.22lr "Military" pistols

ancorp

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As a .22 caliber pistol for a starter, I'm looking for something that looks good. I've held a couple of regular .22 pistols, the classic - half slide, odd grip, etc that you see often on most .22s. Didn't like it whatsoever.

Thus, are there any nicer looking .22s out there without using a conversion kit? All I know of is the Ruger series (not really my cup of tea) the Walther P22 (great if we could have it without the damn compensator at the front) and the Sig Mosquito (pricey)

Any tips?

Thanks,
Cheers,
Alex
 
I would suggest a Beretta 87 target, but if Sig is 'pricy' to you then you probably can't affort the 87...

87Target.jpg


I've shot over a dozen of different .22's from Norinco to $2000 target pistols... To me .22's are just inexpansive plinkers, I don't care what they look like (I have a Norinco :)) I got it because I already had a numer of 'cool' centerfire guns and wanted a cheapest gun that shoot's the cheaper ammo, and fot that Norinco delivers...

I'd stay away from P22 or the Mosquito -they are very finicky about ammo.

personaly I want a .22 revolver...
 
.... One other "option" would be to find one of the older "High Standards" There was one version, that was designed to simulate the grip angle of the Colt 1911 ( Military Model? ) Cost and perhaps parts availability could be a drawback. Then there's always the old standby, the Colt "Woodsman" series... David K.
 
"...designed to simulate the grip angle of the Colt 1911..." Simulates nothing. They had/have the same grip angle and size. They were originally made for training new military pistol shooters.
How a pistol looks means nothing. How well it fits your hand and shoots does. Decide how much money you want to spend then go try a few on for size. Don't worry too much if a particular pistol is a bit too small. You can change the grips. Too big can sometimes be fixed with new grips too.
Remember that all .22's require you to try as many brands of ammo as you can to find the ammo the pistol will both shoot well and cycle the action. The price of said ammo means nothing. The price of the pistol doesn't matter either. It's just the way .22's are.
 
Thank you for all the replies. Most of the suggestions are quite pricey though, or still have that ugly "part" slide. Does anyone have a picture of the P22 with the compensator off? Is it difficult to remove, and would it still stay a restricted pistol?

Thanks,
Cheers,
Alex
 
A sig mosquito package from Wolverine is $515 plus tax and shipping.
Pretty reasonable seeing as it includes a holster, scope mount and a red dot sight....

How much were you planning on spending?
 
That's right - it looks like a Star Trek prop.

I'd rather look at a Walther than a Glock, CZ or Beretta (90-two looks okay, though). All three of those look uninteresting. But I'd take a Sig or HK over a Walther any day... Except when it comes to .22. From shooting both, I had A LOT more trouble with the Mosquito than the P22.

Even with extended barrels... I'd take the P22 over the Mosquito, and my P229 over any Glock or CZ. Glocks feel like plastic and the CZ feels "low end" compared to the Sig, plus the shape of the butt is just hard on the eyes.

Those .22 Kimber's have peaked my interest....
 
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David K and Sunray both mentioned the high standard.

The military model did have the grip angle and weight like the 45, and the government used them to train troops back then using the much cheaper 22 ammo

the best version, i think is the citation, and that's my best 22 model for this

if you go with high standard, the citation made in hamden is much better quality than their east hartford model. the hamden has the steel top rib.

another favourite is the browning challenger III, a lot lighter but similar grip angle. buckmark is the modern version with the proper mag release. the challengers have the heel release, but i don't practice speed reloads with my 22's

high standards are extremely reliable and accurate, but then, don't most guns perform better than we can?

a good used one still goes for about $600

my first handgun was a 22, but it was a smith 6 inch revolver

in hind sight, i would have prefered a 22 semi auto,(let the brass fly) but learning with double action was the best thing i did from the start for trigger control

i would invest in a good semi auto 22, rather than a conversion kit, for a bit more money, you have a good pistol, rather than swap around parts all the time, and most of us don't sell our first 22, as great to plink with, repractice sight and trigger control, or have it available for a family member or friend learn with it to get them to join us in the sport. regards
 
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