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Hey guys.
Ok so basically, I used to shoot on a regular basis (usually once a week, for about a year and a half when I was about 11 years old (I went to the range with my Dad)). My dad only owned rifles though. No shotguns or pistols. We never went hunting, as neither of us were into the violent aspects of shooting, we only enjoyed target shooting, for marksmanship, because we enjoyed the simple fun of trying to aim really well and shoot more and more accurately with practice (much like people who go bowling enjoy getting more and more accurate at bowling as they practice, or people who play golf, etc). I was almost exactly as good as my father at rifle target shooting. We both shot with a .22 rimfire, and we both shot prone, with a sling (no sandbags or gun-rests or anything like that, as that would take all the fun/skill out of it, as you would no longer have to hold the gun steady if it was just sitting resting on something or whatever). I generally shot from a 50 foot distance to the target, and I had quite a few very good sets (I used aperture sites btw, no scope and shot at small I think it was 2 inch diamater targets). I think my best set of 10 ever was getting all 10 on the target, with like 5 shots inside the size of a U.S. quarter, and 3 shots within the size of a U.S. dime, and 2 through the same hole (it looked like an oval lol)). So anyway, I'm not exactly a novice to shooting or anything, and I was actually a pretty good shot. I think I got to the rank of Sharpshooter Bar-1 before I quit shooting, but probably could have gone all the way up to Distinguished Expert if I had stuck with it, though I became bored with it once I was 12 and entered Junior High and got more into playing video games with my friends, and playing sports etc.
However, since we only owned a .22 rimfire rifle, and a .22 centerfire rifle (this was our "toy" that we only shot 5 or 10 rounds with at the end of the day every so often more for amusement than anything (it was a custom built Anschutz that my dad made, with a special barrel with looser than normal rifling so that he could shoot these ultra rare low grain bullets that he put into cartridges that he loaded by hand (it was one bad as motherf***er of a rifle, shooting at, I kid you not, nearly 6,000 feet per second lol) the only times I ever got to shoot shotgun or pistol was when some random person at therange was friendly enough to let me try out his shotgun or pistol. So I only shot shotgun like 2 or 3 times ever, and I think pistol maybe 8 or 9 times. Probably 3 or 4 times I shot revolver, and 4 or 5 times I shot semi-auto. So I have shot less than 100 rounds of handgun in my lifetime, and it was about 11 years ago too...
Anyway,
My father has since passed away, but I found out that some of my best friends from high school are now heavily into target shooting, to my surprise (they didn't care for it at all when I knew them in junior high and high school). Apparently they don't shoot rifles though, only shotgun and pistol.
Personally I actually enjoyed pistol shooting the most, more even than rifle shooting, although I was a total novice on pistols, but I just thought it was the most fun form of shooting, though less pure of a marksmanship sport than rifle shooting I suppose, but more fun overall.
So now I want to buy my first pistol, so I can go out to the range with my friends and blast through a bunch of ammo while i learn how to get half decent on the pistol.
I do not however want to spend a bunch of money on the gun, and more importantly I DEFINITELY do not want to spend much money on the ammo. This is why I don't want to buy some big expensive pistol or anything for my first gun. I want a small, light, easy for beginners, .22 rimfire shooting pistol that is cheap, and can shoot cheap bullets, and won't break or need me to be very knowledgeable about pistols etc. Just something fun and easy to start out with while I blow through my first few thousand rounds.
After I've become decent on the pistol, I'll upgrade to something a lot nicer and more accurate etc, but I don't want that for my first gun.
Anyway, so from what I've seen, the two most talked about .22 caliber semi-autos that shoot cheap .22lr ammo seem to be:
1. The Walther P22
and
2. The Ruger mk3/ mk3-22/45
From what I've seen, in my very brief investigating:
The P22:
- Is lightweight
- Sexy looking
- Easier to take apart and put back together than the Ruger
- Is prone to having lots of FTF and FTE problems, particularly on low quality bulk ammo. (although I've heard that if you use CCI Mini Mags in them, they work just fine, and can even be "broken in" to where you can pump cheapo federal bricks through them afterwards?)
- Is fairly innacurate, even with the 5" barrel model
The Ruger:
- Is heavier (than the P22)
- Is ugly looking
- Is a major pain in the ass to take apart and put back together
- Is very well made and never breaks
- Is less finicky about crappy cheap bulk ammo (is this true?) in terms of FTF or FTE problems than the P22
Personally, I'm one of the few people who actually prefers a lighter weight gun to a heavier gun, so this edges me more towards the P22.
However, I am a bit disgruntled about stories of the P22 FTF or FTE'ing like 1 time ever 10 shots or something absurd, and having less accuracy than a coked-out Haitian spraying freehand in a drug war shootout with a freaking uzi or something.
So although most people tell me to go with the Ruger, I guess I am still on the fence.
So, here's what I'd like to hear from you guys:
1. What are your opinions on the Walther P22?
2. What are your opinons on the Ruger mk3 and mk3-22/45?
3. What are your opinons on any other .22lr semi-autos other than those above mentioned guns (are any of them even better that I'm overlooking?)
4. Would there be any sense in buyin a revolver if it is going to be my first pistol, and I'm going to be shooting .22lrs, and I don't want my gun to weigh too much? Are all revolvers, big, heavvy, expensive, and hard to learn on for a pistol-novice, or am I just being ignorant? etc
Ok, thanks in advance!
Ready go!
Ok so basically, I used to shoot on a regular basis (usually once a week, for about a year and a half when I was about 11 years old (I went to the range with my Dad)). My dad only owned rifles though. No shotguns or pistols. We never went hunting, as neither of us were into the violent aspects of shooting, we only enjoyed target shooting, for marksmanship, because we enjoyed the simple fun of trying to aim really well and shoot more and more accurately with practice (much like people who go bowling enjoy getting more and more accurate at bowling as they practice, or people who play golf, etc). I was almost exactly as good as my father at rifle target shooting. We both shot with a .22 rimfire, and we both shot prone, with a sling (no sandbags or gun-rests or anything like that, as that would take all the fun/skill out of it, as you would no longer have to hold the gun steady if it was just sitting resting on something or whatever). I generally shot from a 50 foot distance to the target, and I had quite a few very good sets (I used aperture sites btw, no scope and shot at small I think it was 2 inch diamater targets). I think my best set of 10 ever was getting all 10 on the target, with like 5 shots inside the size of a U.S. quarter, and 3 shots within the size of a U.S. dime, and 2 through the same hole (it looked like an oval lol)). So anyway, I'm not exactly a novice to shooting or anything, and I was actually a pretty good shot. I think I got to the rank of Sharpshooter Bar-1 before I quit shooting, but probably could have gone all the way up to Distinguished Expert if I had stuck with it, though I became bored with it once I was 12 and entered Junior High and got more into playing video games with my friends, and playing sports etc.
However, since we only owned a .22 rimfire rifle, and a .22 centerfire rifle (this was our "toy" that we only shot 5 or 10 rounds with at the end of the day every so often more for amusement than anything (it was a custom built Anschutz that my dad made, with a special barrel with looser than normal rifling so that he could shoot these ultra rare low grain bullets that he put into cartridges that he loaded by hand (it was one bad as motherf***er of a rifle, shooting at, I kid you not, nearly 6,000 feet per second lol) the only times I ever got to shoot shotgun or pistol was when some random person at therange was friendly enough to let me try out his shotgun or pistol. So I only shot shotgun like 2 or 3 times ever, and I think pistol maybe 8 or 9 times. Probably 3 or 4 times I shot revolver, and 4 or 5 times I shot semi-auto. So I have shot less than 100 rounds of handgun in my lifetime, and it was about 11 years ago too...
Anyway,
My father has since passed away, but I found out that some of my best friends from high school are now heavily into target shooting, to my surprise (they didn't care for it at all when I knew them in junior high and high school). Apparently they don't shoot rifles though, only shotgun and pistol.
Personally I actually enjoyed pistol shooting the most, more even than rifle shooting, although I was a total novice on pistols, but I just thought it was the most fun form of shooting, though less pure of a marksmanship sport than rifle shooting I suppose, but more fun overall.
So now I want to buy my first pistol, so I can go out to the range with my friends and blast through a bunch of ammo while i learn how to get half decent on the pistol.
I do not however want to spend a bunch of money on the gun, and more importantly I DEFINITELY do not want to spend much money on the ammo. This is why I don't want to buy some big expensive pistol or anything for my first gun. I want a small, light, easy for beginners, .22 rimfire shooting pistol that is cheap, and can shoot cheap bullets, and won't break or need me to be very knowledgeable about pistols etc. Just something fun and easy to start out with while I blow through my first few thousand rounds.
After I've become decent on the pistol, I'll upgrade to something a lot nicer and more accurate etc, but I don't want that for my first gun.
Anyway, so from what I've seen, the two most talked about .22 caliber semi-autos that shoot cheap .22lr ammo seem to be:
1. The Walther P22
and
2. The Ruger mk3/ mk3-22/45
From what I've seen, in my very brief investigating:
The P22:
- Is lightweight
- Sexy looking
- Easier to take apart and put back together than the Ruger
- Is prone to having lots of FTF and FTE problems, particularly on low quality bulk ammo. (although I've heard that if you use CCI Mini Mags in them, they work just fine, and can even be "broken in" to where you can pump cheapo federal bricks through them afterwards?)
- Is fairly innacurate, even with the 5" barrel model
The Ruger:
- Is heavier (than the P22)
- Is ugly looking
- Is a major pain in the ass to take apart and put back together
- Is very well made and never breaks
- Is less finicky about crappy cheap bulk ammo (is this true?) in terms of FTF or FTE problems than the P22
Personally, I'm one of the few people who actually prefers a lighter weight gun to a heavier gun, so this edges me more towards the P22.
However, I am a bit disgruntled about stories of the P22 FTF or FTE'ing like 1 time ever 10 shots or something absurd, and having less accuracy than a coked-out Haitian spraying freehand in a drug war shootout with a freaking uzi or something.
So although most people tell me to go with the Ruger, I guess I am still on the fence.
So, here's what I'd like to hear from you guys:
1. What are your opinions on the Walther P22?
2. What are your opinons on the Ruger mk3 and mk3-22/45?
3. What are your opinons on any other .22lr semi-autos other than those above mentioned guns (are any of them even better that I'm overlooking?)
4. Would there be any sense in buyin a revolver if it is going to be my first pistol, and I'm going to be shooting .22lrs, and I don't want my gun to weigh too much? Are all revolvers, big, heavvy, expensive, and hard to learn on for a pistol-novice, or am I just being ignorant? etc
Ok, thanks in advance!
Ready go!
I guess it's somewhere between 8k-9k rounds now with no issues aside from the occasional bulk round dud. 