Beginning shooter ... .22 mandatory????

[Interloper]

I have a daughter that wants to start shooting and ideally I would start her off with a nice .22 pistol. The problem is that I don't have a .22 the pistol I have are an XD9, Kahr P9, and .38 J frame. One concern that I have is that my daughter is a very dynamic young woman I believe that she would quickly want to "upgrade" to a larger caliber. She's the starting pitcher for her softball team and her hand are as big as mom who shoots all the pistols comfortably so I think the hand strength is there just a matter of her learning the proper technique. As well she is highly coachable and learns quickly. So what are the experiences of those in the forum that have started shooting on other than the ubiquitous .22 especially the female members? Oh FWIW she shoots my Glock 19 Airsoft comfortably just as a perspective for hand size. Sorry for the long post and thanks again.

James

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[Bob The Great]

I say, let her choose what she wants to shoot first. The first thing my gf ever shot was a 1911, and she did fine. She later shot a .22 pistol, and a .380, and liked them better, but she was perfectly capable of shooting the .45.

If you really want to do it right, I would run to the gun store and pick up a decent .22 (rifle or pistol, up to you), and have it available, just in case. Just make sure she's not getting scared of the recoil, and focus on technique and the 4 rules, not the size of the gun.

[SIXTO]

At this point, hand size has very little to do with anything. In fact, I think this is way over played, but thats another topic.

The .22 is often used to train noobs because its cheap to shoot lots. In the long run, it will be cheaper for your to spend $200 on a Ruger mark 3 than it will to teach her the basics with 9mm.
The .22 also allows the new shooter to concentrate on those all important basic skills rather than worry about recoil or a loud report.
I wouldnt worry about the money invested on a .22. Buy a used one, and you will get your money back if you sell it when your done, plus the saving in ammo money.
I bet you'll end up keeping it though... they are just fun to shoot.

[SonofASniper]

Sixto covered it completely.

.22 pistols are a lot of fun. I regret getting rid of mine about 10 years ago and have been thinking about getting another. They are a blast, and your daughter will warm up to shooting, and shooting properly!, a lot faster than she would with a larger caliber gun.

I don't think you would ever have a problem getting your money back on it later, and you may find out you'll enjoy it so much that you will want to keep it.

[PapaScout]

My first handgun shooting was a 9mm semi-auto.

When I start my son shooting handguns in the next couple of years though I'll start him on a revolver. I think a revolver is a better gun to learn to shoot. A 22 or full-size 38 would be a great start.

[SIXTO]

My first handgun shooting was a 9mm semi-auto.

When I start my son shooting handguns in the next couple of years though I'll start him on a revolver. I think a revolver is a better gun to learn to shoot. A 22 or full-size 38 would be a great start.

Yes, I agree that a revolver is the better training weapon. I really liked using a 6" 686 with .38 spec when I taught a very basic pistol class.
I did that with the people who had a lot of bad habits the learned from grandpa on the farm.

[me]

I wouldnt worry about the money invested on a .22. Buy a used one, and you will get your money back if you sell it when your done, plus the saving in ammo money. I bet you'll end up keeping it though... they are just fun to shoot.

I have been seriously considering getting a .22 soon. I want to be able to shoot often, unfortuantly I do not have the money to pick up reloading equipment nor to continually purchase .40 ammo. I love to shoot and after all it is all about trigger control.

Yes, I agree that a revolver is the better training weapon. I really liked using a 6" 686 with .38 spec when I taught a very basic pistol class.

When I have taught new shooters I take a Dan Wesson 357 with a 6" barrel and load it with 38s. Great gun to teach with.

[senseiturtle]

If shooting for the hobby of it - .22, definitely.
If shooting for self-defense/potential carry weapon - 9mm/38spec. Enough, but not too much for a recoil-sensitive.

I'm an average/slightly larger guy, I bought a .357mag/.38spec revolver as my first. Cheap enough practice ammo ($6/box .38sp reloads, in bulk), and great power if I load it with the big stuff. Now that I can shoot reasonably well, thinking about smaller guns for carry.

That revolver is a 4" Rossi. Cheap, but I've shot over 2000 rounds so far with no problems... ~65% .38spec and ~35% .357mag.

Revolver is also suggested for simplicity, price, less failure modes, wide ammo acceptance (no worries of "will these rounds work?"), and my own opinion of asthetics. Autoloaders just seem like toys to me, but there's some aspect of a revolver that means buisness. Hollywood loves to put nasty revolvers in bad guy hands.

[P95Carry]

''Mandatory'' NO IMO but good idea? Yes.

Sixto has covered it well but I do think that the .22 is so good because of economy, low recoil and it makes a dandy platform to get techniques such as trigger useage, sighting etc all honed down.

Many folks can easily handle larger, in particular 9mm but still - that easy shooting .22 can't be beat for starters and it certainly is unlikely to be a waste of money to get one . even if it is traded later (it probably wouldn't be due to fun factor!).

Yes, revo is perhaps better than semi - even to extent of SA like Single Six but I feel there is merit too to some use of a semi like the Ruger or Buckmark etc.

[fed_wif_a_sig]

My 11yo daughter started on 22s and just recently went to a Browning HP. She also shoots Glock 19 airsofts but prefers the grip of the Browning.

[dauff]

If money is not a problem, my question is...

How can it hurt?

[mcp1810]

As my only .22 handgun is my MKII target with a dotscope etc. I frequently take first time shooters (adults) out with my six inch Colt Trooper .357. I start them with very light .38spc full wadcutters and depending on their comfort level work up to full load 158g magnum loads.

[PaulG]

A 22 might be ideal but it is definitely not required.

When I first took my daughter, who at the time was 24 years old, to the range, I took a 22 ruger, a 357 magnum and my 45acp 1911.

When we got ready to shoot, I realized that (being the bonehead that I am) I did not bring a magazine for the 22.

She had never shot a gun before but said, that's ok I wanted to see what the 45 felt like.

When she shot it, she said that it wasn't bad at all. Nice close groups and a smile on her face.

It all depends on your daughter. From you description, she sounds adventurous enough that she won't be bothered by a silly little thing like recoil.