.22 Girlfriend Concealed Carry Conundrum

[ChrisMav88]

My girlfriend has decided that she wants to learn how to use a firearm for home defense and possibly concealed carry. At the moment she has never handled a firearm and the only caliber she is willing to start with is a .22. Unfortunately due to past financial issues I had so sell all of my firearms so I am rebuilding my collection for concealed carry from scratch. So in handling some firearms she has decided that only the Walther PPK/S .22 or P22 fit her hand. Both feel comfortable to me as well and works for my budget around $350. I used to carry a .380 Walther PPK as well.

My question is this. I want to get the best bang for my buck and have seen some larger calibers around the same price range but she refuses to go any bigger than a .22. I will also be using this weapon for concealed carry when we are out in town which is quite a lot. Should I try to convince her to step out of her comfort zone and go to a .380 or 9MM, or should I go with a .22?

 

[Sunray]

Any handgun she uses must fit her hand not your's. And she mustfeel confident using it. She musttry a box of as many brands of ammo as she can to find those that both shoot well and cycle the action. Plus she mustpractice regularly with the pistol and the ammo or she might as well buy an umbrella. A .22 is way better than an umbrella.

 

[MedWheeler]

Either of you, well-trained and mentally prepared, would be well defended with a quality .22LR pistol or revolver. While it's not the most effective choice, it is a good one, far better than none at all.

Many of those here who will tell you to wait until she learns something bigger won't go out tomorrow unarmed. I hope none of them tells you and her to wait.

The choices you've already mentioned should serve well, provided she shoots them well and enjoys doing so enough to keep up practice (something even more crucial with the little .22LR.)

Others would include the Bersa Thunder .22, and the Ruger SR-22. Smith and Wesson has now a "compact" version of their M&P .22 pistol, but I've not yet laid eyes or hand on one.

I'd carry my FEG AP-22 (an all-steel version of the FEG PA-63) and not feel unprotected at all. It's a great, albeit rare, little pistol, and very similar in feel and looks to the PPK/S.

CCI MiniMags are pretty much the standard for these small blowback guns.

 

[Vodoun da Vinci]

Find a place that has a Glock 42 for rent and have her shoot it. My Wife searched and searched and we bought gun after gun and rented everything we could find and had her shoot it.

Try a Glock 42. My Wife adores hers and I find it a dang reliable pistol and accurate/soft shooting as a .22.

In the mean time if the lady wants a .22 and feels comfortable and confident with that get her one.

VooDoo

 

[HexHead]

Only a fool would use a .22 LR pistol for self defense. Rimfire ammo is unreliable. We've all gone to the range to shoot .22s and had a few duds in the box. No big deal with paper, but a big deal if you have to clear a round when there's some guy with a knife trying to rob you. At least with a .22 revolver, you can just pull the trigger again.

 

[Tallball]

My advice - go 32.

A 32 S&W, whether short or long, has almost no felt recoil in my 32 magnum revolver. My ten year old daughter shoots them for fun when the 22's get boring. They aren't super effective cartridges, but better than 22.

If she wants a low-recoil Waltheresque automatic, I got a surplus FEG PP clone in 32 auto for $149 a few months ago. Its recoil is extremely minimal. A 32acp is not ideal, but again is better than a 22.

If she is the stubborn type (possibly related to my wife), just get an inexpensive but reliable 32 handgun and use it when you go shooting together. Once she gives in to temptation and tries it, you personally will have one less gun, but she will be shooting something that is more effective.

 

[Radagast]

The P22 is a fun gun with a small grip. That's the positive.

The negatives include slides breaking, front sights walking off, a pretty dubious trigger, safety that can be hard to engage / disengage and a reputation for poor reliability.

There are 3 P22s owned by members of my club. All were given to me to sort out as they were not reliable. All worked fine when I shot them with standard velocity CCI, but that's not an ideal self defense round, even by .22 standards.

The PPKs is a Zamak / Zinc Alloy gun, so it may not be durable. But if she is set on one of the two, I would go with that as the classic PPK form is more suited to carry.

I wouldn't over think this. She is willing to have a gun and shoot it. Go with the flow and buy her what she will accept and you can afford. You are way ahead of many members here who can't get their significant other interested or involved.
If she becomes more into guns, you can buy her something better a year or two down the track.

 

[JTHunter]

Chris - you didn't say whether that .22 she is shooting is a revolver or an automatic.

If it is a revolver, have her try the feel of some of the fairly small and lightweight .38 Specials.

If an automatic, try starting with a .32 ACP (not really big enough) or one of the new, compact .380s. The problem with the autos is that, as they get larger, the strength required to pull the slide back increases. That is the problem my elderly mother had when she tried to use my .380. It is larger than the compact ones and she just couldn't rack it.

So we got her an SP101 5-shot in .38 Special. She's only ~5' 1" with correspondinly small hands and she loves that SP101.

Definately get your g/f to a store to try the fit of other guns.
And remind her that, even with GOOD shot placement, a .22 is unlikely to effectively kill anything larger than a coyote!

 

[Propforce]

She WANTS the PPK in 22LR

Since she's your girlfriend.... I figure you are already getting the best BANG for your buck...

Go with what she likes. She will shoot more often & get to know how to use it.

Later, she may move up the caliber and you will have a nice PPK for plinking.

 

[HoploDad]

Go to a range that loans guns for trial (when you buy ammo from them). Have her try several different .22's including revolvers & auto-loaders. Then, for fun have her shoot a .32 ACP. Purchase decisions can be made with good experience and opinions that way.

Don't get her into shooting a .40 S&W or even a 9mm first time out. What some guys consider "funny" is actually a turn off to their significant others, which kills the experiment.

 

[RustyShackelford]

The Yankee Marshal....

Id sit down with your sweetheart & watch the Youtube.com clip of The Yankee Marshal of why he does not like the .22LR as a defense round or pistol caliber.
Id suggest she start on a simple stainless steel 2"/3" barrel revolver. Like a S&W J frame 638 or a 442/642(no security lock format). A Wiley Clapp SP101 snub .357magnum or a LCR .38spl could do very well too.
A .38spl SWC-HP can be mild to shoot. Nothing she could not handle & far better than a .22LR.
My first revolver in 09/1993 was a stainless DA only 5 shot .357 magnum SP101. It was robust, easy to clean and never misfired.

As her shooting/gun skills improve she can move on to a .380acp or a .38spl +P.

 

[Stony]

Depending on what state you are going to use this pistol, you might consider that some states won't allow a .22 as a legal ccw. Even is legal in your state, consider that 100% reliability is rare in a small .22 pistol and in the hands of a female the "limp wrist scenario" adds to the functioning problems. If she is that set on the caliber, I would definitely only consider a revolver.
A good friend recently gave me a Bersa and it was a prime example of small auto .22's. It won't even make it through one mag without problems. Nice handy little pistol, but if it won't work, what good is it?

 

[rskent]

I think if she wants a 22 you need to on your way to the gun store. You gotta start somewhere.
If it gets her shooting, get the 22. If later on she wants something more effective, great. If not, so be it.

Have you left for the gun store yet?

 

[hso]

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=564531

She needs to go shooting first before just buying a gun so she can find out what fits her. If she finds the right fit the caliber she's comfortable shooting will be larger than something that doesn't fit her. I've taught women to shoot who hated shooting a 9mm CZ and loved a .45 1911 and vice versa. It was all based on the ergonomics and how well the handgun fit them.

 

[Doc7]

Your girlfriend wants to ccw a 22?? Awesome!! You are lucky to have a woman interested in SD! Go get a 22 this afternoon. She will have a smile on her face every time she shoots it. Maybe she will have more guns than you in two or three years!

 

[bikerdoc]

Many years ago my wife got her CCP. She had it in her brain she wanted a 22 and nobody was gonna tell her different. Think hillbilly stuborn.

Me and a bunch of my guys took her out to the farm and she tried every hand gun all of us owned.

She fell in love with a 38 charter. It just fit her and she was stupid a accurate with it.

My buddy gifted it to her. Still caries it but has added my 649 and SP101 to the rotation. You see rule 7 is what is hers is hers and what is mine is hers.
Good luck.

 

[j1]

The answer depends on how much you like your girlfriend.

 

[MEHavey]

Get what she wants -- and will shoot.
That gets her through the door to a new world.

She'll quickly figure out, on her own, that bigger is no problem.

I've never had a lady leave our women's pistol course without
working their way from .22, to 38, to full-size 1911/.45ACP
All have remarked (after they see it's all hype), "that was easy!"




* (I've underlined the key words.... for dealing w/ women)

 

[Bob M.]

Found this on that Walther .22 and it doesn't sound too bad for a first gun. There are quite a few women that like and will only carry .22s.



http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2013/10/jeremy-s/gun-review-walther-ppks-22/

 

[kayak-man]

Why on earth would you want to conceal a 22 year old girlfrie... Oh, not what you were asking.....

First, welcome to our merry band of misfits. I hope you'll like it here

Second, it would be really helpful if we knew what kind of shooting background you have, and what kind of firearms you have access to. Not that you own, but that you could be like "Hey Sammi, I'm teaching my girl how to shoot, is there any chance I can borrow the Winchester?"

It sounds like you're girlfriend has never shot a gun before, at all. If that's the case, then, maybe, as freaking awesome as it is that she wants to step into the self defense world, (and it is freaking awesome ) I would strongly recommend a day of getting her familiar with the guns. I'm not talking about a day of running and gunning and tactical reloads and learning to be The love child of Chris Costa and SouthNarc. Just letting her get comfortable with some of the things that experienced shooters sometimes forgot about, but we came to terms with them a while ago. Things like guns are loud, have recoil, and gun safety is a real thing.

I started writing something way more in depth, but it don't want to go too ADHD and derail everything, so I'll keep it short and give the (admittedly unsolicited) cliff notes.

-start small and work your way up. Trust me on this one: understanding the idea of what sights are supposed to look like at all, how to stand, and the aforementioned recoil/noise is a lot easier and less scary if you start with a .22 than a 10mm, and I think it's easier to get them going by working with rifles and then pistols. Also, the goal is not for them to become the greatest shooter that ever lived. The goal is for her to be SAFE and have FUN.

Also, just a word to the wise: just because a gun fits your hand well, and feels good, is no guaranty that you are going to shoot it well. When I bought my GLOCK, it felt perfect in my hand. It was also a sub compact 10mm, and I can't shoot it well at all. If you can find a way to get her to try the gun, that would be optimal.

 

[Spats McGee]

Welcome to THR, ChrisMav88!

I agree with a lot of what kayak- man has posted. If your girlfriend has never handled a gun before, she needs to get out and try a few. Start small. Don't hand her a .50 DE, even if you do think it would be funny if it conked her in the forehead during recoil. That's a quick way to ensure that she never goes shooting with you again.

Visit "The Cornered Cat" for some good reading for novice shooters. Ni'm posting from a phone & can't figure out how to post a link from this dadgum thing, but maybe someone will help out.

Finally, bear in mind that the 22 is not an ideal SD cartridge, but it does beat trying to poke a bad guy in the eye with a stick.

 

[Bob M.]

Cornered Cat

http://www.corneredcat.com/

 

[Kleanbore]

Some time ago, I took my wife to the range and rented a .22 semi-auto target pistol. My reason was to avoid recoil and concentrate on the basics.

I then handed her a Model 60 steel J-Frame with a 3" barrel and target sights. Light .38 loads. She started out single action, and then tried the DA pull.

So far so good.

Now for the real test. An Airweight Centennial.

DA only. Crimson Trace.

She had been dry firing it in the living room, rather well, but that's without the blast and the recoil.

How did she do with real ammo?

Great!

People vary.

I agree with Spats' recommendation--go to The Cornered Cat and spend some time there.

Then, take her to range and let her try out some guns. Start with a .22. Stay away from very light guns that kick too hard.

The .22 is not ideal for self defense for reasons already mentioned.

One other thing--she should understand up front that if she can hit a paper plate at 15 feet, that'll do.

 

[Tallball]

If someone only wants to shoot 22's, don't try to CONVINCE them to shoot a 380. It has enough noise and recoil to really bother someone who was unsure about shooting it in the first place.

I have taught a lot of people to shoot, probably more women than men. If your student has been shooting the targets for 20-30 minutes the 22 will no longer get their blood pressure up. That is when you TEMPT them with a 32. You say they're doing fine and that you're going to get a little shooting in. Then you pull out your 32 revolver loaded with gentle rounds and start to plink away. Don't even offer it to them. It will soon be obvious to them that its noise and recoil are barely more than the 22 they have been shooting. But it does go bang just a little bit more, and it makes a bigger hole, and it looks kinda fun... it is almost impossible for a human being not to want to try the 32 after awhile. It might even take another shooting trip or two, but sooner or later they will ask to shoot the 32. It's human nature. Shrug and hand it to them like it's nbd. The 22 will seem kind of vanilla after that. And that starts them down the slippery slope.

A 32 auto might work, but they are a little zippier and their slides can get your thumb a bit if you aren't used to them. I bought a 32 h&r magnum for my wife and daughter to shoot. Neither of them wants to shoot anything more than 32 S&W or 32acp out of it yet, but the magnum round is about as good as a 38, whenever they decide they want to try it. The 327 federal would be the same. If you are on a budget, no one wants revolvers chambered for S&W short or S&W long. It is easy to find a perfectly functional one on GB for $100 or less. And then the camel has its nose in the tent...

After some range (or better yet, plinking) trips the 32 S&W is nbd, and she will notice that a 32acp also does not seem real scary, and it starts with that same 32 number, and it looks kinda fun to shoot... and after a few sessions with that, the 38 and 380 and 9mm seem kinda interesting... and after a while one of my GF was complaining that I didn't have anything with more "oomph" to it than a 44 special.

 

[Thermactor]

Agreed with the above posts - she needs to go shooting before she buys. Easy enough to rent a gun and get familiar. Women tend to be great shots with proper instruction and they can handle a lot more than a 22. Plus, ammo availability for the .22 makes it kind of a non starter, don't you think?