Mission:
Research and purchase a .22LR pistol that is reliable and affordable to train my children to shoot and to have an economical fun gun to shoot for the whole family.
Research:
I've read every thing i could about semi auto .22LR pistols on this forum and a few other well known forums. All of my perceptions were based upon what I've read and not actual experience. I had narrowed the selection down to the Browning Buckmark, S&W 22a, the Beretta. I also considered the Ruger Mk III and Walther P22 but I've owned a Ruger Mk I and never cared for it and the Walther, although the best looking gun seemed to be finnicky on the type of ammo more so than other pistols I read about. I do believe going into this, that all .22LR pistols will have FTF's and FTE's from time to time to varying degrees. The Buckmark seemed to be at the top in popularity and possibly reliability by a little. The Smith read as being a little more ammo sensitive, but certainly a nice looking weapon. The Beretta had a decent reputation for its diet of different brands of .22 ammo but it was kind of strange looking.
So I set off to SportsWorld and had them plop all three out on the counter for me to lay hands upon. Ultimately the one that just felt best in my hand was the Beretta. My son and daughter could also grip it well and it seemed to fit them also. So I handed over the cash, they made to call to the Feds and we were out the door and to the range for further testing.
At the Range:
All I had with me was a 550 bulk pack of Federal from Wal Mart. This ammo works well in my Sig 522 and M&P 15-22 so I figured it would in the Beretta. I first mounted a Millett SP1 red dot scope and did a quick sight in from 25 yards. From this distance using a barrel rest I was getting 2-3 inch groups which was probably more operator error than gun accuracy. We then moved over to the plate racks and shot those from about 15 yards back and 25 yards back. The scope seemed to be dead on because none of us we really having a problem knocking down plates. This gun did cause many smiles and some squabbling over who got to shoot it next. All in all we shot 400 rounds. My daughter had the only FTE, it stovepiped and it could have been attributed to her limp wristing the gun. I think that's pretty good reliability.
Conclusion:
We all like our new space gun and it definitely fulfills the requirement for FUN. I'm happy with our choice. We got a reasonably priced shooter with good fit and finish that's easy to take down and clean that seems to like the cheap Wal Mart ammo. Now I have to worry which child will want their own in the near future!
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Research and purchase a .22LR pistol that is reliable and affordable to train my children to shoot and to have an economical fun gun to shoot for the whole family.
Research:
I've read every thing i could about semi auto .22LR pistols on this forum and a few other well known forums. All of my perceptions were based upon what I've read and not actual experience. I had narrowed the selection down to the Browning Buckmark, S&W 22a, the Beretta. I also considered the Ruger Mk III and Walther P22 but I've owned a Ruger Mk I and never cared for it and the Walther, although the best looking gun seemed to be finnicky on the type of ammo more so than other pistols I read about. I do believe going into this, that all .22LR pistols will have FTF's and FTE's from time to time to varying degrees. The Buckmark seemed to be at the top in popularity and possibly reliability by a little. The Smith read as being a little more ammo sensitive, but certainly a nice looking weapon. The Beretta had a decent reputation for its diet of different brands of .22 ammo but it was kind of strange looking.
So I set off to SportsWorld and had them plop all three out on the counter for me to lay hands upon. Ultimately the one that just felt best in my hand was the Beretta. My son and daughter could also grip it well and it seemed to fit them also. So I handed over the cash, they made to call to the Feds and we were out the door and to the range for further testing.
At the Range:
All I had with me was a 550 bulk pack of Federal from Wal Mart. This ammo works well in my Sig 522 and M&P 15-22 so I figured it would in the Beretta. I first mounted a Millett SP1 red dot scope and did a quick sight in from 25 yards. From this distance using a barrel rest I was getting 2-3 inch groups which was probably more operator error than gun accuracy. We then moved over to the plate racks and shot those from about 15 yards back and 25 yards back. The scope seemed to be dead on because none of us we really having a problem knocking down plates. This gun did cause many smiles and some squabbling over who got to shoot it next. All in all we shot 400 rounds. My daughter had the only FTE, it stovepiped and it could have been attributed to her limp wristing the gun. I think that's pretty good reliability.
Conclusion:
We all like our new space gun and it definitely fulfills the requirement for FUN. I'm happy with our choice. We got a reasonably priced shooter with good fit and finish that's easy to take down and clean that seems to like the cheap Wal Mart ammo. Now I have to worry which child will want their own in the near future!
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