Ruger SR22 for first pistol purchase

[Kemosabe]

I am buying my first pistol, with 3 main points in mind: inexpensive to shoot, ease of takedown/cleaning, and accuracy.

I tried a Ruger 22/45 and loved the smooth trigger and accuracy, but don't like the takedown. I was thinking of the Ruger SP101 revolver, but my research shows that it has a very heavy trigger. So I am considering the Ruger SR22.

Anyone have any experience with it?

[Twoboxer]

SR22 is not a bad pistol - fun and easy to clean - but not as accurate as the Mark III. I bought the Mark III because I was looking for more accuracy. Yeah, the Mark III has the same takedown as the 22/45, but . . . if you're doing it frequently, it gets to be routine, and if not frequently, it's not a big deal. I shoot mine 100-200 rounds a session, have over 4,000 rounds on it, and clean it once a month/4 sessions.

The SR22 took a while to feed well even after a thorough initial cleaning. Early on you're probably better off with clad bullets - mine didn't like to feed the lead nose stuff unless the pistol was run "wet", more oil than normal, including the feed ramp. After 500 rounds or so things smoothed out and it pretty much runs anything with failures to feed or eject becoming rare. At 3500 rounds its in excellent shape.

The Mark III has the best trigger and it can be improved easily. The 22/45 is next IMO, and the SR22 I'd place third but not terrible.

The SR22 has a front rail making a laser easy to mount; the Mark III can mount an optic.

[R L Suehr]

I am buying my first pistol, with 3 main points in mind: inexpensive to shoot, ease of takedown/cleaning, and accuracy.

I tried a Ruger 22/45 and loved the smooth trigger and accuracy, but don't like the takedown. I was thinking of the Ruger SP101 revolver, but my research shows that it has a very heavy trigger. So I am considering the Ruger SR22.

Anyone have any experience with it?

What type of shooting do you plan on. If you're primarily interested in learning from a defensive stand point (you want to Learn and move up to a carry piece) then I would say the sr22. It'll handle more like a carry gun than the 22/45. If you're more concerned with improving your accuracy and shooting the smallest groups possible right now, then I would say 22/45.

They are really two very different guns suited to different things and both would be good to learn on. Don't let the take down horror stories about the Ruger mk series guns scare you too much. It'll frustrate you at first, but once you do it a few times you'll start to get the hang of it.

[jthrelf]

My experience with the SR22 has been awesome. It's a very fun little pistol. Putting in a Galloway Precision stainless steel one-piece guide rod has turned it from a reliable feeder to a very reliable feeder. It's about $25 on Amazon from what I remember. That's been a solid upgrade and also makes take down/reassemble even a bit easier (which is very easy to begin with).

Absolutely go for the SR22 - it's a great value.