From Reader Scott O. comes this request:
My wife is interested in getting back into shooting. She grew up around guns and shooting but with the demands of child-raising her skills atrophied. She wants to remedy that situation and also to have a handgun of her own. Her ultimate goal is to have a home defense handgun that she can shoot proficiently which is also pleasant to shoot recreationally.
Our initial plan was to go to the local gun shop/range and rent a few to find one she liked. We did that a couple of times but it became apparent that she needs a lot of practice to regain her skills. We’re thinking now that we get her a .22 first and another handgun later. That would allow her to redevelop her skills at a lower cost and then when it comes time to get the larger caliber she can focus on choosing one that suits her without being distracted by poor marksmanship.
She much prefers revolvers, which is a bit of a problem since most of what’s on the market are semi-auto. Would you give your opinion on our plan and some advice on choosing a .22 revolver?
So far, you’re batting 1.000 in that you’ve done the logical first steps towards choosing the proper gun — renting different models, figuring out her preferred type, realizing that this would be the training piece prior to getting a home- / self-defense gun, and so on. All good stuff, and well done.
Here are my thoughts.
- Pick a .22 revolver which holds more than six rounds. In the past, this was problematic, because few did; nowadays, however, there’s a plethora of models available. The reason I suggest this is that my own experience shows that just when you’re starting to get the hang of the shooting, there’s a “click” and you have to break your grip and stance to reload. Also, more is almost always a good idea.
- You didn’t say whether your wife is comfortable shooting a heavier gun like, say, the S&W 617 (which is a bit of a beast, relatively speaking). If she isn’t, then you may want to disregard my recommendation above, and settle for a decent six-shooter instead. However, if she’s going to shoot a heavier (self-defense) piece later, let’s assume that this is not a problem.
- I myself prefer to shoot a single-action .22 revolver, but that’s because I like to take my time shooting rimfires. Almost everyone else — and certainly beginners — prefer the double-action type, so I’m not going to argue the point. Get a double-action revolver, then, but let me at least mention what I think is an excellent choice for a single-action 10-shot revolver:
Ruger Single-Ten (in short- or long barrel, blued or stainless)
…but as a longtime owner of the Single-Six version, allow me to mention that the old-fashioned reloading process is a PITA. There are also cheaper options available (e.g. the Heritage Rough Rider or the Traditions model), but the Ruger has an adjustable rear sight and anyway, I’m assuming that you care for your beloved wife and want her to have the very best. [/wiseass]
Now for the double-action choices. Here’s the aforementiond S&W model:
S&W Model 617 (with barrel-length options, stainless only)
…and just as nobody ever got fired for recommending IBM, nobody will ever sneer at your S&W revolver. Good, reliable guns, albeit a tad spendy.
But here’s what I think is the best choice:
Ruger GP100 Standard
Reasons:
- It’s a Ruger; it ain’t gonna break.
- The double-action trigger is a little heavy (because it’s a Ruger), but your local gun wizard can take care of that for you, as likely would a few bricks of practice ammo. (And some .22 snap caps are your friend, for dry-firing practice: true for whatever gun you finally decide on, of course.)
- Ruger makes a .22 speedloader for the GP100, thus making the whole reloading thing a lot easier. They are spendy ($35!) but if you think about it, that’s about what you pay for a semi-auto magazine. I’d get two, minimum, so you can be reloading one while the Missus is shooting the other. (By the way, you can also get a speedloader for the S&W 617, should you decide to go there.)
But to my mind, here’s the clincher for the GP100:
- When your wife decides to go to a home-defense piece, the identically-framed GP 100 in .38 Special / .357 Magnum would be an excellent choice — less so as a carry piece, perhaps, but that’s all part of the compromise. However, out of the box the new gun would feel familiar in hold, weight and trigger pull, which would be a compelling reason to get the .22 model first.
I’m a huge fan of the revolver as a bedside gun (I myself have a S&W Model 65 in .38 Special / .357 Magnum, for just that reason), so take that for what it’s worth. Had I not happened upon a (long-since discontinued) Mod 65, however, the GP100 would undoubtedly have been my #1 choice.
And now I have to stop, because that 10-shot .22 GP100 bad boy is looking more and more desirable, and I am so weak…
Just bought and took shooting a S&W model 63, J-frame eight shot .22lr revolver in stainless. Also an excellent choice and especially good for women with smaller hands. 3″ barrel and surprisingly accurate. A real joy to shoot.
Don,
I second your recommendation of the model 63 Kit gun. I have used a Model 17 and 617 and while both of those are great, the 617 is rather heavy to me.
The 63 is a lighter J frame which while stainless steel is a smaller frame compadre of the 617. The 63 is still heavy enough to give a very good balance between heavy enough to absorb recoil and keep on target with being smaller framed for smaller hands. Lots of after market grips available for it since it is a J frame so you can customize to the shooter’s hand. Also, it’s an eight shot revolver so you have quite a few trigger pulls for practice until you need to reload. There are other even lighter 22 revolvers such as the 317 but from what I read they are so light and kind of whippy to keep on target.
JQ
Kim,
The GP100 4 in stainless 357 is my favorite revolver ever. I bought it a while back for well under 700 bucks, brand new. (Well traded for it. Traded another revolver I paid 450 for). Can’t beat that. (I had a S&W 586. And yes I traded it for the GP100. And yes the Ruger is a better revolver. I don’t give a shit what anyone says otherwise).
I have always wanted a 22 LR GP100. They were around all over the place 5 and 6 years ago.
Now they are very hard to find. People scoop them up as soon as they hit the dealers. And used ones cost as much as new.
I have a blued 4.62 in single six model that I really enjoy.
However, 2 revolvers that I really really really (did I mention really) want are:
1 – GP100 in 22 LR
2 – GP100 in 10 MM (the 4 inch please)
I should have purchased them long Ago. Now I can’t find either.
Have to stick to my 357 for now.
I believe she would be best advised, assuming she uses revolvers, to learn to shoot almost exclusively double action.
She’s not specifically shooting formal slow-fire target style; her desire is defensive handgun, and as such quick “accurate enough” shots are more desirable than the extra steps, complexity, and minor gain in accuracy from single action.
When push comes to shove, you perform the way you’ve practiced.
In any event, Scott O. and wife are doing everything right. Bravo!
My wife elected to go semi-auto. She has a Smith & Wesson M&P 380 SHIELD EZ and a Ruger SR22. She refers to them as “Big Sis and Little Sis”.
Thank you, Kim, this is exactly what I was hoping for. And to have it featured as a post, well! I’m honored!
I like Rugers, having a Mark 1 pistol and a Security Six in .38/.357 myself. She fired the SS on our last outing and didn’t have any complaints. We perused what the shop had on hand afterwards and I *think* we handled a Ruger but I don’t know which model. She wasn’t crazy about the length of the grip (she has large-ish hands for a woman) but that might be remedied with aftermarket grips.
Hmmm, he said, plotting evilly, perhaps I can persuade her that the Security Six is EXACTLY what she needs, thus REQUIRING me to get a new goodie to replace it. Bwa-ha-ha!
Good luck to your wife and to you with buying a good handgun.
Ruger also makes the Wrangler which is an aluminum alloy single action revolver. This came out to compete with the Heritage Rough Rider I believe in the $200 price range. I hear good things about them and I’d choose the Ruger over the Heritage. The Single Six also available with the 22mag cylinder is the pick of the litter for a Single Action rimfire revolver. The 22mag will give a little more oomph when target shooting. That might be a good bridge between 22lr and a center fire 38 special.
Your post is great news to hear!! It’s always great to hear of another person joining the community.
As an aside, I tend to use 4×6 index cards for targets on a regular basis. or even standard size sheet of paper. These are cheap, the index cards can be torn in half for a smaller target as well. Set the goal of keeping the cylinder or magazine full all on the card at a somewhat close distance 3-5 yards. then move back a little further until your groups open up. practice at that distance for a while. Try strong hand only and weak hand only. I found a bunch of pistol drills on line that I printed out such as Bill Drill, Dot Torture etc for more advanced work. Dot Torture touches on reloads, multiple targets, strong hand, weak hand and such with 50 rounds. It’s a tough drill that identifies areas for improvement. I keep those drills in a three ring binder in my canvas bag of targets.
The only way I got my S&W model 66 back from my missus was when she shot up all of the 38 special ammunition. be forewarned.
JQ
Strong concurrence on the GP100. The spousal unit, (Geekette With a 9mm) finally admitted her dislike of autoloaders, and fell in love with a plane Jane range rental GP100 in .38/.357. Needless to say, she found the deluxe model under the tree for Christmas. When shopping, I hefted, performed the manual of arms and dry fired every medium and large frame .357 they had. The Ruger won out over all of them, even over the Smiths, whose triggers surprisingly compared quite poorly.