Help steer me in the right direction (.22) - Page 2

Lordy123 · December 12, 2012, 02:49 PM

No love for the S&W 22a? Is there a reason it hasnt been mentioned?

I have it on my wish list, I borrowed a friends and was surprised when I shot better with that than my Mark II(Albeit, marginally). I'll admit I haven't done any real research on them though.

Yung.gunr · December 12, 2012, 03:34 PM

Lordy, I mentioned the 22A. I think it is often overlooked because people are usually thinking the Ruger Marks, Buckmark, Neos and 22/45. Those are all great pistols and I would love to have a couple of em. But for me the 22A is a great mix of price, quality and accuracy.

Meh... More 22A's for me I guess.

m_liebst · December 12, 2012, 04:11 PM

The S&W 22A is not a bad choice for the price when compared to the others except the Neos which I'm not sure.

The Neos on the other hand just looks too much like a space toy lazer gun of that sort, though I've heard it was very accurate and not too picky with the ammo.

I went for the MK3 for the accuracy and definitely the looks IMO.
After fieldstripping the first time, it's been as easy as any other firearm I've taken down.

Downside is the LCD indicator and the mag-release connector which doesn't allow ya to fire the gun without having the magazine connected

Despite this, I love the pistol and have well over 9000+ rds down the pipe.

I shoot only CCI minimags, Blazers, and a few occasional Velocitors and Stingers. Sticking with this brand "CCI"-has given me flawless performance/ reliability.

Oh..... Did I mention accuracy. This pic is a 15 shot .75 inch group at 25 yards
discluding the 2 shots pulled. Pistol was rested/ scoped/ using Fiocchi SM 320 ammo. I'd consider that varmint grade precision for a pistol

1-UP · December 13, 2012, 06:45 PM

Don't let folks scare you away from the Mark III. My opinion is that problems based on the design are more political than practical. I have both a Mark II and a Mark III and to be honest, the Mark III gets the most trigger time. The main reason? The magazine release is in the right spot. Unless you're some kind of weirdo who feeds 1 shot into the chamber because you lost the magazine or something I just can't see why it matters. It's not even a big deal as far as cleaning or disassembling goes, even if you detail strip.

Possibly more valid complaint-wise is the loaded chamber indicator. It seems that there was a questionable run several years ago in which the LCI may have contributed to jams (at least folks swear to that it was to blame). It DOES accumulate crud, but I haven't had it jam due to the LCI even once. I could live without it, but I did like it when I was first learning how to shoot a pistol. It was reassuring. Now I ignore it.

The downside to the Ruger series is that you're probably going to end up dumping $100 in parts into them. I think it's pretty much required that you replace the extractor with a Volquartsen Exact Edge. The only time I ever had problems with jams were with the factory extractor. $12 and 5 minutes of simple labor have made the gun pretty much jam-proof. Actually, I can't remember a single jam since installing the extractor.

The other $88 is probably going to be spent on a sear (~$40) and maybe a trigger (~$45). The Ruger trigger out of the box is...acceptable. It works, but when you drop in one of the MANY aftermarket kits available you suddenly find out what a "good" trigger actually is. I've put Volquartsen kits into both my Mark II and Mark III and boy have they spoiled me. You don't have to do it right away, but you really do owe it to yourself to upgrade them at some point. I think I waited a year and I'm afraid the upgrade has turned me into a total trigger snob.

Tearing down a Ruger isn't rocket science. I suspect 90% of the vitriol about how difficult it is centers around how tight the buggers are put together. You will literally use a hammer to knock it apart the first time. There are two"I'm an idiot" moments that new owners hit - either they miss putting the magazine in or out in the Mark III at certain steps (I still get caught by this on rare occasion) or there's a little dangly lever (hammer strut) that gets stuck behind a crossbar if it's not held at the right angle (Not a difficult angle, basically just vertical vs horizontal).

They're a great gun. When I did my research it boiled down to getting either a Buckmark or a Ruger. The Ruger was in stock at the time, so that's what I got. I've picked up several more Rugers since.

Shadi Khalil · December 13, 2012, 09:52 PM

Here's another vote for the MarkIII. I just recently picked one up and it's fast becoming my favorite gun.

johnwilliamson062 · December 14, 2012, 11:38 PM

I stripped my MK II once just to see how it was done. Probably 5 years and almost as many thousand rounds ago. If it starts having issues I guess I will do it again. Not so much of a pain IMO.

If you get stuck there are lots of videos on youtube that show how it is done.

Sport45 · December 15, 2012, 12:47 AM

Quote:

I stripped my MK II once just to see how it was done. Probably 5 years and almost as many thousand rounds ago. If it starts having issues I guess I will do it again. Not so much of a pain IMO.

I'm in the same camp. I couldn't tell you how many years it's been since I took my 22/45 apart.

Even then, it didn't "need" to be taken apart. I was just seeing if I could. It really wasn't all that hard to figure out.

December 12, 2012, 04:11 PM	#28
m_liebst Senior Member Join Date: February 2, 2011 Location: San Francisco Posts: 274	The S&W 22A is not a bad choice for the price when compared to the others except the Neos which I'm not sure. The Neos on the other hand just looks too much like a space toy lazer gun of that sort, though I've heard it was very accurate and not too picky with the ammo. I went for the MK3 for the accuracy and definitely the looks IMO. After fieldstripping the first time, it's been as easy as any other firearm I've taken down. Downside is the LCD indicator and the mag-release connector which doesn't allow ya to fire the gun without having the magazine connected Despite this, I love the pistol and have well over 9000+ rds down the pipe. I shoot only CCI minimags, Blazers, and a few occasional Velocitors and Stingers. Sticking with this brand "CCI"-has given me flawless performance/ reliability. Oh..... Did I mention accuracy. This pic is a 15 shot .75 inch group at 25 yards discluding the 2 shots pulled. Pistol was rested/ scoped/ using Fiocchi SM 320 ammo. I'd consider that varmint grade precision for a pistol Last edited by m_liebst; December 12, 2012 at 04:19 PM.

December 14, 2012, 11:38 PM	#31
johnwilliamson062 Senior Member Join Date: May 16, 2008 Posts: 6,108	I stripped my MK II once just to see how it was done. Probably 5 years and almost as many thousand rounds ago. If it starts having issues I guess I will do it again. Not so much of a pain IMO. If you get stuck there are lots of videos on youtube that show how it is done. __________________ $0 of an NRA membership goes to legislative action or court battles. Not a dime. Only money contributed to the NRA-ILA or NRA-PVF. Of course, you could just donate to the Second Amendment Foundation I was feeling pretty good, then I looked around and realized I am not swimming or on fire.

December 12, 2012, 02:49 PM	#26
Lordy123 Member Join Date: June 6, 2011 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 66	No love for the S&W 22a? Is there a reason it hasnt been mentioned? I have it on my wish list, I borrowed a friends and was surprised when I shot better with that than my Mark II(Albeit, marginally). I'll admit I haven't done any real research on them though.

December 12, 2012, 03:34 PM	#27
Yung.gunr Senior Member Join Date: November 12, 2010 Location: Phoenix area Posts: 1,181	Lordy, I mentioned the 22A. I think it is often overlooked because people are usually thinking the Ruger Marks, Buckmark, Neos and 22/45. Those are all great pistols and I would love to have a couple of em. But for me the 22A is a great mix of price, quality and accuracy. Meh... More 22A's for me I guess.

December 13, 2012, 06:45 PM	#29
1-UP Senior Member Join Date: April 14, 2008 Location: Southern MI Posts: 246	Don't let folks scare you away from the Mark III. My opinion is that problems based on the design are more political than practical. I have both a Mark II and a Mark III and to be honest, the Mark III gets the most trigger time. The main reason? The magazine release is in the right spot. Unless you're some kind of weirdo who feeds 1 shot into the chamber because you lost the magazine or something I just can't see why it matters. It's not even a big deal as far as cleaning or disassembling goes, even if you detail strip. Possibly more valid complaint-wise is the loaded chamber indicator. It seems that there was a questionable run several years ago in which the LCI may have contributed to jams (at least folks swear to that it was to blame). It DOES accumulate crud, but I haven't had it jam due to the LCI even once. I could live without it, but I did like it when I was first learning how to shoot a pistol. It was reassuring. Now I ignore it. The downside to the Ruger series is that you're probably going to end up dumping $100 in parts into them. I think it's pretty much required that you replace the extractor with a Volquartsen Exact Edge. The only time I ever had problems with jams were with the factory extractor. $12 and 5 minutes of simple labor have made the gun pretty much jam-proof. Actually, I can't remember a single jam since installing the extractor. The other $88 is probably going to be spent on a sear (~$40) and maybe a trigger (~$45). The Ruger trigger out of the box is...acceptable. It works, but when you drop in one of the MANY aftermarket kits available you suddenly find out what a "good" trigger actually is. I've put Volquartsen kits into both my Mark II and Mark III and boy have they spoiled me. You don't have to do it right away, but you really do owe it to yourself to upgrade them at some point. I think I waited a year and I'm afraid the upgrade has turned me into a total trigger snob. Tearing down a Ruger isn't rocket science. I suspect 90% of the vitriol about how difficult it is centers around how tight the buggers are put together. You will literally use a hammer to knock it apart the first time. There are two"I'm an idiot" moments that new owners hit - either they miss putting the magazine in or out in the Mark III at certain steps (I still get caught by this on rare occasion) or there's a little dangly lever (hammer strut) that gets stuck behind a crossbar if it's not held at the right angle (Not a difficult angle, basically just vertical vs horizontal). They're a great gun. When I did my research it boiled down to getting either a Buckmark or a Ruger. The Ruger was in stock at the time, so that's what I got. I've picked up several more Rugers since.

December 13, 2012, 09:52 PM	#30
Shadi Khalil Senior Member Join Date: September 24, 2006 Location: Alexandria, VA Posts: 4,757	Here's another vote for the MarkIII. I just recently picked one up and it's fast becoming my favorite gun.