22 pistol for wife for protection

[HKUSP]

I agree with those recommending a revolver if it's got to be a .22. Ive had way too many issues with rimfire rounds failing to fire. Clearing drills are something she will have to become familiar with if you want to go the semiauto route. It's not always the gun's fault. Sadly, the state of manufacture on rimfire calibers just isn't as good as centerfire calibers.

My own personal bias leads me to disregard any semiauto .22. I still own a couple as range toys but I've never owned one I considered reliable. In fact, a Beretta 21A was one of the pickiest and most unreliable guns I've ever had.

The Beretta does have one interesting feature, however. The tip-up barrel, which makes loading it so it's ready to fire much easier for those that have trouble racking a slide. Beretta also makes a slightly larger version of that in .32 ACP called a Tomcat. Loaded with Winchester Silvertips it would suffice for close range defense.

I am not a fan of any of the smaller .380 handguns that have flooded the market. Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING in the firearm world is a trade-off. If it's light and easy to carry, then it will be under-powered or brutal to shoot.

I also have a question about the Lady in question. Is she actually interested in firearms? Is this something she really wants, or is this a concession because she's reluctantly accepted the world is an unfriendly place? This is important. I've taught several female friends to shoot over the last few years, and it always followed a similar pattern. We started out with .22's for safe handling and basic marksmanship. After less than a brick of .22 she asked me if I had anything else. Some even said the .22 was "boring". I was so proud... So the .32's, .38's, and 9mm's started coming out of the case. After a few range visits I couldn't talk them into going back to a .22. My girlfriend in particular, started out as recoil shy and now she loves to shoot my Taurus Raging Bull in .454 Casull. Never discount the ladies. They are just as good as us, and sometimes better. Not many of us started out wielding .357 magnums.

Chris

 

[Midskier]

OP - look at all the info gathered in less than a day, it can be mesmerizing.
we replaced the unpleasant LCP with less unpleasant kahr cw380 lighter recoil, better trigger, but too stiff for mrs to rack (LCPs now down to $200, might have to try it again) sr22 solid choice, ours ran great, but was replaced by the M&P compact 22 - it too has run perfectly, and the safety lever goes the correct way.
Mosquito - I think my daughter has the only one that works, polished feedramp - perfect with minimags - heavier trigger than the others mentioned
Ruger LCR in 22 or even better 22wmr 8 rds
good luck

 

[looney2ns]

The Glock 42 380 is a very pleasant shooter with Hornady Critical Defense ammo. Very little recoil.

 

[Cameramonkey]

The Glock 42 380 is a very pleasant shooter with Hornady Critical Defense ammo. Very little recoil.

And renting her a PPK or a metal framed clone should also shoot fairly lightly.

 

[DIRTROAD]

M&P 22compact a lot of fun to shoot small enough to carry ,feeds every thing ,let her shoot it a lot then move her up to something bigger, a 22 with some stingers is better than not carrying at all ,baby steps

 

[jd4320t]

[video=youtube;iU0BkPHGTxs]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iU0BkPHGTxs[/video]

I'm sorry but it has to be said. 22lr isn't for personal protection. Training, practice, learning and exposure to more firearms can get anyone over the fear of recoil. I've never recommended a 22 for anything more than fun and won't ever.

 

[bigbaloo95]

My wife did a lot of research and she found the Walther pk380 was the gun for her. She has arthritic hands (at 39) and the slide is very easy to manipulate. The size of the gun makes recoil almost non existent in all but the hottest 380 loads and it is very accurate. She has since moved on to a Sig p938 but not before putting literally thousands of rounds thru that little walther. The pk22 is virtually the same gun but in .22lr if you are dead set on a .22 but they are kind of a poor choice for self defense. Many people mistake the tiny lcp and keltec p3at as "women's guns" but they are not good choices unless you are not recoil sensitive and willing to train diligently with them.

 

[Psode27]

While I agree that a 22LR isn't ideal, I think if that is all that she is comfortable, so be it. My grandma has issues with her arms where she has very little arm strength, like very very little. It's literally some sort of disorder of some sort. That being said, get her going, and comfortable with a 22LR, and if her comfort allows, mover her up to a more capable cartridge. 5 accurately placed 22LR rounds beat a flinched shot, or a miss ,or poor shot out of a .38 revolver etc.
Start small and see if she can get comfortable with a larger caliber. That fact is though, plenty of people are in the ground right now because of a "wimpy" 22LR.

 

[wizardfitz]

To throw something out there. Keltec PMR 30. About the size of the ruger and 31 rounds of 22 mag.

 

[dusty88]

I agree with the other posters that a .22 is not ideal for self-defense, but if it's all she can carry confidently then maybe it is where she should start.

However, I noticed your post said "not a fan of the LCP 380 we currently own".

I had the unfortunate experience of getting a small 380 for my first 2 pistols. I did not realize at the time that I was turning myself off of shooting because they are not the type of gun most people can learn well with. I carry them now only when I can't carry a larger gun, and I practice with them for what they are: lightweight, difficult to shoot with accuracy, but very worth having in a closeup self-defense situation.

The 380 had my technique so messed up I did have to shoot a .22 pistol for a while and (more importantly) get some good instruction.

Now I carry a 9 mm most of the time. You can get some 9 mms that are not as small as the LCP, but still relatively easy to carry and MUCH more accurate and pleasant to shoot.

Your wife really needs an opportunity to shoot some guns before you buy them. Talk to some instructors and/or friends who will rent/loan different guns while working with her. If you go drop a few hundred bucks on another gun, she may still not be a comfortable shooter.

 

[SSGSAD]

Not a 22 fan for self protection here. For the recoil shy spouse I would look at a Taurus 32 magnum ultra light revolver. Small, lightweight, reasonable cost, no bad recoil and alot more punch than a 22.

I read this thread twice, and noticed the op, has not posted since .....

I thought this was a good idea.... the .327 Mag. IIRC, you can shoot like 5 different rounds, from this one gun .....

 

[Dyerbill]

Ruger LCR in .22WMR.

+1

 

[Sniper 79]

Not a fan of rimfire carry although the Ruger LCR in 22 mag loaded with quality ammo like CCI wont let you down. If one fails to go off another is just a trigger pull away. Guns don't weigh a thing. One in the purse and one on her person.

 

[Bigtanker]

Best thing she can do is get some training from a good instructor. They will teach her how to handle the gun correctly which will lesson the recoil. They can also have several different kinds of pistols for her to shoot and she can make the choice.

Most of the time, after good instruction, they realize they are more comfortable with a mid size 9mm (Glock 19, SR9c, etc) than a tiny .380 or .32. Ask around on here for instructors in your area.

 

[indyff]

I would get her a Glock 43 or 42. The 43 is a little jumpy and larger than the 42 but the 43 has better stopping power. While the 42 is a lighter shooting gun with a pinkie extension but lacks slightly in the stopping power.

 

[swmp9jrm]

Ruger LCR in .22WMR.

We thought this would be a good starting point for my wife - she's recoil-averse and has a hard time racking the slide on most semi-autos. Bought the LCR in .22WMR, but the big issue with this and any other rimfire double action revolver is that the trigger pull is HEAVY - over 16 pounds on the LCR. Bought a Taurus 941 in .22WMR as it has an exposed hammer and can be fired single action (double action trigger pull is still over 16 pounds, but single action trigger pull is less than half that). Unfortunately, it still took her both hands to pull the hammer back. So we're still on the quest to find something she can shoot. Current candidates are the RIA .22TCM 1911 (definitely not a carry gun) and we just picked up a Taurus TCP .380ACP.

 

[never2big]

My wife's carry is a ruger sr22 and a very reliable 22 in my opinion. Though it wouldn't be my 1st choice for her to carry she refused to carry anything else. Id rather her carry something she is comfortable with than nothing at all. Now after a year or so and shooting other guns she is ready and willing to move up to something.

 

[Ricnzak]

My own personal bias leads me to disregard any semiauto .22. I still own a couple as range toys but I've never owned one I considered reliable. In fact, a Beretta 21A was one of the pickiest and most unreliable guns I've ever had. I've owned two of these. My onyx model would only eat Mini-Mags. The standard black steel model my wife owns will run anything. But we still only carry Mini-Mags in it. I carried my onyx model for about 5 years in my front pocket. As long as it had minis it would run every time. But I had ran hundreds of rounds through it over time. It was smooth.

The Beretta does have one interesting feature, however. The tip-up barrel, which makes loading it so it's ready to fire much easier for those that have trouble racking a slide. Beretta also makes a slightly larger version of that in .32 ACP called a Tomcat. Loaded with Winchester Silvertips it would suffice for close range defense. The tip up barrel is a great feature. It is also great for unloading. There was a couple of these for sale recently in the classifieds.

Chris

I had good experience with ours. But I am the same way. If I have a gun that gives me problems a couple of times I wont trust it to carry.

 

[SSGSAD]

Best thing she can do is get some training from a good instructor. They will teach her how to handle the gun correctly which will lesson the recoil. They can also have several different kinds of pistols for her to shoot and she can make the choice.

Most of the time, after good instruction, they realize they are more comfortable with a mid size 9mm (Glock 19, SR9c, etc) than a tiny .380 or .32. Ask around on here for instructors in your area.

Training, we don't need no stinking training .....

 

[Kurr]

Any one say five seven yet? If ya can only put little holes in em, put a LOT of little holes that go deep.