How Many .22 Pistols Does a Man Need?

Okay, I only own one .22 LR rifle (the ubiquitous Ruger 10/22), which is really all the .22 rifle I need or want or have space for. Pistols are a different matter; .22 LR pistols are trainers, hunting pieces, and plickers, and one size does not fit all. The two pistols at the top are my two favorite; the Ruger 22/45 (left) with bull barrel is a good trainer for a 1911-pattern .45 (not perfect, though) and is super-accurate.

The Smith & Wesson 622 is super-light and is my hunting .22 of choice (the Ruger's big-ass sights snag on the scabbard holster). I've even bagged a quail with it, the little running booger! I don't like plinking with it because it's a PITA to clean. (I've yet to take it apart.)

I bought the FIE Cowboy .22 single-action revolver for $25 from a Navy Senior Chief who was liquidating his FFL inventory...what a deal! It's a fun plinker and a good trainer for adolescents who might otherwise blaze through a brick of ammo in a short shooting session without learning to aim.

The Bernadelli auto (right) is a great-feeling plinker, but it's a little too short for hunting.

The NAA .22 mini-revolver at the bottom is my last ditch back-up gun, or what I'm carrying when I normally wouldn't be carrying. I'm not saying I've worn it into banks and other such places, but it's often disappeared in my pocket so that even I didn't know it was there.

I think this part of my collection is self-actualized; I can't name any other I want or need, and I couldn't part with any of these.

Unless the price beats me over the head.

Posted at this week's Carnival of Cordite.