Self Defense .22

[JTROKS]

A 22lr pistol is better than begging for your safety. Lots of good advice here, get her to practice more with the 22lr and then work her up to a 38 revolver or a 380 like a Beretta 85.

[ajl2121]

I guess I'll chime in and recommend the FN 5.7. Much more potent round, but still very little recoil. Much more pricey though.

[LAK Supply]

Start her off with a Ruger MK3?

[reyna12]

Would anyone recommend a .22 auto for self defense for a woman afraid of recoil?

My boss, who I took shooting hates recoil and almost threw my ruger 9mm down the lane after her first shot. She then tried a Mark II and was very comfortable.

Should I recommend a .22 auto or try and get her past her fear of recoil?

I would definitely be more afraid of a woman who is confident using a .22 than a woman who is scared to pull the trigger on a 9mm.

I think its all about comfort and confidence when it comes to women using firearms as a self-defence weapon. They should use what they like and what they can handle.

[movie zombie]

and i agree with starting with a revolver........

movie zombie

[Salty]

IMO get her into a .22 (I'm bias towards the Rugers) stoked with CCI Stingers. Something is better than nothing, and the more she shoots the more she'll perfect her stance and grip and the more she'll warm up to larger cal guns. A .22 will eventually allow her to stab an attacker with an ice-pick 10 times in the chest from across the room, much better than getting up close and personal with the kitchen knife that she'd probably have to resort to today. The first time I went shooting (at a beginners class) we shot .22's and 9mm's and I thought that the 9mm was "crazy" (as do many beginners that I take to the range), however after only a few visits to the range I was laughing at myself.

A lot of people concerned about self defense just recently had something happen to them and try to rush into a service caliber handgun for fear that danger may strike again soon and the .22 won't be enough. Other folks get into shooting as an adult and write off .22's as being kids guns, some of them even too proud to own a 9mm as their first gun. The problem is they never learn the basics and a year later they are still having a hard time just keeping it on the paper at 7 yards. In my opinion it's important to learn the basics on a .22 before you move up to larger calibers. And for the time being, the .22 will defend her home or person just fine.

Anyway, that's my opinion. I am by no means an expert and haven't really been shooting all that long, but am speaking from my personal experiences learning how to shoot and teaching my friends how to shoot and such.

By the way, once she finds out that they sell coin purse sized .22's with pink pearl grips, all bets of selling her on a Ruger, Buckmark, etc, are off.

[pullnshoot25]

Taurus 94

[Rover]

Criminals are predators 95% of the time, and when the predator has a knife and the prey has a gun, the predator usually doesn't stick around long enough to ask what caliber the gun is, or test out how much the bullet hurts. I'd wager to say that 99% of the times that a gun stops an attack or prevents a crime, the gun never gets fired, for all I know the security guard at Bank of America has a prop gun, or blanks, but I'm willing to bet the revolver on the guard's hip has stopped far more would be robbers than any guard has ever stopped by stooting his or her gun.

I've also always been taught, and fully believe that 1 well placed .22 is better than 10 poorly placed .45 rounds, being comfortable and accurate with your weapon is exponentialy more important that the potential stopping power of the firearm.

So I'd say a reliable .22 is fine for personal defense, once she is comfortable with it, she may very well feel comfortable stepping up to a 9mm, which could leave you with a nice plinker.

[bladerunner747]

The way ammo price is increasing, a .22 is a wise investment!

[InvictusManeo]

Taurus 94

The 94 at my local range has a ridiculously heavy/gritty trigger. Is this common, or just because it's an abused range rental?

[8200rpm]

Have her try a .38 special out of a 4" steel revolver... S&W 619, 620, or 67.

I had a coworker who had a similar issue. He was all thumbs working the action on a semi, and detested the brutal recoil of my 9mm P226. He couldn't even hit paper at 7 yards.

He wanted to buy a .22 for home defense. I did my best to talk him out of it.

Couple months later, we gave it another go with a S&W 619 and 100 rounds of .38 spl. He loved the heavier, longer trigger. .. he felt it gave him more control. He also liked the simplicity of the revolver... no magazines to load, no slides to rack, no chamber to check, no hammers to decock, etc.

After shooting a few cylinders full of .38's, he was putting all shots into a 4" circle at 7 yards. And, the recoil of the .38 spl didn't bother him a bit. Confidence with the manual of arms led to better marksmanship. He couldn't even hit paper at 7 yards with the brutal recoil of a 9mm, but he's making heart shots with a .38 wheelgun.

I could sleep a little better at night knowing that a friend wasn't underarmed with a .22 and a false sense of security.

[Gator Monroe]

Ruger MK1 or WASR 22

[tmuller]

My wife used to use a Walther P22 for a starter and she was very comfortable right away, the slide is very easy not like the PPK's in .380 which can be difficult to work the slide on. Now she loves to shoot .38 out of my 4" 686 and has no problem with the Sig 220 which is usually the primary HD pistol.

[lateknightucd]

I also started my wife out on a Ruger MkII and once she had put 50-60 rounds through (and had gotten used to the noise of me shooting the XD .40 I was trying out) I was able to move her up pretty quickly. I also had her try the 9mm a friend brought and she felt like the recoil was worse on the 9mm. I think that what might have turned your friend off to the 9mm was the "snappy" recoil. Maybe get her comfortable on the .22 and then try out a .40 (it's more of a "push" than a "snap"). Just a thought.

[saki302]

A .38 with target loads (wadcutters) is relatively quiet and hardly kicks. A .38 wadcutter out of a 4" barrel will put some serious hurt on a bad guy- it may underpenetrate, but they'll still be seriously hurting

ANY gun is better than no gun though. No one wants to be shot with anything, even a .22... Ever.

-Dave