The perfect .22lr steel plink'n pistol?

[Seedy]

My Father (late 50s) is looking to purchase "the perfect .22 pistol". He's done the basic research but is looking for some first hand experiences.

Here's what he wants:

The main purpose of the pistol is to be able to shoot steel targets at 50 yards or less reliably and cheaply.

"Cheaply" reffers to the cost of ammo, the pistol must not be a "picky eater". It needs to be a near 100% gun "off the shelf". He doesn't want a new custom race gun.

Iron sights with the option to easily add a scope

It is possible the pistol might be used in steel challenge competition recreationaly.

Good crisp "off the shelf" trigger.

Upgraded barrel of some kind (bull,match,etc). It doesn't have to drive tacks but needs to be a better shot than my Father is

Again, I want to stress that it CAN NOT be picky about ammo, this gun must be able to shoot Remington "golden bullets" reliably.

So, does this pistol exist and if so, what specific model would it be?

 

[Seedy]

Oh yeah... I forgot to add that the he wants the option down the road for aftermarket upgrades and/or possible suppressor.

 

[bsmith918]

Buckmark's are not very picy eaters, easy to upgrad to a tac-sol threaded barrel, extremely accurate, and you can get a piccatinny rail for a scope.

 

[tyromeo55]

Ruger MK series guns fit you description other then they really need a target sear to have a decent trigger. The buckmark is another great option.

One thing to note about 22's is that the reliability seems to be on a gun by gun basis. getting a new will not guarantee perfect feeding even from a proven design

 

[bsmith918]

The feeding problems in a .22 are largely related to the both the lube on the bullets and the quality of the brass casing and how much it expands in the chamber. I agree that the Ruger is a good gun, but the Buckmark is easier to replace the barrel and strip for cleaning. If you want to start changing barrels on a Ruger, you have to use a FFL since the barrel and receiver are all one piece. With the Browning, you just unscrew a couple of allen head screws and put it on.

 

[Gunrunner45]

My BuckMark has ate everything I feed it & never jammed.

I have tried all the various bulk box ammo Wal-mart sells. I prefer the Federal 550 count or the Federal Target white box but it will eat anything.

It even ate an old "Bucket of Bullets" from Remington that had been in my safe for years. The only other gun I had that would digest that crap was my 10/22.

Get a Buck Mark, slap a holo sight or red dot on it maybe upgrade the barrel if you want and you are all set.

 

[guns are dumb]

I've owned everything everyone is recommending here and read more threads about how those guns are picky than how they aren't.

I've found that if reliability is the key with a .22 pistol, then it needs to be a revolver. My 617 will usually fire bullets that I've tried to shoot in my autos and not fired. However, adding any sort of suppressor won't happen in a .22 revolver, for obvious reasons.

After adding a Tactical Solutions barrel to a BuckMark I had, the reliability went down, with the occasional failure-to-extract due to the way the barrel was manufactured.

The only other .22 I have with 100% reliability is a Sig Sauer 522 (rifle), maybe a Hammerli X-ESSE/Sig Trailside Competition, but I haven't shot it enough to remember.

 

[okieshooter6]

Don't overlook the old High Standards, Sport Kings, Citations, Etc.. Barrels swap by just pushing a button in front of the trigger guard and the barrel simply lifts off. You can have one barrel set up for irons and another with a cantilever mounted optic or scope. Clean up on high standards is super simple. They have impeccable triggers from the factory. They also are not fussy about what ammo runs through them. It may take a little looking to find one and all the extras you might want, but it may well be worth the wait.
Yeah they can be a little pricey, but you get what you pay for!

 

[jtischauser]

Ruger MK series guns fit you description other then they really need a target sear to have a decent trigger. The buckmark is another great option.

One thing to note about 22's is that the reliability seems to be on a gun by gun basis. getting a new will not guarantee perfect feeding even from a proven design

+1 Either of these will do.

 

[Stingray]

My 617 will usually fire bullets that I've tried to shoot in my autos and not fired.

S&W 617 is the finest .22 that money can buy in my not so humble opinion.

However:

this gun must be able to shoot Remington "golden bullets" reliably.

NOTHING will shoot that junk reliably. Federals are pretty much the same cost and every single one in the box will fire. I can't believe that anyone still buys those golden turds.

-S