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Tactical 22's
RANGER AL
Member Posts: 2 ✭✭
Can anyone give me the low down on the Ruger 10/22, Mossberg 715T, S&W M&15-22, Keltec SU22C, H&K MP5, & the Ruger SR22. I've only touched 2 of them and never fired any of them. Which one is most reliable? Which one has best resale value? ETC.....ETC....ETC.......
Comments
The Israeli military, at one point actually DID use suppressed .22 rifles for crowd control in the occupied territories. . .they used Ruger 10-22s. The idea was they'd shoot the baddies in the legs to "discourage" them without actually killing them. The problem was, some of the Palestinians were "accidentally" seriously wounded or killed with these guns, and so the Israelis eventually discontinued use of these weapons.
Anyway, apart from use as survival guns by shot-down pilots or such, there may be other examples of "serious" use of .22 rifles by military or law enforcement in the field, but I'm not aware of them. Some military do use .22s as trainers for basic marksmanship. In that case, they're typically bolt-action guns.
If I were going for a .22 for something approaching a "tactical" use, I probably WOULD be looking at something that was built ground up to be a .22 (like a Ruger), not something that was built with the primary goal of resembling a military gun! My "tactical" gun would also wear a suppressor and probably a fixed 4x scope. Ruger 10-22 is a good choice, if only because the platform is rugged, reliable, and high cap magazines are readily available.
If you're asking about which military LOOKALIKE .22 is the "best", I'd suggest that the best way to go in that direction is to put a dedicated .22LR upper on a "real" AR-15 lower receiver.
Most of the "replica" .22s that are designed to look like AR-15s are built in part or whole from zinc alloy and don't have the same weight and feel as the real McCoy. Some of them even feel downright "cheap" and don't even have the same controls as the real McCoy (I recently checked out a mostly plastic Mossberg like that). For a "trainer" you might as well go as close to the real thing as you can.
With the proper sighting arrangement, and practice, a 22LR is capable of 200 yard head shot accuracy. In my group of friends, we have an 11 year old boy, who, when he was 8, could use my 10-22 with a Nikon Buckmaster 4.5-14 Mil-Dot reticle, and shoot bowling pins. consistantly 9/10, and 10/10, at 200 yards. That speaks volumes for the user friendliness of the 10-22, and some good instruction, and practice.
Best
I own a few...the Sig 522, an HK MP5, a pair of 10/22's and a Baikal MP-161k. Thoughts are as follow:
The Sig 522 is extremely nice, and even more fun. It comes with a 25 round magazine from the factory, and has a very solid feel. It's also way accurate. The con is that it's not cheap...mine was pushing $500 when I bought it...not sure if they've come down or not, but worth a look even at the high price in my opinion.
The MP-5 needs some explaining. There are at least two types of these out there. The first ones that were marketed were made by a company called German Sports Guns, and I think the designation is the GSG-5. A friend of mine has one, and likes it a lot...but I've never shot it. I don't know if they make them anymore though...there was some trademark ugliness a while back. You can still find new ones in shops...but I have no idea if there's any more supply out there once those ones are gone. The other version is generally referred to as either the Umarex or the HK MP-5...it's sort of both and neither. Umarex is principally an airgun maker here in the states...but they also are licensed to import firearms...which is what they're doing in this case. This one is licensed by HK...so it has HK logos all over the packaging and documentation...but it's actually made by Walther. Build quality is outstanding...it's a very nice piece...and people who claim to have handled both it and a real 9mm MP-5 say that they feel very similar. The magazine is also 25 rounds, and is also plastic. The collapsing buttstock is a little wobbly (though I hear that the real MP-5 ones are, too)...I bought a fixed stock for mine, along with a tri-rail forend, vertical foregrip, etc. I love it. But it's also based on a submachine gun, so bear in mind that it will have a comparatively compact feel. They're not cheap, though...another $400+ .22 if I remember correctly.
The Rugers are the Rugers. One of mine is exactly as it came from the factory...full length Mannlicher stock and no adjustments to the parts/mechanics. The other is highly modified...walnut thumbhole stock, 16.5" fluted bull barrel, Volquartsen trigger/extended mag release/bolt release, etc. The only things that are still factory original are the receiver and bolt. Both function really well...build quality, function and accuracy are outstanding...and they can be customized pretty much any way you like. Biggest downside is the mags...the only factory mags that I'm aware of are 10 round. You can get high capacity mags...but most are plastic. I have one that's aluminum...I think the company that made it is called Black Dog Engineering or something like that. I like it a lot...but it has adjustment screws that allow you to fit it to your rifle's tolerances, and that takes a bit of time and patience. Once it's done, though, it seems to work really well. They're also not overly pricey.
The Baikal is...weird. The stock is synthetic...but comes in either gray with dark blue inserts or dark blue with gray inserts (I have the latter). The barrel is extremely thin...my Ruger Airhawk pellet rifle's barrel is slightly thicker. The Baikal functions well...comes with 2 metal mags from the factory, but they're only 10 round, and I don't think you can get an extended mag for it due to their funky construction. But it works, hits what I aim at, and was a lot cheaper than the Sig or the HK.
I also know that ATI makes or imports some 22 caliber versions of some classic/historical rifles...the two I'm aware of off the top of my head are the AK and the STG44. I've never touched the AK, so I have no idea about that...and the STG44's literally just became available within the last day or so. Mine is on its way...so I won't have anything to say about how it handles or is built for a bit, but there is something extremely cool about the notion of having a small caliber STG in the safe. MSRP on the STG is flirting with $600...and there is some markup depending on where you go, because it's in major demand at the moment.
SiG-522
ISSC-MK22 (SCAR clone)
Romanian RPK Trainer
? otherwise, you'll find an excuse.
That Romanian RPK trainer...NICE. Not sure I'd be able to resist if I came across one...