I have always had a thing for svelte 22 LR semi-autos. "My first gun", as a teen, was a wonderful Browning Nomad, thin, light, so much fun. It was later joined by a longer barrel, a Challenger, and others. I enjoyed (enjoy) a couple of Beretta 70S's, much later a Sig Trailside (why did they stop making those!), a German alloy Walther TPH, and a few others. I liked a regular Buckmark, but really liked (like) the weight and size of the old Camper version of the Buckmark with thin grips and a Tac Sol 4" barrel. I even had great success with the pot metal Iver Johnson TP22 (size a bit between the TPH and PPK, closer to the PPK); more reliable than most of the Walthers amazingly. When shooting rimfire metallic silhouettes, during the period of life when my eyes were good (), I found that my old imported Walther PP in 22 was as or more accurate than my HiStandard Trophy and S&W 41 at least through 50 years, and just about as accurate even with its little sights, at 100 yards.

Anyway, lightweight 22LR's are just hard to beat in my book.

I am working myself up to send off a 40 S&W HiPower for all the bells and whistles, and while that is percolating, am thinking about scratching the itch with a Ruger SR 22. I've heard all good things about them, including being much more reliable than the similar Walther offering (which is therefore pretty much off the table).
On the other hand, the new MKIV Lite seems interesting. (Had a 5.5" MKII bull barrel, but never a 22/45.) The MKIV 22/45 would have, I am sure, a lot better SA trigger, and probably much better inherent accuracy, but something about the SR22....

(Pardon for the longwindedness. Hope a few of these perked memories for a few of you.)

So, based upon my history, and moreover based upon your experiences, is the SR22 a toy I should be looking at?

Thanks in advance for the collective wisdom,
Scott

Yep. More reliable than Walther offering. Start every range session shooting the pistol. Only negative is that you push the SAFETY up to take it off. No big deal for me. Ruger also stands behind their products.

I have a pair of them. I had the Walther, but it was crap. I sent it in 3 times before disposing of it. The Rugers work perfectly. The only .22's I like better are the Beretta 87's.

Only thing better a Beretta 87? Wow. Thank you. Very high recommendation.

P.S. That wonderful now-discontinued Buckmark is the Challenge. 22 oz with its thin grips and the TacSol barrel.

A lady brought one into the range today and went through 250 trouble free rounds of assorted ammo.

I got to shoot an SR22 at the range one time and I was impressed with it. Trigger was better than I thought it would be. Functioned 100% with CCI SV & suppressor. Accuracy seemed good to me.

As for the 22/45, I prefer the mk3 over the mk4. My support hand thumb gets in the way of the bolt catch tab on the mk4, preventing LRBHO. Also had problems with failing to feed on the mk4, never with my mk3. Whatever the version, I’d get the bull barrel over those “Lite” versions.

Another cool 22 pistol is the CZ Kadet but it’s not light like you’re talking about.

I’ve had an Sr22 for a couple years. Good little gun. I used CCR Mini Mags for the first 200 rounds. Now I use any brand ammo without any issues.

I too, have a pair of SR22's and love them. I bought the 1st one for me, but ended up buying a 2nd one and gifted them to both my boys, who are now 12 and 13.

I've had very good luck with them and enjoy shooting them for a lot less than 9 or 45.

I have one that I bought to get my kids started on semi-auto handguns. The oldest used it for a bit, then pretty quickly upgraded to a 9mm. My daughter hasn't shown much interest in shooting, but the younger two boys will probably grow into it here in a couple of years.

Mine has been "ok." It's too small for my hands, but part of that is that I have the small grip on it for the kids. The trigger is...in a word...awful. I've shot worse, but it's long and mushy, and IMO not a great trigger to teach the kids on, especially with the intent of transitioning to "real" guns with much better triggers. It's hard to master, which yields larger groups, and takes some of the fun out of it for the kids while they're learning. When my oldest switched to my CZ75, his groups immediately tightened up.

Asfar as reliability goes, I have to say again that it's been "ok." It has eaten everything I've fed it, and cycles just fine when the round goes bang. Unfortunately, as we all know, .22LR ammo is not the most reliable stuff in the world, so somewhat frequently you'll encounter a round that doesn't go off. When that happens, you're screwed, because the gun won't extract it. I say again...this gun will not extract a live or unfired round. This is a pain when you encounter the aforementioned dud round, as well as shooting steel plates and trying to clear the gun after they're all down.

I'm not sure if it needs a trip back to Ruger or what, but I've been hesitant to go through that hassle because it functions just fine so long as the round goes off.

All in all, I'm not in love with it. My sigle six is a much better .22lr plaform, but obviously fills a different role. The SR22 will probably get sold off once the kids grow out of it to make room for something else, as I don't see having much use for it at that point.

ETA: my buddy has one with a threaded barrel and a supressor, and I must admit that that thing is a lot of fun to shoot. It runs reliably, makes a good supressor host, and man is that thing quiet!

I have two SR22 The early one is a 3.5" barrel the later one is a 4.5" barrel Model 3620. The triggers on them is so so but none the less they are fun and cheap to shoot. If I got a couple people with me shooting they soon gravitate to the fun little SR22 . I've tend to prefer shooting the longer 4.5" one the most because I shoot it better. Perhaps because of the longer sight radius

Thank you for all the good input and feedback. Trigger doesn't sound great...
Sorry to hear the MKIV may be less reliable than the MKIII? I had not heard that.
The Beretta 87 and Kadet are indeed marvelous.

Also look at the Smith and wesson m&p 22 compact. A very cool and reliable little gun.

I just had an old man moment. I read your post and what I heard in my brain was you were sending your .40 Hi Point for all the bells and whistles. I was like wtf? Hi Power, ok, I’m back with the actual thread.

I owned the Walther version. Piece of crap. Sold it at a loss just to rid myself of it. Beretta 87 will be the last 22 I own. It is very nearly perfect. I bring it to most range sessions. Plus, it works just like “real” guns.

quote:

Originally posted by pedropcola:
<snip>
Plus, it works just like “real” guns.

That’s something that I like about my Beretta 87 Target, too. External hammer, robust slide latch, robust extractor, neat take-down lever. Easy to operate ambi safely. All machined metal. Some folks find its trigger to be quirky (rolling break), but I like it (after adding an over travel stop).

I truly love my SR22. When the walther P22s first came out I bought one. It was okay....but would only fire in SA. I bought the Ruger used, on a whim. It is my go to trainer with new shooters. I also enjoy plinking with it immensely. I wish Ruger would make one just about 1/4 size bigger.

Now to drift just a little- have you any Glocks? Have you ever tried the Advantage Arms conversion uppers? I have the compact (G23) and full (G22) conversions and I sure do enjoy those.

Pedropcola,
When I read your note I was sure I was the one with the old man moment -- they come too often!

Thanks for the thoughts re M&P 22 and Glock conversion. Hmmm.

+1 o the beretta 87 probably the finest combat style 22 there is. I will also mention I have a P22 runs pretty flawlessly with CCI and also a mosquito with 5000 rounds through it and not a failure after the first brick of cci ammo.

quote:

I say again...this gun will not extract a live or unfired round.

Does it, like the Beretta .22s, not have a mechanical extractor?

quote:

Does it, like the Beretta .22s, not have a mechanical extractor?

The SR22 has a mechanical extractor. Both of mine SR22 extracts live rounds.

quote:

Originally posted by egregore:

quote:

I say again...this gun will not extract a live or unfired round.

Does it, like the Beretta .22s, not have a mechanical extractor?

It does have a mechanical extractor, and it is supposed to extract live/unfired rounds. But mine does not work for some reason. It's not like the rounds are wedged in there, either. A slight flip of my knifepoint under the rim and they come right out. The extractor just isn't grabbing them like it should...either because it's out of spec or the extractor groove in the chamber isn't machined right and not allowing the extractor to get far enough behind the case rim. Either way, this has been a problem with the gun I have since day one.