I have a Ruger SR22P that I bought a few years back to teach my kids to shoot. The long and short of it is it's a POS. Its only redeeming features are it fits small hands and has low recoil. It's inaccurate, has a HORRIFIC trigger, and the mag disconnect is stupid. It's a decent gun to get a kid started on, but they quickly tire of it because the trigger is so bad it's hard to keep them motivated when they cant put up a decent group or hit what they're aiming at.
The gun also has trouble extracting unfired rounds. It's reliable when shooting because the recoil helps with extraction, but the extractor doesn't do a great job grabbing the rim when manually racking the slide, so it sometimes leaves an unfired round in the chamber. This makes it a poor platform to teach safe administrative gun handling...which the most important thing I'm trying to teach them.
The other day I was at a local gun store, and saw they had a used Mark II in the case for $219. They're selling SR22s new for $350, and while mine is used it's in good shape and I still have the box and all the extras for it, so I imagine I might be able to wrangle a decent trade. Is this something I should consider, or should I steer clear?
Posts: 9415 | Location: In the Cornfields | Registered: May 25, 2006
Why haven’t you done it already is the real question. Arguably, the Mark II is the best one they made. I know the newest one is easier to disassemble bu the Mk II was the last generation to not have a magazine disconnect.
Why haven’t you done it already is the real question.
Well, maybe "local" gun store was a bit of a stretch. It's about an hour away, and I saw it last week when I was over that way for something else. Earliest I'd be able to get back over there is Wednesday. I wanted to get the background on it first, anyway, and it seems like the consensus is go for it. Hopefully it's still there.
Posts: 9415 | Location: In the Cornfields | Registered: May 25, 2006
Given your experience with the SR22P, it would seem like there is no reason to keep it. If the Mark II would fill your needs for getting the kids comfortable with firearms, seems like it would be the way to go.
I had almost the same thing happen to me once. Saw a P226 browsing through a case during lunch. Turned it over in my head for a bit. Wound up driving back and getting the Sig that afternoon.
Posts: 9445 | Location: Somewhere looking for ammo that nobody has at a place I haven't been to for a pistol I couldn't live without... | Registered: December 02, 2014
$219? Better snag it before it's gone. It will surely be more accurate, easier to hit with and more reliable. The only thing stopping me from saying "hell yes!" instead of just "yes" is that pre-Mark IV guns are reputed to be difficult to strip for cleaning. (I only have first-hand experience with a Mark IV, a 22/45 Lite I bought in 2017.)
Posts: 28886 | Location: Johnson City, TN | Registered: April 28, 2012
There are tons of used Rugers around. The metal frame models are excellent as are the Browning Buckmark. If you still want something for smaller hands consider the M&P 22 Compact. Mine has been outstanding as a plinker with decent accuracy and eats anything and is extremely reliable.
Originally posted by rangemaster: Ok, I’ll be “that guy”
Why would you pass on a shitty gun to become someone else’s problem? Ruger has great customer service. Why haven’t you sent it back for a service?
As for the mark II you should just buy it at that price.
Because where I live, shipping a gun is PITA. It's an hour and a half to the nearest Fedex shipping center that will accept a gun. Not to mention, apart from the goofy live-round extraction issue, the gun runs 100%, so they'd likely just send it back and tell me there's nothing wrong with it. It's not a reliability problem...I just don't like the gun. So best case, assuming there is something that they do fix, and Ruger picks up the shipping, I'm driving 3 hours to ship it, then sitting around all day waiting for Fedex to show up whenever they please (in my experience, "between 8:00 and Noon is just a suggestion) so I can sign for it. If Ruger doesn't pay for shipping, it's all that, and I'm out $70. And at the end of the day I'm still stuck with a gun I don't like that doesn't meet my needs.
I called the store back today and they still have it. We are driving that way tomorrow on our way to family for thanksgiving, so I may stop and see if I can wrangle a deal.
Posts: 9415 | Location: In the Cornfields | Registered: May 25, 2006
Mark 2 and 3 are great and quite straightforward to take apart and put back together. And they don't have the annoying ambi safety digging into your hand.
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Another vote here for the SW .22 Compact. I've had the SR 22 and I think the Smith is by far the better gun. Also have a Ruger MKIV with a VQ Trigger Kit in it that is more accurate than I will ever be. The trigger is now fantastic.
Posts: 127 | Location: Oklahoma | Registered: July 12, 2013
Hmmm... my SR22 has a pretty good trigger. And has been fully reliable. I understand it would be a PITA to ship it back to Ruger, but I would do it. And a new MKIV would be a great pistol, too.
End of Earth: 2 Miles Upper Peninsula: 4 Miles
Posts: 16459 | Location: Marquette MI | Registered: July 08, 2014
