Met up with Reader Jim and his lovely wife at the range yesterday at the Real New Year’s Day Shoot, and learned something — or rather, re-discovered something.
You see, Jim’s wife had only recently started shooting, and her handgun was a compact HK 9mm with a green-dot sight. It was shooting rather low for her, and at first I put it down to her flinch (which was quite severe; clearly, even the mild recoil of the 9mm out of the diminutive HK was a little much for her). I should note that she is a petite woman, and thus, I thought, the flinch.
But when I popped a few out of the HK, it still held low; so I adjusted the sight upwards for her until it fired into the desired area. That problem was solved, but she was still shooting a little low, and that was definitely the flinch.
So I invited her to shoot a few rounds out of my Buckmark:
…and the results were immediate, and very gratifying: once she’d got used to the trigger, she was putting all ten rounds into a 3″ group, not once, but several times, with absolutely no flinch. (Yup, it’s strange how much fun shooting a .22 pistol can be, huh?)
I therefore made a mild suggestion to Reader Jim that he purchase her a Buckmark to play with, and once I let go his arm and he stopped screaming with pain, he agreed that this would be A Good Thing. (Okay, I’m lying; he agreed immediately, with absolutely no hesitation, and a big grin on his face.)
Here’s a lesson to everyone: if you’re going to teach someone to shoot handguns, let their first shots be out of a .22 pistol — Browning Buckmark, Ruger Mk IV, whatever — because shooting should be first and foremost a lot of fun, and you’re not going to pick up bad habits (e.g. a flinch) when shooting the .22 LR cartridge.
“So which one would you recommend, Kim?”
It’s all personal, of course. But I’d recommend the Browning Buckmark — to be specific, this one, the Standard:
…but if Madame prefers something still lighter, there’s the Camper with its alloy barrel-sleeve:
I would stay away from the Micro, because even though it weighs next to nothing, it’s really difficult to shoot accurately at any distance past 20 feet with that lil’ shorty barrel:
Of course, you can go pretty, like with the Medallion:
…and for those of the red-dot persuasion there are these options (among many):
(For what it’s worth, this last — the Medallion Rosewood — is the one I’m lusting after, but as we speak it runs well over $800 including the scope, so I have to decide which gun I want to sell/trade to get it. Also, it’s quite heavy — speaking for women in general — but the longer, heavier barrel makes for astounding accuracy.)
“So what about Ruger?”
There’s nothing wrong with the Ruger, specifically the Mark IV. Here’s the Standard:
…the Target:
…and for those who would prefer less rake on the grip, the 22/45:
…which has an advantage in that it comes in a variety of girly-type colors:
And just so we are all on the same page, so to speak, I prefer the MkIV over all other Ruger .22 pistols because for the first time evvah it’s possible to field-strip and clean a Ruger .22 pistol without needing a third hand. (In fact, the MkIV is easier to clean than the Buckmark, for that matter.)
And I know, cleaning the guns is typically the job of hubby / boyfriend, so this is not a little thing. (If the woman in your life insists on cleaning her own gun, by the way, hold onto her with hoops of steel because she’s the rarest of all breeds.)
The only reason I still prefer the Buckmark over the Ruger in general is that the Buckmark’s trigger is miles better than the Ruger’s, in fact it’s better than just about any pistol ever made, including the 1911.
And of course there are jillions of other .22 pistols extant, so be my guest. But unless Milady wants to go all historical / nostalgic with a Colt Woodsman:
…I’d stick to the above two brands.
Oh, and single-action is better than double, because the squeeze is easier for a first-time shooter.
All comments, of course, are welcome.
One final thought: I’ve personally owned just about every variant of Buckmark and Ruger before, and fired a huge number of other .22 pistols (Walther, SIG, S&W etc.), and that’s why I pick the above two over all of them. I will confess, however, to having no experience with the S&W SW22 Victory model, but I will happily hear stories thereof.
“ I will confess, however, to having no experience with the S&W SW22 Victory model, but I will happily hear stories thereof.”
I no longer work in the gun business but I did back when the 22 LR victory pistol was released.
I am not a huge fan of S&W, bearing that in mind I thought the Victory was a decent pistol that shot fairly accurately. It was reliable with most any 22 LR ammo I shot.
It definitely did feel like a copy of the Ruger Mark series and the victory had an easy way to field strip it (unlike the difficulty in field stripping a Ruger Mark series 1 2 and 3), and barrels were easy to change.
volquartsen used to make aftermarket barrels for the Victory, I’m not sure if they still do. I tried a victory with a couple of the volquartsen barrels, one was a barrel that was around 6 inches and had a carbon fiber coating around a slim barrel to make it light weight, another barrel was around 4 or 5 inches that was metal and bull barrel style but it had some flutes cut into it. While The factory barrels seemed fine enough, the volquartsen barrels seemed to be nicer in fit and finish and accuracy was great too.
The carbon fiber volquartsen barrel was really sweet as it was so lightweight but long and acccurate. Looked cool too.
The victory has been around now for about 9 or 10 years. I haven’t shot one since they were first released. I think it was meant to be an innovative competitor to the Ruger Mark series however I think once the Ruger Mark 4 series was released with the easy one button take down, I think that solidified Ruger’s lead in this type of pistol.
Ruger offers way more options and configurations from the factory for the Mark 4 over what S&W offers for the Victory.
Also Ruger has way more aftermarket options available for tricking out their target 22 pistol than any other competitor and I personally think Ruger’s service if you have any issues is second to none
If I came across a victory dirt cheap I would pick it up if I was in the market for that type of pistol but I myself prefer my Ruger Single Six for 22 and I used to be able to get half off on guns when I worked in the biz and I did not scoop up a Victory then at half off. YMMV
Personally I would take a Ruger Mark 4 or a Browning any day over the Victory at full price if I was in the market for a target 22.
Overall any of these target style 22 pistols are fairly reliable for semi auto 22 (obviously revolvers are the most reliable) but the target style 22 semi autos hands down beat the 22 pistols that are clones of larger guns. Sig P322 looks cool and the Ruger SR 22 looks cool but those styles will never be as reliable as a target style pistol.
I must confess to having completely forgotten about the S&W SW22 Victory and had to google it. Then I realized why I had purged it from memory. What an ugly spud of a .22. It looks like an ugly cross of a Walther P38 and a Japanese pre-WW2 pistol.
I’ve never fired a Browning Buckmark, so I can’t comment on the trigger, but it’s difficult to imagine it being better than that of the S&W Model 41. Of course, you could buy three Buckmarks for the price of a Model 41. I almost bought a nice Buckmark back when I first got into shooting, but ended up burning up that money shooting 9mm through my Hungarian Hi-Power clone. That was years before Ruger finally came out with the Mk. IV, so there was no question about choosing the Buckmark. And then I unexpectedly inherited a 7″ Model 41, many years too soon.
I have shot many model 41’s. I didn’t care for them. Some are very ammo sensitive and Cci mini mags were what most people shot matches with on the model 41 to ensure reliability.
And yes the cost. Even with my discount back 10 years ago at half off a model 41 would be 600 and change. Fuck that.
I much prefer the model 617 4 inch stainless and that is one of the few S&W I like.
The Ruger Mark series is the best most reliable and all around affordable and customizable 22 LR semi auto in my opinion.
The model 41 has a cult following that I just don’t understand.
There was also a cheap budget version of the model 22 A. It was before the victory. Cheap pos. Got one for around 125 with my discount years ago. Sold it. What a pos that was.
Stick to Ruger for 22 LR stuff. They have 22 revolvers and semi autos and rifles both bolt and semi down to perfection.
I’ve heard the S&W Model 41 finicky for ammo complaint many times on S&W forums and rimfire forums. I guess I’m lucky, because I’ve owned three model 41’s over the past 55 years, and haven’t had any problems with any 40 grain CCI or Remington ammo.
Part of that might be attributed to all of them being 1960’s – 1970’s vintage guns. There are many, many complaints about many S&W pistols of recent vintage, ranging from quality to customer service.
I picked up a Ruger Mk II Government Target model with the 6-7/8″ bull barrel decades ago and never looked back. Wonderful gun.
Whether I go to the range to shoot pistols or rifles, there is always a 22lr chambered firearm with me at the range. Wanna blast away? cheap 22lr. Wanna practice fundamentals? cheap 22lr. wanna teach a new person? 22lr.
You really can’t go wrong with the Ruger Mark series or the Browning Buckmark series. I haven’t tried the S&W Victory either but that is on my acquire list. I don’t think the 22lr pistols that are mimics of their center fire brethren are as accurate as the Ruger Mark series or Browning Buckmarks.
If you prefer revolvers, the S&W 617 is an absolute delight but can be a little on the heavy side. The Model 63 is a smaller J frame sized revolvers that sends 8 rounds down range before the cylinder needs to be reloaded. It’s a wonderful little kit gun. The Ruger Single Six is a really good single action revolver if you want to get your inner cowboy or cowgirl on. It’s really wonderful with the spare 22mag cylinder. I guess you could also look into the Taurus offering if you have to or the Charter Arms Pathfinder.
Buy a solid 22lr handgun right after your personal/home defense pistol. Get good quality and it will last more than your lifetime.
I have both the S&W J-frame .22’s, one in stainless steel and the other in aluminum. There’s a lot to like, but one downside is that if you’re shooting a lot (and why wouldn’t you), the cylinders start to foul and then you are trying to eject all 8 empty cases at once from a dirty gun. It becomes extremely difficult to say the least. I’ve had to put the cylinder ejector rod end on the shooting table and push down so hard on the pistol I was afraid I was going to bend or damage the gun, just to eject the cases. The aluminum gun being worse than the stainless in this regard.
So now I stick to the cleanest .22 ammo I can find and rigorously clean both guns before and during and after an extended shooting session. Something I’ve never needed to do with any other .22 pistol in my life.
S&W 22LR revolvers and some Rugers in other calibers are notorious for having two or more tight chambers.
The speculation is that in the factory, three chambers are reamed at a time with a gang reaming tool head, and the finish reamers are used inconsistently in regards to wear level and are not replaced as a set, but rather one by one, giving two or more tight chambers in a cylinder, while the others are OK.
Before you bend your extractor rod or yoke extracting stuck cases, invest in a Manson cylinder finish reamer, an appropriate wrench to turn it, and a bottle of good cutting oil. I did all three of my 22 revolvers (at the bottom of Lake Tahoe since the Uhbama administration) in about 1-1/2 hours.
After that work, anything I fed to them extracted with a just thumb flick.
https://mansonreamers.com/product/22-lr/
See the option panel, choose finisher/solid/cylinder unless you’re dealing with a match gun that needs interchangeable pilots for the last 1% of accuracy.
Thanks for the info. I fancy myself an amateur gunsmith and I’m always looking for an excuse to buy more tools.
Glad to hear that you all had a wonderful time!
Whenever I teach a new shooter (male or female) I always start with a .22 and work my way up. That way we can focus on the grip mechanics, posture, safety, etc, and not worry about the loud bang and recoil just yet.
I grew up shooting a Woodsman. I would prefer it over any .22LR pistol. Shame they’re made of unobtainium and I’ll never pry the one I grew up with out my brother’s hands (he ended up with it).
Ah, a voice of elegant reason. JMB’s (and Colts) woodsman is the prince of .22’s.
And they are not that hard to find.
What IS hard to find are magazines.
And now I am going to spit out to the web a little secret.
Beretta Neos mags fit in the Colt Huntsman, Challenger and other variants of the Woodsman with a heel magazine release. Just trim the plastic base pad a little in the back.
With a cut for the mag release they will probably work fine in a Woodsman also.
They are an excellent quality mag, equal to the Colt.
My son bought a Ruger mk lll, and it apparently requires an engineering degree to disassemble and clean (the kid is an engineer, btw, and he couldn’t).
That said, there are great deals to be had on some of these guns. I got a buck mark used for peanuts. Awesome gun. Simple as a butter churn.
I had a Ruger MK II. It was a joy to shoot. The first time I field stripped it I had to take the parts to a gunsmith to put it back together. I would like to get another but I understand they are still a PIA to put back together after cleaning.
The Ruger Mk IV is a breeze to put back together. It’s worlds better than the previous models. It’s like comparing Michelle Pfeiffer to Andrea Dworkin…
I have a beretta neos that I like for new shooters and was wondering if you have had a chance to shoot one. I like that it is a little ray-gunny (seems less intimidating for new folks) and that the ray gun gee-gaws make it heavy enough to kill almost all recoil. I think that the heaviness also promotes better grip because they have to actively engage with the weapon instead of it just sort of “being in their hands”.
Also, it’s a 22 LR with a weaver rail. How can anyone resist that little dollop of pomp?
My .22 pistols were mostly bequeathed to me, since I was the descendant declared most likely to use and take care of them. I start new shooters off with Dad’s High Standard Sentinel. Uncle’s Taurus prefers .22wmr, so I bring that out later. And for guys, the Colt 1911 chambered in .22 is a joy to shoot. It’s a bit heavy for the ladies, at least to start with. Uncle had a Ruger Mk II, but couldn’t get it back together after cleaning it and threw it away in frustration. Sigh.
Before christmas, I essentially traded an old ruger mini14 for a colt woodsman 22 and a browning buckmark 22. The second handgun I ever got was a S&W 22A, it is a great shooting gun, dont know why S&W stopped making it. Number 1 son kept hinting that he’d like to have it so I found one with a 7-8 inch barrel to give him for Christmas a few years ago. Number 2 son admired my ruger mark 2 so I gave it to him. After his first attempt to field strip it he traded it. The older and more decrepit I get them more I rely on my 22 pistols for my shooting pleasure. In addition to the above named 22’s I have a Hi-standard 22 mfg in 1955. It’s real fussy with mags or it wont feed. Also have a S&W 22 compact that fits in my hand a lot like my S&W shields(9mm). I bought a ruger sp101 revolver in 22 but I literally cant shoot it and hit the target in double action, the trigger is too hard. Forgot to mention my S&W Victory, its ok, doesnt extract consistently so there are a lot of jams.
For your 22 Victory – try either Cci mini mag 22 LR or ELEY ammo. ELEY is from Europe I think. When I used to work in the business these 2 ammo worked in even ammo sensitive 22 models of guns
The ammo gets expensive though sometimes defeating some of the savings. That’s why I prefer revolvers in 22 LR.
Also – I am not a fan of the 22 guns smith and Wesson makes other than the 617. I personally found most other ones to be cheaply made or ammo sensitive or both.
I’ve seen cracked frames on the M&P 15 22 LR ar knock off rifle. NEVER seen a cracked frame on a Ruger 10 22