swiftyjuan

I shoot a lot of .22 and air pistol. Both help (a lot), and I can do air pistol at home. I used to shoot down the hall at a target, but since I got married, well, you know... I agree, practice as much as you can with your carry weapon, but 200-300 rounds of .45 or .40 or 9mm is a lot more expensive than 1000 rounds of .22.

dimmak

well said....
these things are great for practicing sight picture drills and can be used inside your home (eyewear of course)

__________________
"Ray Nagin is a colossal disappointment" - NRA/ILA Executive Director Chris W. Cox.


"...be water, my friend."

rodc13

First of all, what a nice thing to give your son. Good work!

I'm a firm believer in starting out with something you can shoot a LOT. A .22 is great for a first handgun, because you can easilty run thousands of rounds through it for next to nothing in cost, and you can work on shooting fundamentals without the report and recoil of the big bores.

While I'm also in agreement with BlueLion that you should train on what you shoot, I think that a firm grasp of the fundamentals can be had with any quality pistol, and when you're first learning, you'll progress faster if you practice more (provided you're using good practice techniques). When the basics are there, you can handle any weapon with a modicum of skill. Then you concentrate on that weapon in your training.

My first handgun was a Ruger Single Six .22. The thousands of rounds I put through that pistol have paid off over the years in shooting every manner, size and shape of handgun, just like my first .22 rifle (Ithaca single-shot) helped me learn sound marksmanship and to make every shot count.

For your sun, I'd recommend a good .22 auto. Maybe one of the Rugers. Besides, it's a great thing to have another pistol around!

Keep us posted on your decisions, and how your son's progressing.

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Cheers,
Rod
"We're paratroopers. We're supposed to be surrounded!" Dick Winters

Fender

Thanks for all of your responses.

Yesterday, I bought a .22 Ruger Mark III 22/45. It has a grip angle that is the same as a 1911, thus the “45” in the name.

The safety operates the same as my son‘s USP (down = fire) and the balance is similar to the USP.

Brand new, it was $230.

We took it to the range and he put 350 rounds through it. He had one jam that was a result of the round not feeding into the chamber properly (maybe limp-wrist). Otherwise, it shot fine.

I could see he was getting better as he shot more, but I also realize that he will need to put hundreds of rounds downrange before he will be able to start driving tacks.

I did a little math and come to the conclusion that after about 1500 rounds, shooting .22s instead of .45s will pay for the Ruger.

After 3000 rounds or so, we will start using the USP more.

Again, thanks to all for your thoughts.

M1911

Skip the Sig .22. The Ruger MK III is a fine gun.