Best .22 Mag Revolver?

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Another option

An option that I haven't seen mentioned yet, given that a) you want a .22 maggie/LR revolver; b) you are worried about trigger pull; c) price is a factor; and d) recoil & weight must be manageable:

Go with a single action. Now stop laughing...I'm serious here.

It is what you want:
A) Either a Ruger or similar single action would offer the Mag/LR cylinder swap
B) Most SA .22s have a fairly light trigger pull.
C) On another revolver thread, is it Heritage Arms that is being mentioned for $120?
D) The SA revolver is one of the most natural pointers (ie point & shoot) guns ever made and in the .22 cal is fairly lightweight. While not as sexy as a Smith, it'll get the job done.

While it can be argued that a SA cannot be (re)loaded as quickly as a DA, I would assume you would keep this loaded in a handy yet safe place. The triple or quad click of a SA going into battery would stop any second-story man dead in his tracks. If those clicks are coupled with the roar of the .22 Maggie, he'll be looking for a clean set of shorts...assuming he gets out of the house with them still attached.

A 4" SA .22 Mag would fit the bill...and would be a LOT of fun to play with on a Saturday afternoon!!!

Skeeter Skelton frequently wore a SA while on duty as a cop. While he acknowedged that a DA may be better for a cop, there is nothing wrong with the SA for home defense. If you're worried about reloads, keep a few ammo stashes around the house. Have her practice the reload IMMEDIATELY after she shoots. One advantage that the Ruger has (albeit for 2x the price) is a reversing pawl, so you can reload a single round and then instead of having to cycle the cylinder all the way around for that live round to be under the firing pin, it can be backed up one spot and be ready to fire that extra, single shot.

Preacher Man
 
I would definitely encourage you to take a look at the 32 magnums. In spite of what you may have heard, the 32 magnum has nowhere near the recoil of even a standard pressure 38 special. My wife found the recoil of an airweight 38 objectionable, but has absolutely no trouble with an airweight 32 magnum. She now has three Smith & Wesson 431pd for her defensive needs. After spending a little time shooting hers, I liked the little buggers so good I bought myself a couple of 432pd (same gun only hammerless). I have not shot any of the taurus 32 magnums, but as they are heavier than the Smiths, they should be an even milder in recoil. I have turned no less than four other recoil sensitive shooters on to the 32 magnum with complete success, they all love it. I would definitely recommend finding one you could try out. If, however, you think even that might be too much, the 351pd is definitely not a bad option (I had one about a year ago). The only problem with the rimfire, is the trigger pull is definitely a little tougher, and if you lighten it much, misfires will occur. Just wanted to set the record straight on 32 magnum recoil, as I definitely have plenty of first hand experience with it to draw on. Federal 85gr hollowpoint 32 magnums have substantially less recoil than even a 110gr silvertip in a 38. If you can find a 32 mag to try out, I think you will like it.
 
Thanks very much for the input. I'm very tempted to go and pick up that taurus .32mag from the local gun shop...i learned that you can load the .32 mag with standard .32 s&w rounds too, further lessening the recoil, so there would be an alternative if the .32mag proved too harsh. I'll look very closely at the 431PD - i love my S&W's and am a bit apprehensive about jumping to Taurus -- creature of habit :)
 
.32 SWL is a real pussycat rond to shoot, and I would imagine that .32 Magnum's recoil wouldn't be much greater. Some .32 options are:
Taurus Ultralight (go to Gunblast.com to read a review)
Ruger SP-101
Smith & Wesson 431, etc (now discontinued)
Charter Undercoverette
 
I would also like to add that if you reload or have access to someone that reloads, that for the price of a set of dies, you absolutely can not go wrong with a 32 magnum gun recoil wise. Yes, you can fire 32 S&W long in a 32 magnum. By handloading the 32 long, you can bring the recoil all the way down to 22 magnum levels. Speer bullets has load data and instructions on their website for loading their 60gr 32 acp Gold Dot HP bullet into the 32 long cartridge. This is a very mild recoiling combination on par with a 22 magnum.(22magnum-50 gr bullet@ 890 fps from a 2 inch barrel vs. 32 magnum-60 gr bullet@ 800 fps from a 2 inch barrel). So as you can see, recoil is about dead even between the two, with the added advantages of being able to lighten the main spring and trigger pull without so much worry about reliable primer ignition. I should also add that although the Smith 431pd has been discontinued, you shouldn't have too much trouble finding a used one, and I am still finding new ones occasionally. I guess not too many people appreciate this guns usefullness. Hope this helps and let us know what you decide and how things turns out.
 
I'll go out on a limb and suggest a 22 LR Ruger Bearcat. I've read they work well for folks with bad arithritis in their hands. Small - the issue is whether a person can work the hammer.
 
Really tough trigger pull on the 317 for someone with compromised hand strength.
 
If i understand what you are wanting, a light gun with light recoil you might consider a S&W model 12 with a 4" barrel and some of the 125 gr Cowboy loads. The gun weighs about 24oz (alloy frame) and the light loads won't be any worse in recoil than a 32 mag with a LOT less blast. I see model 12s pretty regular on GB for aound 300-350 dollars.

The plus to a centerfire is the trigger pull can be lightened without as much chance of misfires. 22 mag cases are hard and need heavier trigger pulls for reliability

I have 4 32 mags, its my favorite round for a handgun. The blast from a full power round is LOUD. Excelent guns though.
 
Aside from .22WMR, there's another option for the recoil sensitive. Why not a K-frame S&W in .38 S&W (shorts,) like a Victory gun? You get that nice S&W trigger and very little recoil.

If it must be a .22 magnum, how about one of these? It's an H&R 676 double action .22LR/.22WMR convertible. The trigger's not bad, either. They're fairly common and pretty affordable on Gunbroker. $150 gets a nice one.

6inch67601w.jpg ​
 
I'm going to suggest you look hard at the .32's. In a J frame S&W the recoil of the .32H&R is very light and the .32Long is on par with a .22lr. I have a 432PD which is an airweight and it's a pleasure to shoot the hottest .32H&R's I can find. The new J frame they have out is for the .327 Federal Magnum but it can also shoot the H&R and the longs (shorts & acp's too) and it's ported so recoil on the smaller loads will be nothing.

Another option in the .32's is the .32acp, while it can be shot in a revolver due to its having a rim, you get more rounds in an automatic. A great gun for folks that have a hard time with a slide is the Beretta Tomcat, it has a flip up barrel so you never have to cycle the slide. Recoil is quite light as well.

Good luck with whatever you choose, hope your mother improves.
 
I know we are posting to the revolver forum, but your Mom's situation is pretty much addressed by the Beretta 950 Jetfire.

ImmaginiProdottiBeretta%5C2%5C9_elenco.jpg


Tip up barrel for loading rather than racking the slide. Single action trigger with limited travel. Just under ten ounces in weight unloaded. Reasonably priced. The .25ACP round isn't very exciting, but 8+1 of that it still beats harsh language. Best of luck to you.
 
one more vote for TOO HARD TO PULL THE TRIGGER on a .22 mag revolver... my Taurus is a brute in double action... sweet in single but then you have to pull that hammer back, which is JUST as brutal as pulling DA...

I don't mind these things at all.. I'm a big strong guy, it's kind of appealing even... but for her, not a chance. My wife can't do it, and she's a big strong girl on the south side of 50... she couldn't pull DA on my Taurus with BOTH hands..
 
I got a Ruger Single Six, At 10 yard it puts 1' groups in 22mag. Trigger pull is light and cocking the hammer is ight also. It is a single action bu is better than nothing. I have never had a miss fire put over 2,000 rounds though it.
 
Was at Gander Mountianand look the Tauras Pink lady 9mm and 40 cal the trigger pull was light and the 9mm had a light recoil. They are on sale this week to.
 
pk380 or p22 option

I own a sw 642 and pk380/p22 set. I had a trigger job done on the 642, while smoother, it is still a heavy pull. The pk380/p22 are practically identical in size, they offer more rounds than the 642, and will probably fit mom's hands better. A review on gunblast states that the pk380 is the easiest auto to rack the slide on, and I agree whole-heartedly. I don't know her proficiency with handguns, but she could keep the walthers condition 1 (cocked and locked) or hammer down in DA mode with a round chambered. The DA pull is not near as heavy as the 642. As far as whether to go 22 mag, 22lr, 380 or whatever, if she is able to get several rounds of 22lr into center mass it will probably get their attention.
 
Glad to see the resident necromancers are hard at work - there are several points mentioned for which I wanted to give my $.02

#1) The notion that 32 Smith Long = .22lr:

-FALSE-
No doubt this notion comes from the fact that a 32 long revolver has muzzle energy identical to a high velocity 22... But people subscribing to this are missing several things; not only are the 22 numbers from a rifle, but the other power formulas are being completely ignored.

* The 22lr HV, such as the CCI mini-Mag, has 1 newton per second of momentum and 120 foot punds of energy FROM A RIFLE. (40gr @ 1,200fps). The pistol specs are more like 1,025fps in a 6" barrel: that gives you a scant .8 Newtons / second of momentum & 75 foot pounds of energy. - Compare that to a 32 long handgun with 115 ft-lbs of muzzle energy and 1.35 newtons / second of momentum.

When you look are real handgun numbers, the 32 S&W long has 35% more muzzle energy, and 41% more momentum than a 22LR handgun.

#2) 32 H&R's have less recoil than 38 Special:

-True-
This is a mostly subjective matter, but here are the facts - using guns of comparable weight, (24oz J-frame) and middle of the road loadings for both calibers.

38 special / 32 H&R mag
Impulse: .61 / .48
Velocity: 13.11 / 10.31
Free energy: 4.01 / 2.48

The general consensus is CORRECT, the 32 H&R is lower in all 3 factors used to gauge recoil; nearly 1/2 the free recoil energy of a 38 special.

#3) 22 mag offers no better ballistics than 22LR in a revolver:

-FALSE-
Some have said that a 22 magnum gains you little ballistic advantage over 22lr. While the scope of the word "little" can be called into contention, I argue that it DOES in fact gain you advanage

Brass fetcher chronographed a 40gr Maxi mag @ 1,090fps from a 2.0" barrel. This is in fact faster than a 40gr Mini mag from a 6" barrel. The 30g version of the Maxi mag clocked 1,300 fps from the SAME 2" barrel - and proceeded to penetrate 14" of ballistic gelatin while experiencing significant tumbling.

Jeff Quin clocked a 5" Taurus, shooting the identical 30gr Federal load, at 1,450 fps. - this gives you 174ft-lbs of energy, versus the 75 of a handgun velocity 22LR; nearly a 100ft-lb gain.

I think the data is VERY clear - The 22 magnum revolver, even sub - 6", blows a 22LR handgun out of the water in every known measure of handgun effectiveness; muzzle energy / momentum / TKO / optimal game weight / One shot stop - WHATEVER you subscribe to, they all favor the 22 magnum over the 22lr.

Sources:
Brass Fetcher 22 mag 2.0"
22LR barrel length Vs. Velocity
Jeff Quin, Taurus 22 mag
Momentum calculator
Recoil calculator
 
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