Which Older .22LR Semi Auto

[HighValleyRanch]

I have a HS103. The really nice item about it is that one can easily change out the barrels. Various barrels give the pistol different characteristics. Long skinny barrel, short heavy barrel, etc.

Nobody has mentioned that so many of the early vintage .22 pistols have the European slant grip frame, rather than the American 1911 frame like the later High Standards and Smith 41. To me, that is a vintage COOL factor.

[frjeff]

I just bought this HS Sport King (103), think 1969 mfg date.

[HighValleyRanch]

That's a real beauty!

[farmlife247]

I consider the Ruger MK series .22lr pistols to be the best on the market. I have had several over the years and they are always a joy to shoot.

[Terrierman]

Having owned both a High Standard and a Mark II taper barrel target model I'd take the Ruger ten times out of ten. Still own the Ruger and always will. The High Standard is long gone. Definitely not as robust as the Mark II and mine was not quite as accurate.

[Schlitz 45]

My post war Colt Woodsman is one of the best shooters I have & regularly outdoes the Ruger’s.
This particular model wasn’t made for long & has the mag release where I like it instead of at the heel.

[Drm50]

I had several Ruger STD Auto & MK I traget models in 60s. I found a Hi-STD HD-Military in late 60s with 4.5” barrel and a trigger that competes with any American made 22 auto pistol. I have several HS 22s fancier but that one will be one of last to go.


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[44caliberkid]

I would look for a Colt Woodsman or any model of the High Standard 22 semi autos. My dad had a High Standard Sport King. It is a basic, fixed sighted, sort of trail or hunting gun. But it was exceptionally accurate and shot straight to point of aim. I used it as a teenager to shoot .22 pistol target matches. I currently have an HD Military.

[Ricklin]

The High Standard .22 pistols are very magazine sensitive. There is no feed ramp to speak of, thus the fit and the adjustment of the magazine is critical. The feed lips often require adjustment to avoid jams. Inspect the frame very carefully for cracks, avoid hot .22 ammo, standard velocity only. mine is quite accurate with good ammo.

[Swifty Morgan]

I have a few .22 pistols, and when I found out about the Browning Challenger, I had to have one. Web lore says the Challenger was a corrected version of the Woodsman, designed by the grandson of John Moses Browning. Both the Woodsman and the Challenger are much more elegant than the stuff you can buy today.

[The Happy kaboomer]

Find ya a Stevens Visible Loader pump.

[Henneman]

I have a Colt similar to #31's post. Mine is the less expensive "Challenger." It has the heel magazine release. From what I recall the original design was modified sometime about 1950. Mine was made about 1952. Aftermarket magazines were still available, at least they were about 5 years ago when I bought mine. They are very nice guns and shoot very well. There are always some for sale on Gunbroker.

[wachtelhund1]

Beretta 70s in .22 lr. Second one down. I purchased mine in 1985 in Sicily. In all my years of hunting since then, it was always in my coat pocket. I killed a lot of small game with it in those years. My collection of Beretta's. I've added a Beretta 81, .32 to my collection since I took this picture.

[rc]

Don't know if anyone has mentioned that the older high standard pistols should not be used with a steady diet of high speed ammo? I have read that with a steady diet of high speed ammo they can develop a frame crack.

[stuckinthe60s]

true.

[glider]

You've already got a Ruger semi-auto, so you should get something else. maybe some revolvers and no 22 collections are complete without a S&W#41. Then there is the Colt Woodsman, High Standard, it never ends! I have actually considered selling off most of my handguns and concentrating on 22s. One of the reasons the High Standards were so popular is because they were less expensive than Colt or S&W and they were very accurate. They still are less expensive than other collectable 22s.

[stuckinthe60s]

i have a nice U.S marked 103 tourn 6 3/4" hs. lmk!

[jmstr]

For older handguns that are reliable for daily shooting, I'd stick with the Ruger MK II.

I don't know anything about the older Browning Medalists, but have heard they are reliable. Same for Colt's woodsman series.

I will say that I LOVE the High Standard lineup and nothing screams 'vintage' more than one of their Model 102, 103 or 104 "Space Guns": Especially in the Trophy grade, but even the Citation grade.

102 Space Gun:


104 Space Gun:



If you want an older model that is cheaper and has a '40s vibe to it, the Model HD Military stands out:




However, don't get one expecting to use it for daily shooting without issues.

Two considerations have to be taken, and they've already been mentioned here: You NEED to stick to 40gr STANDARD velocity .22lr ammo [even though the manual/instruction card said HV was ok] AND they may not work well without a LOT of magazine manipulation.

My dad is a bit of a HS collector. He has a Model A, a Model HD Military, a Supermatic S101, a 102 Trophy, a 103 Citation, a 104 Trophy and a 106 Trophy military.

The S101, the 103 and the 106 Trophy Military work well, but the others he has just decided to quit trying to get them to function properly.

they jam repeatedly due to magazine issues, even with High Standard magazines and following the HS Mag tuning guidelines.



If you want to shoot without issue and can't afford to 'waste' money, don't get a High Standard.

If you can afford the financial risk and don't mind clearing 1-3 jams per magazine, then they are SO beautiful that I'd have a hard time selling them once he is gone.

The Original Ruger [what we now call a MK I] used modified HS HD Military mags for the first year or two, before getting their own up and running- and the Ruger usually only held 9 rounds- IIRC.

The MK II design simply works.

Just my $.02, even if a bit late.


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[FrankenMauser]

I have not read any of the previous comments.

If you watch Gunbroker long enough (automated searches help), you can find Browning Challenger IIs and IIIs for low prices. (Original Challengers are always insane.)
Quite a few sellers and dealers don't see them as anything other than an 'early Buckmark' (which most people don't seem to want ) and list them as such.
The nice thing is that original style Buckmark mags work. They are not hard to find.

I have seen many such listings.

But, because I always have to give an example, my best grab was a Challenger III with minor pitting, a few years ago, for $199 and $29 shipping.
It was listed as "Rusty Buckmark Pistol". Pictures were terrible. I was the only bidder.
Item description was hardly more than, "Buckmark, rusty, seized from a boat. Seems to work, but no guarantee."
(Yes, it was a police seizure, literally, a 'tacklebox gun'. - I contacted the seller afterward and got more details.)

Barely pitted. Great pistol.

[wild cat mccane]

While Mini Mag is very consistent, if I have heard correct, target 22lr ammo is standard bc it has less variation with the goal of HV to get above speed of sound.

The expensive target loads are all standard.

[PzGren]

Germany has many shooting clubs that have club owned .22 l.r. handguns, the FN 150 International used to be a common club gun in the 1970s. My old club there still has the same pistol that I used and it has in excess of 100,000 rounds through it with no parts breakage.
The FN is as durable as a Ruger MkII but easier to field strip and with a much nicer finish.

[Seven High]

How about locating a 22 cal. Conversion for the Sig that you carry?

[Capt Jack]

my vote for the Ruger Mark II Target….I have with a scope, amazingly accurate

[Drm50]

I got heavy into 22 match pistols in early 70s. Bought them all new. S&W, Brn, Colt, HS and Ruger. Now the top drawer S&W, Colt, Brn and HS were a few notches above the Ruger MKI at the time. I was however disappointed in the Colt Woodsman Match. Didn’t shoot for squat. Dumped it and got another, thinking I got a lemon. No, same thing and I was done with new Colt Woodman Match. I had shot older ones from 50s and older that were tack drivers.
Having said that I must admit I was one of the 1st in line to buy a SIG Mosquito when 1st out at top dollar prices, $400+. This was the 2nd major mistake in my gun buying career.
It was downright piece of junk. They are no better than all the other similarly constructed
22 pistols. They aren’t durable, dependable or accurate. I know others that bought them and had same experience. Prices fell by 50% shortly after they hit the market.
As far as I’m concerned a pistol has to have practical accuracy to make it worth carrying.
There are always exceptions with any assembly line product. If I had to give advice on buying a vintage type 22 pistol with price in mind it would be a Ruger MK of some model.
Bigger wallet puts you in the top drawer pistols.

[Ricklin]

The redheaded stepchild of the Ruger Mk. lineup. It takes an hour or so and about ten bucks to replace the magazine safety with a bushing. Polish the trigger linkage while in there. Now remove the plastic actuator tab only for the loaded chamber indicator.
Now you have a Mk. 2 with a well located mag release. My Mk. 3 hunter went from Jam O Matic to trouble free by eliminating the loaded chamber indicator. The trigger went from really bad to OK by eliminating the magazine safety. There are fancier ways to get rid of the LCI, safer as there is no indicator at all. Mine was mostly reliable only with mini mags and esp. bad with standard velocity target .22 thanks to the LCI.
Point of my post is the Mk. 3's tend to cost less in the used market, difficult assembly? Not really, it's easy peasy with a little practice.