High Standard .22 Pistol- what is your favorite plinker

C

cash2006

Joined
Jan 24, 2007
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I've had the above for about 20 years, and shot it for the first time in a decade this summer. Though it was every bit as accurate as I remembered, I experienced a terrific number of jams. Every spent casing ejected perfectly, but new feeds would finish vertically (rather than horizontally in the barrel) with the rim still in the clip. The easiest solution is to try a new clip.

Has anyone had a similar malfunction or another idea for remedy?

And while on this topic, have you a favorite plinker. I had a Colt Diamondback that I never could hit anything with.

Thank You,

p
 
My old Winchester Model 61, and Old Colt Woodsman..then my Ruger 10-22 and Mark1..Lots of fun and for just a little money. I will be getting out the 22s in the next few weekends..The walnuts are in for a butt kickin..well..at least Reese will put a hurtin on them.

R
 
i have a standard model ruger 22 with a 6" barrel. i completely redone the whole gun's finish with a hot blue finish. i made a barrel weight to cut down on recoil. i custom installed a williams adjustable rear sight and made a set of walnut grips. its a sweet shooter that can shoot dime size groups at 40' in any competent shooters hands. to fix your clip, bend the ends of the clip inward slightly then take a few shots. you might need to do this a few times until the rounds feed ok.
 
cash2006 said:
Every spent casing ejected perfectly, but new feeds would finish vertically (rather than horizontally in the barrel) with the rim still in the clip.
Click to expand...

Trying a new magazine is the best first step. If that solves the problem, then the issue likely was a weak mag spring or a follower (the thing you see when you look down into the empty mag) that is not functioning properly. Could also be that the mag "lips" are bent or otherwise not at the proper attitude.

If the prob continues even with other magazines, consider the possibility of a weak recoil spring, rough or dirty feed ramp, rough or dirty or out of spec chamber. But it does sound more like a mag issue if the nose of the bullet is never making it up the ramp and into the chamber. JMO.

I'm sorta partial to an old, blued S&W .22 revolver for general plinkage. :thumbup:

cheers
 
I had one of those Ruger "target" jobs with the nice sights and the bull barrel.

Tad heavy, but an incredibly accurate and reliable weapon. I must have put thousands of rounds of every kind of rimfire I could find through the thing, and never a misfire or malfunction.
 
My favorite plinker is a Dan Wesson 22 lr. Does real good out to 80 yards. I have my eye on a Citation that's in respectable condition. Thirty plus years ago I liked the styling and just recently saw one that reminded me that some day I would get one.

If your High Standard used to shoot well, and the only thing that is different is the long storage, I'd do a real good strip down cleaning and lube before any alteration.

Good luck, Craig
 
I agree with cden, a good cleaning and a spring kit from Brownells should fix her right up. I own and shoot several HS and they can be ammo sensitive
as well. Buy a box or two of the different brands and see what it likes.
Any further problems PM or email me, I own a gunshop and am a gunsmith
and I'll help you if I can.

Good luck, Bigk6

BTW- either my High Standard Victor or Citation are my favorites.
 
I have also found High Standard pistols to be finicky, and "ammunition-sensitive".
I have owned two Victors in my day, and the one made in Texas was more finicky than the one made in (I believe) Connecticut. A gunsmith that I know said that that was common-the TX ones were not as well constructed. I do not know if that was true.

My favorite model was the ISU Olympic. I sure wish that I could find one....
 
I'm sorry. I can't help with your malfunction situation. But after a 17+ year hiatus, I have picked up shooting again with a passion. It all started last summer when my mother-in-law 'found' a Ruger Mk II in her dresser. The gun looked to be in perfect shape. I found corroded bullets in the magazine - in the gun. After some slight clean up and function tests, I took it out and instantly fell in love.

This prompted my to hunt around in our basement for other hand-me-down firearms that I never did anything with. My grandfather's Stevens 66 has a split stock and a bent front sight blade, so that won't go so good. But my great uncle's Winchester 62 pump is in great shape, and has been running perfectly the last few times out.

My current favorites: Ruger Mk II and Winchester 62. I have in mind to buy 1-2 .22s next year. Tons of fun.
 
Because in another thread I've been accused of being a gun-bashing troll, I'll try to dispel that notion here. I had a Colt Diamondback, too, that was a beautiful looking gun but was prone to misfires and mis-hits. I had to have a smith force bullets out of the barrel twice. I got rid of it. My favorite plinker now is an early 50s Colt Challenger, a poor-man's Woodsman. I'd love to have a first series Woodsman sport model, but they're priced out of my reach. Trouble now is finding places to plink. The Pennsylvania Game Commission ranges around here are closed, plus they had established new rules that you can only load three rounds at a time. They had too many problems with rapid fire destroying target frames.
 
Thank you all! I'll bend the lips with my charge ti or sak champ pliers, and order a new clip.

Really appreciate it,

p
 
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These are my favorite .22 plinkers. The Ruger is new but has been a lot of fun. The sight started drifting on me though and I've yet to lock-tite it. The Savage MII rifle in the second pic is a whole lot of fun and great to take into the woods.
 
Spooky, I have your Ruger's twin. I originally got it so that I would have a cheap training alternative for my 1911, but then I discovered that shooting it was incredibly fun. Mine likes Federal Champions and is very reliable and accurate.
 
I own a 9 shot revolver 6" barrel high standard and a pair of ruger 10/22's and the tec-22 & I purchased my son a Rossi pump .22 rifle not to long ago.I love the 22 caliber firearms.
 
The original ,CT, HSs were well made ,the TX less well made.The problem with HS was that the steel was soft and with large numbers of rounds fired it would beat itself to death. Brownings were much better in this regard.The feeding problems suggest a new magazine needed. I don't have experience with the newer guns though I suppose Ruger is still a good value.
 
I had a Ruger Mark II with a bull barrel, target sights and pachmyer grips. My grandmother's tenant stole it (I think, I can't prove it). That was probably my favorite.

My Colt Anaconda was my next favorite. Yeah, you couldn't plink too much, but 2 or 3 cylinders of that at blocks of ice sure was satisfying.

My current favorite "plinker" is a Beeman R7 .177 pellet gun with a leapers 3-12X44 scope. Its the only one I can do in my back yard, which makes it my favorite if for no other reason that I can shoot it whenever I feel like it.
 
I used to like my Walther P22 until I shot it to pieces. After just over 30,000 rounds, it just stopped working right. It drops the hammer on itself whenever you rack the slide, and the hammer drops to "half cock" about 50% of the time while firing. It only works reliably as a single shot, single action now, and I don't consider it safe any more. I got a lot of use out of that little gun, though. I bought a Beretta Neos after that, but I don't really like it. It jams a lot, there's something weird with the take-down screw that causes it to seize up unless you crank it down hard every couple magazines. My Colt Woodsman is a great gun, too, but I consider it to me more of a target pistol than a plinker. It's too old and rare to carry around and beat on. Plus it was my grand-pappy's, and I imagine him rolling in his grave if I were ever to mistreat it.

My new plinker is a Ruger 10/22 carbine with a red-dot sight on it, and it has been great so far. No malfunctions yet, and with the sight, it's fast and plenty accurate. I especially like that you can shoot with both eyes open very easily with the 30mm tube and long-eye relief. Nice gun, but a tad bulky to be a true "carry anywhere" plinker.
 
First, CLEAN all old lubricant out of your pistol THOROUGHLY, then relube it with a very light oil. I had an old High Standard .22 pistol once that the man I got it from had lubed with a white grease (Lubriplate), and then he left it in storage for many years. The grease had solidified by the time I acquired it. The pistol would not function and the old grease was bitch to get out of it.

Second, try different brands and types (nose shapes) of ammunition in your pistol. In many cases .22 caliber weapons can be fussy about the ammunition they prefer. Be sure to use "high velocity" or "high speed" .22 LR ammo.

Third, you might have a magazine problem (as someone else suggested, but if your pistol has been used and handled as it was intended it's not likely you will need to replace the magazine. NEVER put pliers to a magazine's feed lips!

My favorite plinker pistols would be my old 4-screw S&W K-22 Masterpiece revolver with a 6-inch barrel, my old Ruger Standard Model 6-inch automatic, my old 4-inch S&W .22 Kit Gun, or either of my old Ruger Single-Six revolvers. Notice that all my favorites are "old" guns. Old is good. :D
 
kamagong said:
Spooky, I have your Ruger's twin. I originally got it so that I would have a cheap training alternative for my 1911, but then I discovered that shooting it was incredibly fun. Mine likes Federal Champions and is very reliable and accurate.
Click to expand...

I have been looking at the Ruger 22/45 as my first pistol (I just started shooting about two weeks ago). I like the feel of the .45 and will probably get a 1911 in the future, but want something cheaper to learn on.

Can you tell me if any other makers offer a 22/45? And are their any advantages to the Ruger III over a II? (AKA, should I look for a used II or just bite the bullet and get a III?) Also, how about barrel length? I handled one with a 6"(?) barrell and it seemed a touch front heavy. Will the shorter barrell be less accurat to the point I should worry about it?

I am a total newb when it comes to firearms and am open to any sage advice. Thanks!
 
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