Good .22LR Pistol for Training Classes
- Thread starter amsgator
- Start date
S&W645
NRA Life Member
Other than it shooting low, as they said it would, it was accurate. Raising the aim point by 4" corrected the low aim and then it put multipule bullets into the same holes. It did have 1 failure to feed and 1 failure to eject. Both are to be expected with a new gun and both were in the first magazine. After that it was point and shoot. The gun has just about no rise due to the weight of it. It is quieter than the Kimber 1911ARF by quite a bit. Ammo used were Federal American Eagle 22 LR FMJ and Winchester 22LR in 40gr JHP. For the price, it can't be beat for a combat style semi-auto.
Phillip Gain
New member
Hm. Very interesting! I might just have to pick that little Chiappa up then, once funds allow. 
VTFirearmsTraining
New member
I use the Smith22a mainly but also have a P22, buckmark, G17 frame with Advanatage conversion, several Smith revolvers and several others in 22LR. The Smith 22a is the easiest to field strip and clean.
Shootinjh
New member
I have gone through over 250,000 rounds of .22 through various guns in the last couple years. My rating, with 10 being best and 1 being worst:
Taurus 9 shot double action revolver = 2 (Very hard trigger pull, frequent misfires from light trigger strike, spits lead at 90 degrees from front of cylinder more than should be expected.)
Ruger 6 shot single action revolver = 5 (mid-grade gun, certainly not a Freedom Arms or even S&W, but pretty good until thousands of rounds, then starts spitting lead at 90 degrees from front of cylinder more than should be expected.)
Ruger Mark III = 6 (Good target gun for instruction, but as OP mentioned, does not look or feel like a defensive gun… on the other hand, it can help students learn sight pic & alignment, trigger press, grip, stance… well, just about everything another 22 would… . I have three of them, and all took about 10,000 rounds of CCI mini-Mag before they loosened up enough to eat cheap ammo. With hard use, they break frequently and the Prescott Ruger repair shop takes 3+ weeks, which is not appropriate for full-time shooting instructors. Now that they are broken in, I love them! They are a real headache to clean unless you are more mechanically minded than me.)
Sig Sauer Mosquito = 1 (The reason I did not give it a 0 is because it has not blown up and killed anyone. A typical magazine with any kind of ammo, even CCI MiniMag, has approximately 7 failure to feeds. I sent it to the factory; they worked on it and returned it saying it was great. It is NO better. Horrible mistake for a great company to have their name on that hunk of junk.)
CZ-Kadet = 4 (This could be the best .22 of all time, except it has horrible jamming issues. Almost every magazine has at least two jams that are worse than the two basic “fix it” drills will fix. The grip is awesome, just like its momma the CZ-75 (same frame) the trigger is OK, it is made of nice heavy metal and feels like a “real gun” but the jams make it a bad choice. The factory is 3 weeks on a repair, which is not acceptable for a full-time shooting instructor.
I think my next one will be a Buckmark. I have learned the hard way that cheaping-out on gun stuff is a bad idea. On the other hand, the Kadet was over $600 and was worse than the $450 Mark III’s… I would love to find a handgun that I could rate a 10 or even a 9!
Taurus 9 shot double action revolver = 2 (Very hard trigger pull, frequent misfires from light trigger strike, spits lead at 90 degrees from front of cylinder more than should be expected.)
Ruger 6 shot single action revolver = 5 (mid-grade gun, certainly not a Freedom Arms or even S&W, but pretty good until thousands of rounds, then starts spitting lead at 90 degrees from front of cylinder more than should be expected.)
Ruger Mark III = 6 (Good target gun for instruction, but as OP mentioned, does not look or feel like a defensive gun… on the other hand, it can help students learn sight pic & alignment, trigger press, grip, stance… well, just about everything another 22 would… . I have three of them, and all took about 10,000 rounds of CCI mini-Mag before they loosened up enough to eat cheap ammo. With hard use, they break frequently and the Prescott Ruger repair shop takes 3+ weeks, which is not appropriate for full-time shooting instructors. Now that they are broken in, I love them! They are a real headache to clean unless you are more mechanically minded than me.)
Sig Sauer Mosquito = 1 (The reason I did not give it a 0 is because it has not blown up and killed anyone. A typical magazine with any kind of ammo, even CCI MiniMag, has approximately 7 failure to feeds. I sent it to the factory; they worked on it and returned it saying it was great. It is NO better. Horrible mistake for a great company to have their name on that hunk of junk.)
CZ-Kadet = 4 (This could be the best .22 of all time, except it has horrible jamming issues. Almost every magazine has at least two jams that are worse than the two basic “fix it” drills will fix. The grip is awesome, just like its momma the CZ-75 (same frame) the trigger is OK, it is made of nice heavy metal and feels like a “real gun” but the jams make it a bad choice. The factory is 3 weeks on a repair, which is not acceptable for a full-time shooting instructor.
I think my next one will be a Buckmark. I have learned the hard way that cheaping-out on gun stuff is a bad idea. On the other hand, the Kadet was over $600 and was worse than the $450 Mark III’s… I would love to find a handgun that I could rate a 10 or even a 9!
lilmule
New member
Buckmark or a mark 3 either one is a decent target pistol one can learn with at the range,little noise almost no recoil.
For cc small little cheap pt22 works well for those same individuals who cannot fire a larger weapon,with tip up easy load barrel about 200 bucks,no extrator yet functions quite well about 50-60 rds out one needs to wipe feed ramp or jam occurs not prior,it is a dirty round,most small semi autos would be in that same boat.
For cc small little cheap pt22 works well for those same individuals who cannot fire a larger weapon,with tip up easy load barrel about 200 bucks,no extrator yet functions quite well about 50-60 rds out one needs to wipe feed ramp or jam occurs not prior,it is a dirty round,most small semi autos would be in that same boat.
Speedbump
New member
I guess this thread started back in January, but I just saw it. I use the GSG M1911 also known as the ATI. It gives the look and feel of a real 1911 but fires the .22 LR which saves me a lot of money and is easy for the ladies to rack and shoot. It fires Walmart ammo nicely. Since a friend gave me two 500 round boxes of very old ammo which every third round or so is a dud, it makes for good Misfire, Hangfire and Squib Fire training. Then we go to the better ammo for standard shooting.
Give yourself a break and try a Beretta Neos. They work with most .22 ammo, except of course Remington Thunderbolt, which does not work in anything reliably. The 4.5 inch barrel seems to balance better for the ladies and you can get it in the Inox or stainless barrel and slide. It has a rail in top for extra stuff.
You might want to opt for the extra grip which has rubberized inserts and improves the hold.
ProShooter
New member
We use a Ruger SR-22 and everyone loves it.
longslide10
New member
I was going to mention an SR-22 as well or one of Rugers other 22's like bearcat, single ten or the convertible.
Rocketgeezer
New member
Its fairly a new piece but has anybody tryed the Bersa thunder 22? very accurate, runs any ammo and has from the first shot, same size as there 380, but a little lighter and don't seem to be the least bit touchy to differant ammo or getting dirty
Jetman 1979
Michael
My 2 cents
Check out the Ruger SR22 a fun to shot pistol and easy to clean.
Check out the Ruger SR22 a fun to shot pistol and easy to clean.
I don't use the 22 but from my experiance here is my .02.
I would not discount the Ruger SR22. I am sure they do but I have never seen one jam.
Sig is a little larger frame but not much and I have seem them jam. They shoot well once you
have found the right ammunition.
Neos are hummers but like you say not the carry look.
Just MHO and good luck.
I would not discount the Ruger SR22. I am sure they do but I have never seen one jam.
Sig is a little larger frame but not much and I have seem them jam. They shoot well once you
have found the right ammunition.
Neos are hummers but like you say not the carry look.
Just MHO and good luck.
lilmule
New member
My taurus pt22 after breakin was a decent lil cc pistol,those with old arthur do not have to rack the slide,as tip up barrel 200 -225 dollar range,small easy to operate good for the distance only that you take the test with,put 48 out of 48 on target.The beretta 300 to which its a copy is I believe da/sa the taurus da.
Since you'd never carry a 22 as a self defense gun it really doesn't matter does it?
Yes it really does, because you can practice all the skills needed for self protection with the SR22, for example, and it does not cost nearly as much for the practice. By being cheaper, you will practice more.
All the skills that you practice with the .22 carry over to your carry gun. The practice with the .22 does not have the recoil to deal with, so it is more productive. Then you need to practice with your carry gun so you are used to the recoil of the carry gun.
And by the way, there are a large number of folks who carry a .22 for a carry gun. If that is all they can carry, it is better than the gun they left at home. The first rule of a gunfight is to have a gun. The full size 1911 home in the gun safe is useless against the bad guy on the street.
