.22lr Target Pistol

[H Richard]

I shoot both a High Standard Victor (Now with a Falcon barrel to reduce weight for the red dot), and a IZH35M (Russian match pistol). Both are capable of all "X" ring shots. The High Standard can be a little finicky with ammo, but once the magazines are adjusted work great. The IZH will digest anything. The IZH has a trigger that is adjustable for length of pull, take up, over-travel, sear engagement, pull weight. It is one of the nicest triggers you can find, and the barrel's are like mirrors. Unfortunately, EAA who imported them no longer imports them. Used IZH35M's are bringing 50% to 70% more than they cost new when you can find one.
High Standard.

IZH35M (Grips modified)

 

[VAdoublegunner]

Good selection and quite a cost range too. I guess it depends on what you want to do with it, serious target competition or informal shooting/hunting.

If you want one that will shoot good groups at only 50 ft., then the Ruger MKIII is going to be difficult to beat for its price. It is easy to scope, reliable, and with ammo it likes at 50 feet you should be able to shoot 1/2" groups or better. I have 2 of the earlier Ruger MKII Government Competition models, both scoped and either of them will shoot 3/4-1" groups at 50 yards with the optical 2x7 scope (one now has a 1moa Ultradot) with favored ammo. People have watched me do it with them many times; I've had folks come over after shooting in the IR50/50 at Black Creek and comment on it in years past. But this is shooting from a bench. What the pistols are capable of when competition shooting may be different. Trigger, grip, balance and all those other factors come into play. Still, for an entry level pistol, the Ruger is hard to beat. Plus, it makes a great field pistol if you want to shoot small game. One in particular has accounted for many, many squirrels.

 

[load748]

browning bullseye by far, reliable, not particular to ammo , adjustable trigger and interchangeable grips... good pistola,,,,,,,and wont break the bank

 

[pawncop]

Another vote for the Ruger Mark II, 5.5" bull barrel. Mine shoots way better than I do.

 

[guy22]

Many people like the older Ruger MARK II'S over the MARK III"S.

Look over some older HIGH STANDARDS. (HAMDEN factory made ones if you can find one.)

I have an early 1970's High Standard "VICTOR" 5 1/2" that using a reddot I still can put 10 in the 10 ring from 50 feet sometimes using the bench hold, usually scores 93-98 though. Too much for me to hold up while standing up one handed now days, old age sets in. I still have fun with 22's.

Thanks this kind of information is what I wanted. What brand of ammo does it take to shoot 93-98 ?

I have been watching, and looking. I am not a natural pistol shooter. I have been now shooting ~ 85 with a GSG 1911, shooting CCI mini mags. Took a year of pactice and ~ 10,000 rounds. Getting there but want to step up.
Guy22

 

[Faulkner]

I would also recommend a the Ruger MKII or MKIII over a Buckmark.

I have a Buckmark that's had a couple hundred rounds through it and I just don't feel the love, so it's back in the box and will probably end up as trading fodder for something else.

My Ruger MKII with 5.5 inch bull barrel is a very fine shooter. Seems to be a little front heavy but is easy to get used to.

My favorite and most accurate is a Ruger MKII stainless with a Tactical Solutions PAC-LITE aluminum upper. Very well balanced and a super fine shooter.

 

[cobra44]

The High Standard Victor is the best shooting 22 that I have ever fired. I liked it so much that I bought one. It would be hard to beat for accuracy.

 

[deadin]

What the pistols are capable of when competition shooting may be different. Trigger, grip, balance and all those other factors come into play

VAdoublegunner hit it right on the head with this statement!
Just about all of the various guns mentioned will shoot little groups off the bench. (with the right ammo) The deciding factor is dependent on the individual when shooting offhand. (i.e. competition) Some guns just "fit" better than others person by person. I know, in my case, that I can't shoot a M41 for ****. I've had several, think they are beautiful pieces, but they just don't work for me. I shot an IZH35 for several years and really liked it, but when I got the Benelli my scores started going up. I think the only upgrade I would do is move to a Pardini, but at close to 2 grand I don't see it happening.
My suggestion is to shoot as many different target guns that you can beg or borrow before you drop any substantial money on one. If you're lucky you might find a good fit right off and not have to spend the next 10 or 15 years buying different guns....

 

[m657]

My favorite is the High Standard fluted barrel Citation

or the nearly impossible to find 10X High Standard.

If you like the feel of that kind of slide action, there isn't anything else.

However, M41 Smiths are fine, and many do very well with other brands.

Revolver 22s my favorite is the 8 3/8" M17-3 a buddy pawned off on me years ago. Thankfully!!!

While there are plenty of others, these are the ones I gravitated to because I could shoot a better score with them....and I came to appreciate the nuances of the High Standards. They will help you extract the very best you are capable of training yourself to be in 50' bullseye.

And just to brag a bit, while I'm far out of practice & with geezer eyes can not really be competitive in the Bulls Eye these days, last week end I took my nearly 50 year old Citation out to the Speed Steel match and ran a bunch of stages in the 3-6 second brackets....5 shots on 5 different steel targets for 5 strings.

Wonderful fun. Beat most of the nimble guys 1/3 my age. It was glorious....although there's far faster shooters too. Way bigger targets than the Bulls Eye too.

Go out & shoot a lot no matter what you end up with. It won't be long before you find reason to hunt down an even better 22 sooner or later.

 

[m657]

My favorite is the High Standard fluted barrel Citation

or the nearly impossible to find 10X High Standard.

If you like the feel of that kind of slide action, there isn't anything else.

However, M41 Smiths are fine, and many do very well with other brands.

Revolver 22s my favorite is the 8 3/8" M17-3 a buddy pawned off on me years ago. Thankfully!!!

While there are plenty of others, these are the ones I gravitated to because I could shoot a better score with them....and I came to appreciate the nuances of the High Standards. They will help you extract the very best you are capable of training yourself to be in 50' bullseye.

And just to brag a bit, while I'm far out of practice & with geezer eyes can not really be competitive in the Bulls Eye these days, last week end I took my nearly 50 year old Citation out to the Speed Steel match and ran a bunch of stages in the 3-6 second brackets....5 shots on 5 different steel targets for 5 strings.

Wonderful fun. Beat most of the nimble guys 1/3 my age. It was glorious....although there's far faster shooters too. Way bigger targets than the Bulls Eye too.

Go out & shoot a lot no matter what you end up with. It won't be long before you find reason to hunt down an even better 22 sooner or later.

 

[Evil Dog]

And just to brag a bit, while I'm far out of practice & with geezer eyes can not really be competitive in the Bulls Eye these days....

I'd gotten to the point where I had to use iron sights rather than my beloved MatchDot because I was seeing 2 or more dots. An adjustable iris helped with the irons. My salvation though was getting the cataracts removed... WOW, what a difference !!! Back to using my favorite red dot again.

Seriously... if cataracts are part of your geezer eyes, get them fixed. It's well worth it and only took about 10 minutes for the actual surgery. I was back to shooting again in a week.

 

[Moonman]

guy22,

My High Standard VICTOR 5.5" uses Standard Velocity ammo per the instructions, for Brand I use CCI generally (100 pack).

I handled a friends RUGER MARK II 5 1/2" Bull Barrel at the range the other day, he said he would NEVER sell it, he'll die of old age with it. You'll have to look to find one of those as they are highly desirable.

Good Shootin', and have fun.

 

[guy22]

Thanks for all the replies!!!
I have shot the Ruger, and Browning. Kinda lean toward the Browning. Both shot great.
Have not shot the S&W 41, or the Barreta 87.

Everybody around here say's Ruger. Kinda like the "Glock" thing.

Nobody seems to understand why someone would spend a grand or more for a .22lr. They will spend half that for a compact nine that is lucky to hit a six inch target at 50ft. Then say look at knock down/killing power!!! LOL
I'm not looking for knock down/killing power. Have a .45 Colt and a Shotgun.

I am trying to be a better pistol shot. Win a dollar, or beer.
I shot a High Standard many years ago, and liked it a lot. It was a military trainer from WWII.
Some how I forgot they were still around.

Still thinking it over.
Guy22

 

[fred5876r]

I have a M41 with a Clark Custom STC barrel and a C-More RTS red dot for steel, and I absolutely love it. A fantastic gun, incredibly accurate, and (I think) worth the money. I recently bought a Buckmark to use as a iron-sight plinker. It is very comfortable in the hand (URX grip) and has a very good stock trigger, as others have said. However, I am very disappointed in its (poor) accuracy. Both are 100% with CCI SV ammo.

(Photo shows the same gun with a DeltaPoint).

 

[Brian41]

I have an older 41 and 3 Rugers. Hands down the 41 is a much nicer and more accurate gun. I did put a Clark trigger on my Ruger MKII and it does shoot well for a lot less money than the 41 cost.