My Granddaughter Wants a Handgun For Her 16th Birthday

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Maybe. And there are 9 grandsons. :) The 3 oldest all have been given .22LR Marlins and a Ruger 10/22.
I hope the Stock Market doesn't collapse!
 
I would look for a 22 so she can shoot semi-cheaply. Two semis that have nice small grips are the Ruger SR22 and the Walther P22. I like my 22/45's but for a smaller hand I believe that the SR and P22 get the nod.
 
See how she likes the grip of a popular full size gun, and get her the .22 version of it. PPQ and M&P come to mind.
 
Red Wind: "Maybe. And there are 9 grandsons. The 3 oldest all have been given .22LR Marlins and a Ruger 10/22.
I hope the Stock Market doesn't collapse!"

With 20 grandkids, you're a wealthy man - - - no matter what the market does ! :)
 
Red Wind - if the young lady is determined to get a pistol, may I suggest the Ruger single-action revolver with the second cylinder for .22 Magnum?
With the 6" barrel, this gun can be used for squirrels and rabbits (at 10-25 yds.), groundhogs, possums, racoons, and coyotes at 50-75 yds.
It IS a single action so no "fast firing" (wastes ammo anyway) but it gets her to practise her "focus" and control.

Good luck!
 
for my daughter

My little lady will be 32 in a few more days. I "loaned" her one of my 10/22's and picked up a new Ruger 9E for $225 at my LGS. Both my son and daughter have talked about wanting a handgun for their homes so one gets an SR9 that is rarely shot and the other gets the scaled down version.

A 22 pistol would be a good place to start as well. There are lots to chose from. I like 22 rifles just the sake of confidence in hitting what they are aiming at more often than not.
 
I would go with a Ruger 10/22 as a rifle choice. As to a handgun, there I would sugest having her handle as many different ones to see which one suits her the best. Some good semi-autos to look at would be the Ruger Mk. II/III, Ruger 22/45. Browning Buckmark, and the Beretta Neos.
 
+1 for pointshoot!!
I wish I were as wealthy as red wind.

As to a pistol on a $300 budget, I bought an SR22 Ruger with free shipping for $299. on line and had it sent to my local gunshop. OK. $334 with the $35 transfer fee, and that ting is light, accurate and definitely NOT ammo sensitive.
 
SIG Hammerli Trailside 22 Semi-Auto Pistol.

http://hunting.about.com/od/guns/l/aasthammerli22a.htm

A very affordable quality .22 target pistol with excellent out of the box accuracy.


I own a Browning Buckmark that I use to break in new shooters. It's fun to shoot and is very accurate. Sometimes I'll do range sessions with it myself to maintain my fundamentals.
 
I taught my 12 year old grand daughter on a Ruger Single Six. She took to it quickly and hit her targets. Had my Black hawk 357 with 38's. She was hitting soft drink cans at 10 yards with 38's. I have bought her a new Single Six which is in my safe.
 
I wonder if she knows handguns are much harder to hit POA (at least for me anyway)?

Sounds like she's a competitor though, and that might make a handgun even more enticing.
 
You'd best look into the legalities of a minor owning a hand gun in Florida first. The way I read it, 16 is too young. http://www.nraila.org/gun-laws/state-laws/florida.aspx
Click to expand...

I would think from a legal perspective it would be mom and/or dad's gun.

For a first handgun I'd keep it simple. If she likes semi autos a ruger target pistol mk II or III would probably be the top choice. Sig moisquito and ruger sr22 also seem to get good reviews though a person just learning to shoot my do better with a true target pistol. Do be careful of the cheapos 22s can be very finicky about ammo and cheaper guns in my experience are the worst.

As far as revolvers ago I like heritage rough riders though some here would disagree, I think they make a perfectly acceptable first handgun and the price is right. However, she might be better off learning on something capable of double action fire. You might find one for a good price if your willing to search the used gun section of your LGS's otherwise you're probably going to pay close to that $500 mark for a ruger or s&w.

Whatever you choose I would advise against anything that is compact or has a very short barrel. Those guns are for carrying a bigger gun with a longer barrel will be much better for learning to shoot.
 
Thank you all for the continuing suggestions and ideas. We'll be going to the gun shop/range next Saturday and start the search,have her shoot several of the suggestions you all have made.

I've got quite a list with all the fine input. THR always comes though. It is most appreciated. :)

And the Florida legal age is 18, so her parents will own the gun, as Vamo pointed out, for the next 2 years.
 
How about a target pistol?
http://www.browning.com/products/ca...c.asp?cid=051&tid=402&fid=006B&cattype=051402

This is a full sized pistol with good sights. She will have to shoot it a lot to exhaust its accuracy potential. If she wants something different later on it is easy to change the barrel to something longer or shorter. They suppress well if she is interested in silencers; although she'll have to wait until she is 21 to buy one from a dealer or 18 for a private sale or making one.

Ranb
 
+1 for the Single Six. However since this is your grandDAUGHTER don't forget to accessorize. A leather holster (I got one used on Craigslist for $20, polished it up, looks new - basket weave) would be handy for that pistol, out at the farm or ranch. You may need to give the grandson a new pocket knife to keep the peace!
 
Find out if the likes revolvers or automatics best.

2" or 4" .357 for a revolver, compact 9mm for an automatic. It wouldn't have to be new if it was in good shape.

If there's any budget left, a shooting course, or ammunition if you'll be teaching her.

A .22 can be a lot of fun, but a grandfather's gift of something she could carry into dangerous places would be worth much more.

Someday, she might *need* that gun.
 
Just make sure you are willing to keep spending $500 on each of your remaining 16? grandchildren. You can't switch to a pistol for one and then go back to Marlin 60s... :)
 
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