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best Steel Challenge .22 pistol for small hands


jmac2112

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I've got a son who is almost 12, but he's small for his age (he could easily pass for 10).  I'd like to get him into Steel Challenge, so I'm looking for recommendations for an appropriate pistol.  My first thought is to get a Ruger Mk IV Lite and look for some really thin grips.  That's the only .22 pistol I have any direct experience with, although I don't own one.  Any suggestions appreciated!

 

Thanks,

 

John

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I can't think of anything suitable for SC with a shorter reach than a 22/45. My daughter could reach ok at 9 with very small hands. Keep in mind though, that their grip may not be perfect in order to reach.

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  • 2 weeks later...
13 hours ago, cbrussell said:

I tried going on their website but it is no longer up and running. Are they still in business? How do you contact them?

Thanks.

they had to end their website due to california laws. I have their phone number if you’d be interested in purchasing a top end. They are still up and running and at almost every Southern California steel challenge match on the weekends. 

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Hello, my boys shot rimfire matches when they were young. The Buckmarks gave less recoil than the Rugers and they could shoot them faster. My boys were 8 years old when they started to give you an idea and they were on the small side. They are both taller than me now. Thanks, Eric

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The Ruger Mark IV 22/45 is a great choice.  The grip is small enough for my wife's hands.  The gun shoots great and is very reliable.  Another choice if you are shooting serious competition is the Volquartsen Scorpion or Black Mamba.  I have a Black Mamba and love it.  I've fired over 75K rounds from it with no troubles.  

 

This pic is my Black Mamba and my 22/45 with a 5.5 inch barrel that I got from Volquartsen's bargain bin.

 

 

Mamba and Mark IV with Irons.jpg

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Thanks for all the input!  I ended up going with a Ruger Mk IV Lite.   It ran great the first time I took it out, with maybe one stovepipe.  I was shooting CCI Mini Mags.  Then I put a Volquartzen kit in it.  I had numerous stovepipes and failures to feed when I shot it the second time using CCI Clean .22 (polymer coated).  I'm hoping it's just an ammo problem and not a problem with the kit, because it really does make a huge difference in the trigger pull.  

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4 hours ago, jmac2112 said:

I'm hoping it's just an ammo problem and not a problem with the kit, because it really does make a huge difference in the trigger pull.  

 

CCI coated ammo is thicker than standard and may not feed in tight chambers.  It will not chamber in any of my 22s.  If you have a Match or Benz chamber, forget about it.  If you really want to use that crap, have your chamber reamed to Sport or larger.

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You're welcome!  Rounding off the sharp points on the rear feed lips seems to be the real key.  I didn't even take off as much metal as the video shows, and it still made a big difference.  Before I took a file to those points, the follower on each mag would get hung up right there and it would take a little force to make it pop all the way up.  I also smoothed out the places on the followers that were getting gouged by the feed lips, and I did the rest of the things in the video.  Ran several mags worth of CCI Clean .22 through the pistol on Sunday without a hiccup, whereas before I having about two feeding issues per mag. 

 

I think zzt is onto something concerning this type of ammo, though, since the Mini Mags worked almost flawlessly before I did anything to the mags.  Maybe the polymer coating creates a little more drag compared to bullets that are copper coated and/or lubed.  As I recall, even the ones with copper coating have some sort of wax on them.

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