[Old School]

I have a stainless Bearcat and love it for my purposes. But I don't think it counts as light and is single action. The best I can offer is a confirmation that Ruger makes a good 22. Have you looked into the LCR? Seems like that might fit your requirements.

 

[P89DC]

I went with the Ruger LCRx 3" 8-shot. Trigger is very stiff. I understand that's typical for rim-fire revolvers. Hopefully I can find a softer spring(s).

 

[Rock_Crawler_Jeep]

Two suggestions-

Check out the S&W 317 Kit Gun,

And,
Look through the listings on Gunbroker. They have filters that allow you to break down your search by make, barrel length, finish, and more.

If you want the SP101, you will likely find one there. Buy it, ship it to your FFL, go pick it up.

 

[harleypower69]

I found a BNIB old K22 on Gunbroker . Great shooting revolver and chrome too.

 

[Lt. Donn]

I found a BNIB old K22 on Gunbroker . Great shooting revolver and chrome too.

A k-22 is a great find!

 

[Rock_Crawler_Jeep]

I found a BNIB old K22 on Gunbroker . Great shooting revolver and chrome too.

Those are sweet revolvers!

 

[kodhd]

I like my Smith 317 3”. It takes a little more effort to shoot straight than my old Dan Wesson 722. The mechanical accuracy is there, the light weight requires a little more focus to shoot straight. I don’t even know I have it when packed away in my Hill People gear chest rig.

 

[RGP]

If you want small and double action, S&W Kit Gun... no idea of the current model number.

The most useful .22 rimfire firearm on the planet though, the .22 to have if you can only have one .22, is probably the Ruger Single Six.

 

[RGP]

Two suggestions-

Check out the S&W 317 Kit Gun,

And,
Look through the listings on Gunbroker. They have filters that allow you to break down your search by make, barrel length, finish, and more.

If you want the SP101, you will likely find one there. Buy it, ship it to your FFL, go pick it up.

RE: Gunbroker... never be in a hurry to buy. Decide what you want to spend on it, be patient, sooner or later it'll appear at a good price. And try to buy from the "Buy Now" listings instead of wasting time bidding on the others.

 

[Rock_Crawler_Jeep]

RE: Gunbroker... never be in a hurry to buy. Decide what you want to spend on it, be patient, sooner or later it'll appear at a good price. And try to buy from the "Buy Now" listings instead of wasting time bidding on the others.

Very wise words!

 

[Featherweight]

SW 617 or Ruger SP101

 

[GlockCanMan]

I have a S&W 63, I like it a lot, but it had to go back to S&W 3 times for them to get it to shoot properly. It is lighter than the 617.

 

[njl]

If you want small and double action, S&W Kit Gun... no idea of the current model number.

The most useful .22 rimfire firearm on the planet though, the .22 to have if you can only have one .22, is probably the Ruger Single Six.

Used to be the Model 63, but I think they were discontinued. They're on gunbroker, but not cheap.

 

[geodan]

Had the 4.2" Sp-101, really wanted to love it. Double action trigger pull was unuseably heavy. Wolff spring kit, polishing and shims made trigger pull "OK" and ignition unreliable. There was no middle ground, like 18lb DA trigger or reliability issues, take your pick. Others had similar issues. If it's going to be a single action anyway might as well save some money and get a single six (or ten, whichever they are making now). Or prowl the gun shows for an older S&W kit gun...they show up around here from time to time in the $500 range.

 

[cityborncountrylivin]

If you can find an S&W Model 34(6 rounds) they are a good choice. Blue, 4” barrel J frame
I have a S&W Model 63 (8 rounds) , 5” barrel which is my favourite. Stainless J frame

 

[gunsmoke92]

S&W Model 34, also known as the Kit gun. As was said above, great little guns if you can find one.

 

[papershoot]

Do dry fire Ruger double action 22's before you buy one. I have a Single -Six and a old K-22 Masterpiece. Both are nice guns and only the Single-Six would be slightly lighter than the 617. I would look at S&W revolvers in DA verses Ruger, because of the better triggers. I have never owned or fired a J-frame 22.

Smith & Wesson 162634 63 Revolver For Sale |22 LR

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Smith & Wesson 160221 317 Kit Gun with Hiviz Sight 22 LR 8 Round 3' Stainless Steel Black Polymer

<p>Smith & Wesson J-Frame is a small-frame, defense revolver designed to fire a full power round and is reliable. The Model 317 is part of the AirWeight series of revolvers. Built on an aluminum-alloy J-frame it is lightweight and small enough to be carried inside a hunter or fisherman's kit...

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[Gretch]

My experience with .22 LR in revolvers has been this: If the it doesn't fire, it's the ammo, not the revolver. There might be an accuracy problem that would be the fault of the gun, but reliable ignition is almost always a function of the ammo.

The guns already mentioned are good quality products. I will add the Ruger LCRX .22 LR with the 3" barrel. I have a Single Six convertible and an LCRX and both have been as reliable as any centerfire revolver I've owned.

 

[geodan]

My experience with .22 LR in revolvers has been this: If the it doesn't fire, it's the ammo, not the revolver. There might be an accuracy problem that would be the fault of the gun, but reliable ignition is almost always a function of the ammo.

The guns already mentioned are good quality products. I will add the Ruger LCRX .22 LR with the 3" barrel. I have a Single Six convertible and an LCRX and both have been as reliable as any centerfire revolver I've owned.

Yes, my SP-101 was 100% reliable in function with factory springs, but the trigger pull weight was, as mentioned, horrible. This being a known problem with the SP-101 I was surprised Ruger couldn't do anything about it. After installing lighter springs and getting failures to fire I checked firing pin protrusion, depth of cylinder recesses, and end shake, all were in spec. Called Ruger and asked about a fix, they said anything under 22lbs(!) DA pull weight was in spec. I installed the original parts and sold the gun at a loss. My 1960's vintage S&W 34 has a DA pull of 12 lbs but feels lighter than that as it is smooth with no stacking. I wish ruger had gotten a decent trigger on the 22 cal SP, because the gun was otherwise quite nice, and a 4.2" SP I have in 357 has a very nice trigger both DA and SA. It is my usual choice for walks in the woods loaded with 38 special +P level plated wadcutter rounds loaded in Starline 357 brass.