question on 22 handguns

[testhop]

has any body out there have and useyng a colt huntsman or a smith & wesston mod 41 both are 22cal


tom

[felix]

Colt Woodsman, prewar, and a model 41 Smith. What is the question? ... felix

[9.3X62AL]

I've fired several of the S&W Model 41's. You have to spend a LOT more money (Walther GSP, Hammerli, Pardini) to get only an incrementally more accurate or well-made target 22 LR. I love 'em.

[Jon K]

Colt Woodsman or S&W Mod 41 I have owned both more than once- Both are good guns.

Jon

[testhop]

i was just woundering if these old shooters are still around i have own both but sold them
oh to be young again the mod 41 was the best at that time and the huntman was my plinking gun

[bobthenailer]

ihad a colt woodsmat match target when i first started to shoot BE in 1975 then i bought a hi std victor in the interm i also bought a smith 41, the colt in my opinion is a entry level BE gun , the hi std the best usa made BE gun hands down , the 41 smith did not have as good of a trigger pull after adj it
and to me had more recoil than the hi std so i sold it , i now have 4 hi std pistols

[NVcurmudgeon]

My Woodsman Sport Model will have to be pried from my cold dead fingers. Absoutely the most ergonomic pistol I ever got hold of, reliable as a wife noticing a new gun come into the house, and accurate enought to compete (low level) in the Geezer Bullseye Pistol League at my old club.

[Lloyd Smale]

Im going to raise a few hackles on the back of the neck of some of the pureist here but my 41 went down the road. I had it and a 5.5 inch mark 2 ruger bull barrel. For the most part the bull barrel shot right along side of the 41 but i have to admit the 41 with match ammo would edge it out ever so slightly on the bench but were talking 1/8 of an inch in group size which means nothing in off hand shooting. I picked up a 22/45 4 inch bull barreled ruger from my buddy to practice ppc shooting with. figued the controls were simular and so was the grip frame and it beat spending 700 bucks on a 22 1911. this gun just plain shoots. Its the most accurate 22 ive ever shot. As a matter of fact its probably the most accurate 25 yard pistol of any kind ive shot. the 4 inch bullet barrel and the 1911 shaped grips make it sit in my hand better then any other handgun ive ever shot too. Now granted im a 1911 guy and that statement might not hold true for others but the 41s and the mark 11s never came up on target like this little popper does for me. The groups it will shoot will make me shake my head and it does it with cheap ammo. Its favorite was pmc zapper hps. dammed thing is i cant get them anymore but it would basicaly put them in one hole at 25 yards. Ive got a small stash of them left but it shoots win xpert hps dammed near as well. Another thing too is as typical of a ruger auto it just keeps running and running and if you bang it up a little its only a ruger. Only thing i had done to this gun is a trigger job. Maybe I got lucky with this gun but youd have to shoot me to get it away at any price. The 41 smith and the mark 11 quickly became trading stock. I love a nice expensive handgun more then probably anyone here but cant see spending 800 dollars on a 22 that will be outshot by a 300 dollar one. If your a 1911 kind of guy i strongly suggest you pick one up. I think its the alltime best bang for the buck in a semi auto .22

[felix]

Lloyd, the gun that fits the hand well is no different than the boolit fitting the barrel well. It's all part of the same syndrome. The gun that I like is the Browning Medalist. The advantage I had with the Smith model 41 was that the tuners on the various teams in Hartford had parts galore for it and the Colts. The High Standards were there also on the line, but the guys unfortunately did not display them as much. I never had to pay a dime to get my target guns perfect. If fact, I had my choice to take two 41s with me when I left the area. One for Pat, and one for me. We got our choice of grips and barrels. The tuner for our guns was John Pico (Pee-co) for those in the area who might have known him back in the early 70's. He was a shooter on the Colt's team, and worked at the factory. We were on the Bear's team. ... felix

As an addendum: If it were not for John Pico and his buddies there at the factory, the Gold Cup would have never got off of the ground. Up until that time, Pico and buddies sent parts to Dinan and Clark to have the guns fitted according to accuracy standards. Finally, the "powers upstairs" were talked into bringing all that back into the stable where it should have been all along. ... felix

http://www.gunsandammomag.com/classics/0505/

[44man]

Lloyd, the most accurate yet cheap bullets I found for the Ruger are the CCI, Mini Mag hollow points. I never get a dud with them like I get with Federal, Remington or WW stuff. The twist rate only supports high velocity rounds and target ammo of any kind sucks. The ultra high velocity stuff is also no good.
To see how important a twist rate is, shoot .22's. Something big bore handgun shooters sluff of as not important yet rifle shooters and muzzle loader shooters find it VERY important.
The wrong bullet or velocity can turn any gun into a DUD! [smilie=1:

[Dale53]

My NRA Bullseye .22 is an S&W Model 41 5" HB. I also have a light weight sporting barrel and sporting grips. Fine pistol in every way.

All .22's are ammo sensitive. What "yours" shoots has little bearing on what "mine" shoots. A Ransom Rest with a variety of ammo will determine what YOURS prefers. Then lay in a large supply of that particular lot because I assure you the very next lot of the same ammo will probably not do the job. It is amazing how well a good .22 semi-auto pistol will shoot at fifty yards with the proper ammo.

Lloyd is absolutely correct about the Rugers. This has been a "quiet secret" for many, many years. I discovered this years ago and have been advising new local shooters who had limited cash to buy a Ruger of their choice, do not even open the box, take it to a good local pistol smith and have a trigger job done (our local man does it for $35.00 plus parts) and then you will have a VERY competitive pistol for very little outlay.:drinks:

P.S. Lots of NRA Bullseye pistols are now scoped or have Red Dot sights on them. It really shortens the learning curve for new shooters, also. If you are going to scope that pistol, it is another reason to get the Ruger Polymer frame. It is quite a bit lighter than the "all steel" models and your "finished weight" with the scope or Red Dot will be in the optimum range. A "too heavy" target pistol WILL inhibit your scores. There are limits to everything. rdm

Dale53

[testhop]

My Woodsman Sport Model will have to be pried from my cold dead fingers. Absoutely the most ergonomic pistol I ever got hold of, reliable as a wife noticing a new gun come into the house, and accurate enought to compete (low level) in the Geezer Bullseye Pistol League at my old club.

ok here is the reason i asked i have 1 clip for each and ho guns so will the huntman fit your woodsman if so i will send it to you for the postage same for the s.w. mod 41


tom

[9.3X62AL]

Those Ruger 22/45 pistols are a VERY good buy for their price. Mine, 5.5" blued model, is as accurate as I can hold, and likely a lot better.

CCI Mini-Mags are a good first stop on the road to finding what shoots well in a given rimfire platform. I have a Winchester 290 self-loader that I was ready to use as a tomato stake until tried the Mini-Mags in it. Its balky and inaccurate behavior departed abruptly, and the rifle runs like a watch with those mid-priced critters. Same story with my little SIG Mosquito pistol, whose rep for being balky is legion. CCI Mini-Mags are almost make it reliable--most other ammo makes turn it into a bolt-action/archery exercise.

[wiljen]

My 22/45 likes the Aguila SSE and the Wolf Match Extra best. Beware of Remington Thunderbolts in the Ruger 22 Autos- they have caused many a problem and lead horribly.

[JMax]

Arnie Vitarbo set a world record in International Standard pistol years ago shooting a Ruger MKI. I used to shoot a Hammerli in standard pistol and took a gold at USA Shooting National championship for my class in either 96 or 97. I got a marvel top end got my 1911 a few years ago and it out shot the Hammerli with cheaper ammo w/o normal European pistol diet problems. The Hammerli is long gone and I have a Marvel for the 1911 and an Advantage Arms for the Glock.

If one is going to purchase a stand alone 22 I always recommend a Ruger 5 1/2" bull bbl, if they have a 1911 then get the Marvel conversion kit. The 1911 and Rugers have loads to aftermarket parts that IMHO makes it the standout for 22 pistols.

[Scrounger]

Yes, but shooting the Model 41 or the Colt has so much snob appeal!!!

[JMax]

Hum, I drive a Chevy, wear old clothes, reload my ammo, do my own gun work, insist that my firearms are reliable and accurate, Nope no Snobs here:-) but many think of me as an S...B :-)