[SniperMike]

Greetings all,
New to the site but luving the info here! I have all kinds of guns in my arsenal and love them all. I'm interested in getting a .22 pistol but have some questions. I hear so many people having great success with their Ruger Mk platforms as well as Brownings. Then of course is the high dollar stuff that the competitors use.

Can someone explain what's the differences between say a Ruger MKIII Hunter and a highly customed competition pistol? Are the tolerances within the competition guns that much better than a Ruger MKIII with some upgrades?

Just wondering. I'm definitely into accuracy but it seems like you can spend ~$400+ for a Ruger MKIII and get it pretty sweet or you can spend $1000+ for a competition gun.

I've read many posts and seen targets posted that look really good with 'non-competition' guns.

Of course I like to shoot .22 for fun and plinking but I'd like to get something that I can get pretty accurate. Of course the shooter has a lot to do with it...lol

Thanks in advance all!

Mike

 

[Combat Diver]

SniperMike,

Welcome to the forum. I grew up down in San Antonio and the hill country. I can't really answer your question. You pay for what you get. I would get a standard Ruger or Smith 41 and see how it shoots. Once you got some range time and understand its and your performance level then you can upgrade.

CD

 

[jodum]

Welcome to the forum. As far as 22 handguns go, I have had a number of them over time. I now have five in my gun locker and the Ruger 22/45 Mk III is one of my favorite. The gun shoots better than I can and has had nothing done to it. With good target ammo it will do anything one of my expensive competition guns would do. I used to shoot competition and wish the MkIII would have been around then. I am looking forward to reading some of your posts.
John

 

[Marshal Kane]

I think you already know the difference between a competition gun and all the others and just want confirmation.

Well, you are correct. IME, competition guns are built to tighter tolerances, have match barrels, match sights, really nice triggers, and more handfitting.

But, in the hands of someone who does not shoot much, has no interest in shooting competition, and just wants a gun to plink with, owning a competition gun becomes just a status symbol. Unless you have the fire in you to compete, there are many good guns at far more reasonable prices to satisfy your needs.

If you like the Ruger MKIII, (it's a very good gun) by all means buy it and you are, indeed correct when you say a lot has to do with the shooter.

 

[BrowningBoy710]

the ruger will always be one of the favorite .22s. i ust had a chance to shoot a Walther P22 not to long ago and it was a sweet little pistol as well. Would eat anything we fed it, and accurate enough to hit chips of clays at 50yrds from a rest.

 

[Old Grump]

A good shooter can shoot most any gun and hit what he is aiming at but a competition gun won't make a journeyman shooter into a masterclass shooter. Unless you are serious about getting into high level competitions a good grade service pistol will do everything you want and will do yeoman work at club level matches, plinking games and small game hunting.

The match grade pistol won't kill a rabbit any deader and for gun games can actually be a hindrance by being fussy for ammo choices or to light a trigger. I'm a match shooter but give me my old not afraid to scratch it up or get it dirty gun that will shoot anything I put in it for field work and popping tin cans or blowing up water balloons.

 

[zb338]

Welcome to the Forum Mike. As usual, the Old Grump knows his stuff. The only thing
I have to add (which isn't much) is that the price of a custom gun isn't linear. To get
a little more performance you have to pay a lot of money. As the Grump says, a plain
old gun, say Ruger Auto, will do an awful lot. To get more performance you might have
to pay double or even more.

Zeke

 

[MikeG]

Yep. I'd start with a Ruger .22 auto any day. When you've practiced enough that it won't do the job, you'll be ready to move up.

 

[SniperMike]

TY all so much!

Hi everyone and thank you very much for the advice. After reading on different forums and reviews, I figured the Ruger would be a good 'starter' pistol that will probably stay with me for a long time. There's some upcoming matches at a nearby club that I will attend to observe. I'm not sure how into match shooting I will ever be but I'm interested. I am competitive so we'll see what happens..lol.

Thanks again for all the advice and I'm looking forward to chatting with all of you.

Mike