a lot more than do the Rugers, Buck Marks, Neos, and the like. That is, the Brownings may appeal to you beyond their outstanding accuracy and functionality. If you keep an eye out you can get a very nice one (not a museum quality one) for under $600. Here are three of them (two International Medalists with their slightly shorter barrels, and a standard Medalist without the forearm) along side some other 22s. These are what you can typically find in the $500-$600 range with a little diligence. For me, they are about 2x the cost of a Ruger or Buck Mark, about 4x the shooting enjoyment and satisfaction.

I’m probably far to late to this party, but I will say, the Beretta U22 NEOS:

1) doesn’t deserve to be counted among the Ruger Mark Series, S&W Victory, or Browning Buckmark. The action feel, cocking piece arrangement, and trigger feel just aren’t there. The takedown design is sort of nice, but it doesn’t make up for the shortcomings. It shoots straight enough, but they all do. There are reasons it is less popular, and resultingly less supported in the aftermarket.

And:

2) has far too small of grip for someone with large hands. My wedding ring is a size 13, I’m very uncomfortable in the grip of my U22, and the safety selector digs into the top of my thumb and index knuckles.

Personally, in rank of increasing expenditure, my money for a target 22 would rise from Ruger Mark IV, then S&W M41, and then a Feinwerkbau M93.

Ruger Mark IV but you need to budget about $100 for the required trigger improvements. Mainly it has to do with undoing the "lawyer interventions."

OP, everyone is just going to post what they like and what's in their budget, and will bypass your personal requirements... Just about all the options meantioned will work reliably. Many options meantioned are reliable, accurate, have decent warrenties and aftermarket support, and you'll more than likely will be happy and content.

My opinion is that you buy a base pistol within your price range, and then upgrade/customize to your liking when you can afford to if at all. Might find that you don't even need to customize/upgrade a thing. Whether it's guns, optics, knives, watches, cars, TVs, stereo systems, etc, you're always going to have the hardcore guys try to convince you that you need the most expensive and top of the line, and everything else is crap and/or won't work for you...

I personally went with a S&W Victory, and I have no regrets at all. I don't shoot competitively, and I do it just for fun. I don't need a $800-$1000+ 22lr pistol. Just like I just ride my crotch rocket to work or for fun, so I don't need and refuse to buy a superbike despite everyone on bike forums trying to convince me to just "save more" and go out of my budget.

High Standard Supermatic Citation

Smith & Wesson Model 617

Smith & Wesson K-22 Masterpiece

Taurus Model 96Target Revolver

Taurus 941 Target Revolver.

RUGER Single Six.

Charter Arms Target Pathfinder

Benelli MP90S.

https://www.ssusa.org/articles/2015/9/15/the-best-22-caliber-pistols-for-nra-bullseye/

https://www.google.com/amp/s/gundigest.com/handguns/best-22-pistol-available-today/amp

https://www.shootingandsafety.com/best-22-pistols/

Walther GSP.

Hämmerli 280

Feinwerkbau AW93

Browning Buck Plus UDX

What Styx said.

I have four 22 handguns that are more accurate than I am, None of them have any modifications. I don't think that I would shoot them any better if they did. All of them have good enough sights and triggers that my so-so shooting skills are already pretty much maximized. I bought all of them used, within the past five years. The Ruger Standard and Buck Mark were around $300 OTD apiece.

Any Buckmark with a UDX grip frame. They shoot great right out of the box.

Styx said:

My opinion is that you buy a base pistol within your price range, and then upgrade/customize to your liking when you can afford to if at all.

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That's exactly why I think the Ruger Mark (in all its iterations) is such a great choice. You get a decent base pistol at an affordable price, and then you can choose from an incredible assortment of aftermarket enhancements.

SIG/Hammerli Trailside Target model

(stock photo)


They have been discontinued for quite a while but they are very accurate and come with a good adjustable trigger.

If you look around you can eventually find a nice target model within your price range.

It took me about a year to find a like new one at a local gun show for $450 but I have been very pleased with mine.

Magazines and parts are a bit pricey though as Larry's Guns is the only supplier in the US.

Designwise, in that price range, nothing beats the Ruger Mark series. There is no slide which the sights are mounted on. The sights cannot shift relative to the barrel. You (the OP) said pistol, which eliminates all the revolvers mentioned. Plus a revolver has its own target problems, re: cylinder gap, etc. And before going through all the aftermarket "improvements" being offered, it really helps to determine whether any perceived problems are the cause of the mechanicals or the shooter. Simply firing a few hundred rounds can smooth out the trigger feel, instead of spending a couple hundred on new internals. I speak from experience in competition using my 50+year-old Mark 1 against someone using a VERY expensive German import (with a moving slide, gas ports, etc,) and not beating him by two points.

I ordered one of these 2 weeks ago. Because of all the gun buying frenzy caused by the virus it shipped yesterday. It cost just a few bucks shy of $600 shipped. It will be my first decent .22 handgun of many I’ve owned over the years