Recommendation for entry level Target Pistol in 22LR

When you say "TARGET SHOOTING", what do you mean?
(Some of this might sound a little blunt. No offense intended.)

-1) Standing on your two feet, pistol in one hand, firing at regulation targets at regulation distances for score, following official rules of the NRA, ISSF, or CMP. Selected guns must meet stipulated requirements for weight, trigger pull, sights and/or sight radius, grip design, and other modifications!
or,...
-2) Shooting at random targets at personally convenient distances by whatever means happen to work.

If it's the latter, it really doesn't matter. Anything on your list will do.
If it's the former, that is legitimate competitive competitive shooting, none of the guns on the list are all that great.
At least the Ruger can be upgraded. But, that will cost you more than the gun.

Before I say anymore (again, no offense intended) this is not the best forum to ask. There are some incredibly wonderful and knowledgeable folks here. Want to learn about Triple Locks or Registered Magnums? You can find no better resource!
But, competitive target shooting? Not so much.
At best, you'll get is, "I used to shoot a model 41 back in the 70s.", or, "My Dad shot a High Standard Trophy when he competed in the 1960s".
Well, those days are over! High Standard keeps trying, and failing, to dig itself out of the grave. And, the model 41 is overpriced and no longer competitive.
Or, you'll get a barrage of plinker opinions. That's fine if that's your interest. But, you won't be winning any matches!

Your most informed answers will come from the "TargetTalk" forum or the "Bullseye-L" forum.
But, I know what they'll tell you, as I'm on those forums, too!
There are the expensive guns, like Pardini SP, Walther GSP, Hammerli 208s, Feinwerkbau AW93. Expect to pay $2500 just to start playing. I'm guessing that's not what you need. Alternatively, buy a Marvel .22 Conversion Unit and put it on a 1911 frame. (The unit is about $500.)
Or, get a Hämmerli X-esse! These are built by Walther in Germany. The old Hämmerli factory in Lenzburg, Switzerland is long gone. The Hämmerli X-esse is a stripped down 208 without the old style hand fitting. Last I checked, they run about $700. This gun can shoot winning scores. Many guys who are now retired out of the various Military Unit Marksmanship Units and Pistol Teams (who paid for their gear, courtesy of our tax dollars) and now have to buy their own guns with their own money, choose the Hämmerli X-esse.
I hope this helps. Best wishes, and again, no offense intended.

If trying to be real competitive then go to something European. Hammerli, Walther, etc.......

I have never shot competitively, but I have an old Walther OSP in .22 Short and it will outshoot every U.S. made match pistol that I have fired. Pretty much so will my old Browning Medalist......

I have two .22 autos. One is a S&W 22a1 with a 7.5" barrel. You can usually find these pretty cheap. Some complain about them but mine is great.

My other .22 is a High Standard 10-X. Kind of the opposite end of the spectrum. Fantastic gun, but I generally don't recommend High Standards to less experienced shooters as they are finicky. Like really finicky. You have to work a bit tuning them to a specific ammo. Then when you never get there you work tuning them to another ammo. Magazines are expensive and require adjustment. But once you get through that they are just awesomeness.

The 22a1 I have is 80% as good with 90% less hassle and 70% less cost.

I hear Rugers are good....

Our Buckmark at our clubs steel range!
It’s the only pistol that keeps my wife coming along with me. What was once ours is now her ‘Pee-Pee’ gun. She loves it, a plus, but I dont get to use it much anymore ( a minus). But on my plus side I get a lot more range time with her previous flame (a big heavy CZ75 SP01 with a red dot).

I have a "few" 22's... but for target shooting... it will be a Ruger MkII... moving up the price scale... a Marvel 22 conversion on a 1911...

I’m a Colt guy so I’d say a 2nd or 3rd Series Woodsman but I understand that they are spendy and can be hit or miss so my next recommendation would be an older M41 Smith. I love my Woodsmans but I compete with my M41. My last recommendation would be a Ruger Mk with Volquartson upgrades. But they can get spendy too. Don’t have one of those but have bought a few as gifts and shot several others.

I don’t compete with 22’s but have owned a couple of heavy barrel MKII Rugers, a Browning, Smith 2206 and Victory thats tricked out. My 2206 was a dog even after multiple trips back to smith but I think I just got a dog. Other people I’ve talked to never had an issue with theirs. My Victory was perfect for the first 700 rounds then it wouldn’t feed or eject reliably. I had Smith send me parts that I installed with no improvement. I then sent it back to smith with no improvement. Finally I ran across a fix, bend the ejector a tiny bit and that solved it. Thousands of rounds through it since and no issues. It’s an excellent gun with plenty of custom parts to make it the way you want. The same is true of Rugers.

I inherited the Browning and it just didn’t do anything for me although it was a good and accurate gun.

I have to admit though that my favorite is my 1955 Smith K22. I’m a revolver guy but I don’t think you can beat the K22.

Entry level would be some kind of Ruger MK-IV. Considering cost, performance , magazines and Ruger CS. The best bang for your buck.
That’s coming from solid S&W 41, Hi-STDs and Browning Medalist shooter.
Entry Level is where a shooter decides if he wants to get into a category
and how much he wants to spend. That is what I would recommend for new shooter buying NEW gun.

Both of these are fantastic guns. Maybe not so entry level on one of them.

robrossk said:

I am starting to do some target shooting with 22's.

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A ruger mk4 s&w or browning will do well but understand 22lr are very ammo dependent on what it will shoot best .

I would buy a pistol with at least a 6" barrel and if your still an open sights shooter longer is better !
Browning 22lr cover a wide variety of options and price but the Hunter model would be my choice today .

Ruger mk4 would be a competition model but pricey

IF your see a Colt Woodsman with even a skinny 6" barrel and have good eye sight that nice and the price is ok , Buy It . maybe even a Huntsman model .

We have a 6" ruger mk3 with a trigger kit and dot optic and with the ammo it likes best it is a very nice shooter . I learn to shot with a Colt Huntsman 6" with basic non-adjustable black sights . I need a red dot to shoot at my best But I can still shoot it as good as the ruger with upgrades 25 yards most times . My wife shoots it better than the ruger too . Trigger has a 2lb stock pull weight with a minimal of any pre travel or over travel movement far better than the ruger or even most 1911 bullseye pistols . Not bad for a pistol I started with in 1961as a 6 year old .

Check out the one below - Good price -
"Colt Woodsman Pistol .22 LR (C20095) Consignment" for sale

I would buy a nice used S&W model 41. I would rather buy a gun that I won't "need" to upgrade.

I gave the middle MKII to my son, top "Competition" is way more accurate than I can hold, bottom one is just more fun. Joe

I sold my buckmark because of mediocre accuracy. My 2 Rugers were both more accurate. Bought another buckmark 2 years ago, I find it superior to my rugers.

I also have 41’s and a Browning International. One of the Smiths is more accurate than the other, maybe marginally better or at least equal to the browning, the other is not.

I would recommend a Ruger bull bbl. Then get a volqurtzen trigger kit, at some point.

Buy the one you like, because I don’t believe one is any more inherently accurate then the other….my sample size of 2 proves that.

I was at the range with my Buckmark. A guy was next to me with his Ruger. We swapped pistols to shoot a clip each. He didn't want to swap back.

444 Magnum said:

I was at the range with my Buckmark. A guy was next to me with his Ruger. We swapped pistols to shoot a clip each. He didn't want to swap back.

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I think they call that an example of "class tells"----or something like that.

RCT

I had a Buckmark . I ran out of sight adjustment and it was still consistently four inches off . I should have sent it back to the factory but I was so disgusted that I got rid of it .

JohnHL said:

Bob, I have 2 Mark IIs.

A stainless 6 7/8" tapered barrel target model and a blue 6 7/8" bull barrel gov't target model.

If you'd like to try them, give me a call.

John

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Thanks John. I will let you know. Bob

rct269 said:

Entry level?

What does that mean----you want start with something less than the best? If that's the case, why bother?

It only costs a little more to go first class!! Then there's no question about what needs improving----the gun, or the shooter!

We were all entry level at one point in time. Those with first class equipment progressed more quickly than those without.

I went from competitive shooting to racing sports cars----same church---different pew!

Ralph Tremaine

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Thanks for pretty much nothing!

I don't think you can go wrong with a Ruger Mk-anything as a first .22 target pistol. If you have the option, get the MkIV, it's much easier to disassemble than the others.

That said, I had a 22/45 MkIII for a lot of years. No beauty queen, but very accurate and shooter-friendly. Recently sold it for something prettier, a stainless Hunter MkIII with a longer barrel. A little more expensive but the same action, very reliable.

The only .22 LR target pistols I have now are the Ruger and a M41. The M41 has the better trigger and is incrementally more accurate, but a tad more finicky about being clean to run well than the Ruger.

WOW - thanks for all the input. I hope to fire a couple options in the next week or so. Except for time in the USMC my shooting has rarely been "target/bullseye" and almost never at distance of more than 10 yards. My logic being is at that distance I should be covering/concealing, etc. So, I am now looking to change things up a bit and see how tight I can get groups beginning at 15 yards. Probably will also need new glasses (haha). Thanks again. Bob