Looking for cheap pistol... recommendations

mikejp

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With the new regulations here in Quebec, I am thinking I will need to get my significant other her own pistol to keep her RPAL.

I would like to find something cheap, as little recoil as possible, and very easy to keep clean.

I am thinking a .22 or something similar.

Any recommendations?
 
What about a Hi-Point .40 S&W from Kodiak Outpost? They're cheap, simple, and available. $249 brand new, made in USA. Free shipping and low tax for Quebecers.

www.KodiakOutpost.com (Handguns -> Hi-Point Firearms )


Or, if you're that stuck on having a .22, why not get a Woodsman Clone from Frontier Firearms? $175 brand new, made in China. Shipping extra, but low tax.

www.FrontierTaxidermy.com (Firearms -> Handguns -> Norinco -> Bottom of the page M93)
 
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She's pretty petite. If I could find something with less recoil than a .40 S&W that would be best. She might come out to the range a couple of times a year at most.
 
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Go to Marstar, look for Norinco NP 20, a robust 9mm pistol that people sometimes overlook. For $229, nothing can beat it. Delay blow back action, little recoil and fun to shoot.
 
A .22 would be the obvious choice. Lots of options to choose from depending on what sort she would most prefer shooting.

Don't pass up on the idea of a .38Spl revolver either. There's more kick than the .22 but it's a smooth sort of medium push that I didn't find intimidating at all. FAR lower and smoother kick than even a 9mm. Yet there's a presence to the shooting of it that a .22 can't match. And for kicks the .38Spl revolvers can be really accurate to boot. The model 10 I got to shoot a couple of weeks back gave me some of the tightest and most consistent groupings I've ever shot. If she has shot .22 before and found it very non startling then I think she'd enjoy a .38Spl revolver as well.

I know that I enjoyed it so much that I'll more than likely be on the lookout for a nice clean Model 10 at some point to add to the collection. The catch will be finding one with a restricted rather than prohibited barrel since I gather the 4 inch versions were by far the more popular.

But more importantly as has been noted in many a thread on this same topic. Make sure she is part of the decision process and don't try to lead her too strongly. Offer up all the options and let her choose from 15 or 20 of them. Take her around to shop for the guns and let her hold and point them. If she's going to enjoy the gun and thus join you at the range more often then it's got to be the one that really speaks to her. Your opinion counts for less than nought in this selection profile other than knowing which come with built in troubles or not. Just keep yourself in your place and all will be well.... :D

We guys always joke about this sort of thing in many regards. But really is it any different for us? Some like this and some like that and can't understand for an instant why the others like what they do. So give her the same consideration even though it may be for her reasons and let her pick what she's going to shoot.
 
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Get her a Pink Sig Mosquito

pink-Mos-detail.jpg
 
My wife shoots rifles and handguns. She has small hands and her choices of handguns 9from my collection) are all determiend by what feels good to her. This is unpredictable.

My 44 Spl Charter Arms feels much nicer to her than a M36 S&W, which has a much smaller grip.

If you handload, i suggest a 38 Spl revlover with a 4.5 to 5" barrel. With wadcutters is is accurate and no significant recoil.

A 22 relver might be easier for her to balance in her hand then a pistil, unless you get one without a bull barrel.
 
Not cheap at all.. But I really like the look of the S&W 41. Even though it will be hers, I will probably end up shooting it more often. :)

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Not cheap at all.. But I really like the look of the S&W 41. Even though it will be hers, I will probably end up shooting it more often. :)

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Very nice and a good choice. While it won't be 'cheap' to buy, it'll be cheap to shoot........:D
 
Screw the 22!

Let me tell you some of my experience teaching the (as she calls herself) "Better Half" to shoot...

We started out with her purchasing the Sig Mosquito with the full package (Scope base, holster, crappy little dot sight). She quickly moved up to a 40mm tasco dot because the little one included had such a limiting field of view.

After a few visits to the range she became quite good at nailing the center of the target, however she quickly became fustrated with the reliability of the Sig 22 (but she did learn to clear her own Jams!).

Another visit to the P&D for us and she bought herself a 40S&W P226 and some 165 grain bullets. I handload them to around 800fps for a nice light snack:D

She had no problem polishing of the 50 test rounds and wanted more.

Now, the collection has grown yet again - Went to get myself a pound of powder (P&D - you own my soul I swear!) and she fell in love with a nice CZ75B in 9mm.... Something I tried to talk her into in the first place!

Summary of this long story...
Get her a nice 9mm! Screw the 22 pistol. With some basic handloads you could make it a comfortable little shooter, the brass is cheap (I love free range brass!) and bullets aren't that bad. If you don't handload - its one of the cheapest calibers to shoot.

Beginner shooters get fustrated pretty easy by "issues" while learning. Having a fussy 22LR jamming can really slow down the FUN of the experience!

FYI - The CZ only cost a hundred more than the Sig 22 when all was said and done - money well spent!

Here is a picture of her new baby for you to enjoy - she now has it as a windows background!
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Very nice and a good choice. While it won't be 'cheap' to buy, it'll be cheap to shoot........:D


Not really. A nice pistol like that wants (and deserves) a class cartridge like Eley or Aquila which cost at least as much per 50rds as 9mm. High Velocity loads will ruin a gun like that and I'm not quite sure, but I think God would strike you down with a lightning bolt if you used Federal Bulk pack or X-perts... :)

As for the original post, you can't go wrong with a Ruger: they are not "cheap", but "inexpensive"--there is a difference! If it is truly for her (to occasionally shoot and keep her RPAL), then get the 22/45 to keep the weight down; if it is for "both of you" then get the regular MK II or III bull barrel--the 5.5" barrel seems to balance best for me...
 
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Let me tell you some of my experience teaching the (as she calls herself) "Better Half" to shoot...

My better half is a very petite woman (tough but tiny :) ).
I truly think the recoil on a 9mm would start to bother her after 50 rounds or so.

Also with a .22 I could let my young daughter shoot it as well. I bought her a "pink" Ruger 10-22 that she enjoys shooting. Would be nice to let her have a try at a handgun as well.

I just feel a smaller round would be more enjoyable for them. As for being reliable, I've now read a lot of stories about the mosquito and would most likely not buy one. Although most of the stuff I read was from people not shooting the CCI 22 Ruger Magnums as suggested. But from what I have read and heard about some of the others, they can be just as reliable and accurate as larger caliber handguns.
 
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