.22 advice from gun shoppe

[hickatheart]

DW and I went to our local gun dealer and asked about a pistol for her use. The slide on most semi-autos places them in the nearly-unuseable category. The guy behind the desk (ever so slightly patronizing or really wanting to make a sale) suggested a .22 pistol which she operated easily.

There are a few situations where that gun may need to put a round through a door, or furniture and the like. But for CQC might it due? Or would she be better off with a higher caliber wheel gun (supposing it can be acurately and comfortably shot)?

Or are there 9mm + semi-autos with slides that are easier to rack?

Thanks!

H@H

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[Kenny256]

I was just wondering the same thing! My wife has small/weak hands and needs a good gun.

[sjones]

My wife had that same problem plus she just couldn't handle the recoil with anything above a .22,so I kept taking her to the range to practice.She finally got to the point that she could put all ten in a circle about 5 inches round at about 20 feet.I realize its not the best but I told her to keep on shooting until the perp either fell or she ran out of bullets,then she could reload.Luckily the problem never came up.She passed away a year ago this past may and I would give everything I owned to have her back.We had 43 years of happy marriage. sj

[pgrass101]

Your wife can learn to rack the slide of most semi's

My wife likes a revolver because its simple (like a Glock) and she doesn't have to worry about clearing a jam.

She can work the slide of most of my pistols easily once I showed her the push pull technique

[redfish443]

Probably the best way to find out what works best for her is to find a range where you can rent a variety of weapons and calibers and see how she deals with the different ones.
One thing would be what she's used to dealing with as far as shooting. A .22 is a good start, a .22 magnum a step up then you go to .380, 38 spl, 357 mag and so on. Another factor would be a revolver or semiautomatic, my wife is better off with a revolver, straightforward use and easy for her to handle.
You could consider a nice derringer...only two shots but easily concealable and light to carry in a purse. Speaking of purses have you seen these:
http://www.guntotenmamas.com/cgi-bin...ion&key=GTM070 ? My wife absolutely loves hers !
Good luck in your search...

[OldVet]

Unless there's some disability involved, I don't see the difficulty that women hace racking the slide on most pistols. Sure, there're a few out that that could arm wrestle a gorilla, but something like an LCP or G26? They only have to rack it once to load it. It's not like they're having to do it 100 times, which wouldn't be a bad idea for practice.

I wouldn't ask my wife to defend herself with any .22 caliber. A .380/.38 Spec is as light as I'd recommend. Maybe something like a .32 Mag. Look for a revolver and keep in mind that the lighter the gun, the heavier the recoil.

[10thmtn]

My wife has trouble with the slide of her LCP, but did NOT like .38 revolvers. I figure she has 7 shots of .380 before needing to worry about it, assuming the pistol functions properly, which it has so far. She carries a reload, but I'm under no illusion that she'll be quickly able to reload. The 7 in the gun will have to do. Still better than a .22, IMHO.

[sjones]

If thats all she can handle,its better than nothing.I sure wouldn't want to get shot 9 or 10 times with a .22.It would ruin your whole day.I've seen people shot with a .22.it killed them just as dead as a .45. sj

[dukalmighty]

My wife has trouble with the slide of her LCP, but did NOT like .38 revolvers. I figure she has 7 shots of .380 before needing to worry about it, assuming the pistol functions properly, which it has so far. She carries a reload, but I'm under no illusion that she'll be quickly able to reload. The 7 in the gun will have to do. Still better than a .22, IMHO.

You would be surprised what can happen with an adrenaline rush,she might rip the slide off the gun reloading

[QKShooter]

I would suggest the Beretta Model 86 in Caliber .380 that features the tip up barrel.

You do not need to work the slide to chamber a round or to clear the barrel chamber.

And you do not need to ever "press check" the pistol status. You simply hit the barrel latch and chamber check.

Much better than a .22 rimfire for self-defense & the pistol is extremely reliable.

[pinklady]

I have alot of trouble racking the slide of most semi-auto's but there are a few that I can rack the slide on like the G19, and LCP to name a couple. I have tried the push pull technique but it doesn't work for me. I wouldn't go below .380 myself.

[bsms]

How does she rack the slide? With my P90, I can't rack the slide by grasping it on the sides and pulling back. However, if I hold it by the front edge and push the gun forward, I can rack it with ease...

I suspect most who have problems racking a slide have problems grasping it with enough finger pressure. That is the advantage of holding it at the far end - the fingers don't slip along the slide because there is something there to grasp. Then push the gun forward with the arm. At least, that works for me.

[Superhouse 15]

Beretta 86s are becoming impossible to find. The go to semi auto for people who can't (for whatever reason) rack a slide seems to be the Tomcat.

A .22 lets you train affordably until you can place a 3 or 4 shot burst where it needs to go. That and a plan beats a gun she's uncomfortable with and lacks confidence in using.

[hickatheart]

Cool!
I'd forgotten about the other technique(thanks bsms). We'll head back to the store and try out the G19 and the LCP(thanks pinklady). IIRC she did well shooting a larger caliber, just opening the action to clear a jam or whatever, was the issue. Perhaps plain old practice would be warranted as well as technique change. Perhaps we'll try some out at the range too, a really good idea. I'd like to see what the Beretta 86 looks like.
By law we have to retreat if we can, so I'm worried about her having to put .22 rounds thru a door. It would be a nice gun for junior to learn on though.

sjones, I envy you for 43 years. I can't immagine the loss you feel though. Be strengthened, encouraged, peaceful and uplifted.

H@H

[Eagleks]

Most "men" muscle a slide back with their non-shooting hand. All you have to do is teach your wife...... hold the slide with the non-shooting hand & don't try to pull the slide back ... instead... ... hold the slide still and with the shooting hand push the gun forward to rack the slide. Women find this fairly easy to do. They have the muscle to push the gun, but not the wrist and lower arm strength to do it with the non-shooting hand. Works easy.

It's like a guy I know who sold his Valekyrie motorcycle because it fell over once and he couldn't lift it back up. We had a 5' nothing slender woman go over and pick a Valekyrie up off it's side just as easy as could be. It's all in technique, not strength.

Second.... she would be better off with a .32 or .38/.357 revolver than anything in a .22 cal. gun for SD. Even a .380 would be better.

Third, can't rack a slide, try the Beretta's with the tip up barrel. Hit a button, barrel flips up ... load / unload and push it back down... from there on out works just like any other semi-auto.