I grew up shooting .22 rifles and a really neat 9-shot revolver. It’s a great way to get kids interested and skilled at shooting and guess what. It’s also a great way to keep old folks shooting. Being 72 with some aggressive arthritis I admit it’s challenging sometimes. I still keep at least a 9mm on my belt for defense, but when it comes to fun shooting, I’m opting for the good old twenty-two more often that not. And, thanks to being blessed with the ability to write for two amazing magazines, the past year has allowed me to review a few interesting .22s. Here’s a run down of them from the latest to the earliest.
Ruger LCP II .22 LR
This is one of those mouse guns that is normally a little tough to shoot. The fact this one has a great trigger and some enlarged sights makes it a little easier than it’s .380 predecessors the LCP and LCP II.
I can truly say it’s fun to shoot. There’s no recoil and the grip is big enough for me to get two good fingers around. I teacup with my support hand to make a solid grip. The sights are a bit of a struggle but only because I need to use the bottom of my trifocals to see them and that makes me tilt my head at a funny angle. For folks with tiny hands this one will work well for you. Some will even want to carry it for personal protection. It’s better than nothing.
HK416 .22 LR
Now here’s a fun guy. This is a rimfire version of the gun the Navy Seals had with them when they took down Osama Bin Laden. It’s not a machine gun but it’s almost as much fun.
It didn’t come with the red dot sight, suppressor, pistol brace and sling; I added those. When I shot up those drink cans I did it without hearing protection. Using CCI’s Suppressor ammo it was so quiet it sounded like the phssst, phssst of the silenced guns you hear in the movies or on TV — really quiet. This gun is about as much fun as I’ve had with a gun in many a moon. It’s something the young folks enjoy, but us old folks, too.
Glock 44 – They Now Have a .22
It was kind of a surprise when I got an email from the Glock publicity department wanting to know if they could send me their new .22. This gun is the same size as a G19 and looks just like the G5 version of the ever popular Glock 19. You think it’s a G19 until you pick it up and find it only weighs something like 11 oz. It holds ten rounds and shoots any normal or high velocity ammo. As long as you don’t try the subsonic stuff and keep it clean it just keeps right on trucking. It’s a great way to economically practice shooting that will transfer skills to shooting your defensive Glock.
Taurus TX22
I personally like this gun better than the Glock. It’s essentially the same size, but holds 15 rounds. It, too, is very reliable. I find it more comfortable to shoot than the Glock because of the grip frame and texture, but either one of them is great for practicing skills that will cross over to your 9mm of the same size and body style. Oh and it has a threaded barrel so you can add a suppressor. The Taurus a bit easier on the pocketbook than the Glock. It’s going for around $250 in the stores where the Glock looks like it’s going to price out around $350.
Ruger Wrangler
These very reasonably-priced six shooters from Ruger are of the quality we’ve become used to from Ruger, but cost about half what the Single Six does because it’s made from aluminum alloy with modern CNC machinery. Ruger is working to get us more reasonably priced guns and the Wrangler is one of the results. They come in three colors and I managed to get my hands on one of each.
It’s going to be interesting to see what else 2020 brings us.
David Freeman 