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Ruger MK series for me. I have a Ruger MK3 Hunter and it's a great shooter. Full stainless, 6 7/8" fluted barrel, nice wood grips.


But, I've also heard nothing but good things about the new Ruger SR22 pistol.

shootthesheet wrote:Stay away from the Beretta Neos U22s. They have a problem with the extractor parts falling out. I have replaced mine once after several thousand rounds and need to replace it again after about 100 rounds. If you do a search you will find this is a common problem.

Guess I'm relatively lucky that my Neos (with a few thousand rounds through it) hasn't fallen apart, then. I did have Bill Springfield (http://www.triggerwork.net/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) work over my trigger and love it. Put a TruGlo red/green dot on it, and love it!

To the OP - there are lots of Neos's out there happily plunking away - the advantage to the Neos is no tools needed to disassemble, clean, and re-assemble, unlike some of the other .22's out there.

It really depends what you want to accomplish with the 22. If it is mostly for target shooting and getting used to shooting a handgun the Ruger Mark series cannot be beat, well except for breaking them down for cleaning. If your goal is to shoot a pistol that would be similar to a carry gun then I also would suggest the Sig Mosquito, I personally do not listen to people who "heard" things as fact, I personally spoke to a guy who trash talked the Mosquito only to find out he never read the manual and never used the recomended ammo, not the guns fault. I owned a Ruger Mark II and really liked the gun and used it more for target shooting than anything else, it was fun and some days I wish I still owned it.

The first mosquito I purchased was so my wife would learn to shoot without any recoil issues and it had a lot of "features" on it so she could get used to various aspects of a handgun. It worked perfectly for that and once she decided what she wanted she purchased a Sig 2022. I sold the mosquito, big mistake, a few months later I ended up buying another one, they are just lots of fun and cheap practice with a handgun that is very similar to our larger calibers. The 2 Mosquitos that I have owned had virtually no problems, except for the issues that any rimfire will experience with ammo ocassionally not going off. The downside of the Mosquito is that Sig only reccomends the CCI Mini Mags so you will pay about $6.00 per hundred versus buying the bulk packs from other manufacturers. Once ours had about 2000 rounds through them they would shoot anything that was jacketed, we now use the Federal bulk. Good luck with your decision, knowledge is your friend....

I've shot most of the newer .22 semi auto pistols out there. My personal impressions:

I own a Ruger 22/45 and like it a lot, but I've shot and like the buckmark, standard rugers, and SR22s as well. My 22/45 has at least 3000 rounds though it so far (owned it less than a year) and its been reliable and accurate. I haven't even bothered to break it down and clean it yet.

I've only shot 2 Sig Mosquitos, but they both have difficulty running reliably.

I'm sure some folks have Mosquitos that run great, but my personal experience has been 100% negative.

Try to shoot some different types and see what fits you best if you can.

Good luck, I think .22 semi autos are one of the best investments a pistol owner can make. When you can shoot 500 rounds for the same amount of money that it would take to shoot 50 rounds of 9mm/40/45acp, you get a lot more trigger time and enjoyment at the range.

if you want a cool looking 22 get the sig if you want one that runs amazingly well get a ruger. Get it with a 5" barrel and put a can on it and it will run great and your wife will love shooting it.

I have a standard Mark I and a stainless target Mark III. I like the Mark I fine. The Mark III not so much. That said, both are good solid pistols. Takedown of the Mark III may challenge your vocabulary. Some folks will tell you that takedown gets easier after you have stripped the pistol a few times. After having taken my Mark III down a hundred or more times I can tell those folks are prone to prevarication.

Mark 3 or 22/45 with a Volquartsen trigger kit.

Absolute dream to shoot.

S&W Mod. 41 is the best, but it ain't cheap.