Recommendations for a .22lr Pistol

Hopefully you do not mind if I piggy-back on your post Donster, but I have been following this one closely. My RPAL should arrive this week and I was considering a .22lr pistol as a entry level training tool. I have been doing my homework by reading everything I can in the forums and looking at reviews (which by the way don't always help--some one always loves and hates every pistol, it seems). The one thing I was wondering if I should get something that has similar placing for mag release, bolt catch, safety, etc. in order to develop good habits,however, that definitely limits my choices in the .22 world. Any advice would be appreciated.
 
graydog said:
I have owned almost all of the .22 pistols there is. It is hard to beat a CZ Kadet. One other that is much cheaper but works great as well is the Smith & Wesson 22A. They are great guns for the dollar. I have thousands of rounds through my latest one with no issues, shoots any and all ammo as well as does the Cadet also. If you are thinking of a revolver get a S&W 17 or 617 you cannot beat those guns.

Graydog
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Of the dozen or so .22 semis and revolvers that I presently own, most of them have S&W stamped on the side.My personal favorites are the 617 and model 41. Not exactly the cheapest guns around but they hold their value well and will most probably outlast you.They also hold at least ten rounds in the case of the 617 revolver and 12 for the Model 41 semi.
 
Get the Kadet, worth the money. I also have a Sig 220 in .22LR. Too light and not nearly as accuate. With practice, I am becoming just as accurate with the CZ, as my Berreta 76 or S&W 41. Trigger takes getting used to, it's just like the Combat 85.
 
Trigun said:
CZ Kadet is among the most solid steel construction .22 pistol out there. feel good; shoot good and look cool, it also has the last shot slide lock open feature which Sig don't have. follow your heart and buy what you like the most, bottom line is sell them if you don't like but at least you learn something.

Trigun
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well i originally wanted the walther P22 until i was told that they are utter garbage... :(
 
fignut said:
Hopefully you do not mind if I piggy-back on your post Donster, but I have been following this one closely. My RPAL should arrive this week and I was considering a .22lr pistol as a entry level training tool. I have been doing my homework by reading everything I can in the forums and looking at reviews (which by the way don't always help--some one always loves and hates every pistol, it seems). The one thing I was wondering if I should get something that has similar placing for mag release, bolt catch, safety, etc. in order to develop good habits,however, that definitely limits my choices in the .22 world. Any advice would be appreciated.
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i can help you there as i was in the same boat. long story short:

Dont get a .22lr as your first pistol.

They are fun to shoot and cheap to shoot, but IMHO they will instill bad shooting habits because of their complete lack of recoil. Get a 9mm as your first pistol. It will provide you with the training involved with recoil and lay down a good foundation for which you can build on and move up to higher (and lower) calibers.

just my opinion
 
If you really want to get familiar, and good with a particular pistol, consider getting the conversion kit for it rather than a completely different gun. Guns such as the sig P226, Glock, 1911, CZ, all have conversion kits. When you use a conversion kit you can build muscle memory and practice the grip, controls, sight picture (some kits have a different sight picture than original) and most importantly, trigger control. Its nice to practice these things at .22 prices. I'm starting to really dig my Glock and am looking to pick up the advantage arms kit for it to help master the trigger
 
my opinion of buying a conversion kit for any of the centerfire pistols is that you can have one and a half pistols (the centerfire pistol and the rimfire conversion parts), or you can have two pistols for the same price, or less(a dedicated centerfire and a dedicated rimfire).

that way if you want to take a friend to the range, your not stuck taking turns!
 
Donster 125 said:
i can help you there as i was in the same boat. long story short:

Dont get a .22lr as your first pistol.

They are fun to shoot and cheap to shoot, but IMHO they will instill bad shooting habits because of their complete lack of recoil. Get a 9mm as your first pistol. It will provide you with the training involved with recoil and lay down a good foundation for which you can build on and move up to higher (and lower) calibers.

just my opinion
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Not trying to hijack, but no matter what you plan to do you will never go wrong or waste your money buying a 22 caliber handgun.All of the techniques of hold, trigger pull, stance, safe handling, positions, and aiming are the same no matter what the gun caliber. It is just much cheaper to practice and learn to develop those skills using 22 cal. ammo.The amount of money you will spend learning to shoot using even the cheapest ammunition of larger centre fire caliber will more than cover the cost of buying an average .22 I still never get tired of shooting the .22's even so I must admit, the big guns are a heck of a lot of fun to shoot though.:D
 
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Donster 125 said:
i can help you there as i was in the same boat. long story short:

Dont get a .22lr as your first pistol.

They are fun to shoot and cheap to shoot, but IMHO they will instill bad shooting habits because of their complete lack of recoil. Get a 9mm as your first pistol. It will provide you with the training involved with recoil and lay down a good foundation for which you can build on and move up to higher (and lower) calibers.

just my opinion
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Yes, they will do all of that if you let them. On the other hand a .22 pistol will go a long ways to correcting trigger pull and flinching issues you get from bigger caliber handguns. And if used properly from the outset will form a very solid and worth foundation of skills for moving up to center fire.

All in all if a .22 pistol is not the first gun that you buy it should damn well be the second.
 
I picked up a ruger mk3 22/45 for my first pistol. Only issue I had with it was reassembly when I cleaned it for the first time, and my thumbs hurt from loading the mags after I put 700 rounds through her in 1 afternoon :p
 
S&W 41 if you want a gun that makes it easy to hit,great sights great trigger and great balance, what more could you want? Mine has 80K down the pipe and still drives tacks
Guy
 
Recommendations for a .22lr Pistol


"For the record, please dont recommend any ruger .22lr pistols as ive handled several and have not enjoyed the experience."

Thanks in advance,

D

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:D
:D
I'm pretty sure that Donster 125 does not want a Ruger:D
 
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