Decent .22

[Tinman507]

I'm the proud daddy of a CM9, that I have religiously cleaned, lubed, tweaked (a la jocko, bawanna et al) and absolutely fallen in love with. This is my first foray into a semi automatic sidearm. I did my research here before purchase and continue to learn daily from the excellent advise posted here. I have no prior experience to draw on for my current question:

My bride and my 20 y.o. daughter both have watched my journey into CCW with some amusement but now their curiosity appears to have gotten the better of them. They want to learn how to shoot. My mission dujour is to locate a .22 semi that both can learn on and for me to hone my skills on.

What do you ladies and gentlemen suggest as an inexpensive reliable .22 semi to use as a training weapon? Ideally my perfect training weapon would be a CM22 but I don't see that happening. Any ideas?

[Barth]

What do you ladies and gentlemen suggest as an inexpensive reliable .22 semi to use as a training weapon?

Ruger 22/45
http://www.ruger.com/products/2245/index.html
Should be able to pick one up for about $250.
Super accurate, easy to shoot, an excellent starter pistol IMHO.

[tv_racin_fan]

As it happens I just picked up a Ruger MKII.

[Bawanna]

The Ruger would be good, the Browning Buckmark would work too. I have a Mark II Ruger that is fun to shoot.
My favorite of course is my S&W 41 buts its sadly far out of the inexpensive category but it's an incredible tack driver.
Can't go wrong with the Ruger or Browning. The Beretta Neo's are suppose to be good although I have no experience with them. Kind of space age looking for my taste.

[TheTman]

I'd go with the either the Ruger MK whatever, or a Browning Buckmark. Both are good dependable accurate pistols.

[BuckeyeBlast]

As others have said, the Buckmark and Ruger Mk series are all awesome.

The Ruger MKIII 22/45 will point more like a Kahr than the (non 22/45) MKIII.

The options are limitless, but I recommend a shorter barreled MKIII 22/45. I LOVE my Ruger MKIII 22/45 Talo. I find it to be the best cheap shooting alternative to a 1911, but keep in mind that ALL of these are going to have WAY different triggers than the Kahr. S&W also makes a nice .22, but I forget the model # of the top of my head. The S&W also has a good reputation, but the Ruger seems to dominate the marketplace.

Here's some pics to help your decision making.

MkIII 22/45 Talo, next to a longer barreled (non Talo) 22/45. Again, I recommend the shorter barrel.


MKIII Hunter and Buckmark


Last pic I'll show, because this kind of shows the differences in the grip angles between the MkIII 22/45 and the standard MkIII and MkII (stainless)

[DLButler]

I have a Phoenix Arms HP22A. My wife really likes it. It is inexpensive and has a lifetime warranty. Mine came with a 3" barrel but you can also get a 5" barrel. Haven't had any problems and have about 1500 rounds thru it.

[mr surveyor]

another strong vote for the Ruger 22/45. The grip angle was originally designed to emulate the standard 1911 grip (approx. 11° angle), which is the standard that many other manufacturers chose as the most ergonomic. All of the Ruger MKx pistols are excellent in construction and performance, but the 22/45 is the only one with the "natural" grip angle.

Another "sleeper" is the Sig Mosquito. Although SIg had some "issues" with the early releases, they were mostly due to poor QC on the magazines, but word is they have fixed those problems. I have a friend that bought one of the early ones and it is a great handgun.

[Ubaldo99]

My brother has a Beretta Neos 22 and even tho it looks somewhat like a space gun, it is a lot of fun to shoot and super accurate.

[Bawanna]

I think theres alot of interchangeability with the Neo's too. You can swap barrels for different lengths, different sight setups, etc. Relatively inexpensive last I checked too.

They do have a ton of off the wall different colors too which might appeal to the younger set. Truth be told they appealed to me. Its the green and olive drab and digital camo paint jobs on guns I don't care much for.

[BuckeyeBlast]

I'll also say that while the Walther P22 looked like a cool gun, I bought it and thought it was a piece of crap. Cool features, but felt cheap, felt like a toy, inaccurate, and unreliable. Not something to bring a new shooter into the sport with, IMO.

[ripley16]

The Beretta NEOS is a very reasonably priced yet reliable and accurate .22lr, IMHO as good choice to use when teaching young people to shoot.

My persoanal favorite for accurate, target match quality shooting is the Browning Buckmark. It comes in many iterations and prices, from quite reasonable to a bit pricy.

Beretta's exquisite model 86 is a good choice but a little pricy.

Bersa and Firestorm make a .22lr. Though not a favorite of mine, it is a fun, compact, PPK size, suitable for plinking.

My personal favorite for sheer fun is a hard to find Daewoo DP22, a fine clone of the Walther PP. If you ever find one... buy it.

The Walther PPK, PPK/S is also a great .22lr for practice and loads of fun.

Edit; Had to add the wonderful older Berettas into the mix, the 948 or 70 series... great guns!

[ltxi]

another strong vote for the Ruger 22/45. The grip angle was originally designed to emulate the standard 1911 grip.......

And another strong vote for the 22/45 as a trainer for the same reason....from a 1911 aficionado. After that, any other Ruger .22, MKII or otherwise, or a Buckmark.

I agree the Phoenix is a really great, inexpensive plinker. I've had one since the late 70's. My personal and forever favorite in that class however is the Beretta Minx.

[Rainman48314]

The Ruger would be good, the Browning Buckmark would work too. I have a Mark II Ruger that is fun to shoot.
My favorite of course is my S&W 41 buts its sadly far out of the inexpensive category but it's an incredible tack driver.
Can't go wrong with the Ruger or Browning. The Beretta Neo's are suppose to be good although I have no experience with them. Kind of space age looking for my taste.

My Beretta Neos w 6 inch barrel is very reliable. I shot 1100 rounds through it without any failures. I replaced it with a GSG 1911-22 so I coiuld train and reinforce working a safety that went down to fire (the Neos goes up). The Neos is for sale if anyone in SE Michigan has an interest.

I also bought a used but never fired Kimber which shoots 17 Mach2. This Rimfire Target pistol is a great trainer too.

[MikeyKahr]

Mind my asking...

The options are limitless, but I recommend a shorter barreled MKIII 22/45...Again, I recommend the shorter barrel.

Hey neighbor BB, mind my asking why you recommend the shorter barrel on the 22/45?