When I began target shooting, your choices of a .22 pistol were not large. Oh, you could buy all kinds of plinkers, but a real tack-driver was hard to come by.

Your choices were simple: Buy an S&W Model 41 or a High Standard Victor--or wait for someone who owned a Colt Match Woodsman to die and try to buy it off of his widow.

Back in those days, the M41 listed at $250 and the Victor at $270. Adjusted for inflation, that comes to $780 and $850 respectively.

Type:	semiauto
Caliber:	.22 Long Rifle
Barrel length:	5.5 in.
Overall length:	9.5 in.
Weight:	46 oz.
Sights:	match-grade adjustable
Trigger:	2.5 lb., adjustable
Grips:	walnut
Price:	$795
Manufacturer :	High Standard | 800.272.7816

Why those? Because they were accurate and reliable, and while in Bullseye you can get an alibi string if you have a malfunction, who wants the hassle and stress of doing it all over again? And in the other matches I shot you didn't get alibis, so you had to have reliability from the get-go.

In 1984 the Victor went out of production--leaving the S&W and ferociously expensive Euro-plinkers as your .22 LR target-shooting choices. But you can't keep a good product down, and the High Standard Victor is back.

While I've shot a bunch of them, I've never owned a Victor or other High Standard, so I didn't have an original on hand to compare to the test sample I received. But there was nothing about the new one to make it different from my recollections. The slide locks open if the magazine is empty. The magazine catch is at the bottom front of the frame.

The barrel has the sight attached on a rib that protrudes back over the slide. On the front of the frame is a spring-loaded button. Push the button (it is quite stiff, and you'll need to use the edge of a table or shooting bench) and you release the barrel from the frame. Now release the slide stop and the slide comes forward off the frame. You're done taking it apart for cleaning, unless you feel the need to scrub under the grips.

Unlike the magazine catch, which is where it is simply because it makes production easier (and no one needs to do a quick mag change in .22 LR competitions) the slide stop and safety are in useful locations.

The safety is where all 1911 shooters want to find one: on the left side, above the grips.

The slide stop is on the right, also above the grips. You can drop the slide on a fresh magazine by either pressing the catch down with your trigger finger or by pulling the slide back and letting go.

The trigger comes from the factory set at 2.25 pounds, and is adjustable for weight and travel, not that I wasted any time fussing over it.

The barrel rib holds the front and rear sight and is bolted on with screws threaded to the barrel. You can remove the iron sights and replace them with a scope base and put optics or a red-dot sight on top.

You can also bolt extra weight to the bottom of the barrel, if the regular 46 ounces of the Victor is just too airy for you.

An accurate, reliable .22 LR pistol is like milk and cookies: a comforting pleasure you need not feel guilty about. The Victor is like freshly baked chocolate-chip cookies, still warm, and a big glass of cold milk. You need not feel the least bit guilty about enjoying yourself.