Newbie question?

[the spank]

Ok so I am a newbie in the sense that my involvement with handguns has been very limited. I have owned two, both Smith &Wesson revolvers.. A .357(model 19 sound right?) and a .357 S&W stainless version(629?). It has been so long ago that I can't recall the models off the top of my head. Anyways my question is this, my GF told me when we first met that she used to hunt and shoot many years back with her husband and wanted to do so again. Well after two years together she hasn't shown any interest at all in either hunting or skeet/trap/rifle shooting which I take part in. We were at the club a while back, she tagged along so she could watch her young lad shoot his .22 and one of the members came down to the range with a semi pistol, a 45 cal.(1911 sound right?). He started shooting with it. Well when we got home Miss never a said a word at the range was wound up like a rubber band. All I have heard now for months is that when she is finished college and back to work she wants to take the PAL course and get a handgun. I am happy she wants to get involved so my question is what would be a good starting pistol. She wants a semi. She was showing me the S&W M&P .22 and M&P357on line. I think she should go with a 22 to start and work up from there. What are your thoughts and what are your thoughts on her choice of gun. I have no experience with handguns outside of the two revolvers I owned. A fellow I worked with a while back had many handguns, he told me to get her a 9mm Glock. Some advice would be appreciated.

 

[IMagius]

The simplest answer ... once she gets her RPAL, join a range, and try a bunch out, and find out which she prefers the feel of.

22's are great pistols, and 20-some years on, I still love shooting them.
9mm are probably the cheapest centerfire to shoot, and also the "easiest" where recoil is considered.
45's are a LOT of fun, and are my personal choice, but depending on the model, recoil can be a bit overwhelming.

There are lots of other choices out there as well ... 10mm, 40, 380, etc.. A person really needs to find a semi that fits them well, then get it in a caliber that they can handle and enjoy and afford. No two guns are alike - my Colt 1911a1 in 45 acp really has some kick to it, but my dads Remington Rand 1911 in 45 acp feels more like a 9mm and is scary accurate, so don't discount a caliber based on a single gun's performance.

 

[Warfarin]

I love my Sig P226 Classic (.22LR). I let my wife hold it and she couldn't believe how light it is. She would get the best of both worlds. A .22 to learn pistol shooting, then can buy the X-Change kit to get a .357, .40 or 9mm if she wants to move up. If you don't think she can count the shots she takes I wouldn't suggest it though, leads to wear and tear as the slide doesn't lock back after last round.

Picky on ammo though, I put around 300 rounds of Mini-Mag and Stingers through mine, now it will feed Winchester 555 1280 fps cartridges (with stainless guide rod and new magazine springs).

 

[Skinny 1950]

As a guest at an approved range your GF doesn't need an RPAL to shoot handguns,try some out if you can arrange it. I started out with a .22LR autoloader ie. Browning Buckmark Camper but it didn't help much when it came to shooting .45ACP,only after receiving some instruction was I able to even hit the target at 7 meters. Now I warm up using a .22LR and then go to the bigger calibre, at this point I am a lot better with the .22 than the .45 but getting better with both over time and round count. This brings up the cost of ammo which may be an issue because 9mm and .45ACP cost a lot more than .22LR.

 

[BCRider]

From your location you're doing the usual Canadian thing and wintering down in the US. If so then you should be able to find a rental range down that way where you and she can tryout a bunch of .22 handgun options along with a few center fire options. It may well turn out that she finds that revolvers suit her instead so try a couple of those as well.

If you're a US resident just "visiting" our Canadian based website then she won't have any trouble getting a S&W M&P.22. But if you're actually living in Canada then she should look at something else. The M&P.22 has too short a barrel to be imported into Canada.

A couple of highly popular rimfire handgun choices are the Ruger MkII or the Browning Buckmark. Both shoot well and have a reputation for reliably digesting almost anything that'll fit in the chamber. Although it doesn't look all that ###y the Ruger rimfire semis are extremely tough and highly reliable. It's no wonder they are justifiably the number one choice of so many. Oh, and they tend to be very accurate for a production gun.

On the topic of the Glock I'd suggest that the salesguy was either one of the Glock Believers or just wanted to up his quota on that brand. Glocks are fine guns but they have a grip shape that is large and shaped like a 2x4. They are not really what I'd call "small hand friendly" by any stretch of the imagination. Unless your GF is a bit of an amazon in stature it's likely that some other center fire gun would fit her better.

 

[stevebc]

Although it doesn't look all that ###y the Ruger rimfire semis are extremely tough and highly reliable. It's no wonder they are justifiably the number one choice of so many. Oh, and they tend to be very accurate for a production gun.

Agreed on the accuracy, even at 50m. They also have a great trigger right out of the box.

 

[WestIslandRifle]

you could also look at the p226-9-b with the 22 conversion kit conv-226-22
they are availible from most suppliers but wolverine supplies is your best bet

 

[hoochie]

first and foremost when selecting a pistol would be the caliber. I strongly suggest a 9mm. It will be something she can easily manage and have lots of fun shooting. The choice of make/model is your own preference. Metal frame guns do a better job of managing recoil, and polymer guns tend to be snappy.
Price would be another factor. M&P's are cheapest, Glock is a tad more (approx $700), then you get your CZ's, Beretta's.. then it goes up from there to SIG, KImber etc. SIG and Kimber will run you well above $1000, and I think this is unreasonable for a new shooter. Try to find something in the lower end of the price ranges and maybe "graduate" up to a finer pistol after a few years of practice.