A gun for my sister

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After years of working on my sister to let me teach her teenage sons to shoot, she gave in and said she thought it was time.

We had guns in our house growing up, and Mary Ellen shot .22's as a kid.

Whenever I'd mention the NRA or guns though, she'd give me that leftist, Massachusetts college educated look that told me she didn't approve.

Well, to make a long story short, in the past two years I've taken her and her boys (and husband) shooting many times, and they all enjoy it and do quite well, especially my sister.

She is a teacher in her town, and she applied for a license to carry, and got it.

Surprise, surprise. The other day she quietly told me she wants to get her own handgun. As she said, "something I can use a lot, and get really good with."

She thinking of a .22, and thinks it could do double duty as a home defense firearm. I've told her I thought a .38/.357 might be a better choice for defense. She has shot everything I own from a Model 34 .22 Kit gun, J & K frame .357's to .45 ACP, and recoil is not an issue.

My questsion is, should I try to push her toward the .38 or should I shut up and help her choose a .22 that fits and she will enjoy. Maybe later she would buy a bigger self defense gun.

I know it's her choice, it's just that I think the .22 is pretty puny for a self defense gun, even if I thought they were pretty good when they were all I had.

Some input ladies and gentlemen, please!
 
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How about the moden equivalent of a K22 AND a nediun frame .38/.357???Maybe from the same maker....let the .22 be the "understudy/fun plinker" and gradually switch over to "big brother".
 
IM WITH YOU , A 22 FOR CC IS NOT A GOOD CHOICE, BUT YOU HAVE GOT HER ON THE RIGHT ROAD! GOOD JOB, *CSA*:)
 
Hey, man. That's good for you. Getting them to shoot and want a CCW.

You did spell educated wrong though.

But I digress.

I think if you can only do ONE gun: Go with the .38/.357 S&W "J" Frame, called the Lady Smith. (And only because the .22 is not so good for self-defense.)

If you can do TWO guns: Get her the above mentioned and a .22 lr. I mean, you can get a .22 lr for like $200 bucks used, so why not get both.

Good luck, tell us what happens.

:)
 
USMarine, my spell check is broken! Not that that is an excuse, I should know how to spell edjimakated, but, thanks for pointing it out. I was in the Army, and they didn't spend a lot of time teaching spelling, good to know you Marines are getting the three R's!!!! LOL

Happy 4th of July Brother, thanks for your service!
 
For a first gun, a .22 ain't so bad and is better than nothing where self defense is concerned. If she can handle it well, that might be a good starting point. Just make it clear that there are better self defense rounds out there.

In Texas, you cannot take the shooting portion of the CHL class with anything smaller than .32.
 
You too man, Happy 4th of July.

My twin was in the Army. So don't be too hard on yourself. LOL.

Just kidding. Thanks man. Your service is appreciated.

What did you think about my advice?
 
How about one of the S&W PD revolvers in .22 mag? Eight rounds, revolver reliability, and even Jeff Cooper thought the .22 mag was worth a second look. I normally would steer clear of .22 autos for SD because of issues with primers, but with a revolver, all ya gotta do is pull the trigger again. Can't hurt.
 
USMarine and others, I think she's got her heart set on a Model 17 like I've been letting her shoot. If that's her choice, she can certainly be accurate.

Then if she wants to step up to a Model 19/66 when she feels ready, that's cool. I'd be surprised if she doesn't end up like the rest of us, with more than one hangun too...and a shotgun...now she's mentioning skeet shooting and joined a club.
 
I always recommend the 4" K-frame Smith and Wesson w/ adjustable sights in .38/357 for people looking for a gun for their wife/girlfriend/sister/etc. The gun is easy to manipulate, easy to load or clear, has a long enough sight radius for excellent shooting, but is still relatively easy to carry, and uses an excellent round. Also, grips can be made as small as is necessary for the shooter's hand size.
 
i think taurus makes a 22 mag that is a 9 rounder! It's al least 8 for sure, plus i think you can get one with interchangeable bbls, for either 17 hmr or 22lr.
 
Sounds like she is pretty rational. Perhaps a discussion about what constitutes effective ballistics and why is in order. The issue in self defense is to stop the attack. Your chances are better with a projectile that either starts big and stays that way or starts smaller and gets bigger through use.

I think one of the more effective sites on the web is http://www.theboxotruth.com/ This good-ol'-bo-ie' does a good job of demonstrating the effectiveness of various rounds and loads. Particularly good is
--Level IIIA Armor and
--Little Guns vs The Box-O-Truth #1 and #2

Pictures do a good job of eliminating the need for words.

Keep us posted.
 
Another vote for a k-frame. Uncomplicated, brutally reliable, versatile. Also, I think a lot of new shooters, especially those who are reluctant to get into the sport in the first place, are less intimidated by revolvers, just because they grew up with them in their head on tv. A compact Glock would also be a great choice, but she might be put off by the appearance of the space-age looking pistol.
 
If she is shooting J frame .357s - even if it is with .38 Special loads - and recoil is not a problem for her I would suggest a medium caliber K frame S&W or autoloader.

In a revolver I do not think it gets much better than the S&W Model 65 LadySmith 3".

In an autoloader I would suggest she try out an FN/Browning High Power 9x19mm.

I think it is natural that she will probably aquire a .22RF sooner or later. She can pick one to match her centerfire of choice.

----------------------------------------------

http://ussliberty.org
http://ssunitedstates.org
 
I am bitterly disappointed, I saw the title for this threaf "a gun for my sister" and thought hey! someone wants to trade.

Seriously, I believe your sister should get the gun SHE feels most comfortable with. Remember a hit with a .22 beats six misses with a .44!

Whilst marginal for defensive purposes, a couple of good solid hits from some of the high velocity hollowpoints on the market would make any aggressor think "Oops".
 
Unquestionably the expert on the subject of what gun for a woman, is PAX. She has posted a VERY informative piece on the subject. Do a search under PAX and you can find her post. She speaks from a VERY knowledgeable womans perspective which is usually the opposite of we men's ideas.
 
Tell your sister you will support any choice she makes and give any advise she asks for in making that choice.

Then let her buy what she decides is the best choice for her. IMO
 
Gee, thanks for all the great replies. I wouldn't try and tell my sister what to buy, I just wondered how much I should steer her one way or the other.

She is fiercely indepenent, and I really couldn't TELL her what to do anyway.

Barbara, you're point is well made and taken!!!

Lots of great advice from all of you, thanks very much.

After years of handgun shooting, I guess I forgot that my first choice when I wanted to teach myself how to shoot was a Ruger Single Six. Then I moved up to a GP100.

I know defense-wise she'd be better armed with a 38/357, but she will use the first gun far more on the range, and like she said, she wants to get real good with it.

I hope sometime she gets bit by a desire for a few more too.

Thanks everyone!
 
CZ-75 in 9mm or 40 with the Kadet Conversion kit. The best of all worlds. Economy ammo for practice and a bigger bore for bigger impressions.
 
I am very glad you are conscious of the affects that forcing a particular gun on her could have, but at the same time a 22 for self defense just won’t cut it in my opinion. A fun 22 can be had pretty cheap which would make owning two guns a possibility. My main defense gun is a Ruger SP101 in 357. Its heavy but that means little recoil and it has a lot of versatility. If she is determined to have only one gun I would encourage her to try out a 357/38 they are fun to shoot and can save your life as well.
 
Any of the small frame .38's would be a nice choice. I suggest she look at the Taurus multi-alloy guns (aluminum frame, titanium cylinder and barrel shroud). These are light weight and easy to carry. Mine is a Model 85 which has a full hammer, but Taurus also makes concealed hammer models. I've had the 85 for several years...pretty close to 6 years, I guess. It had a problem with light strikes initially, but after a quick trip to the factory for a heavier main spring, it's been very reliable.

If your sis is more interested in a semi-auto, she might want to look at a Beretta Tomcat (.32ACP). For self defense, a .32 should be adequate (I bought one of these for my wife, but I carry it occasionally). The tip up barrel does make it easy if one has trouble racking a slide.
I've read of reliability problems with the Tomcat, but mine has never had a problem. One does have to watch how they grip the gun though. The slide will "bite" one's hand if their grip is too high.

Both nice guns...I think she'd prefer the snubbie .38 though.

What ever gun she goes for...she'll want to put 200-300 rounds through it ASAP to break in and ensure it's reliable...that applies to any manufacturer!
 
If she wants a small caliber gun, how about a .25, .32, or .380? Taurus and Beretta have decent pistols in those calibers. not to mention .22 is a little piss-head round that is excellent for varmints and paper but not much else.

If not, i'd either suggest a .38/357 or a 9mm/.40/etc autoloader. Personally, i'd choose an auto.

~tmm
 
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