The least ammo picky 22 semi auto pistol.

[gunzo]

A decent field gun that doesn't need to be babied when it comes to diet or cleanliness would be nice.
Not asking it to work with CB caps of or function just after being retrieved from a pool of quicksand. Just shoot your average 36-40 grain standard or high velocity stuff from "various" mfrs. & be able do so without the gun having to be squeaky clean.

Am I asking for too much?

 

[22/45 Fan]

Well, the least picky .22 that will shoot anything with no functioning problems isn't a semi-auto, it's a revolver.

 

[WIL TERRY]

YES...you are asking WAAAAAAAAAAAAAY too much.
Buy a revolver and not a cheap chintzy one while you're at it.

And so it goes..

 

[gunzo]

Dang it guys, I have S&W's 17, 63, 317, & 617, & three braces of Single Six, can't you throw me a bone on a semi auto?

 

[Cholo]

Ruger's MKII is as good as they come for reliability.

 

[Magnum Force]

My Ruger MkIII Target is as reliable as any .22 firearm can be. I've had it for about six years and the only hiccups have been ammunition related, like FTF with cheap ammo. I have now narrowed down the ammo I will buy to CCI Standard Velocity, CCI Mini Mags and Federal Auto-Match to eliminate ammo problems.

I have had .22 revolvers like Smith & Wesson Model 17, 18 and they can have difficulties, like hard extraction, unburnt powder getting under the extraction star causing binding, etc.

My Ruger MkIII is the only rimfire handgun I own now, I can't imagine a .22 handgun more reliable.....

 

[JPGLSG]

Ruger's MKll is as good as they come for reliability.

Yes sir I've got one that has not been cleaned in 5 or 6 years, squirt some oil on it from time to time. I take it to the back woods and shot it all the time. I'm conducting research on the round failure number and date. Between this MK II and the 10/22 I go through at least 1K rounds a year. Come to think of it the 10/22 has some years on it as well since cleaning. Winchester LR 36 Gr., 1280 FPS, Hollow Point Copper Plated.

 

[Busterswoodshop]

I have a MKII that I have shot more bullets through it than a truck could haul and it still shoots just fine.
I do not believe there is a more reliable semi auto .22 out there.

 

[GunnyGene]

Watch out for plastic magazine floor plates. That's a weak link most folks don't even think about. I've had a couple of them come off for no apparent reason.

 

[Snake45]

Ruger's MKII is as good as they come for reliability.

I agree. Although my Ciener converted .22 1911s are also extremely reliable, though not as accurate.

 

[Snake45]

My Ruger MkIII Target is as reliable as any .22 firearm can be. I've had it for about six years and the only hiccups have been ammunition related, like FTF with cheap ammo. I have now narrowed down the ammo I will buy to CCI Standard Velocity, CCI Mini Mags and Federal Auto-Match to eliminate ammo problems.

I have had .22 revolvers like Smith & Wesson Model 17, 18 and they can have difficulties, like hard extraction, unburnt powder getting under the extraction star causing binding, etc.

Yup. .22 revolvers have their quirks, too.

I have quite a few of both types, and I like them all.

 

[Uncle Howie]

Ruger's MKII is as good as they come for reliability.

That has been my experience, as well.

 

[Mobuck]

First off, don't expect this performance from a NEW pistol. It takes time(and shooting) to achieve this level of tolerance.
I have no idea how many rounds have gone through my beater/trap line/grab-n-go 22/45 since I acquired it used and don't pay much attention to such things myself but it's got to be over 10K. This pistol cycles everything HV and SV and most of the sub-sonic I've run through it. Even my newer 3 series 22/45 do quite well with HV/SV cycling and accuracy after a few hundred rounds.
Many of the cycling issues I've encountered were magazine related NOT actually the pistol itself.

 

[kramden]

In semi-auto you have 2 really good choices at reasonable prices. The SR22 (Ruger), and an M&P22 (S&W). I have both. They will fire any ammo I've tried and are extremely reliable. My only complaint about the Ruger is that the safety seems to operate in a reverse fashion. Up is off and down is on. Just the opposite of every other handgun I have. But not a big deal.

 

[1gunsnotenough]

Mark II. The tank of the .22 semi autos.

 

[WIL TERRY]

My BERSA 22 has 19,265 rounds through it as we speak and has NEVER EVER malfed a single round.
My COLT 4 1/2" HUNTSMAN has just over 65M rounds through it and has NEVER malfed a cartridge that went bang.
My SR22 has 5130 rounds through it as we speak and has yet to shoot a group under the span of your hand at 35'.....
And so it goes....

 

[Snake45]

And then there's the matter of .22 ammo itself. After shooting up somewhere around 100K rounds of .22LR ammo a couple years ago, I was left with the distinct impression that most .22 guns are more "reliable" than a great deal of .22 ammo. In fact, I came out of the experience with the resolution to never rely on any .22LR for self defense of any type that required either feeding or special manipulation in case of a misfire, which rules out pretty much everything except revolvers. And DA revolvers are of course preferable to SAs for defensive use.

 

[gunzo]

Glad I started this thread.
- Hadn't considered the SR-22 or M&P22, will give them a look.
- Been wondering about the Colt Huntsman & Woodsman. I've shot them, but a long time ago. Memory of their dependability escapes me. No longer made, but plenty of them on GB.

- Decided to give my MKII's another look, a Standard, a 5.5" Target, & a 6.88" slabside. Ammo tried today was Aguila SV, Aguila HVHP, Wolf MT, Rem bulk HP, & Win Super X HP. Things worked out well, found an iffy magazine. I should have been paying better attention, that mag has probably given me frustration before. I've used auto's long enough to know to have all my mags numbered & to be on the lookout for such things. Sometimes I tend to ignore the basics.
FWIW, the 5.5 has a lot of custom parts in it, so it can or cannot be used to judge. The Standard was a turd when I bought it, it wasn't sure if it would work with Mini Mags. If a gun won't function with them, they're pretty sad IMO. I wanted the gun to use bad enough that I spent a lot of time getting it to run well. A good trail gun now. The slabside is box stock, it functions well with a bigger variety of ammo than I thought it would. A pleasant surprise.

With that one doggone mag out of the way, the MKII's might just be OK. 8)

 

[Snake45]

Mini Mags. If a gun won't function with them, they're pretty sad IMO.

In my own shooting, I found the three most "functional" ammos were MiniMags, Winchester Dynapoints, and Walmart Federal Bulks. But that was several years ago, before the Great Obama Ammo Famine, when Federal starting shipping lots of the stuff that I'm sure wouldn't have been allowed to leave the factory in more normal times. I have no idea how "today's" Fed Bulks work. I haven't bought any since about 2008 or 2009 (luckily, I stocked up on them when they were still good).

 

[Jeepnik]

Most mis-fires in .22 rimfire aren't weapon related. They are ammo related. I've had everything from el cheapo to high dollar target stuff fail to fire in both semiautos and revolvers.

That said, the most consistently reliable and probably the best all around accuracy has been CCI MiniMag.

My least "picky" semi auto has always been my MkI Target. Least "picky" revolver is my H&R 999.