Teaching My Daughter on a .22

[Ejohnson]

My daughter is wanting to learn to shoot a semi-auto handgun. I'm going to start looking in the classifieds for one, but what's a good inexpensive firearm to start out on? The Mark II is too big and the revolvers feel heavy. I was thinking like a used Bersa or Ruger. I want one she can keep for a long time. She's 11 right now, and loves her Marlin .22 rifle!!
Since my post count isn't above 50 yet, I can't reply to the classifieds here.

 

[Bubbajms]

Beretta Neos is a nice semiauto if you can find one reasonably priced - I'd also keep an eye out for a Colt (Woodsman, Cadet, etc) as they make pretty nice handguns. Walther's P22 is a little smaller so it may fit a younger person a little better..

 

[Rocket]

Iver Johnson pt22 is small and compact, should be $150 or so. Stay away from S&W 22-a. Great for you but very heavy for her. Very accurate and reasonably priced though.

 

[TTB Yeee]

Ruger SR22. Low Cost, light weight, reliable. Comes with different backstraps that she can adjust as she grows (or for you to shoot).

Ruger® SR22™ Rimfire Pistol Models

Or Ruger 22/45. Low cost, a bit heavier than the SR22, reliable. (I own one, and absolutely love it)

Ruger® 22/45™ Rimfire Pistols

The SR22 might be a better fit for her now, because of her age/size. Either way, I don't think you can go wrong.

 

[dhw9am]

Not Good At Any Price

I can tell you from personal experience, that anything Bersa makes is good.
A Bersa 22 sem-auto, does need the better grade of ammo, to push the heavy slide back. You can forget the cheapy bulk stuff.
I can also tell you stay away from Chiappa's, Puma. They are actually the same gun, and they will cause you nothing but headaches. A Chiappa is not a good buy at any price.
Rugers are great, but I only have experience with the high end ones.
Just my 2 cents.

 

[Ejohnson]

I forgot about the Walther, good gun as well. Thanks for the tips. Anyone else?

 

[HamsterStyle]

My vote is the Walther P22. My 8 year old absolutely LOVES it. He has informed me that he really doesn't want me to sell it because he wants it to be his first handgun. I'm 6'1" and have big hands and I can still shoot it comfortably. I chose it because he can also get his hands around it and operate it on his own and I also can.

She could pretty much keep the p22 forever. Whenever she gets into bigger calibers, she can still use it as a trainer/plinker for a fraction of the cost of center fire ammo.

Also, when that gets old, it makes an excellent suppressor host!!!!

 

[Ejohnson]

Now I just gotta find one.

 

[williamnewman1]

+1 for the walther p22 as well, wife/kids/myself all can shoot it comfortable and can change out the backstrap for the littler hands

 

[HamsterStyle]

Keep contributing, get the post count up, and watch the classifieds. They pop up fairly regularly.

 

[pipman]

I would recommend the Ruger SR22 also. My wife has one and she lets our 7yr old daughter shoot it from time to time. With the smaller grip sleeve on it she has no problems at all handling it. It's nice and compact, not too heavy and obviously light recoil. She really enjoys shooting that and her new Ruger 10/22.

 

[1911ly]

I started my 9 year old son on a Mark III 22-45. He is 11 and has a Sig Sauer P228 now and still shoots the 22-45 the most. Cheaper for me to feed too!

 

[strokin7.3]

another vote for the sr22. absolute blast to shoot, and so far mine has ran flawlessly. put about 3-400 rounds through mine yesterday and today without a hiccup. And a nice thing about it is you can buy the cheap bulk ammo and it ran fine, mine ate up the federal bulk and it also ran the hotter CCI round. Even after it got dirty it still had no problems. Let some of the girls shoot it too and they all enjoyed it.

 

[crispy]

My eight year old son loved shooting my Buck Mark. But it was too big, too heavy and somewhat prone to stovepiping when he was shooting it.

I got an SR22 for him to train on. Perfect in every way. Easy to grip. Lightweight. Doesn't jam. Low recoil.

 

[Bubbajms]

Just had another thought that I might throw into the mix - what about a .22 conversion kit for something you've already got? If you're specifically looking to add to your collection it probably wouldn't help, but you can get pretty decent deals on those if you watch.. Plus you're not going to worry so much about converting to another type of firearm later on..

 

[Ejohnson]

I had thought of getting a conversion kit for my Glock, but it actually costs more than just buying another firearm. Besides, one can never have too many guns!!

 

[Bubbajms]

Pros and cons either way, sure - any time behind the trigger is good though..

Depending on how old your daughter is, you may try taking her to a well-stocked gunshop and just let her hold and feel the different handguns we've been discussing. You may be able to narrow down the field some that way, if the Walther was too small for her hands for example..

 

[DialTone301]

My 10yr old daughter shoots Steel Challenge with a MK3 with a Tactical Solutions upper. She didn't like the gun with the stock upper but loves it now.

 

[T4rdV4rk]

If you're looking for something CHEAP and small you could look into Phoenix Arms. They're not exactly high grade, but I had one for a while and actually liked it quite a bit. It might be worth the extra $50 to go with someone else though.

 

[mjpell]

I started my son with a Walther P22 when he was 7.

My daughter is wanting to learn to shoot a semi-auto handgun. I'm going to start looking in the classifieds for one, but what's a good inexpensive firearm to start out on? The Mark II is too big and the revolvers feel heavy. I was thinking like a used Bersa or Ruger. I want one she can keep for a long time. She's 11 right now, and loves her Marlin .22 rifle!!
Since my post count isn't above 50 yet, I can't reply to the classifieds here.