Advice for 22 owners, this also works for other guns.
After you buy your 22 and take it home. Read the manual and then field strip, clean and lube it. Learn how to clean your gun, not just run a patch down the barrel.
Before you go shooting, pick up 4, 5 or more different brands/types of ammo. Try each brand and find the one YOUR gun likes best. Don't keep trying to get one brand to work because it's cheaper, your buddy or the guy at the store recommended it. If it doesn't work, jams, won't feed or group move on.
When you're shooting for the first time, use factory magazines. There are a ton of aftermarket mags out there to try later.
If you have a problem pay attention to what it is.
Is the safety off?
Is the mag fully seated in the gun?
Is the slide or bolt all the way forward?
Is the gun (chamber, bolt, slide) clean?
Is it a specific brand of ammo?
Is it a specific type of ammo (ie solids, hollow points)?
Is it one magazine or all of them?
Are the feed lips bent or damaged on the mag?
Are the spring and follower good in the mag?
Does it happen when the gun is in a different position?
Now if you have a problem it's easier to pinpoint and solve.
Bella Twin, an Indian girl, and her friend Dave Auger were hunting grouse near Lesser Slave Lake in northern Alberta. The only gun they had was Bella's single-shot bolt-action .22 Rimfire rifle. They were walking a cutline that had been made for oil exploration when they saw a large grizzly following the same survey line toward them. If they ran, the bear would probably notice them and might chase, so they quietly sat down on a brush pile and hoped that the bear would pass by without trouble. But the bear came much too close, and when the big boar was only a few yards away, Bella Twin shot him in the side of the head with a .22 Long cartridge. The bear dropped, kicked and then lay still. Taking no chances, Bella went up close and fired all of the cartridges she had, seven or eight .22 Longs, into the bear's head. That bear, killed in 1953, was the world-record grizzly for several years and is still high in the records today.
Bella Twin, an Indian girl, and her friend Dave Auger were hunting grouse near Lesser Slave Lake in northern Alberta. The only gun they had was Bella's single-shot bolt-action .22 Rimfire rifle. They were walking a cutline that had been made for oil exploration when they saw a large grizzly following the same survey line toward them. If they ran, the bear would probably notice them and might chase, so they quietly sat down on a brush pile and hoped that the bear would pass by without trouble. But the bear came much too close, and when the big boar was only a few yards away, Bella Twin shot him in the side of the head with a .22 Long cartridge. The bear dropped, kicked and then lay still. Taking no chances, Bella went up close and fired all of the cartridges she had, seven or eight .22 Longs, into the bear's head. That bear, killed in 1953, was the world-record grizzly for several years and is still high in the records today.
You don't want Phoenix Arms. Too many safeties for not much of a gun. Poor accuracy and reliability. Definitely not something I would ever consider for a .22. I would say you could cover home defense, CCW, and .22 plinking and target shooting with a CZ 75b or 75 Compact and a Kadet Kit. The Kadet Kit is the same weight as the full size slide making it a great trainer. The downside is your looking at close to $1,000.00 for both and good luck finding either or both today.
There are always going to be Phoenix ‘haters’. Probably because it is less expensive than their super duper $300 22. Oh, well..since my last report on the Phoenix over a year ago, I have put many thousands of rounds through mine, Still very pleased with it,, Have used it to teach a few new shooters, and for them the safeties are so easy to learn and use, they like the gun...Some like the price and ask why they should pay hundreds more for a gun that shoots well, easy to handle, easy to clean, etc. etc.
There are always going to be Phoenix 'haters'. Probably because it is less expensive than their super duper $300 22. Oh, well..since my last report on the Phoenix over a year ago, I have put many thousands of rounds through mine, Still very pleased with it,, Have used it to teach a few new shooters, and for them the safeties are so easy to learn and use, they like the gun...Some like the price and ask why they should pay hundreds more for a gun that shoots well, easy to handle, easy to clean, etc. etc.
Let me clarify. I don't judge gun's by price. I gave that up when I saw two Kimber's in the $1600.00 range jam on every magazine ans a guy with a Hi Point shoot magazine after magazine with no malfunctions. My Brother bought two Phoenix Arms .22 one for him and one for his girlfriend. Magazine safety, hammer safety, and trigger safety. Try teaching a beginner a safe carry mode and still get the pistol in action in a reasonable time frame. Both pistols shot extremely low with the rear sight bottomed out. I mean like 18 inches low at 30 feet. I don't recall a lot of malfunctions, a few with standard velocity ammunition. The plastic trigger's were bad. I mean BAD. I'm not a "Brand Fan" as you can tell but if a gun's not up to snuff I say so.
I find the new shooters I have started on a Phoenix, grasp the multiple safeties quickly,,,it becomes almost second nature to them, in only a few lessons. Any gun just takes practice. And a new shooter needs to be taught patience .
It would be prejudice if I had no experience with the pistol, but I have had quite a bit. The gun is confusing to beginner's and not accurate enough to be fun. Experience with it gives it a thumbs down. You'll not some of these are inexpensive.
I get to shoot many versions of .22 Long Rifle chambered pistols after smoothing, tuning and trigger jobs. Still, you can't beat a Ruger Mark II pistol:
Tangof. That Charter Arms Explorer, upper left. I have one of those also.
How is it that three new shooters are very proficient with the Phoenix, shoot it well, at reasonable distances, have no trouble with the safeties, and yet, you an old gun guy seem to be unable to run one??
Not unable, I just don't care for it. I shot hundred's of rounds through a couple of them. I have nothing against inexpensive guns that work well. The two I shot had no saving graces at all.
Just joined the forum. These are SW22 pistols with Tandemkross features, and Aimpoint red dots sight that I have been using for Bullseye league shooting. They like CCI Standard velocity ammo. Just getting acquainted, my shooting interests are varied and I have nearly 70 years of shooting experience.
*Welcome to the forum from Ohio. You have some good looking shooters there! I love all things rimfire and to each his own. I am a Ruger fan but just bought the G44 and like it. My neighbor is a S&W fan and like yours his shooters are tack drivers.
*Glad to have you here! Rick
Well, after shooting this a bit, I have come to expect it to run great with quality ammo...it runs great for sure. Now, I would not plan to carry it, for I have many better choices to choose from, but if I had too, this one would perforate a BG quickly and accurately.
I've had quite a few different brands but the only one I have not sold is my Browning Buck Mark Target. It is a hole in a hole shooter (when I do my part) and has never had a malfunction, which is uncommon for .22 semi autos.
Hello all..first post here on the forum.
Just wanted to share my latest addition. I have been looking for one these for a good while since buying just about any firearm is getting harder to find depending...
Beretta M9-22LR.....hope to give it a whirl this weekend..The pic was taken by the dealer on armslist....Picking it up Saturday morning.
I was going through my safe and in the back I found this Chiappa Puma 1911-22. I won it in a local fund raiser for the Fire Department. It cost me a $10 ticket. It's not a target gun but is is fun to shoot.
I love Ruger MKIIs and tend to buy them whenever I come across a model I don't have. Because every MKII tends to be well used at this point, a practice I always do in addition to a good cleaning and inspection, is to always replace the recoil and mag springs. Whenever possible, I also replace the factory extractor with a Volquartsen Exact Edge Extractor if supply is available. I've found these extractors go a long way in eliminating a lot of feeding and extraction issues with these guns before they even begin. All my MKIIs are wonderfully fun and reliable guns to shoot.
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