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Ruger SR22 Overview

Ruger seems to be on a rimfire roll lately, as they recently announced the new SR22 Rimfire Pistol. The SR22 pistol, not to be confused with the SR-22 rifle,  is a polymer pistol chambered in .22 LR. It features an ambidextrous manual safety that also functions as a decocking lever, an ambidextrous magazine release, two grip sleeves to change the grip size, and adjustable three dot sights.

Specifications

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Caliber .22 LR
Capacity 10+1
Action DA/SA
Barrel 3.5″
Overall Length 6.4″
Height 4.9″
Width 1.29″
Weight 17.5 oz
Grips Black polymer
Slide Finish Black Anodized
Magazine 2 – 10 round
MSRP $399

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Walther P22 Copy?

[image align=”right” lightbox=”true” size=”medium”  title=”Walther P22″ icon=”zoom”]http://monderno.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/P22.jpg[/image]The Ruger SR22 looks eerily like the Walther P-22, and is very similar in dimensions and specifications. Is it a copy? Well, not exactly. There are some differences, albeit minor ones.

The Ruger SR22 has a slightly less squared trigger guard. It has a button magazine release versus the trigger guard lever of the Walther P22. The SR22 is also slightly bigger and heavier. Despite these differences, I think it’s safe to say that Ruger looked at a good design (the Walther P22) and made what they undoubtedly believe is a better pistol. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time Ruger has done so (LCP anyone?).

Final Thoughts

Whether it’s a Walther copy or not, I don’t care. I think the SR22 looks fantastic. I don’t think it’s much of a self-defense/concealed carry pistol, but hey, if it’s all you have, rock on. There are only three things I don’t like.

  1. The SR22 name. As mentioned, Ruger already has an SR-22 rifle, I think naming the pistol SR22 is just bad marketing from a branding standpoint since it creates unnecessary confusion. But what do I know.
  2. The SR22 name, but for a different reason. When I saw the name SR22, I immediately thought of their other SR polymer pistols, all of which are striker fired (I love my Ruger SR9 by the way, excellent pistol). But this pistol is DA/SA. I thought the same thing when they released the SR1911. But again, what do I know.
  3. The safety- it’s backwards! On the SR22, you push up to go bang, where as most guns are the opposite, you push down to go bang (1911 style).

The bottom line is that the SR22 looks like a lot fun, and I want one.

Update 1/20/2012

I asked Ruger why the safety/decocker was backwards, and it sounds like it’s due to the decocker. Here is Ruger’s reply:

It is not backwards. Because it functions as both a safety and a decocker [lever], you have to push down to allow the sear to drop away from the hammer to bring the pistol back into a resting position. If you look at other similar pistols in the marketplace you will see that they all function this way. A few implement a 3 position safety where up is safe, down is fire, down AGAIN is decock – but we feel that is a poor design as its too easy to do an unintended action.

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[image title=”Concealed Carry 101″ align=”left” icon=”link” width=”125″ height=”125″ link=”http://monderno.com/concealed-carry-101/”]http://monderno.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/cc-small.jpg[/image] New to concealed carry? Check out Concealed Carry 101, an eBook on how to carry concealed. We cover guns, holsters, carry methods, calibers, gun safety and much more, all geared towards saving you time and money.

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8 Responses to Ruger SR22 Overview

  1. Greg January 10, 2012 at 9:42 pm #

    Just bought one today and I really like it so far. Went through 100+ rounds this evening and can’t really think of anything negative to say.

    • Brandon January 11, 2012 at 7:35 am #

      That’s great to hear Greg, thanks for letting us know. I think I’m going to have to get one. 🙂

  2. Dave February 12, 2012 at 1:22 pm #

    Sent mine back yo Ruger because the take down lever would come loose after 30 rounds. Should be getting it back in 10 days. I will let you know how it does when I get it back from Ruger. I was very disappointed to say the least. I wonder if anyone else had that issue.

    • Brandon February 12, 2012 at 3:10 pm #

      Sorry to hear that Dave, but it’s a new gun. Every new gun has bugs and takes a while to get the kinks worked out. Keep us posted on what happens!

  3. JR February 16, 2012 at 4:05 pm #

    Bought one about three weeks ago on Wednesday. Sold my Sig mosquito on the Sunday at gun show. Only problem was changing to extended footplates for mag. Ruger had to send me different ones. The hole was not drill correct. Looking forward to getting 1000 rounds through it so trigger softens up some.

  4. Steve February 25, 2012 at 9:55 am #

    Well the safety kills it for me. Bad design from a marketing, safety and legal aspect. It teaches bad muscle memory because it’s opposite of the majority of american made pistols. People, myself included, won’t buy it for just that reason, bad marketing. They are risking accidental discharges and that places them in unnecessary legal jeopardy and I would think Ruger would be leary of that. Otherwise I really like the pistol. I would like to see it offered with a longer barrel and correctly designed safety especially since it’s a higher priced 22 cal pistol.

  5. Phillip October 22, 2012 at 6:24 pm #

    Steve…. why does the safety system bother you???? It’s the common sense responsibility of the shooter to get accustomed to their gun’s safety features.
    Red is Dead, what more needs to be said? The decocker is very unnerving the way the hammer appears to be going fast enough to strike the firing pin, but by design it will never. I have put 1000 CCI Blazer 40gr leaded rounds through mine and NO failures of any kind. Comfortable and fun to shoot!

  6. conotu March 20, 2013 at 11:51 pm #

    Not an honest response by Ruger. Most of my guns have an HK V1 style safety and as previously mentioned, muscle memory is important. When I decoct my HK’s, they’re ready to fire without having to lift the lever. I wanted to get this gun to teach my kids to shoot, but since all of my pistols have the opposite safety action, I’ll have to pass on this one.