.22 barrel length

New to this forum and new to the bullseye world. Long time shooter and reloader. A friend and I are signing up for outdoor bullseye, starting out with 22's, I have a Ruger Mark2 Govt model 6 7/8 barrel and a Buckmark 4" model with a red dot on it. My friend has nothing and I was wonder what would be a good first choice with a $500 budget as far as barrel length/sights/overall weight. Whats a good combination?

You should have no problem finding a nice used Ruger MkII or MkIII in the $300 range. New they are $400 on Buds Guns HERE

Keep an eye on the classified section on here too!

If you were to go with open sights would you prefer a long barrel for the extra sight radius or a short barrel to save weight?

I would think long term and get a firearm that can have a red dot mounted on it and not worry about barrel length for the sake of sight radius.

I had a S&W model 41 that had both the 5.5" and 7" barrels. I shot the 5.5" barrel with irons, the 7' was just too nose heavy. I now shoot a Marvel Precision 22 conversion on a 1911 dedicated lower and love it. But you won't get into one of those for under $500!

The Ruger is a good gun, accurate eats any ammo and can be upgraded with trigger components and a red dot down the road.

FWIW

Joe

The Buckmark can be fitted with a scope mounting rail that replaces the rear sight bridge. This can be done without any machining.

The ruger MK2 needs machining to fit a scope rail.

A new ruger MK3 already has a scope rail included.

Both guns are fantastic first pistols. Rugers have a more dedicated following in bullseye shooting, but I believe that buckmarks are nicer.

I've tried 7" barrels. I always found the extra apparent movement to be distracting for sustained fire. I think that 5-6" barrels are optimum for bullseye pistol competition. The Ruger Mark I, II, and III are good guns, but usually need a little trigger work and I was never a big fan of their stock rear sight.

Thanks for the replies, I think I'll stick with the buckmark for now and advise my friend the mark 3 that comes with a mount would be a good choice for him. I have an inexpensive red dot on the buckmark that could stand an upgrade how are the matchdot ultradots?

Since my last post about dot's I have purchased a Matchdot Ultradot, and a 1" base model ultradot. They are both super. I don't think the matchdot is any better than the 1". I don't use the dot size changer anyway.

the barrel length is the main reason I joined bullseye, with the hell of my uncle. thanks Dennis.
I have the hots for a model 41, and wondered why there were different barrel lengths. And the price hurts.