Thoughts on 2206

[Markpixs]

Think I've found a good deal on a s/s model 2206, 6" bbl, adjustable (not target) sights and one magazine. Anyone have experience on these little 3rd gens? Always had an interest but more a Ruger Mark II or Buckmark kinda guy. Best ammo options, are factory magazines (model 41) the way to go? Photo was a quick one at the pawn shop.

 

[S&WshooterFIN]

My 2206 eats everything I give it, even the old LAPUAs that don't work in the Ruger MK1.

 

[robvious]

still dreaming of finding one at a "reasonable price"
surviving with a plain old 422... and yes.. factory (model 41) mags are the way to happiness... congratulations

 

[HOUSTON RICK]

I looked for one in my acquisition period because of the positive reviews on this board, but never came across one at a realistic price. Very nice as i understand.

 

[.38SuperMan]

I bought one new when they came out and unfortunately it was a nightmare. I sent it to Smith twice and an independent gunsmith another time. I changed springs, replaced the barrel, ejector, extractor and used 4 different factory mags with no luck.

I kept it spotlessly clean and oiled but no matter what ammo I fed it it would stovepipe about every 3rd round, fail to eject and feed a second round over the spent case
in the chamber and if it did eject it would just just barely get the casing out of the gun. If I wore a long sleeve shirt, it often ejected the hot case into my sleeve cuff. It was rare that I could fire a 12 roubd magazine without a failure.

I know a lot of people that love theirs and the idea was great but my particular one was a lemon. So I traded it and a Ruger Bearcat for an excellent condition Winchester 62A. No regrets.

As far as Ruger, I've owned 2 first gen, 2 2nd gen and 1 4th gen and never had a problem.

I also own a Smith Victory tricked out. It had its issues too after about 700 rounds and stopped ejecting. I sent it to Smith and no luck with it when it was returned. Meanwhile I found the fix on line, slightly bending the ejector, and have had 100% reliability since. Since bending the ejector I've probably put 3500 rounds through it and no failures to feed or eject.

Id rank the Victory and Ruger equally. Both are excellent.

Edit: I inherited my uncles Browning Challenger II and shot it a few times. While it was a good pistol I just didn't warm up to it and traded it. No issues, just not excited about it.

 

[Aukula1062]

38superman, sounds like my luck with Rugers. I have seen more than enough that worked perfectly but any Ruger I ever owned had a major problems. I just picked up a 2206 but I haven't gotten to the range yet. It actually looks unfired. Wish me luck.

 

[Themistocles]

From your picture $199 is a very good (steal) price. My first HG was a 422 that I bought back in 1986-7 and still have. I have 2206 as well but have shot my 422 much more. Great guns, quite accurate. My experiance is they are very reliable when clean. After 300-350 rounds failures creep in as gunk builds up.

 

[Tassie_Devil]

I have a 2206TGT that I bought for $400(AUD) from my club, and it runs like a dream. I feed it CCI and it never has a issue. I find it highly accurate, great to fire, and very well balanced. Right now I'm looking to change out the original wood grip for a Nil grip that was fitted to these guns when they were sold in Europe as a sports/target pistol. If you have the chance to get I highly recommend grabbing it.

 

[murphydog]

This one does have the S & W target rear sight; the other version has a dovetailed, drift only rear sight. The small screw that attaches the sight leaf to the slide has a tendency to back out so frequent checking or blue Loctite is a good idea.

Yes, these use model 41 magazines.

And at $200 it is a great bargain, presuming it checks out mechanically.

 

[Markpixs]

This is my fear, seem a handful of negative reports and will have no history on this one. Guess it's worth the risk.

I bought one new when they came out and unfortunately it was a nightmare. I sent it to Smith twice and an independent gunsmith another time. I changed springs, replaced the barrel, ejector, extractor and used 4 different factory mags with no luck.

I kept it spotlessly clean and oiled but no matter what ammo I fed it it would stovepipe about every 3rd round, fail to eject and feed a second round over the spent case
in the chamber and if it did eject it would just just barely get the casing out of the gun. If I wore a long sleeve shirt, it often ejected the hot case into my sleeve cuff. It was rare that I could fire a 12 roubd magazine without a failure.

I know a lot of people that love theirs and the idea was great but my particular one was a lemon. So I traded it and a Ruger Bearcat for an excellent condition Winchester 62A. No regrets.

As far as Ruger, I've owned 2 first gen, 2 2nd gen and 1 4th gen and never had a problem.

I also own a Smith Victory tricked out. It had its issues too after about 700 rounds and stopped ejecting. I sent it to Smith and no luck with it when it was returned. Meanwhile I found the fix on line, slightly bending the ejector, and have had 100% reliability since. Since bending the ejector I've probably put 3500 rounds through it and no failures to feed or eject.

Id rank the Victory and Ruger equally. Both are excellent.

Edit: I inherited my uncles Browning Challenger II and shot it a few times. While it was a good pistol I just didn't warm up to it and traded it. No issues, just not excited about it.

 

[Markpixs]

I saw this version, with the adjustable rear site and then the TGT version with an impressive rear site. Was trying to be clear it's not the TGT model, I wish...

This one does have the S & W target rear sight; the other version has a dovetailed, drift only rear sight. The small screw that attaches the sight leaf to the slide has a tendency to back out so frequent checking or blue Loctite is a good idea.

Yes, these use model 41 magazines.

And at $200 it is a great bargain, presuming it checks out mechanically.

 

[.38SuperMan]

It seems most folks have had great luck with theirs but I got the dog. If it had run properly it would have been a great pistol. I originally bought it for my 11 year old son to shoot in a local 22 division of USPSA but wound up getting him an M15 which he shot along with the adults.

I'll give Smith credit for trying to get it to run properly but they never got it going.

Hope your 2206's live up to your expectations.

 

[indigo22]

My first rimfire auto was a 2206TGT. With good ammo it ran flawless, with anything from winchester not so much... I was very foolish to let it go as every 22Lr since then has had to endure its comparison to the 2206TGT. Fast forward I now own a 4.25" 2206 that has run every bit as reliably as the TGT. It doesn't like winchester ammo either. They are easy to work on and readily adaptable to set up with a muzzle device. I will be hanging onto this one.

 

[Sevens]

That Pachmayr grip is soooooo much more scarce than I wish it were!

 

[jc2721]

I have a 4" 2206 that I picked up cheap at my favorite LGS. It did have a little superficial corrosion, nothing that a Big 45 steel wool ball couldn't handle.

I like the heavier weight of the 2206. My gun is very accurate and reliable with CCI ammo (that's all I buy nowadays) but it did take me a while to get used to the magazine release.

If you haven't bought it yet, go ahead and give it a try. If you don't like it I'll give you one guess where you can dump it, probably at a slight profit...lol.

I don't have a picture of this particular piece--I'll get around to it shortly and post one up.

BTW--I've been "absent" for a couple of months: something happened with my computer and I couldn't even access the forum website for a long time. Today I tried again and found success, so for the time being, I'm back!

 

[S&WshooterFIN]

still dreaming of finding one at a "reasonable price"
surviving with a plain old 422... and yes.. factory (model 41) mags are the way to happiness... congratulations

What is "reasonable price" for 2206?