Advice for my Father on .22lr pistol please

[Tcruse]

Yesterday my Father (72 years old, slight tremor in hands, aging eyesight, but no glasses/contacts yet) asked me if I had a preference over the S&W Victory or the Ruger mk IV. I told him the only experience I had with either was a rental mkIV that failed to feed or stove piped on nearly every shot. Otherwise I no relevant experience with either.

He followed up that question by expressing his desire to put a nice high quality reflex sight on a nice high quality target pistol that had a grip style as similar as possible to the old lugers.

So my question to you guys is if you were going to get a new .22lr target pistol with that Luger style grip, and add a great reflex sight on it that would really work for an older man's eyes, what combination would you go with? I personally would like it all to work as nicely as possible right out the box so he doesn't have to fiddle with it to much.

Also any recommendations for smooth feeding, and accurate .22lr ammo to pick up with that target pistol would be appreciated as well.

The Ruger MKIV is a really good target gun, and easy to add rail mounted low cost optic sight.
My preference would be a Sig P322 w/ Remo Zero sight, 20 round mags, handles even "cheap/bulk" .22LR well. It handles like the bigger Sig pistols (P320, P365XL)

 

[Howland937]

If the Black Mamba is in the budget, then by all means he should get one. Anything else just won't be in its class. I'd be more leaning toward one of the true classics like a Woodsman or M41, but those weren't mentioned as options. If forced to choose between the Victory and the MKIV, I like the Ruger better. But I'd buy a Performance Shop Victory. The things they claim come with are the things your dad would have to have done to the MKIV to really get it to shine. PC Victory can be found for around $750...unless you find a used MKIV, the cost of gun and add-ons will go beyond that (not counting the labor)

 

[Oninotaki]

Ladies and Gentlemen I would like to share with you an update on this topic.

My father and I over the holiday managed to get out to a range to test out/compare three .22lr pistols. A Phoneix Arms hp22a with 5" barrel and extended grip magazine, a H&R Sportsmen 999 and my father's new Volquartsen black mamba with 4.5" barrel, target grips, and Trijicon RMR Type 2.

All targets were shot at 15 yards.


The above target was shot with the sportsmen 999 with only 7 rounds chambered.


The above target was shot with the hp22a (and a few .410 slugs from an earlier test of a sight added to a barrel rib)


The above target was shot with the black mamba.

My father thanks you all for the target pistol advice. He really enjoys his black mamba, it has been a total game changer for him. Since his retirement last year he has been struggling to find a platform that will help him achieve the precision level that allows him to enjoy target shooting.

I thank you all for the advice because watching my father go from frustrated with a hobby to enthusiastic is a real pleasure. He has gone from only wanting to shoot in private every few months, to finding a nice range, getting a membership, and planning to go shooting once a week. It's gotten him out of the house, and is giving him and my mother something they can do together that's not just walking around a mall, seeing a movie, or taking a drive. Most importantly it's bringing a level of excitement and interest to him that I haven't seen since he retired. Now he plans on trying to get as accurate with the sportsman 999 at 15 yards as he is with the mamba, and seeing how far out he can take the mamba and get similar results.

Finally my mother sends her thanks () because now my father is looking at getting a Volquartsen rifle. Everything on this target was shot with a rented ruger 10/22 at 15 yards. He was impressed enough with that that he is already wondering how much better he could get with the Volquartsen version

 

[Russ57]

Nice ending and thank you for circling back. Great to see a son get so much enjoyment from seeing his dad get some (no pun intended). Might be corny as heck but I'm going to say it, "You are a good son".

If you dad wants to be competitive in NRA sanctioned matches he doesn't want a 10/22. If he wants a plinker/hunter then a 10/22 is fine. Considering what he spent on the pistol, and his target, I'd wager he wants more than that. Shooting in matches means he needs to go every week and he should practice at least twice a week. Those all sound like good goals right now and believe me he isn't too old. Next on the list will be a 1911 in .45 ACP.

There were some fantastic .22 target rifles made back in the 50's and 60's. IMHO the three best affordable ones are Remington 37 or 40X, Winchester 52, and Anschutz (1411/1413). With a little luck you get one under $1,000 and they are all capable of shooting dime sized groups at 100 yards. I have a Remington 40X and an Anschutz 1413. I was competitive with guys shooting rifles that were five+ times as much (Because I paid $500 for my Anschutz 1413). These guns are of such a quality that you grandson will give it to his grandson. The early 50's Hammerli is probably even better. The real Swiss guns always were but the price was three times as much back then.

On a budget, the Mossberg 144 and Remington 513T are nice performers and way better than a 10/22 as they were target rifles. Stay away from the Kimber 82.

The 999 will never do what the Ruger Mark X/Mamba will do. It is however a surprisingly good revolver for what it is. If you could find someone to work on the trigger it would help. Still I wouldn't advise your dad to waste time on it. Might lead to developing bad habits when he could be developing good ones with the Mamba.

Now good Son (if you won't buy me a Pardini) at least go get us 5,000 rounds of CCI standard .22 LR. We need the stuff in the plastic boxes not the paper boxes. We got a lot of practicing to do and I need to see what you can do at 25 and 50 yards.

 

[Howland937]

On a budget, the Mossberg 144 and Remington 513T are nice performers and way better than a 10/22 as they were target rifles

We were singing the same tune, until this part.
I've had both and while both are perfectly capable they're no longer the budget target rifles they used to be. For the money they're fetching now, you absolutely CAN put a 10/22 together that'll keep pace. With a waaaaay better trigger (not a lot you can do with the 5-teen series Rem triggers), cheaper mags, and repair/spare parts available about anywhere. Heck, I sold my 513T for enough to buy a new CZ Jaguar...But I didn't buy one. And for the record, I own zero 10/22's and have zero interest in getting another.

OP. Glad your father found what he was looking for, even if he didn't know he was looking for it til he found it. My dad has a few .22 target pistols and shudders every time I mention slapping an optic on one...even though he watches me shoot the 4" steel target at 50 yards with a TX22/Holosun 507 Comp. He was gifted a P322 and I have a 1st version Trijicon RMR lying around, so I may borrow his pistol and surprise him one day.

 

[sparkyv]

Great follow up. Hard to go wrong with the Black Mamba!

Fun target! From where can that be had?

 

[sparkyv]

Double post.

 

[sparkyv]

Double post

 

[Russ57]

Howland937, you are right. I should have checked current pricing before I spoke.

 

[fallout mike]

I bought this not long along and have been very happy with it. I added the Vortex Viper on it because my eyesight is horrible now. I would highly recommend this for your father.