Phoenix HP22A Compact Pistol 22ABB, 22 LR, 3 in, Plastic Grips, Black Finish, Adj Sights, 10 Rd

Submitted By: bob On 07/08/2015

I'm dumping mine. While accurate and easy to handle,the most I've been able to run through it is two mags and then the jam fest begins. I have tried various ammo and forget target rounds. Being a California gun,it has operational quirks and more safeties than you can shake a stick at. If you want reliability,this ain't it.

Rating: [2 of 5 Stars]

Submitted By: Harper A. On 11/10/2011

Pros: -FUN -Weight makes recoil negligible. -Plenty of accessories for such a simple gun. -Cheap to shoot. -Two safety switches, slide safety, pin safety. -Fairly easy takedown (technically tooless). -Likes many types of ammo, but I'd use more copper/brass plated rounds, lead rounds foul very fast. Likes subsonic and high velocity, I've used as high as 1280fps (400rnds of it) with no ill effects, but read the manual. The manufacturer says don't use more than standard velocity (~1050fps) or so and there are reports of cracked barrels from the pressure. Lets just say I wouldn't use the hyper stuff (1300fps or higher). Cons: -(the big one for me) no last round hold open. :( -Out of ~1k rounds, had 4 stovepipes, and I'd say about 110 FTF issues. Boken down: ~40 FTF (hammer dropped, no bang) ~70 or so trigger malfunctions (pulled trigger, no hammer drop). -That's about a 11% failure rate. NOTE: *All rounds fired after being reloaded.* -Controls issues happen often, but unreliably so. I have 4 mags and I might fire all 4 w/o a problem, then I'll reload them all and the first one I'd have to pull the trigger 2x for 8 of 10 rounds. -Sights are hard to fast-acquire on followup. -Pin safety is very easy to bump and turn off when you rack the slide. I've also had it fall under its own weight during firing, and disengage the pin on me. -You have to pull the mag out, and can only do it with slide safety engaged with closed breach (slide closed). Cannot rack slide w/o mag inserted (see notes below). -Re-assembly after a takedown cleaning can be tricky. Check youtube for takedown instructions for some easy tips. -Takedown slide (on front) might need some friendly persuasion, using a tool, or the bottom of a mag. The spring doesn't like going in, but you can use the barrel to get it back in (see youtube for creative takedown/re-assembly ideas). Conclusion: As with any firearm, there is good and bad. I bought it, and now that I know the above, I'd still buy it. Even still, I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS AS A DEFENSE WEAPON. Only as plinker, varmint and range/target firearm. YMMV, but test it thoroughly first and make sure you trust your gun. Notes: There are a couple mods you can do, and many find them very helpful, but only do at your own risk. I can't/don't/won't recommend you do either mod (liability and all that). I can only say I've done both to mine, most likely invalidated my warranty by doing so, and have had no observable problems resulting from the mods. Instructions for the mods are on youtube, I mention this for your information only. Mods include enable mag to be removed with slide safety off (good for range safety as this also allows you to rack the slide and keep it open w/o a mag loaded), and shaving down or bending a bit of metal to allow the mag to fall freely when the mag release is pushed.

Rating: [4 of 5 Stars]

Submitted By: Shae R. On 06/12/2011

Great little pistol. I bought it for my wife to get into shooting with me. It's on the heavy side for such a small pistol, but I think its perfect for her because the weight reduces the kick to nothing. Overall I would recommend it for someone just getting in to shooting or for someone looking for something in-expensive to plink around with.

Rating: [4 of 5 Stars]