Heritage Firearms

me ^ | 10/17/06 | Hazcat

[Hazcat]

I'm in the market for an inexpensive 22 revolver. Yes I know about Ruger and S&W but even that is a little more than I would like to spend.

I ran across these http://www.heritagemfg.com/catalog.shtml (Heritage arms) and I wondered if anyone knew about them.

Thanks!

[HuntsvilleTxVeteran]

http://www.horstheld.com/default.htm

Too expensive but I drool over these handguns.

[chadwimc]

I have one. You get what you pay for. Mine stays in the barn for plinking at rats and black birds. For the price, it does all its supposed to.

[Jeff Gordon]

http://www.naaminis.com/index02.html

[Hazcat]

I'm looking at a 6.5 inch barrel with adjustable sights. A local dealer has them listed for $171.00 new. Gonna use it at the range.

[Hazcat]

Saw those but I want something to take to the range and shoot.

[HuntsvilleTxVeteran]

http://www.auctionarms.com/search/auctions.aspx

[diverteach]

Are you stuck on wanting a revolver?

If not check out Beretta'a U22 NEOS semi-auto.

Fun little plinking and target gun. What sold me was how well it felt in my hand. All my friends also noticed how well it felt in hand.

It's available in 4 and 6.5" barrel.

I also like the magazine clips. They put a little thumb knob on the side so you can pull the spring down as you load instead of pressing it down with the round as you load.

They run about $200

[Hazcat]

Yeah, I'm stuck on a revolver. I already have a ruger Mark III and I want a 'six shooter'.

[diverteach]

That's cool, I understand, my favorite is a .357 wheel gun.

[Billthedrill]

New piece? Grab aholt of the cylinder and wiggle it clockwise and counterclockwise to see what sort of play it has. Take a good look at the alignment between the forward end of the cylinder and the forcing cone. If it's a used piece look at the forcing cone for signs of lead on one side or another - it'll indicate poor alignment. Cock it and check the alignment again. Dry-fire in double-action and check the trigger pull and smoothness.

The thing about lower-cost firearms such as this is that quality control makes for a fairly wide variation between one specimen and another. Don't buy a brand, buy a specific gun that might look identical with its neighbor but feel different. If the dealer won't let you try all of them go to another one. All IMHO, of course.

[Hazcat]

I hadn't seen the NEOS before. Wish a I had before I bought the Mark III. I like the look and the fact you can make it a rifle. Would have been a great gun for my son.

[Hazcat]

Thanks for the advise. I will follow it.

[MyDogAllah]

Lt. Col. Jeff Cooper, RIP, always suggested saving your money until you can buy a good quality firearm. The theory is, with a good firearm, you only buy once. Think of it as buying nice china vs. paper plates and plastic utensils. Eventually you're gonna want to buy the nice china anyway.

As the other poster said, you do get what you pay for. The less expensive a firearm, the more likely you're going to have failures. In revolvers, the price difference between a jam-o-matic and something that runs 100% of the time might be only $100. Do you really want to bet your life against a lousy hundred bucks?

In semi-auto pistols, 100% reliability from a quality manufacturer starts in the mid $400 range, like with Glocks and the Springfield XD series (though avoid the .40 cals in both).

I've made this mistake before- I've bought the inexpensive pistols and rifles (keltec and bushmaster come to mind). After a few very frustrating trips to the range with each, I gradually learned my lesson. Never again!

I regret each and every cheap firearm I've ever bought. I have never regret-ed waiting until I had enough cash to buy the right firearm.

As to the brand you mentioned, I know nothing about them specifically. However, Lt. Col. Cooper, my own experiences, and the maxim "you get what you pay for" all suggest that you save up your money a bit longer and buy a proven firearm.

Good luck and good shooting!

[GrouchoTex]

For what its worth, I looked at the Heritage breifly but I bought the .22 cal Ruger Blackhawk ($329.00 at a local chain in the Houston area, Carter's Country)
Bought it in June.
Does the Heritage come with the interchangable cylinders like the Ruger?
I didn't get that far looking at it. When I picked u[ the Heritage, it just didn't "feel right" for lack of a better term.

Can't beat the accuracy of the little Ruger.

(Now If only I could shoot a little straighter......)

[GrouchoTex]

For what its worth, I looked at the Heritage breifly but I bought the .22 cal Ruger Blackhawk ($329.00 at a local chain in the Houston area, Carter's Country)
Bought it in June.
Does the Heritage come with the interchangable cylinders like the Ruger?
I didn't get that far looking at it. When I picked u[ the Heritage, it just didn't "feel right" for lack of a better term.

Can't beat the accuracy of the little Ruger.

(Now If only I could shoot a little straighter......)

[MyDogAllah]

Hazcat, I just re-read your post and my comment. I would like to amend my comments.

I'm assuming you're not going to use a .22 caliber pistol for defensive purposes. If that's true, then you won't be betting your life on the firearm, so there's much more leeway. If the firearm is just a plinker or something to teach the newbies how to shoot, there's nothing really wrong with taking a chance on an inexpensive revolver.

Still, if my budget were limited (and whose isn't?), I'd look more towards used revolvers. You can browse prices online at auction websites like gunbroker, auctionarms, and gunsamerica to compare with your local dealers.

Personally, I have a real sweet tooth for used Dan Wesson revolvers, but their used .22s are in the $300 and up range.

Good luck and be sure to give us a range report and let us know how everything went.

[Repeal The 17th]

I have both of these from North American Arms in my collection purely as "novelty" guns:

.22 short 5 shot mini revolver



.22 magnum mini revolver

Please do not expect to be able to hit your target with either one of these with any kind of
accuracy or dependability if it is further away from you than your outstretched arm.
If you take one to a range, just use one target and run it out to 25 feet
that way you can use the same target all day long.
And then when you get frustrated with it, you can pull out
a "real" gun and actually poke holes in the target.

They have no practical use except maybe as what I call "belly guns"
or perhaps as paperweights if the wind is not blowing very hard.
Most people I show them to say, "Oh, isn't that cute!"
(and "cute" is not a desirable attribute for a firearm)

I like the advice given by MyDogAllah at post # 14

[I got the rope]

Everyone needs a Ruger Bearcat. Save your pennies. The new one is awesome!

[Hazcat]

I understand and agree with these 'novelty' guns, useless IMO.

I do seem to have a an 'affinity' to the odd ones though. (At this point Glock, Sig, etc owners should look away). As I have posted before I have a Hi Point (MKS) 9C. Guess what? It shoots good. At 10 yards I'm putting them in a 2.5 inch group, it never jams and it 'fits' my hand (large hand).

I'm not a true believer in $ = better.