You have a fine list of plinkers there. These would all be nice to own/shoot. I really enjoy my Ruger MKIII. They are relatively affordable and a pleasure to shoot. The MKIII system is a pain to strip for cleaning but, with practice, can be learned and accomplished with relative ease.

Personally I would revise the list to this:

Originally Posted by IdahoGunMan

Browning Challenger
Ruger Mark II
Ruger Mark III

Track record and reliability are huge, but the 3 listed deal with the dirt a bit better than the others. If you are going for a nice range pistol in .22 that is readily available and will give you the largest window of shooting time those are your main competitors IMO.

Good luck!

Im an owner of both a browning buckmark as well as a Ruger MkIII pistols and they are both very well made, durable, and accurate...

i just love my Ruger MkII, although it's not for competition but still the most fun pistol i own!

Originally Posted by IdahoGunMan

Beretta Neo
Smith 22A
Colt Woodsman
Browning Challenger
Ruger Mark II
Ruger Mark III

Neos -- mediocre trigger, good accuracy and reliability, but more finicky that the 22A or Buckmark (BM) or MKIII. Good if you have small hands.

22A -- as accurate and reliable as anything else you will find under $500. Average trigger, very easy to strip. Good if you have large hands, but medium hands should fit ok too. Most amount of bang for the buck, if you can still find them for around $229.

MKII/III -- built like tank, and will last several lifetimes. Average-sized grip, very good accuracy and reliability. Stripping is a chore. Trigger is good, and can be made better with aftermarket parts.

I would not recommend the Woodsman or Challenger, since they are no longer made and it might be difficult to find parts. I would however recommend that you take a look at the Browning Buckmark. It has the best trigger of all of these, and is as accurate and reliable as the 22A or MKIII. They run $279 new here, which makes them a little more expensive than the Neos or 22A, but less than a MKIII. If I could only have one, it would be this one.

Walther makes a nice .22.

http://www.waltherpistols.com/catego..._Handguns.aspx

good luck.

Originally Posted by biohazurd

Im an owner of both a browning buckmark as well as a Ruger MkIII pistols and they are both very well made, durable, and accurate...

+1

I like the Buckmark trigger a little more but both are great shooters.

Originally Posted by qpoint

Walther makes a nice .22.

http://www.waltherpistols.com/catego..._Handguns.aspx

good luck.

Just be ready to take a crash course in gun-smithing if you get a P22.