.22 LR revolver

[Allen]

if you look around the used gun racks you are likely to find something. have you looked at the rossi PLINKER ?

That DOES look like a nice pistol--didn't know it existed. I have a Taurus M94 SS 9 shot 5" that shoots well but didn't recommend it due to so many others having problems with them as per internet user reviews. Rossi merged with Taurus so I suppose this is the current product of that. Later Rossi's were great guns. I have some M88's (SS 38 special 2") and M971's (SS 357) that to me are just a step below a Smith. After the merger/buyout it appears that Taurus makes everything now.

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/793284929

[retread12345]

Had a Taurus .22 mag, fun gun but the ammo too pricey. I am sure they produce a model in .22 long rifle

[Clark Howard]

Top of the .22 heap is the S&W K-frame 6 inchers. Just as good, the Ruger Single-Six is tough and accurate. The High Standard Sentinel is cheaper, not as good looking, but works just as well as any. Regards, Clark

[JB White]

I have played with quite a few rimfire revolvers over the years. The two I have had the longest and can't be talked out of are the S&W Mod 18 and the Ruger Super Single Six.
The others makers all had shortcomings whether a major drawback or minor glitches. Something in regard to reliability, accuracy, ease of handling....something always left me flat including poor sights or part breakage.

The worse one I had experiences with were a pair of Taurus 94's. One in blue the other in stainless. Constant misfires. Taurus "repaired" them under warranty with a set of 17 ton springs which took the joy out of shooting. (Methinks Taurus missed something in the rimfire geometry because I still have a 3" Model 85.)
In SA, neither 94's compared with the accuracy of the S&W or the Ruger. The Ruger is fine accuracy-wise in 22LR but really shines with the 22WMR cylinder installed.

Having said all that, I confess never having owned a Colt rimfire.

[Allen]

Having said all that, I confess never having owned a Colt rimfire.

Me neither and the only one that I can think of that fits the bill is the Colt Diamondback which is long out of production. Surely a nice gun but for the $1500-$2000 cost to own one I'll take a couple of Smiths any day even if the Colt was still available.

https://www.gunbroker.com/All/search...%20diamondback

On 2nd thought I forgot about the Colt SAA. My father in law had one of the later ones. It had an aluminum frame like the RG66 I bought back in 1971 for $27. Not impressed with either and there is very little difference between them.

[Darreld Walton]

Colt made a smaller-framed single action .22, the Frontier or New Frontier, IIRC, one with alloy frame, one with steel, flat top and adjustable sights, but you could probably buy a half dozen Ruger's for what one of those, or the Diamondback would cost. Colt also made the Trooper MkIII in .22 LR and .22 WMRF, four, six, and eight inch, but even my .357 is a heavy revolver, and still likely to need at least $1K to bring home.

Have you considered one of these? https://www.ruger.com/products/sp101/overview.html

[jaie5070]

I used to have a .22 revolver. It was a german made one. very accurate but I hated the single loading and unloading. Especially the unloading. If I ever get another it would be a break open or have a swing out cylinder.

[Art]

[QUOTE=Darreld Walton;546462]Colt made a smaller-framed single action .22, the Frontier or New Frontier, IIRC, one with alloy frame, one with steel, flat top and adjustable sights, but you could probably buy a half dozen Ruger's for what one of those, or the Diamondback would cost. Colt also made the Trooper MkIII in .22 LR and .22 WMRF, four, six, and eight inch, but even my .357 is a heavy revolver, and still likely to need at least $1K to bring home.[QUOTE]

As the folks who keep up with this forum know I am a serious "wheel gun" fan.

The adjustable sight Colt .22 single actions need some care in selection if you invest the money and actually want to shoot them. On some of the early ones the front sight was too low and there wasn't enough adjustment in the rear sight to bring it on target at 25 yards. I owned one of the early ones when they were reasonably priced and with the back sight all the way down it shot at least 5" high at 25 yards with any .22 long rifle ammunition. Later ones had a much higher front sight which made them a little funny looking, but they would shoot to the sights.

Any S&W .22 revolver is a good choice. I prefer the older ones if you can find one at a good price but that's just a preference, nothing more. If you're going to actually carry it in the woods the J Frame kit guns are a good choice and very appropriately sized in either the .22 LR or .22 WMR versions, The K frame .22s are fabulous shooters. We trained with Model 18s at The Border Patrol Academy before moving on to heavy barrel Model 10s. They were superb guns. I picked up an older model 17 in a pawn shop a few years ago and shoot it at the range regularly since it is the same size as my K Frame "Smith" and a lot cheaper to shoot. The Ruger Single Six revolvers would be my pick in a single action. Robust, accurate and not too big. The Ruger field double actions are good guns but a bit on the bulky side for me.

High Standard revolvers are good guns but very long out of production and, in my opinion, a bit inferior to the "Smiths" and Rugers. If you can find a nice one at a good price they are not bad.

I am personally underwhelmed with the Brazilian revolvers because they tend to be a crap shoot. You can get a good one or not depending on where and when it was made,

Again - just my devalued $.02 worth.

[lyman]

Art,

on the early Colts, and 5" off in elevation,

how much did you notice of a difference with different velocity ammo?

and is did Mini Mags and SV all shoot low?

[Art]

Art,

on the early Colts, and 5" off in elevation,

how much did you notice of a difference with different velocity ammo?

and is did Mini Mags and SV all shoot low?

Everything shot high, and high enough to matter. I suspect the fixed sight versions didn't have the problem but I really don't know. Like I said Colt did resolve the adjustable sight problem later, just be careful when/if you buy. These are pricey pistols these days.