.22 pistol help

[regalado1]

So I know my wife wanted a .22 pistol for Christmas and I bought a Ruger Mk III with the bull barrel. While I'm completely happy with this gun (still in jail at the moment) she made a comment yesterday that she shot a Walther P22 and really liked how small/light it was.

Needless to say, the Ruger MKIII is not all that small and not light (compared to the Walther, especially with the bull barrel). Again, I'm happy with the Ruger, but what options are out there compared to the Walther as far as size and weight is concerned? Or should I just get her a Walther also? Is the Ruger going to be too big and heavy for a 7 year old?

Note: I think she is thinking that she likes the size and weight of the Walther because we have a 7 year old son that will be shooting it also. So I figure I can't go wrong just getting another .22 pistol that may be smaller.

[G-forceJunkie]

You can never have too many .22's

[SoCal Bob]

No arguments here against buying another .22 but you might want to have her try the Ruger first. She may decide that she likes the way the Ruger handles better and opt for one with a 4" barrel. It could also help in the transition to larger calibers (1911) if you get the Ruger 22/45.

[IrishPirate]

You can never have too many .22's

ditto.....Mark III for precision shooting, Walther for fun and teaching the kid. Another good .22 if you have kids is the Phoenix Arms HP22. It has a good amount of safeties that help teach muscle memory and make you think before you shoot. Something kids REALLY need. It's under $200 and comes with lots of goodies. I love mine though it's picky about ammo.....

[darqhelmet]

I have one Mark I and two Mark II's. Love them both, my buddy has two Walther p22's and he enjoys them but they do have some serious issues. Both of his he got used and one of them barley makes it past 100 rounds after a cleaning before having serious extraction issues. The other one does do a lot better but its not nearly as accurate as my Mark II's. I enjoy shooting the hell out of his P22's but its just to pull the trigger nothing more. Oh and cleaning either gun is a pain in the ***.

[XDRoX]

I have 10 22's and the P22 is my favorite. I have put 1000 rounds through it at one time without cleaning it. It never malfunctions. Tons of fun and looks cool also.

[shadow65]

I didn't care for my P22. It ran fine, but the trigger was awful and not much you can do to improve it. It's a plinker.
I have a Ruger 22/45 with a PacLite upper on it. About double the price but it's reliable, very accurate, and very lite weight.
I have the 4.5" threaded upper I use for a suppressor. Scary quiet with subs.

[Gryff]

Definitely include the "significant other" in the buying decision. If she wants the Walther, dump the Ruger and get her the Walther.

I would also think that a bull-barreled Mk.III would be too heavy for a 7-year-old.