[Guest]

I have a Ruger MkIII 22/45 w/ bull barrel right now that I am wanting to sell and move to a Smith and Wesson Model 22A. I owned a similar S&W about 9 years ago and made the mistake of selling it. I am curious about other peoples opinions of the Smith and Wessons now. I liked it when I owned it and I wonder if over the last decade they have gotten better/worse? Honestly, my only reason for wanting to sell my ruger is it is so hard to take apart and put back together that I am discoraged to the point of wanting to get rid of it because I don't ever want to clean it. I recall how modular and easy to disassemble the S&W's are. Any thoughts from those who have used them?

 

[Jeff Johnson]

Matthew, I'm not clear on whether this post is just asking for advice or is an advertisement to sell the gun. If the former, then it's fine in the Firearms Reviews section, but if you're seeking a buyer, then I need to move this thread to the Classifieds section under Private Party Firearm Ads.

Please let me know. Thanks!

 

[Guest]

This is not an advertisement to sell, just looking for feedback. Sorry for any confusion.

 

[Guest]

I had a Ruger and despite some learning curve to get apart and back together and the fact it takes a while, it has hands down, been more reliable than the Smith and Wesson I have. In fact, I am in the process of trying to trade it in at Gunnies because I have all kinds of feeding and extracting problems with it. A guy at the gun counter there told me he would have warned me against it if he had been there when I was buying it. Live and learn I guess. Even the owner of Gunnies said he doesn't sell many Smith and Wesson .22's because they have all kinds of issues. At least that's what I got out of his explanation. I have ciome to realize, there is not much advantage for me of a 22 pistol over a rifle, so I may just get a 10/22 since they have proven reliability.

BTW, I am Matthew Hunter, I just created a new profile so my name isn't constantly used when I post.

 

[GeneticsDave]

BTW, I am Matthew Hunter, I just created a new profile so my name isn't constantly used when I post.

Contact Jeff Johnson, he can change your nickname for you - better than making a new one and artificially increasing the number of members on the forum.

 

[Jeff Johnson]

BTW, I am Matthew Hunter, I just created a new profile so my name isn't constantly used when I post.

Contact Jeff Johnson, he can change your nickname for you - better than making a new one and artificially increasing the number of members on the forum.

Matthew, I've removed your new "sculptingmyguns" user, then changed your old username to "sculptingmyguns". That way you won't have two usernames on UCC, which I do not allow.
Sorry for the hijack. Carry on...

 

[jtsummie]

Bump... I'm in the same place any other opinions?

 

[xRapidDavex]

Bump... I'm in the same place any other opinions?

What do you mean? You don't know which one to get or you own one and are having feeding issues? The Ruger Mark III is a solid piece of machinery....and so it the Ruger 10/22 rifle.

By the way jtsummie, if you get that Ruger 10/22 rifle, I can show you how to field strip it and completely disassemble the trigger group.

 

[jtsummie]

I'm in the same place... we're looking for a little 22 plinker I've been reading reviews on the Smith and Wesson 22a, the Ruger mkIII, and the browning buckmark camper. It's hard to get reviews off the internet because you can find a thousand people who say the guns are junk, and a thousand that say they are great little guns. so it leaves ya back at 0.

 

[xRapidDavex]

Dustin owns a Ruger Mark II, you could ask him. I've yet to hear anything bad about the Ruger Mark III or the Browning Buckmark. I would go for the Ruger because you can find them on KSL for about $50 less.

 

[m.t.s.]

A friend and I bought 22As back when they first came out, and both of our guns were plenty reliable. I only ever shot bulk-pack Federal through it, and would get only an occasional misfire.

I broke the gun twice, though, by pulling the top too far backwards during disassembly - which it specifically warns you not to do in the manual. S&W fixed it for free both times, though.

I eventually replaced it with a Beretta 87T, which was much less reliable than the 22A. So I replaced the Beretta with a S&W 614 - a revolver - which is the epitome of reliability.

So back to your original question, my main beef against the Ruger Mk III is that it has a magazine-disconnect, so it won't shoot if the magazine isn't in there. I prefer my guns to shoot whenever I want them to. That's why I went with the Buckmark Camper. I'd like to get another couple Buckmarks, with 3" or 4" barrels, just to have them in different sizes and because I have a big stash of Buckmark magazines.

You can find videos on YouTube showing how to disassemble and reassemble the Mk III quickly, and they make it look easy.

Also, don't forget about the newish Beretta Neos. It should be a piece of cake to strip and clean, and should be plenty reliable.

Oh yeah, but another thing going for the Buckmark and Rugers is this: :thumbup:

 

[Snurd]

I love my Browning Buckmark. It is a great shooter, and since the barrel is a bit heavier I can get back on target very quickly compared to the Walther P22 that I had. I got rid of the Walther. The Browning is far superior IMO. My dad has a S&W .22 and it is a great gun as well. I haven't heard anything bad about them.