Which .22cal pistol to get my wife?

[Ligament]

Hi all,

I'm lucky. My wife wants to join me shooting on the range. I'd like to get her a .22 cal pistol to start, and then work her up to a 9mm.

She likes the .22s.

We'd need something for plinking, casual targt shooting at the range. Something that would fit a womans hands well.

Cheap too would be nice.

Would prefer semi-auto.

Thanks!

 

[Capstone]

Get her a Browning Buckmark and don't look back!

 

[c_yeager]

Something that would fit a womans hands well.

I think that what you really want is something that will fit her individual hands well. There are a couple of standard entries into the entry level .22 market and most of them are quite good. Take her to a well-stocked shop and have her try a Ruger MKII, Ruger 22/45, Browning Buckmark, and Sig Trailside (which they probably don't have so dont worry about it) you could maybe throw in the newer Neos too but, i don't know if its any good. Buy the one that she likes the most based on holding it and you should be fine.

 

[marlin.357]

If her had fits the CZ 75 then a 9mm CZ 75 and a .22 Kadet adapter might be an option? May not be the cheapest option, but nothing new to learn when going from .22 to 9mm.

 

[usp_fan]

My wife learned to shoot with a buckmark. It is a very economical and solid choice. Later we owned a ruger 22/45. It had a target barrel and was too front heavy for her. Now we've got a 4" barreld SIG Trailside with a red dot sight on it. It is her favorite pistol to shoot. I couldn't sell that gun if I wanted to. I'd be in too much hot water.

I'd go with something that fits you wife's hand and that is a reasonable weight (standard profile barrel). Browning Buckmark, Ruger MKII (not the newer MK III) or SIG trailside. You can also find some S&W .22's that fit this description--I'm not sure of their model number.

Good luck,

usp_fan

 

[pax]

Ligament ~

You wouldn't walk into the shoe store, pick out a pair of shoes for her, and expect them to fit her perfectly, would you?

Guns are every bit as personal as shoes -- both in terms of what she'll like, and in terms of what will fit her. Take her to the store with you when you go in to pick out the gun.

If you look at the Beretta Neos, be aware that they have a fairly heavy trigger for a plinking gun (and the one I played with had a gritty trigger, too. Ugh.) The Neos is otherwise wonderful, very ergonomic and comfy to shoot. They are visually and asthetically appealing, which might matter to her. Best feature is how easy it is to disassemble & reassemble the gun, so if she wants to really get to know the gun by helping to clean it, she won't be intimidated.

Thousands of people learned to shoot on a Ruger Mark II. The Mark III isn't very much different from the earlier model, mostly just has added features to please the lawyers. I find 'em ugly, and again, if visual matters to her she may not be pleased with one. However, they usually have pretty good triggers. Worst feature is that they are so annoyingly impossible to reassemble after cleaning -- so annoying that maybe you won't bother cleaning it as often as you should, and that if you try to show her how the gun's internals work by taking it apart, she'll be convinced that she'll never be able to do this stuff.

Especially if you're a 1911 man, you might want to look at a Ruger 22/45, which mimics the control locations of a traditional .45. Same basic pluses and minuses as the Mark IIs and IIIs.

I've seen people shooting Walther P22, and ... well, they do very nicely fit extra small hands. But there are so many lemons out there, I just don't feel these are a good choice if there's anything else she might like.

pax

 

[Ala Dan]

Another Browning Buckmark fan reporting in! Having recently owned a
Ruger MK-II (KMK-512), I decided to give the Buckmark Classic Plus a try.
WOW! there is NO comparison, with the TRU-GLO marble fiber optic front
sight of the Buckmark target acquistion is very fast. BTW, these guns
are super accuarate. But beware, cuz this model is available only too
Browning's full line or medallion dealer's; as per Browning's North American
web site.

 

[Old John]

Not me!

Hi Y'all,

I'm with Pax on this one. I would not think of picking out a thing or
making a choice for my Sweet Wife, as personal and subjective as
a handgun.
About 10 years ago, when we first got together, I took her out
shooting with me. She shot my .22's, my .38's & my .45.

She started going out the next day, "looking". She settled on
an FN Argentine Hi-Power, 9mm. She bought it for herself.
We went to an indoor range next weekend. She got ticked off
loading her 2 magazines, while the clock was ticking off our hour.
Next gunshow she boughtt 12, yup Twelve magazines, (some were
mil.surplus). She'd load all 14 mags. at home. Go to the range.
Shoot 2 mags. per target, & be ready to go home.

Two years later, She put a S&W 6906, in lay-away, right before
Christmas. And, I got it for her for a Christmas present.

Couple years ago, I bought her a little Keltec K-11, for easier
carry. It's in the gunsafe right now. I wasted my money, hunnh.
She loves to carry her 6906, in her Coronado Leather purse, with
the holster hidden in the middle.
She picked out her own 870 Rem. Express, and had the smith put
on a Mag extension. Heckuva Lady.
OBTW, she's five feet tall, pretty chunky & shoots my .45
Commander like a Champ.
She even shot a couple cylinders through my son's .480 Ruger.
She can pick out her own guns. Not me.
Have a good-un.

 

[Vic303]

Look at the Walther P22's. A hoot to shoot, and nearly identical platform to their p99's.

 

[Trebor]

OBTW, she's five feet tall, pretty chunky & shoots my .45
Commander like a Champ.

Considering the second part of that statement, you might want to restate your description of your wife in the first part...

 

[lyricsdad]

I have a p22, yeah there are lemons out there.. lots, I fortunatly got one that was not a lemon. It is 100 percent reliable, pretty accurate. I have the high vis fiber optic front sight, my wife loves to shoot it. fits her little hands prefect, not to mention if you want smaller, or larger grips you can have a choice with the removable "grip" extension. Only gripes i have about my p22 is that brass is really the only problem as it spits it in all directions, if it wasnt for my ray bans, I would have caught one in my eye... so, that being said, for the price, I am glad I got it. We will see if i am still liking it 5 years later.. as it seems to be made of cheaper materials. (zinc alloy i was told) mine seems to be wearing nicely though.

But like everyone says, let your wife choose what to shoot, she will then be more willing to go and shoot it since she made the decision herself to take that .22 plunge.

good luck.

 

[Northslope Nimrod]

Browning or Ruger

For target/range shooting: Browning Buckmark or Ruger. I have the Buckmark Micro and love it. Two observations: The Buckmarks seem to have better triggers IMO. The Rugers seem to be more sturdy in their construction. P22's are fun and I have been tempted to get one for backpacking, but they don't shoot nearly as nice as a Buckmark. My wife LOVES to shoot mine. Its the only gun she will shoot at the range. Have her hold the Buckmarks and Rugers and let her choose for comfort.

 

[Pilot]

My wife loves to shoot my standard Ruger MkII with the tapered 4 3/4 inch barrel. She HATES my Ruger 22/45 with 4 inch bull barrel. Go figure. It really is a personal decision. Let her try before you buy.

 

[Pointman1776]

Sig/Hammerli Trailside.

Everytime I take it to the range, it is the crowd favorite bar none.

 

[Walt Sherrill]

Why not get a .22 conversion kit for the Browning, if you've still got it?

I've seen several, recently -- including, I think, one by Ciener.

The newest SHOTGUN NEWS has a lot of articles on the Browning.