THE CONTENDERS

Initially, I was leaning toward the Ruger Mark III, but I decided to have a look at a full range of rimfire options before "pulling the trigger." In my initial round of research, I found the following six rimfire models mentioned over and over again:



The Ruger Mark III



The Smith and Wesson 22A



The Browning Buck Mark



The Beretta U22 Neos



The Walther P22



The Sig Sauer Mosquito

During the course of my research, I investigated each of the above models. In some cases, I handled multiple versions of the same model to get a feel for heft, balance and basic operation. I summarize each model below, in no particular order.


THE RUGER MARK III (MSRP $342-$602)

When it comes to rimfire pistols, no name is known better than the legendary Ruger "Mark." Sturm, Ruger & Co. made its name in the rimfire pistol market. Ruger's original pistol borrowed design elements from the Japanese Nambu and the German Luger. Their original model (the Standard, 1949-1982) was later joined by the Mark I (1949-82), the Mark II (1982-2005) and the Mark III.

On-line research confirmed that the Ruger Mark III is rock-solid reliable and dead-on accurate. Reviewers of this model didn't hesitate to use terms like "highly recommended" and "the ultimate." A reviewer at Shooting Times described the gun as "a plinker's companion if ever I saw one." Criticism of the Ruger was hard to come by, but it was no trouble at all to find plenty of Rugers to play with. Every gun show I've ever been to has had plenty of tables covered with Ruger rimfires in a wide variety of versions. By the most important objective measures, the Ruger Mark III came in at the top of the class.

Unfortunately, I had three subjective issues with the Rugers I looked at. First, despite handling dozens of models, I just couldn't find a Ruger that fit my hand comfortably. While this issue isn't as important in a small-caliber rimfire as it is in a .44 Magnum, why not be comfortable? Second, all other things being equal, I'd prefer a gun with a more "conventional" semi-auto look. Third, we already have one Ruger Mark in the family. None of these issues was necessarily a deal-killer, but the three factors together gave me reason to look around a little more.


THE SMITH AND WESSON 22A (MSRP: $292)

I'm normally a big fan of the legendary Smith and Wesson name, but the company seems to have had a tough time producing a reliable, accurate and economical .22 pistol. Despite the considerable success of the Model 41 (1957-93, 94-Present), the company has had difficulty providing a good design at a price point competitive with its competitors (the Model 41 retails for $1,232). Prior unsuccessful attempts include the Model 61 (1970-73), the Model 422 (1987-96) the Model 622 (1989-96) the Model 2206 (1990-96) and the Model 2213 (1991-1997).

Smith and Wesson's current offering is the Model 22A, which has drawn some very mixed reviews. Although some reviewers liked the gun just fine, the comments I encountered on the gun owner forums and magazine websites included the following:

"We have shot a few rounds through one gun in the new line, the Model 22A Target gun, and can only say that it is unremarkable..."

"The 22A felt like a chunk on metal with an ill-formed grip. Not at all comfortable or natural feeling. The P22's grip was really too small, and I don't have big hands. Its a bit light also...And from talking to various dealers, no one I've come across has given them a good review when it comes to shooting either."

"...the design is poor and the QC is terrible on the 22/a and 22/s..."

"From personal experience I can say that reliability on our S&W 22A has dropped as usage increases."

"I have one and i am not to fond of it."

"The only good thing about it is the price."

"I had one and sold it within a month."

To be fair, I want to mention that there were also quite a few 22A owners who were happy with the gun. Given the number of negative experiences, however, I was wary. Further, I didn't particularly like the way the gun looks or the way it felt in my hand. On balance, I decided the Smith and Wesson 22A probably wasn't the rimfire pistol for me.


THE BROWNING BUCK MARK (MSRP $315-$689)

Although the Browning Buck Mark model was introduced in 1985, the basic rimfile pistol design now marketed as the Browning Buck Mark has a lineage back to John Browning's Woodsman, which was introduced by Colt in 1914. The design evolved over the years, through the Nomad (1962-74) and Challenger (1976-84) models, into the modern Buck Mark (1985-present).

Anyone who spends any time on internet forums knows that everyone has an opinion on every issue. That said, when it comes to the reliability and accuracy of the Browning Buck Mark, the opinions were weighted heavily toward the glowing. A few examples:

"I believe that my Buckmark is the best firearm purchase I've ever made. Reliable, accurate, cheap to feed, and I've introduced more new shooters to the sport with it than with any other firearm. My kids put 2 or 3 hundred rounds through it every time we go to the range."

"I have much finer firearms that have cost me thousands of dollars. However, for the price, the Buckmark is my best buy."

"You can't go wrong with a buckmark."

In general, there seems to be fairly broad consensus that the Rugers and the Brownings are in the same class in terms of quality, accuracy and reliability. In terms of subjective criteria, I really liked the appearance of most of the Buck Mark models, and the form-fitting grip on the "Contour" model fit my hand just about perfectly. Thus, the Buck Mark received high marks across the board.


THE BERETTA U22 NEOS (MSRP $275-$375)

Even if it were the unanimous opinion of all gun owners everywhere that the Beretta U22 Neos was the best .22 pistol in the world, I don't think I could convince myself to buy one. The gun looks like something Ripley might use to kill aliens. It's just a bit too freaky-looking for my personal taste. It's not without reason that the U22 Neos is perjoratively referred to as the "space gun":

When I first picked up the new U22 NEOS from Beretta, That's what I thought: "This thing is for outer space!" But after testing it, I think I'll keep it right here on Earth with me. It might be five or six months before Beretta remembers I have it, and I'll think of something by then...

Aesthetic issues aside, the Beretta fit my hand fairly comfortably, and I understand it shoots straight and feeds reliably. The gun has developed a fairly loyal following. I didn't come across any horror stories in the course of my research. On balance, though, the Star Trek styling is just a little too much for this good old boy. That said, anyone who likes (or at least doesn't mind) the styling should take a close look at this model.


THE WALTHER P22 (MSRP $355-$447)

Like Smith and Wesson, "Walther" is another name which is nearly synonymous with "quality." I mean, a Walther is good enough for 007, right? Despite the pedigree, however, the Walther P22 has met with mixed reviews. On the one hand:

HandGuns Magazine liked it.

Tony Rogers liked it.

Mark LeFebre liked it.

This guy liked it.

On the other hand, I found an awful lot of comments like these:

"I have the long barrel version and it is the most inaccurate gun I own. I was shooting this past winter and after putting in a fresh clip I shot one round and the slide broke in two with the large rear piece nearly hitting me in the head."

"The pistol will not chamber the 2nd round. The rear sight moves about 1mm left or right by the lightest touch. The clip fell out repeatedly while shooting. A roll pin on the slide keeps moving out (this roll pin is right where the safety lever swings, and my pistol is now stuck in "safe")."

"After three replacement pistols and about six months of lies and shitty customer service from "Walther USA" (owned by Smith & Wesson)...I had a phone conversation with the VP of Walther USA who said he would *finally* refund my money if the last replacement pistol didn't function as advertised. The safety lever fell out of the side of the slide while firing through the second magazine. He didn't get me a refund, just another POS P22 (that I traded)."

"I owned one, would not own another...Mine was a jam happy misfiring monstrosity of a purchase. I tried 6 different kinds of .22 LR ammo in it and could never get through a magazine without 1-2 jams."

"At the range where I work, one of the rentals with a high round count blew up one day with no obvious cause (barrel not obstructed, appeared to be in battery, ammo of a good lot)."

"Mine is difficult to shoot accurately, spits brass in every direction, needs cleaned VERY often (starts jamming after 150 rounds), and will only shoot CCI Mini-Mags and Remington GBs reliably. Others have also had issues with the hammer spring breaking."

"One of my friends hates P22 because a guy at work had one blow up when he shot it one day. The slide broke."

"within 2K rds, the sheetmetal slide stop carved my notch right off...they replaced the slide....then the mag problem came up, and they replaced the mags....the the rollpin in the rear of the slide started coming out and locking the safety...they replaced the slide again...the tigger broke, and they replaced that..."

Like the Smith and Wesson 22A and the Beretta NEOS, the Walther P22 has a loyal following. Further, it's nice-looking and feels good in the hand. I can certainly see why folks like this gun. On the other hand, there appear to be serious questions as to the fundamental mechanical integrity of this weapon. Further, the Walther P22 hasn't gotten particularly good marks on accuracy. Despite the fact that I like this gun on the "intangibles," I'm thinking the Walther isn't the one for me.


THE SIG SAUER MOSQUITO (MSRP $343-$415)

Based on looks, feel and the Sig name alone, I was inclined toward the Sigarms/Sig Sauer Mosquito. It has a nice, conventional semi-auto look and feel. It feels good in the hand. It's...well, it's a Sig! What more is there to say? As far as reviews go, I wasn't able to find many full write-ups, but GunsandHunting.com liked it.

On the other hand, a whole lot of folks really hated this gun:

"If Sig Sauer were a church, I'd be a high priest, but the Mosquito is an exception. I have one of those earlier numbers, and the only thing that's keeping me from selling it is a case of conscience about screwing over the next owner by not making full disclosure ("hey, no matter what you do, you'll never get through a full magazine without a failure to chamber, or fire, or eject.")"

"I owned a SIG mosquito for about a week before I sold it again. I fired about 5 different types of rounds with it ranging from regular .22 pistol ammo up to some high velocity ammo(which seemed to work better) and it still almost always had at least one malfunction per mag. I shot a bit more than 400 rounds during my only session before I went back home to find a buyer (whome I also gave my opinion)...another annoying thing is the slide is made of potmetal which I dont like, but I guess its adequate for a .22."

"From day one the Mosquito was a real lemon. No matter what brand of ammo we shot or what spring we had in it, it would jam or mis-feed 2 to 3 times per 10 round magazine...I keep the pistol clean but the malfunctions continued...Our last visit to the range was the last straw. After jamming it%u2019s usual every other round, the safety malfunctioned. The safety now rotates 360 degrees...The bottom line is DO NOT purchase this pistol if you want a reliable .22 that shoots straight and doesn%u2019t jam regularly. I really regret buying the Mosquito. I have also talked to other Mosquito owners and the problems seem to be the norm with this pistol. Do yourself a favor and steer clear of the Sig Sauer Mosquito."

"I had a Mosquito. Key is HAD. I traded it in as the thing would never feed more than two or three round no matter what ammo I used. I love Sigs, but the Mosquito is a POS.:mad::barf:"

"Yeah, I've had one for about 4 months now. Looks great, feels great, won't go three rounds without a FTF or FTE. Tried more than half a dozen different ammo types, both supplied recoil springs, no joy. Had to send it back to Sig once when the safety lever fell out of the slide. The connecting shaft between the two levers broke in half, Sig said that there was a 'flaw' in the metal. For $400 I expected better."

As with other offerings, there was a range of opinion on the Sig Sauer Mosquito, but there were more than enough negative reports to convince me that this was not the best choice of the lot.


CONCLUSIONS

Based on everything I found in the course of my research, it really wasn't too difficult to narrow the field down to the Ruger Mark III and the Browning Buck Mark. These are two time-tested designs by two manufacturers with long histories and excellent reputations in the rimfire business. The Beretta U22 Neos is just a little too odd for me in the styling department, while the relatively-young S&W 22A, Walther P22 and Sig Mosquito designs seem to still have a few kinks to be worked out.

Deciding between the Ruger and Browning is the subject of a follow-up post. The task of choosing a specific model out of the wide range of offerings will come later.