.22 Revolvers Should Not be Overlooked by Gun Owners!

AmmoLand ^ | January 8, 2023 | Dean Weingarten

[marktwain]

Semi-automatic pistols have come to dominate the handgun market in the United States of America. In 2021, 6,751,919 pistols were manufactured in the USA. Those numbers include single shots, double-barreled, and bolt action pistols, but the vast majority of them are semi-automatics. There were 1,159,918 revolvers manufactured in the United States. The majority of the revolvers were .22 caliber.

The ATF reports 737,374 pistols of .22 or smaller caliber were manufactured in the USA in 2021. The same report says 781,246 revolvers of .22 or smaller caliber were manufactured in the United States in 2021. 2021 is the last year in which individual manufacturing numbers have been reported to the public by the ATF. .22 caliber revolvers are holding their own in competition with semi-autos.

Here are the companies that are making .22 revolvers in the USA and the number they reported making in 2021.

1. Heritage Manufacturing Inc., 100 Taurus Way, Bainbridge, Georgia. This wholly owned division of Taurus, USA,  makes the revolvers in the large, new Taurus manufacturing facility in Bainbridge. In 2021 they reported making 491,882 .22 caliber revolvers.
2. Sturm Ruger & Company, Inc., 529 Sunapee St., Newport, New Hampshire. Ruger, seeing how successful the Heritage line has been, has brought out some competition with their Wrangler revolver. Ruger has a complete line of quality .22 revolvers from the LCR in .22 to the GP100 to the new version of the Single-Six, the Single-Ten.  In 2021, Ruger reported making 209,258 .22 caliber revolvers.
3. North American Arms Inc., 2150 S 950 E, Provo Utah. The mini-revolver is offered in many variations by this long-term revolver manufacturer. They reported producing 57,142 .22 caliber revolvers in 2021.
4. Standard Manufacturing Co. LLC, 100 Burrett St., New Britain, CT. The company has increased its presence in the revolver market with a five-shot .22 mini-revolver.

[Tijeras_Slim]

My ultralight hideout is a Smith 351 PD 7 shot .22 Mag stoked with those. 11 ounces loaded.

[Hot Tabasco]

I'm not a huge Taurus fan but they have a really nice new .22 semi auto.

Just bought their TX22 Competition and a Sig. P322.

I love the Sig and after putting approx. 200 rounds thru it, I haven't had any misfeeds or jams. Jams in the reviews were likely caused by not carefully loading the 20 round magazines.

The Taurus TX22 Competition, on the other hand, has been a major disappointment. Strong trigger break and trigger feels gritty.

So I replaced the trigger with a custom TandomKross "Victory" trigger and a lighter spring. While the trigger break was slightly easier, the trigger still had the gritty feel to it. That's a problem that I can't personally fix and there aren't any qualified gunsmiths in my area who have the experience to work on it.....So I'm stuck with it.

[Georgia Girl 2]

I used run CCI maxi mags and Hornady V Max in my Keltec PMR 30. I think I used the 40 grain.

[Georgia Girl 2]

Good to know. Glad we didn’t buy one. We looked at one at Bass Pro last year. IMO you cannot beat the Ruger SR22. I love mine. Easy shooter, no jams and accurate. I mostly run CCI 40 grain velocitors through it.

[Texas Fossil]

It is an under appreciated bullet. 22 WMR is a serious cartridge.

I would not want to rely on it exclusively, but it is much easier to conceal most of the guns that shoot it.

Good family friend carried a 25 auto pistol in her purse for long long time. She was a very good shot, with any kind of firearm. She quit flying, when they would no longer allow her to carry that pistol. Long ways from Alaska to Texas. smile.

She and her husband were from here in Texas, were from same local school. He was in 101st Airborne, came during Normandy invasion in one the gliders prepping the way for those following. Later he parachuted into Holland and trucked into the Bulge.

We bought the widow’s home when she moved into nursing home.

[Texas Fossil]

I’ve never seen a S&W 351 PD 22 Mag, It is very small and light. 22 WMR is way under rated concerning effectiveness.

I recently bought a 9mm semi auto, very nice, but I am still struggling with the limitations of the case size of the ammo.

It is a lot more difficult to reload than anything else I have done. Thought I had a good load worked out (recipe from powder factory), without considering the complexity of the extraction element. It relies on recoil, I like heavy bullets. And precision is everything with 9mm.