To practice what? Competition shooting? Self defense? Plinking? If you were to just be plinking and improve your shot I'd say find a .22 that pairs up well with another pistol you own. (Similar action, barrel length ect...) That way you can improve your ability to handle and shoot 2 guns at the cost of .22 ammo.
(I use a .22 cal slide on my 1911 for that very purpose.)
__________________ turning up the radio, got just enough religion and a half tank of gas...
+1 on above. All great advice. I have a 22a and have owned the Ruger. I have shot the buckmark as well. All are very accurate. I say it depends on your budget and what you want to do with it. Half of the fun of buying a new firearm is in the research. Shoot them if you can. A lot of indoor ranges have rental handguns for you to shoot.
Good luck! Let us know which you choose.
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Dedicated to SwedeSteve, Arkansashunter and Ezearln. Rest in peace my friends.
Handle and fire (if possible) the maximum number of handguns in this caliber. It is really about what fits you the best in terms of balance, hand to grip, trigger pull, sight picture, pointability, etc. This will be the gun with which you will practice the most and be ready when a shot of opportunity or necessity occurs. It would be hard to find a bad quality handgun from the major manufacturers.
Lots of good advise. Get what fits YOU, and is designed for what you want to do with it.
I got my Buckmark because it has the same grip shape and ergonomics as my Colt 1991A1, and is fairly hefty for a .22 pistol. Makes for similar training.
But I do have other semi-auto .22s just for funzies.
go to a gun shop and fondle them all till you find a number of them that fit well. now thats done, make a detailed list of the makes and models and do some research. start asking around by the people that actually shoot them (not salesmen) and get their take on what you got listed.
We shot the S&W 22A and the Ruger Mark II in an NRA pistol class (guns were from the gun shop where the class was held). Both these guns had heavy use (as range rentals) and neither were maintained/cleaned as good as they should be). Although both exhibited FTEs, it seemed the S&W jammed more frequently. I chalked up the FTEs to poor maintenance/poor cleaning. Both handguns were more accurate than the shooter (me, my wife and my daughter).
We began looking for a SA .22 for plinking, gaining shooting experience and building skills. Cost-wise, we were considering Ruger until a Browning Buck Mark became available. For me and my daughter, the Buck Mark just felt better in the hand than the Ruger. This something you will just have to try for yourself.
We shot the Buck Mark and fell in love with it. We put 525 rounds of Federal Champion 36 grain HP through the gun with no stove pipes or FTEs. We did get 5 misfires (round was well struck but just did not go off), but I'm told this is not unusual for that particular bulk ammo.
The Buck Mark is a bit easier to field strip for cleaning than the Ruger, so that is another point to take in consideration.
