Who made the best 22 auto pistol?

[blueline541]

For me, it's the Ruger MKII.


I'm a mediocre shooter at best, but I've repeatedly put ten rounds inside the nine ring from fifty yards with a two hand hold (non bench). No better than I am with a pistol it's a fantastic testament to the Ruger MKII.

 

[finbox]

ruger mkII target

 

[944turbo]

Love my Mk III Ruger with Gemtech Oasis. Also had a Buckmark which digested like 40k rounds with few issues other than lack of cleaning.

I've often thought about a Hamden produced Victor or other model Hi Standard. Excellent guns.

 

[tunnelrat]

Personally I don't think that one gun can be considered "the best". All the ones mentioned here are worthy, but IMHO my Colt .22 (Cadet) ranks right up there with them:

I like the way this pistol disassembles for cleaning and maintenance and I prefer the Luger profile. I shortened the barrel and front sight rail accordingly:

I threaded the barrel and fashioned an endcap with a turned down muzzle crown to maintain the factory look:

With the shorter barrel the weapon isn't so awkward and presents nicely with a suppressor attached:

 

[IMBLITZVT]

Ruger hands down!!!

Anything but that POS walther. The slide is not even steal or AL! Its like Zinc or some other pot metal! A friend had one split at the front sight and sent the back of the slide back in his face!

 

[captbill]

I have a Ruger mark 1 heavy barrel factory gun. It is one of the few 22 pistols I can realy hit anything with. I have hunted squirrels with it since the late 70's and killed 4 with it monday. Its not worth much according to the books but I will never sell it.

 

[galilgunner]

Ruger mark II. Mine is way more accurate than I am. Even though I don't use it very often it is one of the very last guns I would ever sell. It's amazingly accurate at distances you would not believe for a pistol.

 

[1096369fred]

I have (3) host .22 Pistols now and just got a CZ Kadet to go on my Tactical, and Phantom (Yup it works on both!), it runs like a sewing machine, so I am going to send it to High Desert Dog to extend and thread it..... BUT..... you guys are going to call B.S. but the best .22 for me, due to use with my supressor is......

My little S&W 2213!!! It is an ugly little spud, and a queer design.... but damn, does it shoot!!!! Since it is a recoil spring over a low barrel I can use my sights, and not "look through" my can. This thing eats every ammo I can find even Aguila SSS Sniper, and Fiocchi subsonics that choke my other guns.... I don't baby it, I clean it when I feel like it... and it runs and runs!!!!

My others are a Walther P-22 and a Browning with a Tactical solutions Trail light Upper, they are good guns... but a little finicky on ammo it will digest!

Fred

 

[deadmeat]

Advantage Arms has my vote for their Glock uppers. Not an entire firearm, but good enough to convince me to sell my MkII that I had for over 10 years.

I've always been super happy with my Advantage Arms .22 kit for my Glock 19.

Never had a problem with it, and it will eat anything.

My girlfriends walther... already had issues with lead fouling in the barrel, and it's a pain in the ass to take apart for cleaning.

-meaty

 

[Roaster72]

Hands down it's the Mexican ARMAS TREJO Modelo 3.
SEMI auto pistols are a different story...

Sorry Vegas, you're usually right but the Modelo 3 was 380 and never available in full auto. With Trejo's the Modelo 1 was 22 select fire, the 1A was semi auto, the 2 was a larger 22 available as either select fire or semi, and the 3 was available in 380 (possibly also 32 ACP) and was never select fire.

I own both a 1A and a 2. Sadly neither is select fire. About a year ago a select fire amnesty registered 1 came up for sale on subguns. I seriously contemplated buying it so I could have a complete set but decided that it was too much money for what it was. 1As come up for sale occasionally, usually at around 500. Other than my 2, I have never seen another for sale. I have posted on Uzitalk about them before and some dude joined Uzitalk for the express purpose of contacting me to try and buy my 2. He wanted to trade me a Tokarev, needless to say I passed.

For a Mexican pistol, they are really slick. They are very similar to 1911s with the 1A having a grip rake more like a PPK. The 2's grip is more straight. The controls on both as well as dissasembly is about identical to the 1911. In addition to the pistols I own a ton of spares. Parts kits are available for around $45 or less. I also have a complete full auto parts set. If I ever get an SOT I may turn the 1A into a postie. While I will admit they are not the BEST 22 pistols made, they are fun.

Here are some pictures from when that guy was trying to buy the 2.

Armas Trejo 1A

Armas Trejo 2

Trejo stuff

 

[SenorSmoke]

Roaster, looks like you have spare parts. Any idea where a fellow could find a set of grips for the Trejo Model 1? (not the 1A)

 

[Philip]

I'm very, very partial to the early cocking indicator smith model 41. So partial I'll travel back in time 2 years and post it when this thread was started.

 

[9mmsubgun-m11]

Love my CZ Kadet!

 

[Vegas SMG]

I'm telling you, the GSG 1911/22 is just a lot of fun for the money. Plus five followers bring the capacity up to fifteen rounds. Everyone who shoots it is really impressed. A CZ Kadet it ain't, but at half the cost, it's got an awful lot to like. Five pound trigger pull and 80% of the parts swap with standard 1911 parts.
http://www.aimsurplus.com/product.aspx?item=F1ATGSG1911

 

[jarhead jim]

My Uncle has the 1st Ruger .22 auto sold in the state of Wyoming with the serial number of 23 or 24 I believe. He shot the hell out of it and it is still a tack driver.

Jim

 

[strobro32]

Friends don't let friends buy zinc guns.

Ruger is finally releasing the threaded SR22 and the Lite in Blk.
http://www.ruger.com/products/sr22Pistol/models.html

http://www.ruger.com/products/2245Lite/models.html

 

[NavyEngineer]

Many great pistols have been mentioned. I'd submit the original High Standards as best American-made .22 auto pistols, since they were used to win Olympic Gold Medals:
http://www.nramuseum.org/the-museum/the-galleries/firearms-traditions-for-today/case-70-shooting-for-gold-modern-olympic-competitive-shooting/bill-mcmillan's-olympic-gold-medal-hi-standard-pistol.aspx

 

[Tetryl]

I've had quite a few 22 pistols and conversion kits - but I'd say hands down was the Ruger MK11 semiauto followed by a Browning Challenger semiauto - both were the top of the line semiautos. The Ruger single six was the next best for revolver, for rifle it was the Remington Nylon 66 and the Winchester 9422 as well as the Ithaca model 72 (now known as the Henry), if you own any of these HANG ON TO THEM! nothing but pure quality and that's what you need in a survival situation.

P.S. the Ruger M77 22 is a dream come true too!

Tetryl

 

[TonyM]

The Smith 422 and 622 have been great guns for me. They're less expensive versions of the model 41, and even use the same magazines. With their low slung barrels and a thread adapter, they make pretty great suppressor hosts as well.

 

[5StarGeneral]

I'm telling you, the GSG 1911/22 is just a lot of fun for the money. Plus five followers bring the capacity up to fifteen rounds. Everyone who shoots it is really impressed. A CZ Kadet it ain't, but at half the cost, it's got an awful lot to like. Five pound trigger pull and 80% of the parts swap with standard 1911 parts.
http://www.aimsurplus.com/product.aspx?item=F1ATGSG1911

^ I totally agree. I have one of these, it's a very good suppressor host. Considerably quieter than my P22, and 22/45.