Looking To Buy a 22 For Getting Others Into Target Shooting

Let's remember, the OP has suggested a $500 max budget.

Whoever suggested a Beretta 70 series had a good idea....cool looking gun with a vaguely James Bond-ish look and the whole Israeli air marshal/Zurich shoot out/Mossad assassin thing makes for a neat back story. The price is right and the one I have is dead reliable. The only downside I see is that spare mags can be dear.
 
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I looked at a lot of 22's this morning and checked out all the ones they have, which is most mentioned here but for the price point and
cool factor I bought a GSG 1911, very close to getting a used Ruger III but someone pulled the sights and mounted a rail on the top of it and
I'm not into changing it back to normal sights or buying optics for a "loaner" gun (although that would really amp up the coolness factor).

I have 8 or 9 different types of 22 ammo already but with that being said who has a GSG 1911 and what do they feed it?

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I have a Walther P22 target that fires almost everything I've put through it. It's a lot smaller than a typical full size handgun but it looks and functions the same. I use it for exactly what you're thinking about and every one loves it because of how small it is.
 
Find a Margolin or Vostok (same thing just different names), usually available on the EE for 300ish. Made of metal and pretty much the most accurate and bombproof at the price
 
This.

They're really "overbuilt" for a .22 and will last for many generations of new shooters (with reasonable care). A tad on the heavy side for weaker arms, but the grip is small enough for small hands and they are quite accurate. Not fussy with ammo - some .22's are (like my S&W 41). The young minds can grasp the function of the gun, more so than an auto-loader and it can be used D/A or S/A. A little on the pricey side for a .22 - but they always hold their value. So far as "cool" goes - if you set one down beside a S&W 686 (.357/.38) - you can't tell the difference.
I use to have a S&W 422, which my girls liked - alloy frame, nice and light, with a small grip and accurate as well. Pain in the A, to strip and re-assemble, though - lots of fiddly little parts.

I have two model 422's. I find them super easy to clean.
1) Just pull slide back 1 inch. Insert a spent .22lr brass into opening on top. (So it doesnt reclose with spring pressure.)
2) remove spring retaining clip in top of slide
3) take off slide while removing spring/guide rod.
This is as far as you need to strip it down. Easiest .22lr pistol I have ever used.
I have owned all the Rugers, Brownings etc, and sold them all off to acquire these 2.
If you have trouble field stripping a 422, you probably need help replacing a roll of toilet paper.
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I looked at a lot of 22's this morning and checked out all the ones they have, which is most mentioned here but for the price point and
cool factor I bought a GSG 1911, very close to getting a used Ruger III but someone pulled the sights and mounted a rail on the top of it and
I'm not into changing it back to normal sights or buying optics for a "loaner" gun (although that would really amp up the coolness factor).

I have 8 or 9 different types of 22 ammo already but with that being said who has a GSG 1911 and what do they feed it?

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Get the zrts upgrade kit and she will spit out anything you put in it.
Bought one for the halibut and it comes out with me on almost every range trip.
Maybe get some extra mags too?

Good for you for thinking of enticing new shooters and bringing a few more into the flock.
 
When my son was younger he would have friends over to the house. I would tell him that his friends are not allowed to touch the grand piano and if they wanted to fool around and play on a piano, they could do it on the up right. They always end up playing around on the grand because it was much cooler than the up right. When his friends became young adults, I would take them to the range and I would bring a bunch of .22 pistols and revolvers but they would refuse to use them and would wait their turn on a semi 9mm. So my go to gun is a $250 Zastava m70a Tokerav copy in 9mm.
 
When my son was younger he would have friends over to the house. I would tell him that his friends are not allowed to touch the grand piano and if they wanted to fool around and play on a piano, they could do it on the up right. They always end up playing around on the grand because it was much cooler than the up right. When his friends became young adults, I would take them to the range and I would bring a bunch of .22 pistols and revolvers but they would refuse to use them and would wait their turn on a semi 9mm. So my go to gun is a $250 Zastava m70a Tokerav copy in 9mm.

no doubt and I had thought of going that way but I can't afford to spend the $$$ on 9mm ammo. or other more expensive rounds. I just want to introduce these people and get them interested and they can buy whatever they want when they get an Rpal.
 
I have a GSG and have always fed it MiniMags. Never had a problem with it... I don't know what it would like with other ammo but if it ain't broke...
 
Also, for a revolver, consider an Alpha Proj. I love mine. Not a 617 but no where near the price. It's very accurate and I always start first time shooters with it.
 
I have a Sig Sauer 1911 22LR Pistol and it shoots great with only a couple of FTF on my first outing. Since then it has shot flawlessly with about 500 rds through it using only CCI Mini-Mags. Read somewhere that the Sig/GSG was designed with the higher velocity round in mind like the CCI Mini-Mags. Will try switching to normal velocity 22LR rounds when I reach 1000 rounds.
 
I have two model 422's. I find them super easy to clean.
1) Just pull slide back 1 inch. Insert a spent .22lr brass into opening on top. (So it doesnt reclose with spring pressure.)
2) remove spring retaining clip in top of slide
3) take off slide while removing spring/guide rod.
This is as far as you need to strip it down. Easiest .22lr pistol I have ever used.
I have owned all the Rugers, Brownings etc, and sold them all off to acquire these 2.
If you have trouble field stripping a 422, you probably need help replacing a roll of toilet paper.

Perhaps I used the wrong terminology when I said strip and you assumed I meant field strip (which is dead simple) - perhaps I should have said disassemble - all of it - then you'll get into the fiddly little parts.
FYI - I don't use toilet paper - just drag my arse along the carpet.
 
I have both a Ruger mark 3 - 22/45 and a Beretta 71. The Beretta is a lot more fun to shoot. I was fortunate enough to find a source for original magazines, rather that the after-market triple K units. Seems to like Ferocchi ammunition. Far easier to take apart and clean than the 22/45. For that one, I always need to dig out the manual to get all the steps of the dance correct.
 
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