Ruger LCP II .22LR - Questions, Thoughts...

Is it a good idea...?

  • Sure!

    Votes: 45 70.3%
  • Nah...

    Votes: 19 29.7%

  • Total voters
    64
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JAshley73

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Mar 19, 2012
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Hello folks, it's been a while...

I'm thinking about purchasing Ruger LCP II in .22LR, for a couple reasons. I would appreciate the site's thoughts, feedback, etc...

Background - We have a mix of S&W M&P full-size & M&P Shield in 9mm. Regularly carry the Shield... Thinking about a smaller, "pocket gun" for the reasons below...



Reason #1 - Teaching new shooters - My 8 year old daughter is interested in shooting now. We're learning in the back yard with BB guns the basics. Sight picture, trigger discipline, etc. She finds pistols to be a little easier than rifles right now, simply because of the weight & comfort. We have an M&&P full-size C02 BB gun with gas blow-back. She handles this gun so-so, but the grip is too big for her hands. By comparison, her hand fits our M&P Shield well.

She's been to the range with me. (Indoor range.) We took the full-size CO2 BB gun, and she did shot well, and was OK with the environment. No doubt she'd go back again, so it would be nice to have a good pistol for her to shoot, that she'd be comfortable with.



Reason #2 - More carry options - I've been curious about an ankle-gun for a few years, but have never gotten around to it. The ankle rig would be used for warmer weather dress clothing. Where a tucked in shirt without a cover garment would be the preferred dress. (Church, dinner, etc...)



Reason #2B - More carry options again... The small gun could also be useful for other carry options for myself, and/or wife. It could be a pocket gun for either of us. Or a smaller, lighter gun for her to take on runs, neighborhood walks, etc. Something that would be a better choice for the waistband of her workout pants/shorts, or even the bra holsters that are available...




More thoughts - I've never shot a .380 pocket-gun, but I am suspicious that in a frame size that small, it would be pretty uncomfortable to shoot. Especially in a defensive situation where the first shot goes off OK, but the 2nd shot time is exceptionally longer. Obviously, the .380 would be a no-go for training new/small shooters like my daughter. So the .22LR is attractive there.

And while many aren't fans of .22LR for defensive use, 11 rounds of it seems better to me than a sharp stick anyway...



In summary - It would offer a good training gun for new/young shooters, and allow for more carry options. (Ankle carry, pocket carry, etc...)



Please share your thoughts. I appreciate it.
 
All good points. Kinda what I was thinking when I bought mine and I carry it as a BUG sometimes. Easy to shoot weak handed.

Problem is, I just don't trust it completely because of 22lr ammo. Mine does not like Velocitors or Mini Mags but is pretty good with Aguila super extra 40gr round nose.

There's too many better guns, in better calibers to trust a pocket 22. But I agree it's better than a pointed stick probably.
 
All good points. Kinda what I was thinking when I bought mine and I carry it as a BUG sometimes. Easy to shoot weak handed.

Problem is, I just don't trust it completely because of 22lr ammo. Mine does not like Velocitors or Mini Mags but is pretty good with Aguila super extra 40gr round nose.

There's too many better guns, in better calibers to trust a pocket 22. But I agree it's better than a pointed stick probably.

Could you make a recommendation, for a better small pistol, that would satisfy ankle/pocket carry, yet is still un-powerful enough for new, young children to shoot comfortably? I'm open to other suggestions.
 
Could you make a recommendation, for a better small pistol, that would satisfy ankle/pocket carry, yet is still un-powerful enough for new, young children to shoot comfortably? I'm open to other suggestions.

I can't recommend a gun that is good for self defense and also training a child.

In a close up defensive situation, that happens quick, I'd rather have a knife in a pocket than a 22 on my ankle. So actually, I'd rather have a pointed metal stick!:D (I'll admit you could do both) What I'm getting at is that I own a Ruger 22 LCP II and I don't use it for anything and have considered selling it. It's a good tiny gun but I carry something with more power.

If you will be satisfied with the defensive capability of the little 22, then I will say the Ruger is a good gun.
 
I can't recommend a gun that is good for self defense and also training a child.

That's fair. Opposite ends of the spectrum, with respect to the round's energy. (Dare I utter the words, "knock down power...") :rofl:

Maybe I am trying to kill too many birds with just one stone? I suppose I need to take my daughter to the LGS, and see how SHE feels holding one of these.
 
My thoughts:
Is there anywhere I'd prefer to defend my life with a 22 rather than at least 9mm? No, nope, no thanks.
I'm not tucking (didn't tuck) in my shirt for church, dinner, home loan, house closing, and nobody said anything, anywhere.
If I had to tuck in my shirt for work, then a pocket 380 ("better than nothing") or Smartcarry with at least a 9mm, maybe tuckable holster.
"Better than nothing" is not a criteria we use by choice to select a carry pistol, that is for when we can't do better .... can't =/= won't
Location where one might defend themself is independent of desired ASAP incapacitation potential and 9mm is acceptable minimum.
 
For you and your wife for pocket carry I might say LCP in .380.
For daughter, what about a SA 22 revolver?
A Heritage with the 3.5 inch barrel and Birdshead grip are a great option for smaller shooters. They also have the manual safety.

Yeah. Too many birds with one stone.
 
I started my daughter at age 8 with a 22 rifle, then 22 SA revolver, 22 DA revolver, Ruger Buck Mark, and then up to larger calibers when she felt comfortable. It was a slow process. I think she was 11 or so by the time she wanted to shoot a 38 special (she didn't want to be outdone by my friend's daughter).

She did best with handguns that gave her enough to hang onto, and severely disliked a little Taurus PT22 I thought she might like. "This gun stinks, Dad. It's too small." At 16 she still doesn't shoot tiny automatics well, though she does okay with snub revolvers.
 
I haven't shot a LCP II .22, but I can't imagine it'd be a good gun to start a kid with. While it's light, the short sight radius and longer and higher trigger pull aren't going to build confidence. I started my daughter out at 6ish with a Ruger MKI. The target barrel was a little heavy for her but somewhere I have a video of her going 8/9 at 7 yards at that age busting beer cans. Eventually I'd like to pick up one of the Light versions for the rest of my kids, my daughter could only go through 4 or so magazines before her arms were too tired to hold up the gun. Beretta Neos is supposed to be another light one with a smaller grip, but I can't confirm.

As far as recoil, I have the original LCP and I don't find .380 in it to be bad at all. Many claim it slaps them pretty good, but I don't see it.
 
As the owner of both the LCP and LCP II, in .380 I believe the 2 is better for its intended application; back up use or carry when a larger pistol is unavailable or impractical. The trigger is better, the sights are better and the slide locks back on an empty magazine.

That being said, I do carry my LCP II a lot. It’s very hot here, I’m not a big dude with lots of places to stash stuff and I rarely wear a belt or long pants outside of work (Where I carry all day.) The lightweight compact LCP II allows me to carry something, which is better than having nothing.

These small guns, even in .22, are not easy to shoot well and can lead to frustration for new shooters. Like the others above, a 4” Ruger standard or similar sized gun is my beginner handgun for first timers.

Beginner revolver involves a 4” S&W model 64 with wadcutters.

After a person is proficient with a handgun better suited for training would I then introduce a small framed gun like an LCP or J frame to them. Same goes for larger guns/calibers, etc.; I’d rather they ease into it learning good habits than jump into it and be quickly intimidated by their gun.

Now the LCP II in .22 is a great companion-training gun since .380 is expensive and not a whole lot of fun to shoot in a micro pistol. It can also double as a “sample gun” for people to try out micro guns after they get some experience with shooting larger guns, as well as be a lightweight carry gun if one doesn’t have another option. (Not a fan of .22’s for defensive carry because of reliability issues, but again, I think carrying any gun is better than having no gun.)

In closing, it’s a good gun for its role... but I don’t think that it’s role should be a training gun or first gun for a beginner. Cut their teeth on a gun better suited and they’ll be much happier shooters.

Just one guys opinion that is no better or worse than anyone else’s :).

Stay safe.
 
I own the LCP II .22lr. I like the gun, because it's fun to shoot, and it serves as a trainer for my LCP II .380. However, it hasn't been the most reliable gun in the world. Starting out, I had light strikes that seemed to go away after a few hundred rounds. Then, I started having a problem with the slide locking back with rounds still in the mag. It went back to Ruger and they replaced the slide lock. I got it back, and on its first range trip, it had one premature lock back in 110 rounds. Haven't shot it again yet, but I'm noticing at home that if I rack the slide with an empty mag, it doesn't lock back. I don't know yet whether it will do that while actually shooting it.
 
Could you make a recommendation, for a better small pistol, that would satisfy ankle/pocket carry, yet is still un-powerful enough for new, young children to shoot comfortably? I'm open to other suggestions.
The Ruger SR22 is Shield sized but lighter weight. Comes with 2 grip modules and fits small hands really well. Shoots nice and is probably easier to learn with than a tiny gun
 
I carry a Walther p22 when trapping, I shoot coons and opossums in the head at a short-range, but for my defense gun, I carry a sig 365xl the Walther 22 is fun to shoot but harder to hit the target but if you master it you will shoot larger guns better, and the ammo is much cheaper for practice
 
The Ruger SR22 is Shield sized but lighter weight. Comes with 2 grip modules and fits small hands really well. Shoots nice and is probably easier to learn with than a tiny gun

I will look into it. A quick search looks like there's a threaded barrel model as well. :thumbup:

A LGS has a wall of pistols available for handling, comparison, etc... I might have to bring my daughter, and let her handle a few to see which feels most comfortable.
 
It's difficult to teach sight pictures when the gun doesn't have sights.
I love my .380 LCP - but - I can only imagine how miserable it would be for some newbie to figure out what real sights are supposed to look like - based on the miserable little things the LCP has.
If Beretta made a .22lr Pico - maybe - but...

Maybe a Ruger SR22?

Oops - see that came up already.
 
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Perhaps it's just me, but I can't find a use for it. I have the .380 which I get, but the .22 version??
When my LCP II .380 wears my arthritic hand out, I can switch to my .22lr and keep shooting. From the standpoint of sight acquisition, point shooting and holster drills, it is, for all practical purposes, the same gun.
 
I got mine almost a year ago now as a Beretta Bobcat replacement. It's been a great little gun, though CCI Stingers/Velocitors are a no-go. Anything else it runs great and is surprisingly accurate.
 
Buddy has one, and likes it, but he's a .22 junky. He carries a .22 Centennial sometimes. :(
Concur that it makes a great trainer, but .22 ammo is the issue; it doesn't always feed and it doesn't always fire.
For a kid's trainer, something manually operated makes more sense; especially (please, due respect)for even the most responsible 8 year old.
Moon
 
I had to replace my firing pin a little after 850 rounds. The new firing pin has gone about the same amount of rounds and still functions fine. The Crimson Trace laser really brings out the accuracy of this gem. My real problem with this gun is they had to go and make 10 round magazines and it’s eating up my supply of ammo. It loves Federal Game Getters, CCI Blazers, Federal Champions.

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I have 2.

Best small .22 I’ve tried and I’ve tried most of them, Walther TPH and PPK .22, Iver Johnson, Smith 317, Beretta 21a and 950, several others. I like them all but the Rutgers are the best IMO. Small, light, accurate, and most of all reliable. Around the place I always have one with me.

They look like they lock up barrel to slide but they don’t - straight blowback although the barrel tips down for feeding. Very clever.

Be sure to use the included mag loader.

fwiw, I’ve had a couple LCP .380s (not LCP IIs) which were not at all reliable.
 
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