Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns You cannot get a decent 22 (non target model) for less than $600!

Here's a thought...

S&W Model 10, .38Special.

Far for capable than a .22, wadcutter loads don't kick, plenty small enough for that size person, big enough to be shot well, powerful enough with good bullets to be effective, reliable is an understatement, and WAY under the price contemplated ($600 would probably get 3, or at least 2 with a sizeable store of ammo).

Since I did not know from the original post that home defense was the gola I have to agree. We just had a situation out here where a auto owner driver tried to repel a carjacker with a 22LR. Carjacker is alive, autoowner is very DEAD and he got off the first rounds, hittng the carjacker in the chest twice. 22LR is NOT a good defensive weapon choice. 22 Magnum is a very marginal maybe, and 38's are a known good preformer with near zero recoil and LOTS of small gun options.

BTW, my two twentysomething daughters have 4 inch 357's that I paid about $300.00 EACH for. Both are loaded with full power 357 Magnum 125gr gold dot HP's. If they shoot first and hit, like they are TRAINED to do, its gonna be OK. I figured the arming and training to be one of my more important jobs as a Dad.

+1 on the Model 10 S&W with wadcutters. Gave one to my daughter when she moved into an apartment. It's a 4" heavy barrel ex- police model the dept got rid of when they went to semiautos. There's plenty of them out there for $300 or less. Got to think it's more effective than a 22 for a home defense gun.

She's not a big girl, 5'6"/115 lbs. and had never fired anything bigger than a 22. She was surprised at how easy it was to put six wadcutters into the torso of a silhouette target at 10 feet. This was double action with two hands after a little practice. Her first comment was about how easy it was to shoot.

Whilst I agree, for most shooters .... a 38 spcl in a lw revolver can be very stout in recoil .... esp, for the non-shooter

Just look for a Smith. They're out there. Just find one.



Travis

a woman over here in GA got surprised in her shower by a rapist. she told him she had some money in a drawer and the dumbass believed her, she pulled a pistol and shot the dip-chit rapist in her house, standing next to her bed 9 times with a 22, he ran outside and died. I have seen squirrels do the same thing when shot with a .177 caliber pellet, you know run into their nest and die, so maybe a 38 with wadcutters, like VA says a used model 10 is not too bad price to performance ratio and I can fix the trigger myself.

SP101's don't suck either.


Travis

JimmyP,

Since this is your daughter we are talking about here, perhaps money should honestly be a couple notches down the priority list.

You will likely sleep better knowing your baby girl is armed with a first rate reliable piece, rather than a bargain.

If the .22 makes sense, it it better than nothing. Stick some Crimson Trace J frame laser grips on that 4" Model 63 S&W for when the lights are out, and/or intimidation factor.


I know I would be more worried about getting shot by a scared girl bouncing a red dot on my chest, than a calm cop.

Perhaps spending a few extra bucks will give you more peace of mind in the long run.

*** (Another suggestion)Later on, a gift from dad could be that your daughter and her best female friend get to take a female friendly shooting course where they have an opportunity to become comfortable with .38 and 9mm platforms. The key in the learning experience is finding an instructor/teacher who is not overbearing and lets her learn in her own comfort zone. ****

Just some food for thought.


Mackay Sagebrush

Well said, Mackay. As usual.

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=233793099

Under $600 and it's a best quality DA revolver.


http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=235124242

Good quality and WAY under $600

How 'bout a Colt's under $600
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=233785887


And don't forget the Walther P-22

For further consideration, the .32 ACP.

I have a couple of these for my kids who are 12 and 8; bought them because they were recoil sensitive (the 12 year old is now trying to steal dad�s .45 LW Commander). But my 8 year old is still very recoil shy. Still, he can straight up GO TO WORK with my Astra 3000 or Beretta 70 in .32 ACP. Both are sized right for small stature, and both are first rate pistols; completely reliable. Recoil is not really noticeably more than a .22 but .32 performance is easily twice that of a .22 (still rather minimal). Still, I�d put a good amount of trust in a 7 shot burst of .32 ACP to the chest to discourage a bad guy.

Manhurin Walther PP
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=234217105
Beretta Tomcat
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=234011415
Colt�s 1903 (cool gun � John Dillinger would approve)
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=234334999
Savage 1907 (MAN do these shoot!)
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=234160697
Beretta 82
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=235020544
1908 Bayard (Seecamp before Seecamp was cool)
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=234491260
Or how �bout the famous Seecamp
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=235007209
1922 Browning (full sized with very small grip; actually used by many militaries)
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=234932547
CZ-70 (Quality on the cheap � stiff DA pulls though; but very reliable)
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=233466188
Astra 1915 (Best of the �Ruby�s�
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=234757863

You also have to look at the reach for the trigger, small women have shorter fingers than men, so a model 10 trigger might be too far for her to reach. I am still looking.

Go for the Ruger, you get your money's worth.

Don't listen to that guy! Cant trust a KLR650 owner/rider.....

(I can say that cause I B 1 2)

Glad I bought my High Standard years ago... It was less than $300.00. Shoots just like the $900.00 pistol is is today.

The 3 inch smith 63 looks pretty fool proof to me.

That's because it is.

S&W 2206
S&W 617
S&W 18

JEff

took your advice.