Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Which .22 auto pistol for a women?

Putting some stair friction tape or skate board tape liberally on the slide does wonders when used w/ push pull method.My experience which includes 8 years of teaching a beginning handgun class mainly attended by women was that 2" 38 revolvers were the hardest for a woman to shoot and most found them very unpleasant. 4 hours in the classroom explaining the 4 rules and how they are applied. Lots of practice using snap caps on how the firearms function, loading and unloading, chamber checks and other manipulations prior to teaching the actual shooting fundamentals. Lots of dryfire and reloads using the same photo realistic targets they would use in live fire.

By the time they go to the range they are confident that they know what to expect and how to be safe, confidence is key for a new shooter and allows them to concentrate on the fundamentals during live fire.


mike r

IMHBAO, the "complication" of a semi-auto is focused on the immediate action required for a misfire or clearing a stove piped casing. That is the value and simplicity of a "one step" misfire immediate action with a revolver . . . just pull the trigger again. We are talking about a self defense weapon for a non-shooting woman here. Should she be willing to take up the practice required of a semi-auto, then my all means go for it.

.22LR Semi-Auto
I have owned several. For concealment, Beretta 21A. For target shooting or where size is not a problem, Ruger 22/45 version IV.

Other Options
IMO, I think a K-frame stoked with target wadcutters is a great option. Can get a great triger and tgt wadcutters out of a K-frame are super low recoil.

That....but make sure you at least have her try the SR22 from Ruger...

If hand/arm strength is a problem, consider using a single action revolver. A Ruger .22 revolver or one of the downsized Peacemaker clones from Cimarron can be manipulated by even wheelchair-bound geriatric folks, and "anything beats a scream!" The first rule of gunfighting is "Have a gun!"
Jerry

When we used it as a house gun my Ex insisted our leaving the Glock 19 chamber-empty because it was "safer", she was able to rack the slide but it was a chore. To avoid any momentary confusion which may have occurred I switched over to the 3" Stainless S&W Mod 60 with which she had learned to shoot, as a added plus if our teenage son were the one to use it he had learned to shoot with it too. 'Nother plus of the revolver was the unlikely possibility that one of my son's friends might get to it, if so a revolver is far more visibly loaded than is a Glock wherein the fist impulse might be to pull the trigger.

I was at a gun store today (without the wife) and handled the Glock G44 in .22 caliber. At $400 it had my butt cheeks tightened at the thought of spending my toy money for it.

I asked about a hammerless revolver - several here have mentioned it, and like UPhiker just stated, the salesman was against the revolver for a woman for exactly what UP said. He said the heavy pull would cause her to jerk it to the side and miss the target.

The Glock G44 .22 caliber is the leader in the clubhouse at the moment - I’ll have to drag her over to handle it.

Look at the S&W M&P 22. It is similar to the Glock G44 only it doesn't suck. The new G44's seem to be experiencing lots of extractor failures.

Tpcollins: I have not owned or shot one as yet but I would certainly recommend you look at and handle a Glock Model 44 in 22 L.R.
Best of luck with whichever you choose.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Walther, it runs flawless with Gator Man Troy CCI 36gr HP's and yes they do expand on water jugs at 5 yards, I have her four rounds of 40gr round nose bringing up the rear should she need a little more penetration, the spare mag is all 40gr round nose, they punch a hell of a lot deeper hole than most would think!

I did look at the S&W M&P 22, and it’s a nice gun. But it has a manual safety and I don’t want her to get messed up when in a hurry. I like the integrated safety in the trigger on the Block G44.

Point, bang, flop.

There are a lot of choices--- let her decide

My advice for ANYONE who is looking for a firearm, but does not strike me as one who will do much range time, is a .38 revolver.

I've become more reluctant to offer handgun advice to anyone. A friend's sister who has long become an even closer friend to me -
asked her brother about recommending a firearm (.22 rifle) for some valid protection concerns. He didn't think she should have a firearm.

She lives in some rural small lakes country - where you can just about shoot in your back yard. Her neighbor was shooting a Ruger 10/22.
rifle in his back yard - She got interested and he let her shoot. She enjoyed it and bought herself a 10/22. Her neighbor then came over and
taught her firearm handling / function / safety / and responsibility. She now loves to shoot just for the sake of shooting and improving her skills.

She recently asked me about recommending a serious handgun for personal protection. Before I could even start thinking about responding -
She said … "And don't give me any of that B.S. about A Revolver For A Woman! - I want a handgun that isn't an Ungainly Contraption!"

"I did look at the S&W M&P 22, and it’s a nice gun. But it has a manual safety and I don’t want her to get messed up when in a hurry. I like the integrated safety in the trigger on the Block G44."

That is what I am talking about. The semi auto is too complicated, for the female brain.
Get a revolver.

This. I would have her start out with the S&W 380 Shield EZ and then work down from there if it was too much for her, but I doubt that it will be too much. In my experience, rimfires are not only under-powered but are less reliable.

When you wife expresses a desire for a .22 auto pistol,..it's time to buy a High Standard or a Colt woodsman.

Opportunities like this don't come along very often.

Don't miss it.

Hand it to her,.....pat her on the shoulder,.....say, "Nothing but the best for you."

Maybe even let her shoot it every now and then.

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/851791548

Best reply yet.

Had the wife (diminishing grip strength) try several auto loaders: G19, G42, G43, Kimber Sapphire 9mm. All were more than she could reliably handle. On a whim, got out the P22. As Goldilocks said "Just Right"...

Have two of the P22's. They seem to like the CCI Velocitors.