Henry Rifle Forums

Okay a little dramatic with the title.
I did slip away to the range today and took only two pistols.
My new S&W Victory and my first rimfire pistol Ruger SR22.
I haven't shot the Ruger in a while and honestly have considered using it as trade for quite a while on something new. But every time I do shoot it I smile. I can't explain it, it is just fun to shoot. Not terribly accurate for target work and the sights and trigger are simply okay. I think if I had a patch of woods to go out plinking in and some tin cans to shoot at short range just for fun plinking. This gun would be hard to part with. But even after shooting it today and enjoying every minute.... It is still on my list of guns to trade.
The Victory on the other hand is going nowhere. This is a sweet shooting pistol with a great trigger. I put my TRS 25 on it after the last range trip using the stock sights. I thought that I would have to spend a little time dialing in the red dot. It was last sitting on my Henry Mare's Leg. My first round went 1/2" right of my point of aim and I knew that was me not the red dot. My second shot was in the black diamond of the 2" target spot I aimed at.
I only spent 30 minutes shooting these two and sent 120 rounds down range. 50 with the Ruger 70 with the Smith.


Okay details if you want them:
All shots from a distance of 7 yards (21ft)
All Federal Automatch 40 grain solid round nose.
Target spots are 2"

The bottom three target spots were shot with the Ruger. The really bad looking one on the left was not my first target. The center was first and not bad if you deduct the three that went way low. Next was the left spot with ten rounds first that all went way left. Then I shot the right spot with ten rounds and was not happy but not discouraged. Total spread in the group was 2 3/8" not good but better than missing the target as I had on the left. So back to the left to see if I could at least hit the orange spot. Not good In total I sent 35 rounds at that spot and only hit Orange with 7 of them. I don't know why shooting to the left was not working for me with this gun.

I put the Ruger away and was happy to see that the S&W was working much better for me. The first ten rounds were in the center spot and if I hadn't thrown one high right I would have been doing a happy dance. That one high shot made a 7/8" group become 1 3/8".
The rest of my shots were not bad. A few misses but all at least on target or close misses.
Overall very happy with the Smith and not unhappy with the Ruger. I need more trigger time and one of these days I will shoot the Smith from a rest to see what it is really capable of.

RSb...I'd say that you can do the "happy dance" over the POIs in those 2" targets, both in the orange (Henry Orange!) and close-by hits, too!
Bottom line, I'd also say the "tale" ended up to be a Victory!

Seriously, that S&W .22 is one sharp-looking pistol. Did you get the one with the threaded barrel? If so, what is the plus of that?
It looks a little like the Ruger Lite .22 pistol, which I've shot. The manufacturers are sure making some nice semi-auto .22s nowadays. Glad yours is a keeper, and that you had a good range day. Enjoyed your post & pics!

nicely done .... our sons have Ruger 22 semi autos and love them

I'd say you should do that happy yoga dance, RSB! Glad you got your gun powder therapy today and that those pistols got some stretching exercise! Great shooting and thanks for the report.

Thanks for your kind words gentlemen.
These two pistols are very different, the Ruger is a good plinker and very light. The Smith is a solid target shooter. It is at least twice the weight of the Ruger and very well balanced.
This one is the standard barrel not threaded. There are replacement barrels already on the market for them. But I haven't seen a reason to replace the stock one. And the out of the box trigger is excellent. A lot of shooters seem to have invested in the aftermarket barrels and triggers before spending any real time with the stock pistol. And from what I have read from knowledgeable experienced shooters there isn't a noticeable difference of performance between stock and custom. The threaded model was hard to find when I ordered this one and I didn't want to wait. I do think that my next new rim fire will be threaded. I like the idea of being able to shoot very quietly.

Nice shooting, RSb. I have never shot a Victory, but I love my SR22. It would be a hard pistol to give up. But then I have a pretty weak resolve. Every gun I shoot is my favorite until I shoot the next one.

The SR22 has an awful trigger (I've owned 2, one I bought, one was a trade-in) Both were sold.
I don't know if the new longer barreled "target" version has an improved trigger, but it really should.

Sure looks good to me. Good job.

Nice job! That Victory has been catching my eye the last couple of times at the gun shop!

Thanks Squirrel, Albin, and Ranch..... Do you mind I call you Ranch? Mr. Roper just seems so formal.
The Ruger for me is not a bad gun, but I started looking for more accuracy than it could give me.
And the trigger for me is not bad in single action. Not 1911 good by any means but useable. Double action on it is pretty close to bad. But since it has the thumb safety, leaving it in single action is not a problem for me. I do like that it de-cocks with the safety so you can shoot it DA then SA.
And for the price I paid for it I am pretty well satisfied with the value.
My wife wants a gun for carry, she has very little hand strength and an aversion to recoil. So it may wind up being hers. I have been through the debates of rimfire for self defense and would prefer that she carry something bigger. But if this winds up being what she can shoot safely and it can give her more protection than a swinging pocketbook. Then I will help her be able to shoot it as well as she can. And will load it with the best quality ammo I can buy.