.22 conversions v. .22 pistols

Of all the accesories in the shooting world, few can provide the enjoyment and opportunity for learning that a .22LR conversion kit brings. For practice the conversion wins hands down. But should we depend on a .22LR conversion for our outdoor/hunting .22LR?

Consider a common large caliber, centerfire pistol such as the Glock or 1911 that might be used with a .22 conversion kit. The normal pistol is a recoil operated, locked breech design with a moving barrel. The conversion substitutes a fixed barrel, lighter slide and lighter recoil spring, converting the pistol to blowback. The .22 conversion is a modification, and must necessarily be a compromise of sorts.

The other choice is a pistol designed from ground up as a .22LR such as the Ruger MkII, Browning Buckmark or Beretta 89. Twenty-two pistols do not suffer from the compromises of accomodating other calibers and as such are usually more reliable.

Both the .22 conversions and .22 pistols can be extremely accurate. Both tend to function well with high velocity and hyper velocity .22LR cartridges. But the conversions inevitably have heavier slides than their .22 pistol counterparts. They also have slide travel distances dictated by the centerfire cartridge and commonly have more friction, too. A heavier slide or greater friction can impair function with standard pressure and match cartridges. The reliability factor favors the .22LR pistol.

For handgun hunting and other outdoor uses (snakes, etc.), I would choose the .22LR pistol. As the expression goes, "You pays your money and you takes your choice."