22LR pistols

[Arthury]

Which 22LR semi-auto pistol is most forgiving in terms of using the different kinds of 22LR ammo in the market.

Currently, I have a Ruger Mk3 22/45 and it is picky about ammo. So far, with CCI Stingers, I would say it is 80% OK with it. With Winchester 555, it varies: sometimes, it is 80-90% and other times, it can have FTF issues and reliability drops down to 60% or so.

I am looking for a 22LR pistol that can function reliably, like my M&P9 or M&P45: they eat any ammo I give them and have no problems. I can depend on them for my life.

How reliable are the M&P22 ? Are they made by Walther?

 

[rbert0005]

I was going to say Ruger Mark lll

The Smith 22a is pretty good as well.

22s are notorius for being ammo brand selective.
I would say try the Federal bulk in your Ruger, or maybe buy a box of everything you can get your hands on and see what THE GUN likes and stick with that.

Bob

 

[dogngun]

The S&W 2213 and related pistols...Mine has not

had any problem with any type or brand of ammo I tried in it, and I have had it for almost 5 years now. They are very accurate and reliable, and it is the ONLY .22 auto that I have found that is reliable enough to carry as a backup.
Of course, they are no longer made and are getting a bit pricey and hard to find.

mark

 

[ColbyBruce]

"Which 22LR semi-auto pistol is most forgiving in terms of using the different kinds of 22LR ammo in the market?"

It is usually the variation in ammo, not the guns themselves, that cause the problems. I have been very pleased with the nine 422/622/2206/2213/2214 pistols I have owned as only the 2213 is particular about it's diet. The various Ruger, Beretta, Browning, Colt,High Standard, Walther, and Astra pistols generally all shot and functioned well with high speed ammo, but were persnickety with standard velocity stuff.

Of all the above guns, my Walther TPH was the pickiest and the Astra Constable the best (in function, accuracy, portability).

 

[fyimo]

My Model 41's shoot everything I put in them but they are rather expensive. They are more accurate with some brands more then others but they always feed and fire. I had a Ruger Mark II that ate anything and was as accurate as my Model 41's and that's saying a lot. I gave the Ruger to my son about 6 months ago and in a way I miss it but I had promised it to him a long time ago and decided now was the time.

I also shoot a lot of S&W revolver as I own 5 of them and they are also very accurate and fun to shoot. Sounds like you are a semi auto guy so good luck in your search and Browning Buckmarks get high reviews from their shooters as well.

 

[nrb]

Maybe your Ruger needs tune up

My Ruger 22 semis all function well with any RELIABLE ammo. Sometimes a light strike means cleaning of the firing mechanism. Are you having light strikes?? If you use high quality ammo, does the problem go away??? I would have the Ruger checked out by a GS or Ruger, if you cannot do it.

 

[Swabby]

I currently own a 2206 and have owned a 422 in the past. I have never had any FTF problems with either one. I can even shoot the Remington truncated cone ammos out of mine, without any hang-ups. Yes, the price of these guns has gone up, since they are no longer made, but you probably won't pay any more for one than you would for a new Ruger or Browning. Watch the auction sites. Sometimes they go for reasonable prices.

 

[JudgeColt]

I have a 10-inch KMK-10 Mark II Ruger that will even work with .22 Longs (I bought 1000 .22 Longs on a "close-out") so I am surprised that your pistol is not reliable.

Most Colts of the Woodsman family are very reliable so a move to a classic Woodsman would elevate your class on the firing line, as well as end your reliability problems.

 

[Arthury]

No, I have not tried the more expensive ammo on my Mk3 yet. May be I should.

I am looking for a pistol that is not ammo-dependent for reliability to exceed a good high 90% of the time.

 

[alpinestar]

I just tryed out my S&W 22A1 with the 330 wal-mart special Winchester ammo and out of 25 shots it jammed once on the second shot, second clip which didn't surprise me since I did hear there was a break in period for this gun.

 

[Arthury]

I just tryed out my S&W 22A1 with the 330 wal-mart special Winchester ammo and out of 25 shots it jammed once on the second shot, second clip which didn't surprise me since I did hear there was a break in period for this gun.

I had this kind of behavior when my Mk3 was brand new but I took out the mag and cleaned it with CLP Break-Free and the FTF issue was cut by half.

 

[Arthury]

What about the SigSauer 1911/22LR ?
1911-22

 

[MakeMyNight]

I own 3 auto loading 22LR pistols, and everyone of them needed at least 500 rounds fired before they become somewhat "reliable". The High Standard actually needed closer to 1000 rounds.

All three pistols seem to prefer Federal Target 22LR, or CCI/Speer std velocity rounds, though most of the time I use the (Walmart) Federal 550 round 22LR hv ammo, due to the lower cost.

S&W Model 22S 5.5" in the full target configuration which I bought new on Sept 11, 2001.

High Standard Sport King 4-1/2" which I bought new around 1976.

S&W Model 41 5.5" circa 1986, which I recently purchased, and the gun
was new in the box.


Thumbnail images of the 3 pistols below:

 

[jlynch34]

Browning Buck Mark seems to be the most forgiving pistol for use of different ammo.

 

[Arthury]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I finally got around to get a 1,000 rds of CCI Mini Mags 40 gr and tried it at the range.

The first 60+ rds went thru like a machine gun. No FTF/FTE. It was smooth like cream on my Ruger Mk3 22/45. Now, I know what you are guys are talking about when you said you had no problems with it.

I think once I am done using the remaining Winchester 555, I will switch over to mini mags with another 2,000 rds.

 

[Fishinfool]

I have owned quite a few reliable 22 semi-auto's, but believe it or not, the most reliable would probably be an early model Walther P-22. I once collected a coffee cup sized container of various 22 cartridges that had failed to fire / feed from a variety of guns over the years. Most had slightly bent bullets, bullets with various gouges in the lead tip, and light primer strikes. The P-22 gobbled them up with nary a hiccup.

 

[Avery11]

I own a pair of Browning Buckmarks and they are very easy to feed.

I mainly use Wal Mart Federal bulk but have tried everything from Ely to Wolf to Remington.

The Buckmarks are capable of phenominal triggers with zero investment and 10 monutes of your time.

Flip a spring over and the trigger goes from 5 lbs to under 40 ounces!

Look for the Heggis Flip on rimfirecentral.com

 

[629shooter]

Ruger Mark IIs eat anything, the S&W 422 is a great gun, if you can find one. I also like the SIG conversion kits for the 226 or 229.

 

[SgtSam]

If you don't mind searching out and finding out of production models, the S&W 422/622/2206/2213/2214 series are extremely reliable guns.

The 422 has a blued steel slide, blue alloy receiver, comes in 4" and 6", fixed and adjustable sights. The 622 is stainless slide, light colored alloy receiver, same sights and barrel options as the 422. The 2206 is an all stainless model, 6" only, and I believe adjustable sights only. The 2213 is a little shorty version of the 422, fixed sights only. The 2214 is a little shorty version of the 622, also fixed sights only. The 622 and 2206 also came in a vent rib model, quite rare.

They have no ammo preferences that I've every found, when talking cycling reliability. However, that said, in the accuracy department, they can get a little persnickety. Not that they're really terrible. Just that when you find the ammo they like, they "LIKE".

And, there is the issue of the firing pins. Never had one break, but if it does, S&W no longer has them available. I bought 4 of them (I have 8 of these puppies in all flavors) from a place that recently advertised a special run of them. Don't have the address, but someone here probably does.

Great guns. A lot of fun to shoot. Well balanced. Do some research here and you'll find a lot of good stuff about them. Also, over at "rimfirecentral", there's also quite a bit of info about them.

 

[pharmer]

I have a KMK512 Mk II from 1988. The only problem is that with 5 mags I run through a Wally box after 11 reloads. Duds are the only rounds that don't cycle. Joe