Wednesday, August 04, 2004

The .22 Long Rifle

I've made a few weapons choices recently, but the two exceptions I've made are most likely the first buys anyone would make; the Ruger 10/22 semi-auto rifle and the Ruger Mark II semi-auto pistol. Both are .22LR calibre weapons and this is the perfect round for plinking. The stock 10/22 rifle is a perfectly acceptable and, by all accounts, fun weapon to shoot; but part of the pleasure of having one of these babies are the virtually endless custom possibilities. There's a whole industry based around this little rifle offering you the opportunity to turn it into anything from a fully tuned race gun to (I kid you not) a replica MG42 machine gun. Talk about versatile! There are numerous stocks, barrels and mods available to customise this weapon to suit you and you specific needs perfectly.

The Ruger Mark II is also pretty much essential. Personally the bull barrel model is the one I prefer, but either of this or the standard gun should be in the armoury of any gunowner. Target shooting isn't for everyone, but plinking is- and the Mark II is a great plinker. While the stock gun is close to being the perfect .22 pistol there are also some fantastic customs available from
Volqartsen- I'm quite taken by the Stingray model. The Mark II is also available as the 22/45- basically the Mark II fitted with the same grip angle of the venerable 1911. This might be a good option for a frequent user of the 1911, but for me the better bet would be to fit the 1911 with a .22 conversion kit such as this one from Kimber. Light on recoil and low in cost, the .22 makes practice with the 1911 cheap and easy. For fans of the "europellet" 9mm and the absolutely superb CZ75 there is also a .22 conversion kit available. There are a lot of .22 firearms that I could recommend but the pair of Rugers- rifle and handgun- are two that I think are unarguably essential for any shooter. If you have a 1911 and don't have a .22 then a conversion kit is also recommended- that little round is a lot of fun to shoot; it's as simple as that.

1 comment:

John said...

The Ruger 10/22 - There is something about that black synthetic stock with the stainless steel barrel that makes this a great looking gun. This might be my son's birthday present next year. But then he'll have to start going to the range with me. :)