Christmas gift for wife!! and one for me! pics inside

[Gelicious]

Today I picked up a Pheonix Arms .22LR pistol. She has wanted a .22 for a LONG time and said she would carry nothing else. Hey i guess it beats a sharp stick and a prayer! I picked up a Gerber Tac Knife for myself too! heheh we will both act suprised on Xmas morning but I think ill be the only "actor".






I got it for a steal! $100 came with three mags, holster and paperwork! No sales tax in Oregon, so it was 100 out the door!

Not bad eh?

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[Gelicious]

hmm pics arent working, ill try and get some pics posted later, wife just got home

[P95Carry]

Greg - just bear in mind the Phoenix is not the most robust of guns. Mine has done well as a range plinker but - now and again it is not 100% reliable. So to be honest - not a gun to stake life on.

Main thing tho is - keep it clean! If practice session done then make dead sure breech face and bolt face etc - all crud removed - this is what to me seems most likely to prejudice function.

[Gelicious]

OH NO! I didnt really research the gun. Ihave seen them around and thought for sure they would be a decent little gun. I guess i should have really done more research but it was a real spur of the moment buy. and for the price it seemed perfect. Well atleast it could be a fair plinker.

[P95Carry]

Yeah - don't get me wrong, for the price I think they are great value but - when considering an SD gun - it does IMO need to be pretty robust - these guns can break. I had my mag release catch come apart and in fact did a repair easily rather than send it back.

It would not go to waste I am sure as for plinking they are fun - it is possible to let loose 10 rounds so quick it sounds like a FA!! For SD I really think in this cal it is necessary to think a tad up market - small Walther or Beretta perhaps.

[KenpoTex]

I would never recommend a Phoenix for an SD weapon. As Chris said, they're not the most reliable pistol out there, I had quite a few malfunctions with the one I had. On top of that, it died after about 2,500 rounds. When I say "died" I mean the slide actually cracked and flew off the gun.

If a .22 is all she'll carry (not smart IMO) she'd probably be better off with a Taurus 22, Beretta Bobcat, or a small revolver.

[pogo2]

The risk of carrying a flimsy gun in an inadequate caliber for self defense is that your life may depend upon that gun and it might fail you at the important moment. You could think you are protected, and then have it fail to work or fail to stop the attack when it comes. Do you really want to bet your life on something like this?

I'm sure you care for your wife's well being, and you might consider reasoning with her about carrying something of higher quality in a larger caliber. Personally I think that .32, .38 special or .380 in a name brand gun would be better for her. She would also have to spend some time on training and practice to become proficient with it.

[walther1]

If she won't carry anything else, get her a Walther P22. They are probably more reliable, albeit more expensive. I would load that sucker with some serious (good, expensive, reliable) ammo, too. Have her practice with it...A TON!

Is this the gun you bought?

http://www.handgunreview.com/make.as...Phoenix%20Arms

Also, I would have your wife know that she is taking chances that shooting someone, even with a .45 or 9mm is no guarantee that it will stop a BG coming at her, and shooting them with a .22 lowers the odds. She should know and be willing to accept these risks, IMHO.

Good luck!

[Gelicious]

If she won't carry anything else, get her a Walther P22. They are probably more reliable, albeit more expensive. I would load that sucker with some serious (good, expensive, reliable) ammo, too. Have her practice with it...A TON!

Is this the gun you bought?

http://www.handgunreview.com/make.as...Phoenix%20Arms

Also, I would have your wife know that she is taking chances that shooting someone, even with a .45 or 9mm is no guarantee that it will stop a BG coming at her, and shooting them with a .22 lowers the odds. She should know and be willing to accept these risks, IMHO.

Good luck!

Yeah thats it, I got it in the nickel finish. Not the black one. I have yet to fire it, due to the fact its wrapped up under the tree, but once I do and fully inspect the weapon I will make a choice wheather or not I feel like she should even consider carrying it. She has fired a .380 and my .45 and the .357 but with time and practice she could get to like the .380 and mabie the 9mm. If that happens then I will buy her a better gun to carry. She does not have her CCW yet, so for now the gun is more of a plinker and "something she can call her own" than anything else. You guys know what I mean?

[frankmako]

not a bad gun for the range, and the price is not bad. but for carry i would look at the beretta bobcat. i got two of them and both are great. never had any problems with them. very cheap to shoot, fun also. will fit in the pocket. or you could move her up to the kel-tec p3at (380), also a great gun.

[tanksoldier]

Fine starter gun, and better than nothing for SD but you both need to understand it's shortcomings and limitations, both in the caliber and reputation of the firearm itself... and I'm sure you do now. :)

Taurus makes a .32 on it's Millenium Pro chassis that would likely prove more suitable for SD once you wife gets comfortable with things, and the MilPro .32 probably has the same or less felt recoil than the Phoenix.

[Bando]

I want one of these little plinker's. They are about as cheap as they get. Not good for self defense though. Just a bad idea. Get something you can trust. The $100 price tag didn't give away the quality?

[rodc13]

As tanksoldier said, there's nothing wrong with it for a starter gun. The beauty of the .22, is that it's cheap and comfortable to shoot. You can put a lot of rounds through it for next to nothing, and report and recoil are inconsequential. So use it to practice.

But for defensive purposes, a more robust caliber in a reliable platform is a smart move. I have a Walther P22 and it's a great little pistol, but I consider .380 the smallest caliber I'd want for a CCW.