Favorite .22 Rifle and Hangun Plinkers?

[Halo]

Bear with me, honest, this is the last new gun thread I'll post (crossing fingers behind back) -- what are your favorite .22 rifle and .22 handgun plinkers, and why?

As I mentioned in other posts, after giving my son most the family heritage legacy guns, I felt ... well ... undergunned with only a .38 Colt Agent lightweight snub nose revolver and a Browning .22 Buck Master pistol.

After researching lots of guns, and getting reacquainted with the Colt and Browning, I traded the Colt for a 4-inch Ruger Security-Six .357/.38 and decided to keep the Buck Mark because it looks and feels so good and fires so sweet although it might have a prostate problem (incomplete ejection about once every 50 rounds).  

Among the .22s I handed down were a Ruger 10/22, a Marlin tubular feed bolt-action, a stunning Browning semiauto with downward ejection, and a Ruger Single-Six.  These are all great guns, but I want something a little different now.

I actually bought another Marlin, this one a 981T with synthetic stock, but I still find the barrel a bit too long and now wish I had another wooden stock.

I was looking for a .22 revolver I'd like as much as my .357/.38 Ruger Security-Six, but so far might have to settle for another Ruger Single-Six, this time with a 4 5/8-inch barrel instead of the 6,  unless I can find something better.  I looked at a Taurus revolver but found it depressingly crude in spite of reports of recent improvements.

As for rifles, I'd like to find a bolt action with tubular or stock feed, shorter barrel than the Marlin, lighter and narrower than the Ruger 10/22.  Saw a gorgeous Browning lever action today but want to stay under $300 if possible.  

Probably my ideal .22 handgun would be a Ruger Single-Six 4 5/8 barrel if it were double action.  Not that I intend to fire double action, but I like that capability if necessary, and I like the easier DA loading and ejection.  

So what do you think?  For plain easy cheap shooting fun, what .22 rifle and what .22 handgun bring make you grin outright?

[g00b]

I have a Ruger MKII with the 6-7/8" slab bull barell and love it. Basically it shoots as good as I do.

http://www.ruger.com/Firearms/FAProdView?model=10112&return=Y

I almost bought a .22 bullpup, the Walther G-22. Looks like fun.

http://www.waltheramerica.com/firearms/g22.cfm

I also like lever-action and bolt-action riles to slow down the pace a bit, like the Marlin and Savage offerings.

http://www.marlinfirearms.com/Firearms/22Rifle/Golden39A.aspx

http://www.savagearms.com/markiibv.htm

[eagl]

My Dad had a S&W K-22 revolver...  Shoots and handles beautifully, probably because it's based on the larger .38 frame.  It's the revolver I learned to shoot with.  My best shot with that gun was nailing a running jackrabbit at 25 yards

Dunno about the rifle...  If you ditched a 10-22 and want something SMALLER, you're looking for a gun a midget might find too small...  You could consider a 10-22 with a small custom stock, or one of the little magazine fed ruger .22s.  Never shot one of the rugers, but they look cheap so...

[storch]

my favorite rifle .22 plinker is the marlin model 60
in pistol the colt woodsman

[lazs2]

I have a K22 masterpiece and it it aptly named.... great gun.... I also like the older High standard semi autos.

For rifles... I like the winchester 1890 pump "gallery gun" octogon barrel that I gave to my son and the remington bolt action clip fed of the 50's that the model number of which escapes me.... 150 something or other.

lazs

[Maverick]

I have 2 pistols in .22 that I like to shoot. One is a Ruger Mk2 with a 6" semi tapered barrel. The other is a Dan Wesson with an 8" heavy vent barrel shroud.

The rifle is easy. I have an old (25+years now) Marlin semi auto that I have used on countless rabbit hunts and a few coyote hunts. That thing has fired more rounds than I can think. Going through a brick of .22's was not unusual for a couple days shooting. The sights are kinda rude and crude but it shoots very well for me.

[Seagoon]

Ruger Mk.2 with the regular barrel, and the Marlin model 60.

I like them because they are perfect plinking guns - light, reasonably accurate, semi-automatic, reasonably inexpensive and with good magazine capacity.

[lazs2]

marlin 22's shoot all out of proportion to their cost...  They are probly the best deal in a 22 rifle there ever was.

I don't like the ruger 22 pistol much...  smurfy and hard to clean and not even that foolproof with a really bad grip angle.   The High Standard is a far better firearm.

The Dan wesson is on a par with the K22 masterpiece which is saying a lot..

My K22 was made in 1947-49 sometime.

lazs

[FX1]

Cz makes a great bolt gun for a good price. Ruger makes the best plinking .22 pistols. Suhl made the best bench rest gun on the planet. The ruger 10/22 is the best project gun ever. Mavel makes a great 1911 .22 slide and shoots under a inch at 25. Rossi makes a great pump gun thats cheap. S&W model 41 is the best auto .22 on the market. Any .22 is good in my book but the auto marlins are junk.

I have a speedmaster remington that i love. Think i have 10 .22's in the safe i would love to have some more. At $7.90 for 500 rounds you cant go wrong..

[lazs2]

ruger is crap for 22's to me... they allways jam because most people can't get em apart or back together to clean em... they are not as accurate as say a woodsman or High standard or many others and have a lousy grip angle and feel and look cheap...   the 10/22 is worthless and frustrating out of the box.

the smith 41's that I have seen would not shoot with a High standard victor say.

I have a conversion to 22 for a CZ 75 clone (witness) that shoots very well when if works.   still working on that one.

I had a remington single shot that was a tack driver but most older marlins shoot really well.   The rossi is simply a copy of the 1890 Winchester and not as accurate.

[MoeRon]

nuff said

[Terror]

Gonna get dinged on this one, but here is my .22 pistol selection:

Need a Glock frame though:

Advantage Arms .22LR Conversion kit (on MidwayUSA)

I have been using this due to Ammo Prices lately.  Not perfect to practice with, but it does help with trigger management, sight alignment, and target transition.  No help for shot recovery or flip control.

Man -o- Man am I showing my Glock colors lately.



Terror

[Mini D]

I've put about 5000 rounds through a high-standard and say it matches the Ruger Mk2. Both in quality and quirks. I've had just as many jams on both when using lead rounds, significantly less when using jacketed.

I only have a few hundred through a MkII, but still think it's an excellent gun. I just can't bring myself to pay the $350-$500 they want for one these days.

[lazs2]

LOL terror... you are shooting 22's out of the glock because you can't afford the factory rounds for the glock?   In the other thread you were making fun of me for shooting lead slugs out of my Kimber.  I can shoot 50 .45's out of the kimber for what you pay for 100-150 22's

I can shoot 44 mags for about the same price.   You buy the conversion for the glock and it now costs more than a Kimber and the only way you can afford to shoot it is to shoot 22's out of it?

Not a glowing ad for glocks.

lazs

[Terror]

Originally posted by lazs2
LOL terror... you are shooting 22's out of the glock because you can't afford the factory rounds for the glock?   In the other thread you were making fun of me for shooting lead slugs out of my Kimber.  I can shoot 50 .45's out of the kimber for what you pay for 100-150 22's

I can shoot 44 mags for about the same price.   You buy the conversion for the glock and it now costs more than a Kimber and the only way you can afford to shoot it is to shoot 22's out of it?

Not a glowing ad for glocks.

lazs

No, has nothing to do with Glocks.  I don't reload.  I know many folks that do reload for their Glocks though.  It's not recommended by Glock, but many folks do it. (most firearm manufacturers recommend factory loads because of liabilities)  I don't have the room or time to reload, so I take other measures to reduce the cost of my shooting.

A Kimber runs a minimum $800+ (usually $1000+).  A Glock runs $450 to $500 (Max of $650 if you want the "long slide" variants).  Add the conversion kit for $250.  Totals at ~$750 for a gun than now can run two calibers through with a simple change of the slide.  Sounds better than that $1000 Kimber.

Terror