New .22 LR ffor the wife, second thoughts.

[wetdog1911]

Mentioned this more than a few times. I WAS gong to get her a Ruger LCP II in .22LR and still might.

But now, I keep seeing reviews and such on the newish 'Bar keep' in .22LR and thought it may be a better choice for her. She does have a 1911 under the bed and shot 1911s growing up. Dad was a WW II combat vet and kept guns through the house. They also lived in a Natl forest on a lake. Lots of 4 legged bity critters around. The 2 legged came much later.

Anyway, I was thinking that the Barkeep might be a better choice over the LCP II AFA reliability. Revolver over the bottom feeder plus, the SAO mostly cuts out the 'spray and pray' that could easily happen with a auto in a very stressful situation.

Considered opinions would be welcomed. Experience, even more so.

Thanks Guys!
Rob

[hittman77]

I’m a big long time Ruger fan. I had a 22LR LCP-II. Sold it, took a loss and still glad it’s gone.

Reliability is hit and miss .... tried many different brands and types of ammo and 3 different Ruger brand factory mags. The only thing consistent was its unreliability.

In the vast majority of times, semi-auto 22s are “hit and miss” and this gun was no exception.

I’m sure not all of Rugers polymer “LC” series guns are junk but all of them I owned have been.

[HOUSTON RICK]

What about the S&W 22A or 22S? This 22S has been reliable fun plinker for 20+ years. They can be found used and if not abused are very good guns. My other 22 lr handgun is a Ruger Single Six. Good luck.

[wetdog1911]

Issue settled, more or less.

She does NOT want a SAO pistol and stated her preference for a bottom feeder. She was less than impressed with either one of my M34-1s (too heavy), or, the M43Cs trigger. But did like the light weight of it.

The LCP II .22LR sure does seem to check all the boxes. Lightweight and easy to manipulate are her main requirements.

Rob

[jaguargolf]

How about a 317 ? 8 shot 22LR.

[dmthomp32]

I'd through out the Ruger SR22, they have shorter and longer barreled variants. However they have a much better reliability report than the LCPII. I've owned two and they both ran ammo very well. I only sold them as I moved away from the DA/SA setup.

Sent from my Pixel 3a XL using Tapatalk

[wetdog1911]

Originally Posted by jaguargolf

How about a 317 ? 8 shot 22LR.

NICE!!!

But, too expensive for the intended duty, to lay on the floor under her bed and.... I wouldn't do that to a 317.

Rob

[Rpg]

Take a look at the Beretta 21A 22 lr .

[MG-70]

I don't know if you mentioned whether it was for plinking, animal control, or self defense. The recommendations will differ. I've had the luck of having owned quite a few modern .22LRs.

If for self defense, I would opt for a traditional double/single action. In a pistol, I can think of no better option than a Beretta 87 Cheetah, perhaps followed by the easier to source, and less expensive Bersa Thunder/Firestorm 22. Another good option is a CZ 75 Kadet, which has been discontinued, but available as a caliber conversion if you own a CZ75 pistol frame. In a revolver, without a doubt a 4" S&W 617.

If for plinking or animal control, then I feel comfortable recommending a single action. In this case, my favorite is a 4.5" Ruger MKIII Hunter, although I have not owned a MKIV, which is said to be at least as good. Another favorite is a Browning Buckmark. I have not fired a Ruger Single Six, or 10, that was accurate to my satisfaction, so I cannot recommend one, even though I am a big Ruger fan.

Good luck with your search!

[Delta Rose]

What about a Ruger LCR22? Lightweight, comfy grips, eight shots, far cheaper than a 317, and so ugly you will actually want to hide it under the bed.

All joking aside, great little revolver....

[VaTom]

Originally Posted by dmthomp32

I'd through out the Ruger SR22, they have shorter and longer barreled variants. However they have a much better reliability report than the LCPII. I've owned two and they both ran ammo very well. I only sold them as I moved away from the DA/SA setup.

Sent from my Pixel 3a XL using Tapatalk

Agree with SR22. Mine runs flawlessly. Have had it since they first came out.

[walkinghorse]

Originally Posted by Delta Rose

What about a Ruger LCR22? Lightweight, comfy grips, eight shots, far cheaper than a 317, and so ugly you will actually want to hide it under the bed.

All joking aside, great little revolver....

I have one and have been pleased with it, except it does have a heavy trigger pull!
Per previous discussions here and discussion with Ruger, the heavy pull is required for .22 rimfire ignition. My wife's LCR. .38 special has a very nice trigger pull for comparison. Both are DA only and there is a newer version with both SA and DA and an exposed hammer.

[Warren Sear]

"Hey, I got a .22 LR for the wife. Pretty good trade, don't you think?"

[JohnRippert]

From what I have been seeing online, the LCP II .22LR is either perfect from the get go or it has light strike issues. Mine has had light strikes and I found a spring kit that is supposed to take care of those. It is installed but I have not made it to the range yet to test. The positive reviews seem to far outweigh the negative so you should have a very good chance of getting a good one. Here is a link to the kit if you get her the LCP II and find it needs one.

Performance Spring Kit for Ruger LCP II Lite Rack Pistols > Galloway Precision

[H Richard]

I also thought about the LCP2, .22 and heard too many dissatisfied comments. I tried a Walther PPK .22, and not impressed. Then recently found an older (1950's) Beretta 948, all steel pocket .22. Equal accuracy or better, 100% functioning with ALL kinds of 22LR, standard velocity up to ultra velocity (1400+ fps) great trigger, nice size. I'm happy with it.

[Heinz]

I had a Smith 22A. The worst modern gun I have ever owned. That pistol never emptied a five-round magazine and I tried every 22 LR brand I could find. Smith offered to rework it but said it would still be "finicky" Decided to trade it on a Walther P22. The P22 works fine. My wife loves it, almost as much as her Model 19 with a 6 inch barrel

[dwh]

Take a look at the browning 1911-22. My wife is recoil sensitive and will only shoot 22lr handguns. It’s been 100% reliable feeding and ejecting. We’ve had some failures to fire with bulk ammo, but none with mini mags, stingers, or velocetators. Good luck to you.

[beagleye]

I have a 4" star pistol in 22lr. It almost never malfunctions.

[GeoJelly]

I may have missed the comment or comments on this one, but the M&P .22 Compact sounds like it has her name on it. Very lightweight, fairly small, and I have never had a functioning problem with either of the two I have owned (gave one to a less fortunate friend a year or so ago). You can decrease the odds of ammo problems by using Stingers in it for HD. I’ve seen elsewhere, and I think it is true that they have a separate priming line for Stingers and I have never had a Stinger fail to ignite on the first try. Regarding the SR 22, I have been burnt twice and will never touch another one. It’s the only pistol I have owned that was not 100% (feeding-wise) with Stingers.

[LVSteve]

Beretta Neos for the Sci-Fi look?

[Chukar60]

Originally Posted by dwh

Take a look at the browning 1911-22. My wife is recoil sensitive and will only shoot 22lr handguns. It’s been 100% reliable feeding and ejecting. We’ve had some failures to fire with bulk ammo, but none with mini mags, stingers, or velocetators. Good luck to you.

I bought a Browning 1911-22 about 6 months ago just because I loved the way it felt in my hand and the scaled 1911 design.
Thus far after a about 1K rounds, no issues. No jams and the only FTF’s were run back through the gun and were found to be short the priming compound. Still not a gun I would want for SD.
As for a single action revolver for defense? Maybe if the perp is a paper target it would be OK.
People seem to forget when when the stuff hits the fan, you want something that requires no thinking to shoot. That means a semi auto that does not need cocked or the safety taken off or a DA or DA/SA revolver. Draw and shoot nothing else to think about.
To my thinking this eliminates any 1911 style pistol. Cocked and locked requires you to flip the safety. Too much to remember when staring death in the face. Give me a DA/SA revolver or a striker fired semi auto.

[TennTony]

Originally Posted by dwh

Take a look at the browning 1911-22. My wife is recoil sensitive and will only shoot 22lr handguns. It’s been 100% reliable feeding and ejecting. We’ve had some failures to fire with bulk ammo, but none with mini mags, stingers, or velocetators. Good luck to you.

Totally agree. Especially since you said she is familiar with shooting a 1911. Should fit her hand well. Love mine.

[cherrypointmarine]

I bought ny wife a 60-9LS , a 3913&14LS , which she loves . Plus a 30 & 31 . I then got her a Ruger SP101 in 32mag . Now she can shoot 32 and 32mag in the same pistol . They are both good rounds for women , the 327 is pretty hot . It's not much fun out of a small frame like the SP101 .

[Marshal tom]

Not a big fan of .22 anything for defensive purposes due to the unreliable ignition issues and general lack of power but it is a must for some people. I would have her consider a .22 mag as well for better power and less unreliable ignition issues. Rock River has one out in a 1911 that I have shot and it is pretty good. Also consider the Browning in 380. Two of my students have that gun and it is a great shooter about the same size as the .22 Browning 1911. Both the M&P 2.0 compact and the Glock 44 are winners as well and seem to be very reliable and shootable. I would purchase a Browning Cheetah model 87 as mentioned above in a heart beat if I could find one. Purchased one for the wife several years ago and sold it. I would love to have it back. They ar no longer produced and are quite expensive if you are lucky enough to locate one.

[Bozz10mm]

I think the Smith and Wesson M&P 22 Compact is an excellent rim fire hand gun. I put 225 rounds through mine the first day without a single hiccup. It is lightweight and easy to operate.

[OLDSTER]

Originally Posted by Rpg

Take a look at the Beretta 21A 22 lr .

My DIL carries one in her purse. Great little gun. HOWEVER, as with all small .22 LR pistols ( any pocket pistol in any caliber for that matter),is very ammo sensitive. Only CCI Mini Mags.

[mikerjf]

(Covering head, assuming defensive posture) Taurus PT-22. If you get a good one they are cheap, reliable, DAO, require no racking (good thing!) Even available in metal or plastic. They have a thumb safety but with the DAO it's not really required.

Just run a bit of your ammo thru it. Most of them work just fine. Major downside is tiny sights.

If you have too much money, you could even look for a PT-25 and side-step the primer issue, but I'd prefer Velociters over 25acp.

[Rammer Jammer]

My LCP 22 has been great out of the box.

Yes there have been mixed reports but remember that these negative reports get amplified online and it happens to almost every gun from any manufacturer. You may read 10, 20 whatever amount of guys disappointed with their gun. There are also thousands of buyers not posting on gun forums about their guns that do work.

If she is not going to carry it skip the LCP and go for something bigger like an SR22 or M&P Compact.

[oneeyedpete]

The easiest .22 auto to own bar none is a Browning Buck Mark. Mine has never jammed or failed to feed with every known .22 ammo in the universe. It is also remarkably accurate and has a very decent factory trigger. I have used it to help my wife and daughter's friends to learn to shoot a pistol and they all love it as newbies. I then ease them into my Model 10 heavy barrel in powder puff loads. They make a nice 4" barrel model if your wife want something easier to carry.

[wetdog1911]

Originally Posted by dwh

Take a look at the browning 1911-22. My wife is recoil sensitive and will only shoot 22lr handguns. It’s been 100% reliable feeding and ejecting. We’ve had some failures to fire with bulk ammo, but none with mini mags, stingers, or velocetators. Good luck to you.

Truth is, it doesn't impress me all that much, but I'm spoiled.

I have a Colt Series 70 Service Model ACE AND a Series 70 complete top end in .45acp for when it wants to bulk up. Both were amazing deals that I fell into years ago. The SM ACE was $600 due to a divorce and the Series 70 top end was a refinishing blunder (over polished roll marks, but perfect internals.....$75. Going for 4-5 times that right now. gets shot regulary, mostly .22 lr. Not interested in a scaled down copy, still, not a bad idea.

Rob

[Retired W4]

You can run snake shot through a revolver for the belly crawlers with no worry about malfunction. Two shot shells and the rest mini-mags.

[hardknocks]

Bought one for the wife, runs perfect with 4 brands of ammo. 1911 style safety 13 ounces empty. Got the P17 for 200 bucks.
The keltec P32 has pretty light recoil and the three i have or have had never once jammed.
The only 2 keltecs i ever took a chance on.
YMMV.
Good luck

[cyphertext]

Taurus TX-22. 16 + 1, mine has been extremely reliable no matter what brand of ammo I use. Lightweight, but is also a full size firearm. Give that one a look!

[wetdog1911]

Originally Posted by JohnRippert

From what I have been seeing online, the LCP II .22LR is either perfect from the get go or it has light strike issues. Mine has had light strikes and I found a spring kit that is supposed to take care of those. It is installed but I have not made it to the range yet to test. The positive reviews seem to far outweigh the negative so you should have a very good chance of getting a good one. Here is a link to the kit if you get her the LCP II and find it needs one.

Performance Spring Kit for Ruger LCP II Lite Rack Pistols > Galloway Precision

Thanks! I bookmarked the site.

Most of the failures I've read/watched seemed to be more inadequate break in, or, low quality bulk ammo. People have seemed to have forgotten, or, never heard of, the rule of thumb for breaking in a new 1911. Run 500 rnds of ball through it before making any changes, or adding/removing stuff. Till the internals are worn in and mated, function is sometimes sketchy.

I do remember watching 2 YouTube follow up vids that said problems encountered in the initial review went away after 2-500 rounds were put through it. Like, no s*** Sherlock, it's called a break in!

I will likely be using SV ammo for both break in and use because it's both quality (SK Standard Plus), and have ~1 1/2 cases on hand. Plus, with all the crazyness just finding 'hot' CCI loads, nevermind the cost, is like a mission impossible. So, I'll work with what I have and deal with it.

Rob

[max503]

Originally Posted by wetdog1911

Issue settled, more or less.

She does NOT want a SAO pistol and stated her preference for a bottom feeder. She was less than impressed with either one of my M34-1s (too heavy), or, the M43Cs trigger. But did like the light weight of it.

The LCP II .22LR sure does seem to check all the boxes. Lightweight and easy to manipulate are her main requirements.

Rob

Sometimes our "wants" override what is best. For years I wanted a Colt Mustang 380. Then I got one. It was unreliable, even after going back to Colt and them giving me a free mag.
It would take a lot of testing, and I do mean a lot, before I could rely on one of those little Rugers or anything similar. Even a Beretta.

If I was advising a non-shooter I would steer them towards a Ruger Wrangler SA 22 revolver. They're not that big. My friend likes to stick his in his front pocket.

[Brassmonkey55]

My most reliable 22 semi by far is the Walther PPQ. Worth a look.

[Ivan the Butcher]

My wife's SD gun is a G-17. For less recoil and more practice, I let her try different 22's. So far she likes the 4" S&W 422. They seem to be out of favor these days and are reasonably priced. If you get one, start with a new factory strength Wolff spring! The use the same mag as a S&W 41, so get a couple of extras too!

She really liked my 17-3 but not my 34-1, but I never mention them for fear of confiscation. I also have a High Standard model Double 9 (DA 22 that looks like a 6" SAA), and she likes shooting things with it.

I keep it simple: Whatever she wants, she gets!...Happy Wife; Happy Life!

Ivan

[RV4driver]

Originally Posted by wetdog1911

NICE!!!

But, too expensive for the intended duty, to lay on the floor under her bed and.... I wouldn't do that to a 317.

Rob

No need to lay it on the floor. These are pretty handy for holding guns to the side of a bed. My side has a G17 with light, her side has a P22 with laser.

[Jessie]

M&P 22 compact. It’s been perfect for me so far with several hundred rounds. Very accurate and very light and easy to shoot.

[VictorLouis]

Originally Posted by hittman77

I had a 22LR LCP-II. Sold it, took a loss and still glad it’s gone.
The only thing consistent was its unreliability.

.

So very sad to read that. I love mine, but...CAVEAT...
Hi-Vel fodder is a must, and jacketed at that.
Oomph for the action, and less lead grunge in the mix to
muck it up.

I also LOVE my Kel_Tec P17. Thankfully, I was lucky to find one
at LESS than 50% premium over retail, LOL.

[Farmer17]

One of the most underrated .22s to me is the Bersa Thunder. It looks like a Walther PPK but has MUCH better ergonomics and trigger, and is very accurate and perfectly reliable with CCI ammo. It has an all steel slide which I like, but it gets a bad reputation because it won't cycle a lot of the cheap ammo. I buy bricks of CCI Blazer or Stingers and its 100% and holds 10 plus one rounds.

[45B10]

Originally Posted by oneeyedpete

The easiest .22 auto to own bar none is a Browning Buck Mark. Mine has never jammed or failed to feed with every known .22 ammo in the universe. It is also remarkably accurate and has a very decent factory trigger. I have used it to help my wife and daughter's friends to learn to shoot a pistol and they all love it as newbies. I then ease them into my Model 10 heavy barrel in powder puff loads. They make a nice 4" barrel model if your wife want something easier to carry.

I was always a Ruger fan until I tried out the Buckmark and now prefer them hands down. My wife CC's either a Glock 48 or a Taurus 38, BUT loves to shoot my Buckmark Micro Bull more than any other handgun we own.

[wetdog1911]

Originally Posted by Farmer17

One of the most underrated .22s to me is the Bersa Thunder. It looks like a Walther PPK but has MUCH better ergonomics and trigger, and is very accurate and perfectly reliable with CCI ammo. It has an all steel slide which I like, but it gets a bad reputation because it won't cycle a lot of the cheap ammo. I buy bricks of CCI Blazer or Stingers and its 100% and holds 10 plus one rounds.

I'm with ya AFA cheap/bulk ammo. My most shot .22 is a 1990 M41. Learned pretty quick about cheap ammo and CCI SV was my go to for years before I was clued into Wolf MT, that was rebranded SK Standard Plus and ended up buying 2 cases (10,000 rnds). After several thousand rounds I cannot recall any squib rounds with the SK. For me anyway, it has passed the reliability test. CCI SV had the very rare squib over the years I used it, perhaps 5 in 10 years or so...rare.

Rob

[BSA1]

My wife brought a Ruger SR22 for a carry gun despite what the shop owner and myself told her about 22 stopping power. Later I got her to upgrade to the Shield 9mm.

We still have the SR22 and it is a hoot to shoot. It just gobbles up the ammo keeping me busy refilling magazines. Definitely get extra magazines.

[wetdog1911]

Originally Posted by 45B10

I was always a Ruger fan until I tried out the Buckmark and now prefer them hands down. My wife CC's either a Glock 48 or a Taurus 38, BUT loves to shoot my Buckmark Micro Bull more than any other handgun we own.

I've lusted after a Browning Buckmark Micro Bull for decades as a smaller version of the M41. But, the planets just never seemed to align to where the $$$, pistol, and opportunity came together.

One thing I noticed with the LCP II is, everyone commented on how accurate it is, even the negative reviews. For me, this is a really big plus.

But, I'd still jump on the Browning Micro if it happened along.

Rob