Onree
01-14-2008, 07:42 PM
My wife and I were at the range this weekend and took some time to look around at the 22's they had in stock. We looked at the Walther P22, S&W 22A, Buck Mark Bullseye Target Stainless and several Ruger's.
After looking around we noticed they had the S&W 22A in the rental case. So we decided to give it a spin. I was very happy that we choose to do so. After putting 200 American Eagle rounds through it, we had a total of 30 rounds that failed to feed and 6 rounds that didn't fire. Yes, it was a rental and had taken some abuse, plus it was a cheap gun to start with. It didn't hold up well to the abuse and totally turned us off.
After wrapping up in the firing range, we went back out and did some more looking around. We decided not to make a purchase at that time and to go home and do some additional research.
Here's what we found on the internet along with some of our first hand knowledge:
Walther P22:
Pro's:
Light weight
Traditional slide and hammer
Sharp 4 pound SA trigger
Price point was OK
Con's:
History of fail to feed, jams and lots of dissatisfied customers online
Very narrow grips
Long, rough 11 pound DA trigger
Factory white dot sights
S&W 22A:
Pro's:
Price point
Easy to grip, comfortable
Second lightest gun behind the P22
OK trigger
Con's:
Issues we faced in the range.
Blah looking
Neither my wife nor I were happy with the performance earlier in the day
Buck Mark Bullseye Target Stainless:
Pro's:
Great on-line reviews
Felt great in my hands
Good weight (my 2 cents)
Long fluted barrel
Wood grips
Awesome look
Con's:
TOO HEAVY! (Wife's 2 cents)
Price point
Extra for fiber optic sights
Ruger Mark III 22/45:
Pro's:
Medium weight (Synthetic grips version)
Price point
Fluted barrel / great look
Great history / reviews
Fiber optic sights
Con's:
TOO HEAVY! (full metal frame version)
Fixed grips / big deal to swap out (synthetic grips version)
PhD required for take down
So, after doing all the research, we drove back to the range later that night and bought a new 22. We decided on the Ruger Mark III 22/45 with the synthetic grips. It came down to the Ruger or the Buck Mark. The main reasons we went with the Ruger was because of their reputation and reliability. Plus, my wife was comfortable with the weight. (My wife calls the X-Five "The Brick". She finds it much too heavy at 3 pounds and I knew she wouldn’t be happy putting 600 rounds through a 22 that was close to the weight of my X-Five.) Another deciding factor for us was availability. I called seven gun stores in my area (who were listed on the manufacturer’s website as carrying the full line) and they either didn't have a BM in stock or only carried the Camper. The out-of-stock places said they didn't have ETA's. My concern was ordering a BM site unseen and not liking it.
I'm very happy with our decision to go Ruger. The take down will be a pain in the arse, but the gun shoots great. The only issue I have is the inability to change out the grips. We're looking to get a set of the slide on grips to help add some width.
I will add that out of the box the sights on the Ruger were slightly off. A quick adjustment with a screwdriver fixed the problem. After shooting 700 rounds that morning, we put at least 350 rounds through the Ruger before calling it a night.
After looking around we noticed they had the S&W 22A in the rental case. So we decided to give it a spin. I was very happy that we choose to do so. After putting 200 American Eagle rounds through it, we had a total of 30 rounds that failed to feed and 6 rounds that didn't fire. Yes, it was a rental and had taken some abuse, plus it was a cheap gun to start with. It didn't hold up well to the abuse and totally turned us off.
After wrapping up in the firing range, we went back out and did some more looking around. We decided not to make a purchase at that time and to go home and do some additional research.
Here's what we found on the internet along with some of our first hand knowledge:
Walther P22:
Pro's:
Light weight
Traditional slide and hammer
Sharp 4 pound SA trigger
Price point was OK
Con's:
History of fail to feed, jams and lots of dissatisfied customers online
Very narrow grips
Long, rough 11 pound DA trigger
Factory white dot sights
S&W 22A:
Pro's:
Price point
Easy to grip, comfortable
Second lightest gun behind the P22
OK trigger
Con's:
Issues we faced in the range.
Blah looking
Neither my wife nor I were happy with the performance earlier in the day
Buck Mark Bullseye Target Stainless:
Pro's:
Great on-line reviews
Felt great in my hands
Good weight (my 2 cents)
Long fluted barrel
Wood grips
Awesome look
Con's:
TOO HEAVY! (Wife's 2 cents)
Price point
Extra for fiber optic sights
Ruger Mark III 22/45:
Pro's:
Medium weight (Synthetic grips version)
Price point
Fluted barrel / great look
Great history / reviews
Fiber optic sights
Con's:
TOO HEAVY! (full metal frame version)
Fixed grips / big deal to swap out (synthetic grips version)
PhD required for take down
So, after doing all the research, we drove back to the range later that night and bought a new 22. We decided on the Ruger Mark III 22/45 with the synthetic grips. It came down to the Ruger or the Buck Mark. The main reasons we went with the Ruger was because of their reputation and reliability. Plus, my wife was comfortable with the weight. (My wife calls the X-Five "The Brick". She finds it much too heavy at 3 pounds and I knew she wouldn’t be happy putting 600 rounds through a 22 that was close to the weight of my X-Five.) Another deciding factor for us was availability. I called seven gun stores in my area (who were listed on the manufacturer’s website as carrying the full line) and they either didn't have a BM in stock or only carried the Camper. The out-of-stock places said they didn't have ETA's. My concern was ordering a BM site unseen and not liking it.
I'm very happy with our decision to go Ruger. The take down will be a pain in the arse, but the gun shoots great. The only issue I have is the inability to change out the grips. We're looking to get a set of the slide on grips to help add some width.
I will add that out of the box the sights on the Ruger were slightly off. A quick adjustment with a screwdriver fixed the problem. After shooting 700 rounds that morning, we put at least 350 rounds through the Ruger before calling it a night.