The best 22LR Semi auto pistol.

rodallg · March 31, 2014, 11:21 AM

I'm looking for the best semi auto 22LR pistol in the way of reliability. I have heard/read many things on the brand of ammo will dictate the shoot-ability of the gun. I wanted the Ruger SR22 but being in CA I can't have one so I'm looking for the people here to give me their opinions on which one to get.
Thnaks

gadawg31 · March 31, 2014, 12:27 PM

Rodallg, I presume this will be for you as an adult. There are quite a few out there to choose from, but the ones that I personally own are: Browing Buckmark, Ruger MIII (I also have the MII, but they are practically the same style of pistol), Browning 1911-A1 22lr. The 1911-A1 is the mini version and probably would not fit you as an adult. The Buckmark is a great pistol and will eat almost anything I put in it, including standard velocity CCI. I love this pistol and it has been very reliable. I have a shooting buddy that owns the SIG mosquito and it is a very nice shooting pistol. To me, it seems to be a little particular on ammo, but for the most part a very nice pistol. Your budget is also going to dictate as well, so depending on what you want and how much you are willing to spend, you can have a nice pistol. I will throw this one out there, as I have only shot it a few times; the colt umarex is a very nice shooting pistol and seemed to eat any round we put in it. I am not sure of price, but from what I understand it is one of the higher end models. If you have a Gander or Bass Pro, go and handle a few and get a feel. Hope this helps.

JD

mikld · March 31, 2014, 12:39 PM

I have owned a Ruger MkII w/6" bbl. for several years. When I first bought it I got 2 boxes of every 22 lr ammo I could find, both in stores and on line, and shot each and kept notes. Some were slightly better, accuracy wise and 2 did not feed reliably (both Remington products). Target velocity ammo shot to a different POI than high speed, and the ultra velocity weren't very accurate at all. Last summer I mounted a scope on it and with cheap ammo (Blazer, and Federal bulk) I could keep all shots in a 1" circle and most went 7/8" at 25 yds., and CCI Green Tag went a bit smaller averaging 3/4"-7/8"...

When I stopped using the Remington ammo, I can't remember a failure to feed in mebbe 9 years...

BRJACKET · March 31, 2014, 12:40 PM

I will add a little to Dawg's post (about all I know). The Sigs and their conversion kits are more finicky with 22LR ammo. It takes a higher velocity to make sure they cycle. That said, I have a conversion kit for my P226 and it will work with most types of ammo (even sub-sonic). I do have occasional misfires but I had those with Mini Mags too. Buckmark and Ruger Mk111 are both excellent and eat pretty much anything. They are also incredibly accurate (there are some You Tube videos with them hitting targets at 100 yards).

I have a Ruger Mk111 with threaded barrel. It is really nice although it I had it to do over I would get the "Lite" version to save a little weight. The only problem is that Rugers are a pain to strip to clean and reassemble. One good thing is that you can dry fire them all day long and not hurt anything. I don't know how easy the Buckmark is to strip and reassemble. I have heard that it is not good to dry fire them.

There are some aftermarket add-ons you can get for the Ruger that reduce reset and give them a clean low weight for trigger pull. They are worth the money and can be done be a do it your selfer.

willr · March 31, 2014, 12:47 PM

I have had two Ruger MkI for over 60 years and a MkII 22/45 for over 15 years. They are basically all the same (except for staying open after last round.) I also years ago had a Colt Woodsman. I don't think you can do any better than the Ruger design -- it has stood the test of time.

willr

weblance · March 31, 2014, 01:05 PM

I have over 30 autoloading 22 pistols, so I have an opinion. The Ruger is an excellent choice. DONT be mislead by the comments that they are hard to dis/reassemble. Its not that hard. Even if you find that its difficult, the Speed Strip kit from Majestic Arms makes things much easier.

Also consider the Beretta Neos. Its generally $50-$80 cheaper than the equivalent Ruger, and is an excellent choice. You wont find a 22 autoloader that has better reliability, and its also very easy to strip and clean.

Bozz10mm · March 31, 2014, 01:40 PM

Toss up between Ruger Mark I, II, or III and the Browning Buckmark.

Skans · March 31, 2014, 01:57 PM

The best .22 semi-auto is the Smith & Wesson Model 41.

ttarp · March 31, 2014, 02:16 PM

From my somewhat limited experience the

Quote:

best semi auto 22LR pistol in the way of reliability

would be the Browning 1911-22, I have a few other .22 pistols I shoot more accurately with, but the Browning hasn't had any failure with any ammo I've got my hands on so far.

pilpens · March 31, 2014, 02:40 PM

Best for the money, Browning Buckmark or Ruger MKxxx.

PetahW · March 31, 2014, 03:25 PM

.

Welcome to TFL ! !

A Browning Buckmark or Ruger Mk.III - +1,738 .

You couldn't go wrong with either, as a 1st (or last) pistol.

.

Slamfire · March 31, 2014, 06:01 PM

My Ruger MkII has been an exceptionally reliable semi auto 22LR. Good quality Ruger magazines really help function reliability. In my opinion, Ruger kludged up the mechanism in the MkIII version.

kcub · March 31, 2014, 06:36 PM

old school Belgian Browning Challenger

Never seen one jam on anything including the cheapest crappiest .22 ammo you can throw at it.
More reliable than .22 revolvers even.
Accurate to boot.

bn12gg · March 31, 2014, 06:50 PM

Entry level, inexpensive semi auto -- Browning BuckMark.

Best imo are two -- Model 41 Smith and Wesson or Browning Medalist. Both will set you back a grand plus but you get what you pay for.

.02

David

sigarms228 · March 31, 2014, 07:08 PM

A Ruger MarkXXX or Browning Buckmark.

happymachinist · March 31, 2014, 07:19 PM

I have a Browning Buckmark my buddy has a Ruger Mark III. I prefer my Buckmark's grip and ease of disassembly. Yes I know it requires tools but 2 Allen wrenches IMO is not that big of a deal.

That being said my buddy's Mark III is a dam fine pistol and I wouldn't mind adding one to the collection down the road. It's a Ford Chevy thing. I think you'd be tickled with either. Both eat any .22 ammo we've fed them with the occasional bulk FTF.

We both also have Sig 1911-22, those things are a lot pickier but when they're a cycling they are plenty accurate and a blast.

Microgunner · March 31, 2014, 07:28 PM

The Beretta mod 87 is a very good general purpose 22 pistol, but a little difficult to locate.

jonnyc · March 31, 2014, 08:31 PM

Beretta Model 71.

TailGator · March 31, 2014, 08:36 PM

If you can get past the unusual styling, the Beretta Neos is extremely reliable with any kind of ammo, quite accurate, easy to clean, and very competitively priced. "If" can be a pretty big word, though.

jmstr · April 1, 2014, 03:26 AM

First recommendation is to read up on rimfires at rimfirecentraldotcom. A LOT of great info there.

Second recommendation is to check out the Roster for California. Here is the link: Cal Roster of handguns

You will note something like 5 Ruger Mark III series that are still available [for limited times, if you can find them] and something like 10 Browning BuckMark handguns available.

I like both.

I will say the browning trigger doesn't seem to require trigger work while the Ruger trigger does [to my tastes]. However, the Ruger trigger can be safely brought to a lower trigger pull weight also.

The Ruger may be more accurate than the BuckMark, due to the buckmark having a topstrap that you remove when doing a THOROUGH breakdown cleaning, and how that can possibly affect sight alignment when said topstrap [which the rear sight mounts to] is removed/reinstalled.

For casual plinking, I wouldn't worry.

The Buckmark makes it easy to change barrels out to longer/shorter or PacLite versions, without going through cal DOJ. Can't do that with the Ruger easily.

You can spend Hundreds to have Clark fit a custom target barrel to your Ruger receiver, but that option costs almost the same as a basic buckmark Camper. You could have 2 .22lr handguns for that price.

Last observation: I've had more ammo fail to fire with my buckmark than my ruger 22/45.

That 'more' means about 1 shot per 50 rounds, from the same batch of ammo. So, it could be ammo related and not firearm related. However, the 22/45 didn't have that failure rate with the same box of bulk ammo.

Whatever you choose: enjoy and use wisely.

trigger643 · April 1, 2014, 06:36 AM

As far as reliability goes, the ability to digest a vast variety of ammunition and hit what it's aimed at, it would be the Ruger Mk series of pistols...

Now if you want to talk about accuracy and reliability, I'd vote for the Hammerli.

this is only my opinion based on a few decades of experience...

Hal · April 1, 2014, 06:57 AM

These "best .22" threads always come down to an even split between the Browning Buckmark and the Ruger Mark I,II or III.

I own a few of each, plus a few others.

For reliable feed, I have to give the nod to the Browning over the Ruger design for one reason only.

The Browning Buckmark has a real feed ramp. The Ruger has a piece of metal stamped out of the receiver in a very crude fashion that acts as a feed ramp.

In my experience, this can cause major feed problems with some hollow point ammunition & any ammunition that is slightly shorter than a regular 40 grain non hollow point.

I have two identical .22/45's. One feeds 36 grain hollow points fine, the other jams. My Mark II "Slabside" will sometimes jam with 36 grain hollow points.
My old Mark I that I traded off years ago jammed with any hollow point.

gyvel · April 1, 2014, 08:13 AM

Much like "willr" above, I have had my Ruger Standard for 48 years, and have put countless thousands of rounds through it.

Another totally reliable .22 autolader I have is the somehwat obscure Unique Model 52. It has always eaten anything I put through it; Unfortunately, it is out of production and, being French made, parts are a problem. They show up on Gunbroker every so often.

DavidAGO · April 1, 2014, 08:47 AM

If you are looking for something to currently purchase, the Ruger. As for best, I would rank the Colt woodsman above the Ruger, but finding one is harder. Once you get one, you do not sell them.

David

WIL TERRY · April 1, 2014, 01:24 PM

NOTE THIS : the STURM RUGER & COMPANY 22 autoloading pistols took over the 1950's and literally put nearly every other manaufacutrer of 22 pistols out of business. The only one that remains and it still readily available is the BROWNING Buckmark and I'd make a small wager the Ruger 22 pistols of today outsell the browning a 100 to 1 sure as God made little green apples.
In my search over the years I bought three different S&W M41 22 pistols. The Ruger MKI and MKII guns I had at that time outshot everyone of those S&W pistols much to my chagrin, amazement, and a little bit of anger too. I still own five Ruger MKII 22 pistols and all know the happiness of permanent quarters and regular vittles. AND to those who might ask, I still prefer the STANDARD 22 pistols to the target guns as there in nothing better than fixed sights if ---IF !!!---they are fixed in the right place, an easy thing to do with these delightful 22 pistols.

March 31, 2014, 11:21 AM	#1
rodallg Junior Member Join Date: February 25, 2014 Posts: 1	The best 22LR Semi auto pistol. I'm looking for the best semi auto 22LR pistol in the way of reliability. I have heard/read many things on the brand of ammo will dictate the shoot-ability of the gun. I wanted the Ruger SR22 but being in CA I can't have one so I'm looking for the people here to give me their opinions on which one to get. Thnaks

March 31, 2014, 06:01 PM	#12
Slamfire Senior Member Join Date: May 27, 2007 Posts: 5,261	My Ruger MkII has been an exceptionally reliable semi auto 22LR. Good quality Ruger magazines really help function reliability. In my opinion, Ruger kludged up the mechanism in the MkIII version. __________________ If I'm not shooting, I'm reloading.

March 31, 2014, 08:31 PM	#18
jonnyc Senior Member Join Date: July 20, 2009 Location: PA Posts: 1,749	Beretta Model 71. __________________ 2024 PA Cartridge Collector Show; Aug. 16-17, 2024!!! Buy...Sell...Trade All Types of Ammunition & Ordnance PM or email me for 2024 show details.

March 31, 2014, 12:27 PM	#2
gadawg31 Member Join Date: January 20, 2010 Posts: 60	Rodallg, I presume this will be for you as an adult. There are quite a few out there to choose from, but the ones that I personally own are: Browing Buckmark, Ruger MIII (I also have the MII, but they are practically the same style of pistol), Browning 1911-A1 22lr. The 1911-A1 is the mini version and probably would not fit you as an adult. The Buckmark is a great pistol and will eat almost anything I put in it, including standard velocity CCI. I love this pistol and it has been very reliable. I have a shooting buddy that owns the SIG mosquito and it is a very nice shooting pistol. To me, it seems to be a little particular on ammo, but for the most part a very nice pistol. Your budget is also going to dictate as well, so depending on what you want and how much you are willing to spend, you can have a nice pistol. I will throw this one out there, as I have only shot it a few times; the colt umarex is a very nice shooting pistol and seemed to eat any round we put in it. I am not sure of price, but from what I understand it is one of the higher end models. If you have a Gander or Bass Pro, go and handle a few and get a feel. Hope this helps. JD

March 31, 2014, 12:39 PM	#3
mikld Senior Member Join Date: February 7, 2009 Location: Southern Oregon! Posts: 2,891	I have owned a Ruger MkII w/6" bbl. for several years. When I first bought it I got 2 boxes of every 22 lr ammo I could find, both in stores and on line, and shot each and kept notes. Some were slightly better, accuracy wise and 2 did not feed reliably (both Remington products). Target velocity ammo shot to a different POI than high speed, and the ultra velocity weren't very accurate at all. Last summer I mounted a scope on it and with cheap ammo (Blazer, and Federal bulk) I could keep all shots in a 1" circle and most went 7/8" at 25 yds., and CCI Green Tag went a bit smaller averaging 3/4"-7/8"... When I stopped using the Remington ammo, I can't remember a failure to feed in mebbe 9 years...

March 31, 2014, 12:40 PM	#4
BRJACKET Member Join Date: March 25, 2010 Posts: 67	I will add a little to Dawg's post (about all I know). The Sigs and their conversion kits are more finicky with 22LR ammo. It takes a higher velocity to make sure they cycle. That said, I have a conversion kit for my P226 and it will work with most types of ammo (even sub-sonic). I do have occasional misfires but I had those with Mini Mags too. Buckmark and Ruger Mk111 are both excellent and eat pretty much anything. They are also incredibly accurate (there are some You Tube videos with them hitting targets at 100 yards). I have a Ruger Mk111 with threaded barrel. It is really nice although it I had it to do over I would get the "Lite" version to save a little weight. The only problem is that Rugers are a pain to strip to clean and reassemble. One good thing is that you can dry fire them all day long and not hurt anything. I don't know how easy the Buckmark is to strip and reassemble. I have heard that it is not good to dry fire them. There are some aftermarket add-ons you can get for the Ruger that reduce reset and give them a clean low weight for trigger pull. They are worth the money and can be done be a do it your selfer.

March 31, 2014, 12:47 PM	#5
willr Senior Member Join Date: July 23, 2006 Posts: 356	I have had two Ruger MkI for over 60 years and a MkII 22/45 for over 15 years. They are basically all the same (except for staying open after last round.) I also years ago had a Colt Woodsman. I don't think you can do any better than the Ruger design -- it has stood the test of time. willr

March 31, 2014, 01:05 PM	#6
weblance Senior Member Join Date: October 3, 2012 Posts: 1,229	I have over 30 autoloading 22 pistols, so I have an opinion. The Ruger is an excellent choice. DONT be mislead by the comments that they are hard to dis/reassemble. Its not that hard. Even if you find that its difficult, the Speed Strip kit from Majestic Arms makes things much easier. Also consider the Beretta Neos. Its generally $50-$80 cheaper than the equivalent Ruger, and is an excellent choice. You wont find a 22 autoloader that has better reliability, and its also very easy to strip and clean.

March 31, 2014, 01:40 PM	#7
Bozz10mm Senior Member Join Date: June 28, 2013 Location: Central Texas Posts: 287	Toss up between Ruger Mark I, II, or III and the Browning Buckmark.

March 31, 2014, 01:57 PM	#8
Skans Senior Member Join Date: November 20, 2008 Posts: 11,332	The best .22 semi-auto is the Smith & Wesson Model 41.

March 31, 2014, 02:40 PM	#10
pilpens Senior Member Join Date: April 24, 2008 Location: Ohio Posts: 1,696	Best for the money, Browning Buckmark or Ruger MKxxx.

March 31, 2014, 03:25 PM	#11
PetahW Senior Member Join Date: September 19, 2008 Posts: 4,678	. Welcome to TFL ! ! A Browning Buckmark or Ruger Mk.III - +1,738 . You couldn't go wrong with either, as a 1st (or last) pistol. .

March 31, 2014, 06:36 PM	#13
kcub Senior Member Join Date: October 24, 2010 Location: Austin, Texas Posts: 3,335	old school Belgian Browning Challenger Never seen one jam on anything including the cheapest crappiest .22 ammo you can throw at it. More reliable than .22 revolvers even. Accurate to boot.

March 31, 2014, 06:50 PM	#14
bn12gg Senior Member Join Date: February 19, 2011 Location: Winter Park, Florida Posts: 470	Entry level, inexpensive semi auto -- Browning BuckMark. Best imo are two -- Model 41 Smith and Wesson or Browning Medalist. Both will set you back a grand plus but you get what you pay for. .02 David

March 31, 2014, 07:08 PM	#15
sigarms228 Senior Member Join Date: October 29, 2011 Posts: 1,793	A Ruger MarkXXX or Browning Buckmark.

March 31, 2014, 07:19 PM	#16
happymachinist Member Join Date: December 11, 2012 Location: Central Nebraska Posts: 55	I have a Browning Buckmark my buddy has a Ruger Mark III. I prefer my Buckmark's grip and ease of disassembly. Yes I know it requires tools but 2 Allen wrenches IMO is not that big of a deal. That being said my buddy's Mark III is a dam fine pistol and I wouldn't mind adding one to the collection down the road. It's a Ford Chevy thing. I think you'd be tickled with either. Both eat any .22 ammo we've fed them with the occasional bulk FTF. We both also have Sig 1911-22, those things are a lot pickier but when they're a cycling they are plenty accurate and a blast.

March 31, 2014, 07:28 PM	#17
Microgunner Senior Member Join Date: March 6, 2006 Location: Central Florida Posts: 3,324	The Beretta mod 87 is a very good general purpose 22 pistol, but a little difficult to locate.

March 31, 2014, 08:36 PM	#19
TailGator Senior Member Join Date: May 8, 2009 Location: Florida Posts: 3,809	If you can get past the unusual styling, the Beretta Neos is extremely reliable with any kind of ammo, quite accurate, easy to clean, and very competitively priced. "If" can be a pretty big word, though.

April 1, 2014, 03:26 AM	#20
jmstr Senior Member Join Date: February 24, 2001 Location: San Joaquin Valley, CA Posts: 1,304	First recommendation is to read up on rimfires at rimfirecentraldotcom. A LOT of great info there. Second recommendation is to check out the Roster for California. Here is the link: Cal Roster of handguns You will note something like 5 Ruger Mark III series that are still available [for limited times, if you can find them] and something like 10 Browning BuckMark handguns available. I like both. I will say the browning trigger doesn't seem to require trigger work while the Ruger trigger does [to my tastes]. However, the Ruger trigger can be safely brought to a lower trigger pull weight also. The Ruger may be more accurate than the BuckMark, due to the buckmark having a topstrap that you remove when doing a THOROUGH breakdown cleaning, and how that can possibly affect sight alignment when said topstrap [which the rear sight mounts to] is removed/reinstalled. For casual plinking, I wouldn't worry. The Buckmark makes it easy to change barrels out to longer/shorter or PacLite versions, without going through cal DOJ. Can't do that with the Ruger easily. You can spend Hundreds to have Clark fit a custom target barrel to your Ruger receiver, but that option costs almost the same as a basic buckmark Camper. You could have 2 .22lr handguns for that price. Last observation: I've had more ammo fail to fire with my buckmark than my ruger 22/45. That 'more' means about 1 shot per 50 rounds, from the same batch of ammo. So, it could be ammo related and not firearm related. However, the 22/45 didn't have that failure rate with the same box of bulk ammo. Whatever you choose: enjoy and use wisely.

April 1, 2014, 06:36 AM	#21
trigger643 Senior Member Join Date: April 22, 2011 Posts: 322	As far as reliability goes, the ability to digest a vast variety of ammunition *and* hit what it's aimed at, it would be the Ruger Mk series of pistols... Now if you want to talk about accuracy and reliability, I'd vote for the Hammerli. this is only my opinion based on a few decades of experience...

April 1, 2014, 06:57 AM	#22
Hal Senior Member Join Date: October 10, 1998 Location: Ohio USA Posts: 8,564	These "best .22" threads always come down to an even split between the Browning Buckmark and the Ruger Mark I,II or III. I own a few of each, plus a few others. For reliable feed, I have to give the nod to the Browning over the Ruger design for one reason only. The Browning Buckmark has a real feed ramp. The Ruger has a piece of metal stamped out of the receiver in a very crude fashion that acts as a feed ramp. In my experience, this can cause major feed problems with some hollow point ammunition & any ammunition that is slightly shorter than a regular 40 grain non hollow point. I have two identical .22/45's. One feeds 36 grain hollow points fine, the other jams. My Mark II "Slabside" will sometimes jam with 36 grain hollow points. My old Mark I that I traded off years ago jammed with any hollow point.

April 1, 2014, 08:13 AM	#23
gyvel Senior Member Join Date: August 30, 2009 Location: Northern AZ Posts: 7,172	Much like "willr" above, I have had my Ruger Standard for 48 years, and have put countless thousands of rounds through it. Another totally reliable .22 autolader I have is the somehwat obscure Unique Model 52. It has always eaten anything I put through it; Unfortunately, it is out of production and, being French made, parts are a problem. They show up on Gunbroker every so often.

April 1, 2014, 08:47 AM	#24
DavidAGO Senior Member Join Date: October 7, 2008 Location: Magnolia, AR Posts: 340	If you are looking for something to currently purchase, the Ruger. As for best, I would rank the Colt woodsman above the Ruger, but finding one is harder. Once you get one, you do not sell them. David

April 1, 2014, 01:24 PM	#25
WIL TERRY Senior Member Join Date: July 7, 2000 Location: BLACK HILLS Posts: 1,322	NOTE THIS : the STURM RUGER & COMPANY 22 autoloading pistols took over the 1950's and literally put nearly every other manaufacutrer of 22 pistols out of business. The only one that remains and it still readily available is the BROWNING Buckmark and I'd make a small wager the Ruger 22 pistols of today outsell the browning a 100 to 1 sure as God made little green apples. In my search over the years I bought three different S&W M41 22 pistols. The Ruger MKI and MKII guns I had at that time outshot everyone of those S&W pistols much to my chagrin, amazement, and a little bit of anger too. I still own five Ruger MKII 22 pistols and all know the happiness of permanent quarters and regular vittles. AND to those who might ask, I still prefer the STANDARD 22 pistols to the target guns as there in nothing better than fixed sights if ---IF !!!---they are fixed in the right place, an easy thing to do with these delightful 22 pistols.