Ok folks I have around 300 budget and want to get a 22 pistol for plunking with my girlfriend and our total of 5 kids. She has shoot all my pistols except the 44 mag. She enjoys it but not real wild on the recoil. Our kids are really wanting to shoot as well. So I have heard good things on the river, Browning and Sig mosquito. What are yalls thoughts and are there any others I should consider?

I personally would ONLY go with Buckmark or Ruger MK pistols for semi auto. Both can be easily found in that price range.

For revolver Ruger single six is the only way to go.

The polymer 22s tend to have horible triggers and can suffer from malfunctions ymmv

I personally have 4 Buckmarks and have owned several rugers. Nothing wrong with the rugers its just the Buckmarks fit me a little better.

Cant go wrong with the ruger. I like the S&W model 22a with the target sights on it. Seems to shoot the best for me. The brownings are really good too. A lot of good ones out there. Just be sure it fits your hand and wont be a concern on the action coming back and pinching you. With 7 of yall, looks like you will be needing more than one! Have fun!

For a cheaper option I do like the S&W 22A, although the prices are a lot higher on them than they used to be. They're easy to disassemble and clean, have a decent trigger, and mine eats all the cheap ammo I have put through it. Some people complain about having to replace the recoil buffer, but I don't see the big deal about it when they last a few thousand rounds and cost almost nothing.
I've got a lot of high end vintage bullseye and target .22s and the 22A actually shoots almost as well. I don't feel bad about running a lot of rounds through it and putting it away dirty like I would with my nice old guns.
Between the Ruger and the Buckmark, I prefer the Buckmark. Easier to disassemble and you can do a free trigger job by flipping the trigger spring.
Unless you find a good deal on a used 22A, I'd say the Ruger and Browning are better made guns than the S&W.

Is say Ruger. I bought two of my kids 22/45 MkIII's. Some don't like the plastic grip frame, but they are pretty comfortable. Trigger isn't bad and barrel choice starts at 4" and climbs. I have a Ruger standard and three MkII's. For price and reliability I say MkII, MkIII or 22/45.
BTW 5 kids and 2 adults leads me to believe you need two or more. Good Luck.
Paul

I just bought the Ruger SR22. It's a tad over $300. I think $329 at Academy. It's my favorite gun now. Stupid reliable. Few hundred rounds and no FTF or FTE. I love it

Thanks folks, is the assembly of the river as bad as I hear

The Ruger 22/45 is much easier to take down, watch a few youtube videos, but I' d just spray a Ruger down with scrubber and oil. You can take it down once a decade or so if you feel you have to. I wouldnt even worry about the gun scrubber level of cleaning till you do about 1000 rounds. Use plated ammo not wax coated lead and it keeps very clean.

Another shout out for the Ruger SR22. Comes with extra mag and different size grips, retails for just over $300, and has a great "Feel". I bought one last year, and my 8 & 9 year old boys live it..

I have owned several .22's. I had the Browning Buckmark and liked it, but I have a Ruger Mk III Hunter and LOVE it, but also have the SR22 by Ruger and it is an amazing little gun. The SR22 is great size for the kids because of less weight and smaller grip. But my vote is the Rugers when it comes to the .22 market.

I have the Ruger Mk3 hunter and the Browning buckmark hunter both are amazing pistols you cant go wrong with either!!!

I have a Browning Challenger III and love it.

If you want something similar to a regular auto pistol check out the Ruger SR22. Mine runs fine on the cheap .22 ammo.

I agree on the Ruger SR22. Ambidextrous safety. It wont fire without the magazine in.And it De-cocks the hammer when the safety is engaged.

I've got a Ruger Single Six revolver that is a .22lr/.22wmr and a S&W 622(Not in production anymore. They were replaced with the S&W 22A). You can get a S&W 22A for about $340 retail. I'm not sure what the prices are for The Rugers are now adays (I got mine back in the 1990's). Both my .22's are great shootin guns.

Have a Browning Buck Mark Plus, Colt Huntsman, and Walther P22. Shoot the P22 more than the rest. Can find the P22 cheaper used than the others. Bought it off the forum a while back for 200 bucks. Like new. Very accurate.

SR22 is awesome. My wife held it in the store while I was getting a rifle. She loved the way it felt. Another pistol she has and love is her little Bersa Thunder .380. She is also recoil sensitive. She has a CZ P01 and clinches with it. The little SR is a blast to shoot. Very reliable. Hers has about a brick through it now. No issues.

I've had my P22 for about 4 years and never had a problem with it. I have the target model and can shoot 1x1 stakes at 50 yards. It also comes prethreaded for flash hider or suppressor.

Don't overlook the berrerta 22 have had great luck with it looks funky but feels great and shoots great

I will agree with Crawfish.....Beretta Neos is a smooth shooting .22 for $250 ish at Academy, and I prefer it over the Ruger and Buckmark. It will chew up and spit out any ammo you want to feed it. I am an instructor for our 4-H shooting sports, and the Beretta has no issues with round nose bullets where I have seen problems with the Ruger.

I like my S&W 22a no complaints. My wife and daughter shoot the heck out of it. In fact I probably going to get a couple more.

Another thumbs up for the Beretta neos.