THE BEST .22 HANDGUNS
I part
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Colt Woodsman Match Target
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For nearly half a century, from
the 1930s to the 1970s, the average American pistol shooter’s battery consisted
of three guns: a .22 semi-automatic, a .38 revolver and a .45 pistol.
Recognized as the ultimate cartridge for plinking and small game, it's hard to
doubt the .22 Long Rifle is a great multipurpose round.
The .22 rimfire cartridges
developed in the mid to late 19th Century were the first metallic ammunition. In
1887 the Stevens Arms Co. introduced one of the most popular cartridges of all
time, the .22 Long Rifle. Astonishingly, the 130-year old .22 LR cartridge has
been loaded into all kinds of firearms through the decades. In other words, the
.22 LR is one of the few rounds that are accepted by a large variety of long
guns, as well as pistols and revolvers.
It is important to note that from the time of pioneers explorers and
frontiersmen of the Wild West to modern survivalists and preppers having a
shoulder gun and a handgun that shoots the same cartridge was a crucial
advantage. That feature has been enabling shooters to carry ammunition of one
caliber and type and load both guns from one box or cartridge belt.
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Colt Woodsman 3rd Series Match Target
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The .22
Long Rifle is a great multipurpose round equally appropriate for target
shooting, small game, and plinking. Though the ballistics of 22s as well other
"mouse gun" calibers isn't
useful as a self-defense round, the .22 continues to be one of the most
popular gun calibers ever, because its light kick and excellent short-range
accuracy have long made it a great choice for both pistol novices and seasoned
shooters.
Frequently, the handguns chosen
by assassins to kill presidents or significant public figures were of varied
quality ranging from .32-caliber to .22 Long Rifle pistols. Although the
small-caliber sidearms would be not considered assassination weapons of choice,
the use of these inadequate firearms resulted in three deaths of political
notables. Furthermore, unlike some big-caliber fans, all the small bullet
aficionados know that the shot placement is of vital importance, so they should
not be surprised by the fact what a little 40-grain lead bullet behind the ear
can make. That is corroborated by the information that sidearms in .22LR chambering
have the dubious honor of being used in the hands of an Israeli Mossad, as the
perfect assassin's weapon.
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High Standard .22 pistol
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This ultimate cartridge has a
generous rim making it a natural choice for revolvers; the round has also seen
massive popularity chambered in semi-automatics, beginning with John Browning's
Colt Woodsman. This granddaddy of every fixed barrel semi-auto rimfire pistol
was made by Colt’s Manufacturing Company from 1915 to 1977 in about 690,000
pistols in various configurations. It is evident that venerable Woodsman has
slide design and functionality influenced by the German Luger but either way,
it also served as inspiration for the Ruger Mark series, Buck Mark, and the
S&W Victory. Colt Woodsman was the first truly reliable .22 LR autoloader
operated via a blowback action and through its evolution has retained essential
features such as fixed barrel and a small, abbreviated slide action, changing
only the location of magazine release and adding a magazine safety and an
automatic slide stop.
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Hi-Standard-HD-Silenced
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Another rimfire pistol that left
its mark in history is High Standard HD, the handgun that seems like the
missing evolutionary link between the Colt Woodsman and the Ruger Mk Series.
The High Standard pistol is featuring an exposed hammer, steel construction, and
single-action design pistol with a canted Luger-style grip was used for
training hundreds of thousands of servicemen in World War II. Notably, one silenced
Hi-Standard model–HD with serial number 120046 became planetary famous when
Soviets in 1960, shot down US Air Force U-2 recon aircraft and captured its
pilot Lt. Gary Powers.
RUGER MARK SERIES
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Ruger Mk 1 Standard
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The legendary Ruger Mark is a
rimfire handgun with World War II origins. It`s easy to see that inspiration
for what would be the Mark I, the inventor Bill Ruger found in the Japanese
Baby Nambu and the German Luger P08 service pistols. As the reminiscent of the
classic Luger pistol, the Ruger has successfully duplicated its sleek
traditional design utilizing the 35-degree angle of the steel-framed
Luger-style grip. From its development in 1949, the Ruger Mark series pistols
have dominated the .22 autoloader pistol market through several iteration and
many configurations to fit the objectives of serviceman, hunters and plinkers
alike. The Ruger Mark stands as one of
the best rimfire pistols ever made taking the .22 LR platform to a New Level.
In comparison to other semi-auto handguns, the Ruger Mark series pistols have
as the most distinctive characteristic the barrel permanently affixed to the
receiver with only the blow-back operated internal cylindrical bolt moving,
much like a semi-auto rifle or carbine.
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Baby Nambu
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From the 1949 Standard model,
over the Mark I, and till 2016 and Mark IV, the Sturm, Ruger & Co listened
to shooters who were unhappy with some design features, and through several
models, they meet the needs of customers making some drastic changes to the
series. For instance, the MARK II got a larger magazine capacity (10 instead
nine rounds), a better trigger, relief cuts at the bolt and a
last-shot-bolt-hold-open was added.
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Ruger Mark IV- dissembling
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THE MARK III is equipped with a magazine
disconnect safety feature, which prevents an accidental shooting when the
magazine is removed. The second improvement Ruger made on the MK III is the
magazine release - moving it from the more European-style location at the heel
to behind the trigger-guard, a spot more familiar to American shooters. The
newest Ruger iteration from 2016, Mark IV has with redesigned internals
corrected the one and only "big negative" with this pistol - a
notoriously difficult takedown and reassembling procedure. Fortunately, the
Mark IV series introduced the improved method of disassembling the Mark series
controlled by a single button located at the rear of the frame beneath the
bolt. Except that, the Mark IV added a redesigned, easier to use bolt catch
lever, altered the button safety to an ambidextrous Lever-style safety, and
ditched the loaded chamber indicator.
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Ruger Mark III 22/45
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However, parallel to Mark series,
Ruger expanded in 1992 the Mark II line to include the second lineup named Mark
II 22/45, which had a polymer frame and a grip angle of 45 degrees to match the
venerable 1911 Colt Government Model .45 service pistol. Hence the model name,
"22/45." The Ruger 22/45 design intent was to be used as an
inexpensive and reliable way to practice military personnel and other shooters
accustomed to 1911, as many shooters prefer M1911 grip to the more acutely
angled Luger style grips.
Though the 22/45 series were designated with a MARK
number, they were a quantum change compared to the other Ruger 22 pistols since
22/45 version has its manual safety, bolt hold-open latch, and magazine latch
in the same locations as the M1911A1 .45 service pistol. Furthermore, the steel
barrel of 22/45 is installed nearly permanently into a tubular steel receiver
with ten rounds magazine capacity, but it does not accept the standard Mark
magazines.
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Integral Suppressed .22 Pistol the Ruger
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By its design, the Ruger.22 LR
pistol is a very nice firearm to suppress, and there are many examples of such
a suppressed firearm. Besides the standard models with a threaded barrel to
accept a direct attach a suppressor, particularly are interesting an integrally-suppressed
variant of the Ruger Mk II/III Target. Since its stealthy appearance to the not
versed, it looks just like a heavy bull barreled gun but is several dB quieter
than the best muzzle suppressor. Therefore, integrally suppressed Ruger pistols
have dominated the suppressed .22 pistol marketplace since the Vietnam era.
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Mark-IV
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Even today, introduced over 60
years ago old Ruger .22 pistols have an excellent reputation for reliability,
and probably there is no .22 autoloading pistol in history which has combined
such high degree of longevity, popularity, reliability and versatility. Simply
we could not imagine an arsenal without it since the Ruger rimfire pistols are
in over three million sold. Those figures are enabled due to the modern
technology and high productivity, so the suggested retail price has always been
low and stable - up to 1965 Mark I cost the same: $37.50 US.
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