SIG Mosquito?

[Nesh23]

I'm looking to get a second handgun in a .22 to save some money on ammo. I like the way the two toned SIG Mosquito looks but have read more bad reviews then good. If not the Mosquito any other suggestions on what .22 is the best that looks similar?

[Rocked]

Do you own any other sigs? They make .22 conversions for the 226, 228 and 220 for about what youd pay. I havent heard anything remarkable about the Mosquito but have heard the newer ones have gotten better. Id put my money on a Ruger Mark II or a Browning Buckmark.

[Nesh23]

no unfortunatly don't own any other sig. Are the newer mosquito's supposed to be better quality?

[SiggySan]

I have done quite a bit of research on .22 pistols because I was thinking about getting one in order to save money on ammo and increase the frequency of my range sessions. The Mosquito has a very spotty reputation for quality. Complaints about stovepiping are rampant. The same can be said for the Walther p22. The consensus seems to be that the two best are the Browning Buckmark and the Ruger Mark III. This was sad news for me because I find both the Buckmark and the Mark III to be aesthetically unappealing, whereas the Sig and the Walther are both quite nice looking. Ultimately I decided to pass on the .22 altogether.

[Kcboats]

I gotta agree with Siggy, they have spotty reps. I just bought a new one and it works great but I went thru a lot of different ammo types till I find one that works and now no problems. Mine eats Remington 22.

[MrNiceGuy]

they are not typical sig quality

if you'lre looking for another .22lr, i'd suggest the mkIII

[benzuncle]

I bought my Mosquito a few months ago; mine's fine. I did my due diligence and found a fair number of shooters actually owned a Mosquito. I listened to them and not the ones that heard about a guy that heard about a guy... (Some of them remind me of Yogi Berra talking about a restaurant: Nobody goes there; it's too crowded.) A lot of Mosquito owners had both good and bad things to share. It's not a P220; it's a plinker. I shoot CCI Mini-mags and Remington Golden Bullet Bulk Pack stuff with no problems, got about 800 rounds through it. It's a fine plinker that shoots rimfire ammo and is very accurate. It comes with 3 different front sights for different distances. It has a decocker just like the other DA/SA Sigs. The DA/SA trigger allows me to strike the occasional FTF (not uncommon with rimfire ammo). It hasn't jammed and hasn't stovepiped. (That's the first mention of stovepiping I've seen amongst all the naysayers so far.) As for cost savings, a 22lr is definitely cheaper. So's my Crossman. I shoot a Sig P220 Compact and Taurus PT-145. The way I keep my cost down: I reload. It's cheaper than shooting a 9mm.

[Salty1]

I own a recent Mosquito, they are much better than the first production run. They can be a bit tempermental on what ammo they fire. I broke mine in with CCI mini mags and had just a few FTE's, once I had 500 rounds through it it seemed to have broken in properly and the only ammo it does not do well with is the bulk winchester lead hollow points, FTE's are more common. The Mosquito is enjoyable to shoot and only took minor sight adjustments. Just understand that this is not a target pistol, it is accurate for what it is, the Mark II is more accurate but IMO not nearly as much of a fun factor. I do like the trigger and the concept of 100 rounds for $6.50, since it was similar to my Sig P250 that played a factor in my purchase, I liked the concept of similar sights and feel, although I am more accurate with the 9mm I enjoy the Skeeter very much..........

[jtdominate]

I got one a few months ago to teach my 9 yr old daughter to shoot with. I heard all the bad things about it but figured what the heck. We've got about 250 rounds through it with no problems. It's a nice plinker and I prefer the heft of it.

I recommend it. It's awful fun. Took me a few lips to adjust to it. I kept expecting recoil (used to sooting .223 and .45) and got pretty bad groups. my daughter on the other hand was shooting like a pro.

[Keltyke]

The Mosquito is a good gun. My daughter's performs flawlessly, IF you follow some simple guidelines.

Keep it clean.
Use high velocity ammo, like CCI Mini-Mag or Velocitor.
Follow the lubrication schedule in the manual.

[MemphisJim]

I bought my Skeeter new in April after doing a lot of due diligence reading of others' experiences with the pistol. As we all know, it has it's fans and detrators. I wanted the Mosquito because it is similar in many respects to my P229 CCW and I thought it would be a good device for practicing various muscle memory exercises as well as being an affordable shooter. I am satisfied in all regards with the what and why of buying it. Mine's a Sport model; I've used the heavy spring from day one. It now has well north of a thousand rounds through it. Predominantly I shoot CCI Mini-Mags and have not had a single failure to feed, fire or extract with them. I've also shot Federal and Winchester bulk, with fewer than a half dozen stovepipes using the cheap stuff. I also have a Ruger MkII 22/45 that I love to shoot as well. The Skeeter isn't quite as accurate but is a whole lot easier to field strip and reassemble. I'm completely satisfied with my Mosquito and have no reluctance to recommend them for anyone wanting a "fun" shooter or a sub-caliber training device.

[cerberus65]

The Mosquito has zinc in the slide. I'd be really curious to know if that really causes problems long term.

Have a look at the Beretta NEOS. I've been very happy with mine.

Or there's always the revolver route. I'm partial to revolvers and I love the S&W 34 I picked up used a couple months ago. It cost more than a new bottom-feeder but it was worth it even before I got my wife to shoot it the other day.

Or in the SA revolver arena, I was very tempted by a Ruger New Bearcat the other day. I just bought a reloading press so I had to resist. Nice looking gun, though.

[RevDerb]

What Keltyke said, I echo. People buy a gun, take it to the range, stuff it with range ammo without knowing anything about the guns requirements and then cry "foul." My Skeeter worked flawlessly when I followed SIG's simple instructions. Had FTF's & FTE's when I tried to save money with less than first class ammo.

[MrNiceGuy]

i love these reviews

So far it's pretty unanimous that it's inaccurate, finicky with ammo, and not inexpensive... yet everyone recommends one

it must be the brand name, or maybe it's the nifty fake suppressor sig makes for it, but the gun on it's own merits just cant compete

[BigJimP]

In my experience all semi auto .22's are fussy on ammo. The bulk pack stuff, like Remington, gives all my semi-auto 22's a problem. CCI mini-mag is a much higher quality ammo and it runs thru all of my 22's without a problem - including my conversion kits for 1911's - and its accurate.

I just bought a conversion kit for my Sig 226 last week - its a good kit, accurate, and runs mini-mag real well but it won't run the bulk ammo either.

Honestly, I use the bulk ammo in my .22 revolvers / or rifles - and let the grandkids go thru a ton of it when they're around.

If you want to consider reloading, you can almost reload 9mm today, with high quality components, cheaper than .22 mini-mag at about $ 5 for 50 and I show my 9mm reloads at about $ 5.50 a box right now. Instead of practicing with my .22's I practice with my 1911's chambered in 9mm.
I have a Sig mosquito that is about a year old and its been fine, an old S&W model 41, an old High Standard sport king - conversion kits from Wilson Combat, Kimber and now Sig. They're all fun guns to shoot / but the 1911's I have chambered in 9mm are still better practice.

[GoSlash27]

I musta got a lemon; mine runs bulk Remington stuff all day long without hiccuping.

If you get the threaded barrel version you'll probably end up as "disappointed" as I am.

[CortJestir]

I heard from a gun dealer that the Sig Mosquito was first manufactured by someone other than Sig with little oversight from them in terms of QC. Seems unlikely to me, but could help explain the issues with early production runs. Anyone know if this is this true or rumor?

[MemphisJim]

My Sig was bought as a sub-caliber device for practicing muscle memory exercises and low-cost shooting. It serves both purposes extremely well. Inaccurate? I hold fist size groups at 15 yards doing my drills. Is my Ruger Mk II 22/45 more accurate? Yes, for two major reasons: I shoot it slowly and deliberately; AND I've equipped it with a red dot. And, the fact is I've had more stovepipes with the Ruger using cheap bulk stuff than I have with the Skeeter. My Mosquito is the Sport model and doesn't have the threaded barrel so the "fake" suppressor isn't an option for it. And as I am one of those anal retentives who cleans his weapon after every use, the Skeeter is a lot easier to maintain than the 22/45. When I was doing my due diligence and reading the various posts pro and con about the pistol, I only paid attention to those who actually have or had one and speak from experience. The woods are full of people who "know someone who was told by a distant friend of a third cousin whose father married a woman two counties over whose brother met a guy at a range who heard..." As an experienced owner/user, I'll let the facts speak for themself: current production Mosquitos are fine pistols and fun to shoot.

[spodwo]

I have the Mosquito. The many reported problems associated with it are user based. It comes with two springs - the lighter spring is the default one. Some of the loading problems are associate with users putting in the spring in backwards [wider portion is set facing the FRONT of the pistol]. CCI mini mag ammo is recommended by the manufacturer. I have always used that ammo and prefer it. I have shot Winchester Super X and Federal Gold Medal also in it...you keep it lubricated per the instructions and there should be no issues with it. Again - I suspect some users don't "follow the instructions".

The earlier models were reported to have issues. Mine is a great little shooter. I have not had issues with it.

The Mosquito inherently is NOT as accurate as 5.5" to 7", .22 pistol for the obvious reason that this little item has a barrel that is just under 4", no weighted/heavier barrel, shorter sight radius, etc. It's competitive counterpart is the small Walther P22 [which I don't like at all].

I have a .22 smith with a 5.5 inch, a light barrel and I certainly shoot better groups than the Sig Mos. but again - two different pistols for two different types of shooting. I was waiting for the .22 conversion for my Sig 229 but the gun dealer said for less than the conversion kit, you can have the mosguito, so I bought it. It is smaller than my 229 and lighter. I still may get the conversion kit for the 229 when it comes out.