new gun recommendations for new shooter

[scottie4442]

Ok, the situation is, I finally convinced my wife to take up target shooting, not competitive just for fun, but when I got her to our local range she would not even try my 1911, she said it was too loud and kicked too much. My thinking is that I want to get her a 22 semi, less kick and noise, as a starter gun. I have looked at several; S&W, Ruger Mark III, Walther p22, and the Buckmaster, all of these look like good reliable weapons but I am not sure, I shoot .45, 9mm, 35 rem, and other larger calibers. Another thing I need to mention is my wife is a large lady, 6' tall, so no "ladies" gun, I know she will not like any of the small compact guns.

Ok all that to ask this, any recommendations here, I want to get her interested enough and shooting enough to move her to a 9mm/.40 later on. She will never hunt with me or competitively shoot, but this is something that we can do together and I think she will enjoy it. Thanks for the help.

 

[kludge]

I have looked at several; S&W, Ruger Mark III, Walther p22, and the Buckmaster

All good.

 

[briansp82593]

well i would say get her a good full sized 38 revolver mine has almost no recoil and i love it

 

[Baphomet]

I would suggest either the Buckmark or the MKIII.

With the Buckmark you'll get a decent trigger right out of the box and damn fine pistol overall.

With the Ruger, you'll get a damn fine pistol right out of the box with a mediocre trigger. For about $20 though you can drop in a replacement sear and have an outstanding trigger. The MK's also have a lot more optional upgrades and mods should you decide you want "pimp" your pistol beyond factory spec's. Just about anything you want to "fix", or modify, on your MK can be - from the barrel/receiver to the smallest "small part" (e.g. grips, trigger, slide-release, etc.).

The Buckmark will offer you a few options, but very few in comparison. I've also had more than one gunsmith flat out refuse to work on a Buckmark trigger.

My point here being, in short, is this: If your wife loves the Buckmark as it is, right out of the box, it's a very good choice. If you, or she, want options for modding the pistol at all, or unless there's some compelling reason NOT to consider the MKIII, I'd suggest going the Ruger MK route. It's always nice having options and the Ruger has options all over the Buckmark.

 

[tnieto2004]

I picked up a S&W 22a and love the gun .. shoots like a champ .. and pretty cheap!!

 

[Archer1945]

My suggestion, since you want to have her graduate to something bigger would be be to get a Kimber with the .22 conversion kit. That way she can get use to the size of a center-fire gun without the recoil of the .45. Another suggestion would be a good .45 and find some of the very light 140gr ammo which is now available.

If she is complaining about it being too loud it means she did not use GOOD ear protection and how can she complain about recoil if she has never shot one? I suspect the recoil problem comes from hearing some people complain about how "the .45 ACP kicks like a mule". Personally I found out, the hard way, a .45 actually kicks less than a .357 Magnum and even less than some +P loads in a .38Sp.

As far as a .22 goes, the same guide lines go for it as for anything else, find one that feels comfortable and fits your hand. Your best bet is to find a range that has guns to rent and have her try every thing she wants to.

Btw, my first .22 was the Beretta Neos and it is a dream to shoot. I was planning on getting the Ruger but the Neos felt much better in my hand, even the 22/45 did not feel as good as the Neos and I've put a good many rounds thru a Series 70 Colt so I know what a 45 grip feels like.

Once again, find a place to try out the guns before she picks one to buy. It MUST be her decision, not what you think she should get. Btw, I do second the idea about a good .38 because a medium frame gun with light loads really doesn't have any more recoil than most .22s.

 

[briansp82593]

you can find an old smith 38 k frame for usually 300-400 i bought one and i want a 686 now but if she doesnt like the idea of a wheel gun go for a cz or something that can be changed back to a centerfire... will save u money ahead of time

 

[alucard0822]

a 22/45 ruger is another good choice, better for larger hands and a 1911 grip angle. You can also get a ciener 22 conversion kit for most any 1911, cost almost as much as a 22/45 but with it you can change the slide quickly between 45 and 22, but outside of obviously less rcoil the gun handles the same, for a wheelgun most any med frame S&W, taurus , or ruger in 357 mag, has little kick with 38s, but has plenty of room to grow, one of the neatest is the taurus 608, compensated barell and holds 8 38s, or 357s, fairly inexpensive and a good shooter with little recoil even with full power 357s.

 

[CoolPops]

I would seriously look at getting something like a CZ-75 9mm for her and the Kadet Kit (slide and magazine for .22). Therefore, she will have the same gun, but with one slide shooting .22, then when she wishes to graduate, she can shoot the same gun with the 9mm slide/clips.

Once she's good and wants to just go plink cheaply, she can always put the .22 slide back on and go to town.

http://www.cz-usa.com

 

[loplop]

My suggestion is to take her to a range that has a lot of pistols for rent, and allow her to pick and shoot multiple types. Or perhaps take a pistol class where she would have the option of shooting revolver, auto, in different calibers (one in my area will allow you to choose and try different ones as you progress).

The idea here is to allow her to gravitate towards what she wants to shoot, and has a tolerance to shoot. This will allow for much greater "buy in" than if you buy her something you think is right.

I was quite surprised when I rented various pistols before I purchased my first handgun: ones that I "heard were great" ended up being less great in my hands, and cartridges I was initially afraid of (45 acp) were easiest for me to shoot well. I find handguns are quite personal, hence the buy-in method...

FWIW, my wife kinda enjoys shooting her Ruger MKII. She hasn't really taken a shine to target shooting.

 

[Majic]

Take her to the gunstores and let her handle them so she can choose based on how they feel to her. Also don't push her to move up. There's no reason you both can't have fun shooting different calibers. Beware though as she may start to kick your tail using the .22lr.