Posted: 1/19/2026 11:52:13 AM EDT
| Does anyone hunt small game with their .22 pistol? What do you use? I have a MKIV 2245 tactical for that purpose but I'm really underwhelmed with the accuracy and reliability ( before and after adding Volquartsen and TK parts, polishing mags and chamber etc. ) so I'm seeing what else could fit the use case. I'm talking about something that may be relied upon to feed someone under less than ideal circumstances. |
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Ruger must kick out a dog once in a while and you caught one. My .22s have all been gtg, including the latest 22/45. I assume you have tried various ammo. My 22/45 does poorly with a couple brands, everything else works and some is good for head shots on grouse at 15 yards. You sunk some $ in yours. I’d be dissatisfied too. Life’s too short to shoot a bad .22, try another brand. My only experience is Ruger. Some here love the TX22. Browning gets love. Your not the first guy here to have a bad Ruger 22 sadly. |
If life was easy nobody would quit.
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Originally Posted By Vexed: Does anyone hunt small game with their .22 pistol? What do you use? I have a MKIV 2245 tactical for that purpose but I'm really underwhelmed with the accuracy and reliability ( before and after adding Volquartsen and TK parts, polishing mags and chamber etc. ) so I'm seeing what else could fit the use case. I'm talking about something that may be relied upon to feed someone under less than ideal circumstances. This is more likely going to be an ammo discussion rather than a pistol discussion. I have a heavy barreled 22/45 that is nails with certain ammo. Aquila does not work in it at all. But it is terrible in two TX22s I have also. I bought a bunch of that and it only runs in my AR upper and my 10/22, and a bolt gun. My 22/45 shoots CCI flawlessly. Along with some other brands. You will likely need to buy a box of many different types of ammo to find what it likes. |
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Sorry, I didn't include the various ammunitions I've tried. Functionally, MIni Mags are mostly good to go but not great accuracy wise, Aguila produces failures roughly 1-2 rds for every 3 mags ( usually a failure to feed or a rim strike but no bang) various bulk pack stuff is usually riddled with failures, I've tried some match ammo (Eley mostly) and it is a bit better in the accuracy dept than say Mini mags but it isn't as reliable. As far as what I've done to this pistol: * ETA * I have roughly 1500 rds through this pistol, would be more if it were reliable. Volquartsen trigger kit Volquartsen firing pin Tandemkross extractor Volquartsen mag release and base pads on my magazines Polished and deburred factory mag feed lips and follower button tracks lightly polished the chamber, feed ramp, bolt surface I am currently playing with different weight recoil springs but I'm pretty much disgusted with this pistol. My early 80's made 1022 doesn't choke on any of the above ammos, same with the dedicated .22 upper ( CMMG internals) that I stupidly sold. I am leaning toward pistols because of weight more than anything. The only real purpose for me is a small, lightweight critter getter than can live in a bag on my back, if it comes to that. I have given thought to just getting a VQ Mamba upper for my 2245 but the whole situation has soured me to dumping more money into this project. Any manufacturer can indeed put out a lemon and I don't mind putting in money to upgrade something if there is a tangible, quantifiable benefit but in this case, it's lipstick on a dung beetle. I may be just expecting too much from a .22 pistol but If there's a more reliable pistol that's minute of squirrel out to 25yds, I'm all ears. |
| The answer to the reliability issue is a dlc volquartsen bolt. It runs soooooo much smoother. I never oil mine. Just wipe it off every 1,000 round or so. I also have dlc volquartsen bolt in my 10/22. It also does not have any reliability issues. You can catch them on sale for 200 coins. |
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Years ago I squirrel hunted with my Ruger Mk1 5.5" bull barrel. It shot as good as my brother's similar Ruger. First time I shot his, at 10 or 12 yds. offhand (initial function check and sight in as needed) I had to shoot three shots to make the 1st hole big enough to see that's were rounds 2 & 3 went. Squirrel hunting, iron sights (I was 25 years old and my vision was awesome) and only shooting head shots (or barely missing). Never felt the need for another .22 pistol and still have that one. |
How you live your life is important. Just be sure the memory of how you died doesn't overshadow the tales of how you lived your life.
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Have you considered taking it back to stock and sending it to Ruger for a look over? Because with the parts you have in it currently, it should be near 100%. I have just the TK trigger and VQ bolt upgrades in my 22/45 MKIV and it's been 100% no matter what I feed it. I could consider deep cleaning the barrel and chamber if you're going between waxed and coated bullets though, just to see if it makes a difference there. Are there any burrs or surface wear on the bolt that might indicate that it's rubbing/catching anywhere? |
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Originally Posted By spydercomonkey: I'd send it back to Ruger as is, without taking any of the parts off, and see if they can fix it. They won’t touch it with aftermarket fcg/bolt parts, same with a lot of major manufacturers as it’s a liability issue. I’ve heard of people sometimes not even getting their parts back from S&W but grain of salt on that. |
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It does seem I am seeing much more on lemon mark series pistols in the last few years. They were for good reason a go to for accuracy reliability and price for decades. Lately price has climbed quite a bit and the expected reliability and accuracy has gone down. I decided ( and got a great deal) on a S&W victory which has been great. Right out of the box, near bullseye competition accuracy and great reliability- found one type of ammo that did cause it to choke, but that ammo did the same to several other guns. I would also second a revolver- find an older S&W 17 - my mid 60’s gun was a laser ,and of course revolver reliability |
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Sorry to hear of your ongoing issues, OP. You aren’t expecting too much from a quality .22 pistol, you were just born when gun companies don’t care. Ruger, S&W, Colt & Browning .22 handguns were historically all capable of small game as a stock model. Hell, my 1960s Walther PP & PPk will do it, too. FWIW, as a Boomer, we were once cautioned against using a continuous diet of high velocity .22LRs which, we were told would beat up “target guns” which were designed for standard velocity .22 ammo. My S&W41 & older Colt Woodsman do not endorse HV .22. The manuals recommend a stronger spring. This factoid was often told by the gun store guru and the owner’s manual. So, with that history said, I suspect your reliability issues with standard velocity or match ammo may be your modern recoil spring which is likely designed for use with high velocity ammo. So, your slide velocity is too sluggish with target ammo (which is usually standard velocity) which results in malfunctions, usually FTF issues. You mention down-grading your recoil spring to lower strength or did I miss it? If you did, then ignore this post. Before you toss what may be a salvageable gun: https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1027050568?pid=453368 The other option would be trimming coils off what you’ve got. Again, it’s too bad most gun companies are suffering from quality & customer service issues. My 1930s Colt Woodsman, 1960s S&W41, S&W K22 & Mdl 18 are all reliable & capable of taking small game. My 60+yo eyes…meh. My 1976 Ruger Single Six is meh with .22LR & Ruger themselves said it’s the compromise for .22 magnum ammo which is .224 vs .222. It’s ok for plinking & teaching, but I would take any of the above guns over it for accuracy. It is also my Boomer experience that semiauto .22s do best with one or 2 ammo brands. You can get reliable, accurate or cheap—pick 2 of 3, as the joke goes. Revolvers are less fussy, of course, but if I were in the market I would look for a pre-1980 Colt, Browning, S&W or Ruger. The last issue is to check your barrel crown. Any burrs or irregularities causing uneven release of gas will affect accuracy by distorting the bullet’s departure. Hope this helps. ETA: https://www.marvelprecision.com/marvel-vs-competitors If you are disgusted & have a 1911A1 frame, consider a Marvel conversion. They’re as accurate as most .22 rifles. I’ve considered one, but my only 1911A1 is a collectible from WW2, so, not for me. |
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Originally Posted By m0833937: The answer to the reliability issue is a dlc volquartsen bolt. It runs soooooo much smoother. I never oil mine. Just wipe it off every 1,000 round or so. I also have dlc volquartsen bolt in my 10/22. It also does not have any reliability issues. You can catch them on sale for 200 coins. I think if I want to continue on the MKIV route, I'll probably just get a VQ upper for it. |
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Originally Posted By M1A4ME: Years ago I squirrel hunted with my Ruger Mk1 5.5" bull barrel. It shot as good as my brother's similar Ruger. First time I shot his, at 10 or 12 yds. offhand (initial function check and sight in as needed) I had to shoot three shots to make the 1st hole big enough to see that's were rounds 2 & 3 went. Squirrel hunting, iron sights (I was 25 years old and my vision was awesome) and only shooting head shots (or barely missing). Never felt the need for another .22 pistol and still have that one. No doubt Ruger has earned a reputation over the years with the MK series and it seems like most generations are good to go in most aspects. |
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Originally Posted By NorthPolar: Have you considered taking it back to stock and sending it to Ruger for a look over? Because with the parts you have in it currently, it should be near 100%. I have just the TK trigger and VQ bolt upgrades in my 22/45 MKIV and it's been 100% no matter what I feed it. I could consider deep cleaning the barrel and chamber if you're going between waxed and coated bullets though, just to see if it makes a difference there. Are there any burrs or surface wear on the bolt that might indicate that it's rubbing/catching anywhere? I haven't ruled out stripping it back down to stock and sending it to the mothership, I would just like to avoid it as I'm kinda burnt on screwing with it any more. I have deep cleaned the barrel and I have also polished the chamber, feed ramp and the bolt exterior. The only thing I haven't polished is the internal receiver surface. I may still do that. There's no abnormal wear on the bolt that I have seen and the factory surface was actually decently smooth for a ruger. |
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Originally Posted By NorthPolar: They won’t touch it with aftermarket fcg/bolt parts, same with a lot of major manufacturers as it’s a liability issue. I’ve heard of people sometimes not even getting their parts back from S&W but grain of salt on that. Yeah no way I'd gamble on getting my parts back. |
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Originally Posted By captain127: It does seem I am seeing much more on lemon mark series pistols in the last few years. They were for good reason a go to for accuracy reliability and price for decades. Lately price has climbed quite a bit and the expected reliability and accuracy has gone down. I decided ( and got a great deal) on a S&W victory which has been great. Right out of the box, near bullseye competition accuracy and great reliability- found one type of ammo that did cause it to choke, but that ammo did the same to several other guns. I would also second a revolver- find an older S&W 17 - my mid 60’s gun was a laser ,and of course revolver reliability I won't outright condemn Ruger or the mK series but it does seem like there has been more issues the last several years. I have given thought to a S&W but they have been getting a less than ideal reputation lately for their QC ( mostly on their revolvers). I had a 642 with a nasty canted barrel. Sent it back and they fixed it but if they had QC, it never would have left the shop. I have given thought to a revolver but I really don't even want to begin to go down the rabbit hole of mounting an RDS on one. I'm in my late 40s and RDS pistols is becoming life for me unfortunately. |
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Originally Posted By Vexed: I haven't ruled out stripping it back down to stock and sending it to the mothership, I would just like to avoid it as I'm kinda burnt on screwing with it any more. I have deep cleaned the barrel and I have also polished the chamber, feed ramp and the bolt exterior. The only thing I haven't polished is the internal receiver surface. I may still do that. There's no abnormal wear on the bolt that I have seen and the factory surface was actually decently smooth for a ruger. Could you post photos of the bolt from front/top/bottom, and the grip from the top focusing on the hammer area? Also is it with all mags or just one? Maybe a photo of the mag feed lips from the top? They could be slightly dragging on the bottom of the bolt if they sit too high. Could be enough to slow bolt velocity to cause issues. Just winging ideas, because that’s weird issue. You did remove the mag safety as part of the trigger install, right? |
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Originally Posted By Vexed: I won't outright condemn Ruger or the mK series but it does seem like there has been more issues the last several years. I have given thought to a S&W but they have been getting a less than ideal reputation lately for their QC ( mostly on their revolvers). I had a 642 with a nasty canted barrel. Sent it back and they fixed it but if they had QC, it never would have left the shop. I have given thought to a revolver but I really don't even want to begin to go down the rabbit hole of mounting an RDS on one. I'm in my late 40s and RDS pistols is becoming life for me unfortunately. Originally Posted By Vexed: Originally Posted By captain127: It does seem I am seeing much more on lemon mark series pistols in the last few years. They were for good reason a go to for accuracy reliability and price for decades. Lately price has climbed quite a bit and the expected reliability and accuracy has gone down. I decided ( and got a great deal) on a S&W victory which has been great. Right out of the box, near bullseye competition accuracy and great reliability- found one type of ammo that did cause it to choke, but that ammo did the same to several other guns. I would also second a revolver- find an older S&W 17 - my mid 60’s gun was a laser ,and of course revolver reliability I won't outright condemn Ruger or the mK series but it does seem like there has been more issues the last several years. I have given thought to a S&W but they have been getting a less than ideal reputation lately for their QC ( mostly on their revolvers). I had a 642 with a nasty canted barrel. Sent it back and they fixed it but if they had QC, it never would have left the shop. I have given thought to a revolver but I really don't even want to begin to go down the rabbit hole of mounting an RDS on one. I'm in my late 40s and RDS pistols is becoming life for me unfortunately. A red dot….one a revolver? Sweet Mother McCrea, Frank Hamer, Bill Jordan & Elmer Keith are turning over in their graves!  But I do understand your sight issues. I’m in my 60s and am that annoying Boomer at the range with two or 3 pair of glasses: one that only allow me to see the iron sights & a one pair for seeing the target. The other pair is for driving—and I don’t even golf! I seem to have scopes & red dots on all my rifles for the last 25 yrs or so. I’ve tried RMR, Dokter & Leupold on pistols, but at least I can hit the target with irons. One day I’ll sort it out. I’m fairly certain some hooligan Millennials mess with my targets while I’m changing glasses before I walk down the range because they yell “maybe you should fix bayonets” when there are no holes in my targets. So I’ve reached a conclusion they must beat me down range, put up non-used targets & have fun at my expense. Or, maybe the free target app I’m using is corrupted to move last minute, by some AI chatbot. That’s my story, anyway  . And this is Boomer anti-digital humor, or at least an attempt.Scalawags! Whippersnappers! |