My brother is thinking about buying his wife a 22 pistol to teach her to shoot.He has looked at Rugers,Brettas ,Browning and S&W.I have shot the Bretta and Rugers.My favorite is the Stoger Lugers but they are getting hard to find.He wants to shoot only 22 cci stingers it will be her house gun.She is really araid to shoot.

My personal favorite is the M41 by S&W. However for the task you describe, a Ruger MK 3 in any configuration would be hard to beat.

I like the model 41 also its awesome.I was talking about the cheaper S&W thats about $250.I wish i could find a reasonable model 41.

I like the ruger 22 pistol with a 5 1/2 bull barrel,and a detachable scope mount that doesnt replace the rear sight.Then,I can use either a scope,or open sites, with out having to re zero.I like to use a red dot scope with a dot about 4-5 minutes ,which covers about an inch at 25 yds.The barrel is short enough to carry well,but with good sights you can group pretty well.

S&W model 22 (A?). very accurate. Ready for red dot or scope mount.
Peter

I second the Smith & Wesson 22S.
I bought mine some years ago and it is incredible accurate, with good ammo 1.5 MOA.
Martin

I would not necessarily want a Smith 41 for use with stingers and as a home defense gun. Some of them are tight and don't always function perfectly until used for a while. All in all, to answer your question, I'd consider buying a new or used Ruger STANDARD barrel for less weight for a beginner to handle.

You didn't ask, but for a self defense gun for a less than knowledgeable female, I'd also strongly consider a Smith revolver such as the older kit guns. Less to remember (is a round chambered, safety, etc) and nearly fail safe. Personally, given the above parameters, I think the revolver is a better way to go. Get her used to that and she can step up to a .38/.357 and train with wadcutters easily.

Your statement says a lot. "She is really afraid to shoot." Translates to "She won't go to the range much and will not be comfortable with a semi auto." Why is she afraid to shoot? Second, what does your brother own? If he has a good house gun teach her on it. Third don't pick a gun for her, go to a range and rent a few she might find on she is comfortable with. Shooting CCI Stingers in a pistol does not do much except give more muzzle flash and noise as they are made for rifle length barrels. An easy to learn on inexpensive house gun would be a .38 revolver. Double action so she doesn't have to think "Is it cocked?" Easy to load and unload, swing out a cylinder; not drop a mag then rack the slide. There are good target loads to build her confidence and +P loads that will work in the house. None of this addresses if she would be willing to use it.

Browning Buckmark and Berreta 87 Cheetah. The Buckmark has a longer sight radius for target shooting, but the Cheetah is handier for point-n-shooting intruders. You brother needs to decide whether a long barreled pistol will work out once her training is completed and it sits in the bedside drawer. Both will function well with CCI Stingers.

BTW, as you can tell from the trigger, the Cheetah is double action, which I prefer for a defensive handgun.

if you can spend $800 to $1000, then a model 41 would be great.

If not, a browning Buckmar or Ruger fit the bill nicely and are excellent guns. Even new, they can be found in the $300 range

my favourite is the walther gsp in .22lr it is a world class target pistol. mine has been used competitively since 1995. i hve fired over 50000 ronds thru it with no mechanical failures and virtually zero stoppages

My cousins Ruger will not extract Stinger hulls. Simply pulls the case head off. I don't know if any other Rugers do this or not but might be a good question to ask. My Browning shoots anything I feed it. I think a revolver is a better security weapon for someone who may not be a master with handguns. A revolver is what I bought my wife. Simple: pull the trigger and it fires. God Bless, Louis

quote:

Originally posted by onefunzr2:


Browning Buckmark and Berreta 87 Cheetah. The Buckmark has a longer sight radius for target shooting, but the Cheetah is handier for point-n-shooting intruders. You brother needs to decide whether a long barreled pistol will work out once her training is completed and it sits in the bedside drawer. Both will function well with CCI Stingers.

BTW, as you can tell from the trigger, the Cheetah is double action, which I prefer for a defensive handgun.

Tell us more about your Berreta 87 Cheetah. It looks like an interesting shooter.

i have a soft spot for the ruger single sixes with interchangable cylinders..... but i think i'm going to like the ruger mkII target model stainless i got last summer from a friend last year.. it is unfired as of yet and i got it for a really good price........

Seriously consider a Ruger Mk III in 22/45 configuration. Get the longer bull barrel for accuracy and recoil reduction. Also consider the Volquarson accessories (trigger group and compensator). I've added slip on "finger groove" grips. You can also scope it or "red dot" it for more fun.
I know fellows who shoot bullseye with this gun. I use mine primarily for squirrels and varmint control.
Very happy w/Ruger's quality and durability. Price is also well w/in my budget.
USE HEARING PROTECTION!!!
Mike

since this is for a woman to shoot, let her hold a couple of them and then LISTEN to her feedback.. don't pressure her to the "cool" one..

women may not like the 22/45 .. the grip is pretty big.. they may not like the 5" bull barrel, its a little heavy...

listen to what they say, and if they have any "faint praise" ask them if they could tell you about that...
"its alittle heavy" means "i don't want to pick this up and practice with it, and that will be my excuse forever"

"it hurts my thumb" .. means the grip is to wide, and is stretching the skin between thumb and forefinger

"it just feels weird" .. move on, forget it

I would NEVER give a non shooter who is afraid to shoot, a semiauto. A nice little double action revolver, maybe in 22 mag. even 32 mag. Semiautos are for people who are familiar with guns. That is my feeling.
Lyle

S&W Model 41 5.5" bull barrel. Best .22 auto I have ever owned and I have owned a lot of them.

quote:

Originally posted by TEANCUM:
Tell us more about your Berreta 87 Cheetah. It looks like an interesting shooter.

Alloy frame, steel slide, .22 long rifle only. Probably made as a low cost training pistol as its size and features mirror Berreta's centerfire models of this type; 81,82,83,84,85,86,87,89.

There is roll engraving on the slide which states that this pistol will not fire without the magazine in place. It does now! I bought it used from Heritage Arms in Utah. The trigger pull could only be described as 'crunchy.' I disassembled it to find that the magazine safety spring pin located inside the handgrip was broken and floating around inside. I removed it along with the magazine safety and spring. It's a good shooter now, although not as accurate as the Buckmark. Probably from the Cheetah's shorter sight radius.

I wonder which model dgr416's brother finally decided on?

I have a High Standard "Victor" .22 target pistol. It is about 30 years old, and I have shot it many, many thousands of times; I shoot every winter in an indoor .22 pistol league.

Having said that, I think the best value for the money in a pistol is a Ruger .22 auto, but I also believe the best home defense gun is a good revolver; they are foolproof.

Bottom line is what Sam said above: Take her to a range/gun shop and let her pick out one she likes and is comfortable with. That way, she is more likely to enjoy shooting it.

Ruger MK IIs are good. I have a Govt. model but I think it's pretty heavy on the barrel end. How about a 4" bull barrel model?

Or a tapered 5.5 inch barreled Ruger. They fit most hands well...

Beretta NEOs have a unique grip, but maybe she'd like it?

Personally, I like the Browning Buckmark and the S&W Model 41 best. But, YMMV.

Don

quote:

Originally posted by YUMAN:
I would NEVER give a non shooter who is afraid to shoot, a semiauto. A nice little double action revolver, maybe in 22 mag. even 32 mag. Semiautos are for people who are familiar with guns. That is my feeling.
Lyle

This above is the CORRECT answer! NOT a semi-auto.

Look at one of the Taurus .22 revolvers, 9 shots, light, decent quality, or for a few dollars more a S&W alloy frame or Scandium frame .22 revolver.

Les

quote:

Originally posted by LHowell:

quote:

Originally posted by YUMAN:
I would NEVER give a non shooter who is afraid to shoot, a semiauto. A nice little double action revolver, maybe in 22 mag. even 32 mag. Semiautos are for people who are familiar with guns. That is my feeling.
Lyle

This above is the CORRECT answer! NOT a semi-auto.

Look at one of the Taurus .22 revolvers, 9 shots, light, decent quality, or for a few dollars more a S&W alloy frame or Scandium frame .22 revolver.

Les

I like my Walther P-22 BUT my wife chose a Tarus 2'snubby. I put crimson trace grips on it and taught her to "put the red dot on what you want to shoot and pull the trigger until it goes "click".

Ive shot a hoard of handguns over the years and it is hard to beat the accuracy of the Ruger semi-autos.They are extremely accurate and reliable.I have a Comp. slab side that will shoot with just about any rifle at 50yds! Off of sand bags of course!