I'm picking up a new 442 in the next day or two. I know that it is not a range gun so I've been looking for a cheap 22, since ammo is cheap, to use up range time when I go to shoot the 442. A store near me has a Jennings 22. I think this might be what i had 20 years ago that always jammed on me. I may have had a Jennings 25, I'm not sure. I ended up selling it because I couldn't rely on it to carry but how would it be for just playing at the range? It's $50 so definitely meets my "cheap" requirement.

Your willing to spend $50 on something you know will be unreliable and inaccurate? Where are you when I'm having a yard sale? ;D

A good used S&W, Ruger, Browning .22 is about 100 times better than the new Jennings--no make that 1000 times better. The Jennings only matches their performance as a paperweight, IMHO.

I had a couple of them and they worked rather well for me... my college eyes at the time kept pop cans rollin n bouncin at some interesting ranges... We were giving 50.00 new for em then though I haven't had em out in years but they may be here somewhere...

I liked em back in the day for sure. They were fun n reliable for me n my friends but I hear otherwise from others.

I wouldn't buy it. If you want a .22 for cheap range shooting and don't want to pay for a decent used handgun, why not get a nice used .22 rifle instead? You can pick one up for less than $100, and in most case it'll probably be more reliable than the Jennings. Just my thoughts. Which may or may not be worth as much as that Jennings to you!

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Misty

I, too, bought one new about 20 years ago. It jammed from the first. My dealer said when I returned it, "Some work, some don't. Those that work, people love." I haven't touched a Jennings since. I'd opt for something used that worked.

Different track: Anybody remember the .25 Ravens? They were cheap & worked. I almost wish I had kept one. Almost.

I've owned two Jennings-They both worked. Great firearms? No, but for an inexpensive plinker and tacklebox gun I consider them worth every penny.......but I also think that a cheap .22 revolver is a superior plinker.

That's probably a question for the Jennings forum.

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Get off my lawn.

Right: bryco-jennings-jimenezarms.com :: Index

I've had two Jennings J-22s, and both worked great with Stingers and other hot ammo. Indifferently with weaker stuff. The J-25 I had worked fine (at one time I had quite the collection of inexpensive pocketguns, just because it amused me - some, like the Intratec Pro-Tec 25 copy of the CZ 45, were pretty neat).

My understanding is that some "generations" of Jennings are better than others - check out the forum that I posted for info.

A Jennings is the only gun I've ever simply thrown away. In fact, I was shooting cans at a landfill and just left it there.

I don't miss it.

I sadly still have a bryco(jennings) model 48, .380. I put about 300 rounds through it smoothly and surprisingly it was accurate however now it will jam everytime you pull the trigger. I think it only needs a slide spring but I dont have the desire to mess with it. I wouldnt ever buy one again even for a range plinker.

Well, I don't know about inaccurate, just that it jammed. You know, I hate yard sales and flea markets and stuff. I'm a rare woman who hates shopping.

I guess I will just wait and look around for something used.

Ah yes, little Jenny. I bought her for the shocking price of ninety bucks,(the seller paid the transfer fee). He said she was a proven good shooter, and I believed him. She is the shiny chrome "Hooker Style", and I actually shoot her quite a bit; simply because i always have her in the rig.

This little gun has provided me with a lot of fun for a few reasons; the main one being it's ability to prove that a cheap "Saturday Night Special" can be accurate and reliable.

Now understand, the sights are horrible, I'd never carry it with one in the chamber, and it sometimes does jam. (but not very often) I'm sure that many of them by all accounts are problematic.---hmmm. The Jennings Problematic. Kinda has a ring.... Where was I... Oh yeah, I'd pick one up for 50 bucks. Heck, I've wasted fifty bucks on pizza for guys I really didn't like. You might wind up with a good one like I did, and if ya don't you might find another weirdo like me to sell it to.

Jim

I've had a Jennings 22 since 1987. Bought it used and have run a thousand+of rounds through it. Had a Beretta 21 once and sold that off because I felt the Jennings was actually a better/more reliable pocket gun.
The good: Very simple, decently built and dependable .22 pocket gun. Not a whole lot of moving parts to fail. Reliability was excellent ONLY IF you run hotter ammo through it. Mine (and my buddies) was a jam-o-matic with any std velocity stuff. ( I'm not over-riding the manufacturers warnings here, just stating that my 80's vintage J-22 functioned flawlessly with Remington yellow jackets and other hyper velocity ammo.) Nice carry size and it disappears in your pocket. Take down is super simple. Mine has been impossible to wear out.
The bad. Accuracy sucks due to near non-existent sights, short barrel and horrible trigger. You can keep it on a gal milk jug at 21' but don't expect much more.
I WOULD NOT carry this gun with a round in the chamber. The safety is pretty basic and untrustworthy due to design.

All that said, it'sa decent enough gun for what it is. However, I'd look for something a little bigger with better sights if plinking was my goal.

FWIW, Mine actually helped me out of a ugly spot some 20 years ago . My (then)girlfriend and I were walking deep in the woods when we came across 3 older teens who were partying and pretty loaded. They began to follow us at a distance but eventually purposfully started closeing the gap. All the time, they were making increasingly disturbing and agressive comments. I had NO doubts of their intent. When they got to within 25' or so, I turned with the little J-22 in my hand, racked a CCI stinger into the spout and confronted them firmly. All three went pale and started sputtering/ wimpering apologies. I sent them running past us deeper into the woods while my wife and I made our way back the other way to the car. I bring this up not because I'd advocate this gun for PD. I don't. However because it's so handy, that it tends to go with you when larger guns stay home in the safe. i.e. Even a $40 throwaway .22 is better than no gun if you need it. I'm sure glad I had it that day and will tell you that I'd never sell it.

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Dave

You are lucky they didn't right you up for junking up the landfill.

I had one I actually liked and it worked pretty good even with the cheapest ammo I could buy. Like all my other guns of the past it got traded for something different. I don't remember what I traded it to.

I had one of those and as said it did fine with the 'hotter' type of ammo. I didn't trust the safety at all and sold it to a buddy for his 'tackle box gun'. he still has it.

If you want a tackle box gun, then it is surmised that you may actually need / want to shoot it sometime at something where you will be when the tackle box in in your possession... given that, your intended target may also be moving and you in an excited mode. The lack of reliable functioning and accuracy of the Jennings will surely transform it to something closer to a rock than a gun. You will now have the opportunity to stop at your local gun dealer and hope to get half of what you paid on trade for something you should have gotten in the first place! Since this is a S&W forum, then the .22 Kit Gun would be the recommended gun of choice.

I had one that I bought new with the intention of using it as a tackle box gun, fired about 50 rounds through it, and started carrying it fishing with me. Went to use it one day while fishing, it wouldn't fire. Took it back to the dealer who sold it to me, he bashed it hard on the side with a rubber mallet, and it started working again.

Kind of lost enthusiasm for it after that, sold it and bought a used Ruger .22 for $165, now that was a good tackle box gun, and target pistol, and hunting pistol....

I have one of these pot metal ***'s. Total **** from the day I got it. Stovepipes every few rounds, poorly designed, poorly manufactured.

This is the gun that gives guns a bad name.

I hope to find a gun buy-back in PA so I can get rid of it and replace it with something that works.

Jennings too small for pistol whipping, and unreliable for shooting.

So keep the fifty dollars and save for a S&W P-22 cheap, fun, reliable, still too small for pistol whipping but if it shoots you won't have to.

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Traveling Man

I gave mine away to a college buddy 25 years ago after he helped me out on some stuff. IMO, the manual of arms for this gun is flawed; never keep one in the chamber.

I had one for a short time ...sold it at the local auction house for $50.....Glad to be rid of it.....jammed every other shot......anyone remember the RG revolver.....I had one of them for a tackel box gun when I was a kid.....If I remember right it was quite the piece of junk also...........Used to buy them new for $19.00 I was at my local gun shop years ago and this woman came in with a RG 22 wanted to sell it, my friend gave her $20 for it then took it outside and put it on a piece of rail road iron and hit it with a hammer it exploded in all directions.....he told the lady that he just wanted her to know he wasn't going to resell it and that he gave her more than it was worth.
He said he didn't want anyone shooting the little pile of junk....

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millbilly

I agree with most of you that have had bad experience with the Jennings. I too share your experiences having owned more than one Jennings. I took a new Jimenez in on a trade not figuring I was allowing the former owner more than $10.00 for his piece. Suprise, I took it with me to the range and ran 500 minimags through it without a stovepipe or anything. Couldn't hit much beyond 10 feet but it worked. Maybe Jimenez has worked out the bugs or else I just got an exceptional one. I think I will keep it for awhile and see how it performs with some more shooting. I had a .380 once that came apart when I fired it about 10 times. There are people that swear by these pistols and actually use them for self defence. On the other hand, I see more Jennings for sale than any other on the KSL classifieds. I have had bad luck even with some of the "better" autos but never a revolver in the .22 family. I think the S&W .22 kit gun is as good as you can get for my money.

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joseph whitney

I still love my 17-3 for plinking....has to be the best 22 I ever owned.....

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millbilly

Ditto. My experiences to a 'T'....

I would try and talk them down a bit on the price and if you can, go for it. Cheap guns can be fun as hell.

Besides, "saturday night specials" tend to piss off the gun ban crowd

I wouldn't be caught with a Jennings in my hand. I'd rather be caught with a fat lady in both hands.

Re: those who use one as a "tackle box gun," it might be useful as a sinker.

Be safe.