Best (reliable) .22LR handgun?

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DustyGmt said:
She will be 12 this year. She has shot my .22 rifles and a few of my 9mm Glocks, AR's, very well too. She is kind of a shy reserved kid but it surprised me how not scared she was to shoot, flinching wasnt a big problem surprisingly.. I had her watch me for a while and we went over safe handling and she is very comfortable with guns.
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My oldest great grand daughter is the same age but she is certainly not shy and reserved. I have some pet names for her including wildchild, scatterbrain and squirrel bait. She is a smart kid and is not that way around guns. I've managed to turn her in into a certified gun nut and she is very aware of safety rules. Never the less grandpa always starts any shooting session off with having her tell me the rules before we start. She wanted to shoot my SR 22 two year ago so I started her off with one round and we proceeded that way until I was satisfied she would be safe with it and then she got two rounds for a time and progressed on to a full magazine. I'm not so concerned with the age of a young shooter as I am the maturity they have. I going to give the SR22 an attaboy as it has never had a problem with any high velocity ammo I've shot in it and it's an ideal size for 12 year old girls.
 
double action revolver. just about any one. I have a Ruger MK2, with the right magazines it is very reliable, but you don't see a lot of videos about polishing feed ramps or filing tiny little parts to make stock revolvers function. first handgun should be a revolver anyways IMHO, better learning tool and harder again just my opinion, a little harder to make a mistake with.
 
DustyGmt said:
What is the best .22LR handgun on the market right now, for a young shooter?
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I haven't seen it mentioned in this thread yet, and indeed all I've talked about in this thread is how reliable and accurate my Glock 44 is, but the whole story is my wife has a hard time cycling my Glock 44's slide -- arthritis.
I know, I know -- a "little" 22 LR semi can't have much for recoil springs, therefore, it can't take that much effort to rack the slide. But I'm 72, my wife is not that far behind, and my wife's arthritis and is that bad.
On the other hand (no pun intended) my wife's EDC gun is a Smith M&P 380 Shield EZ. She bought it after borrowing our oldest daughter's 380 Shield EZ, and finding out how easy it was to rack its slide. Ironically, our daughter has now traded her 380 Shield EZ for a 9mm Shield EZ, and our daughter claims it's "almost" as easy to rack its slide.
Anyway, I know all you asked about was reliability DustyGmt, and I'm pretty sure your 12-year old daughter has more strength in her thumb joints and wrists than my "almost as old" as I am wife. I'm just saying you might want to let your daughter try racking the slide on a semi or three before deciding on one because "reliability" is only one factor -- even though it might very well be the most important factor.
And as others have said, you might want to consider a revolver. I really like my Glock 44, but I wouldn't trade my old Model 63 Smith for a pair of Glock 44s.:)
 
Have had an SR22 since 2013 and have fun a few thousand rounds through it. I don't recall having any problems with it. When my wife first started shooting, she had a couple stovepipes but I am almost positive it was due to limp-wristing. All my friends who have shot it like the gun and accuracy is excellent. It has run any ammo I tried. Everything from CCI to Thunderbolts & Golden bullets
 
.308 Norma said:
I haven't seen it mentioned in this thread yet, and indeed all I've talked about in this thread is how reliable and accurate my Glock 44 is, but the whole story is my wife has a hard time cycling my Glock 44's slide -- arthritis.
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I have made some bad calls in the past, the first gun I got with my wife in mind was an LCP about 10 years ago. Hard to rack, hard to shoot, etc... wrong gun, just wrong, I know that now. My wife is in her early 30's and built like a lil bird, wrists like lil twigs, strong as an ox though. Anyway, once again I left her out of it because she generally defers to me for all gun matters and I got her a G43 for a xmas present, the poor thing can hardly rack the slide. It's a great gun but it's going to be useless to her if in a moment of extreme stress if she cant put one in the chamber. I have to reassess things and take both my wife and daughter out gun shopping and just be there for friendly advice. My wife will never carry on the body which might be a good thing and open up the selection of pistols that could potentially be a match.

I know this thread was initially about my daughter but all of your suggestions have prompted me to start thinking about my wife and her situation.
 
I'm going to add another voice to the SR22 love fest.
It was my first .22lr I bought, so I want to say that adds some bias, but is really just a fun little gun to shoot.
My now 12 yr old son has loved shooting it since he was 6, and anyone with smaller hands will probably feel very comfortable holding it. That's not to say bigger guys won't; I don't have sausage fingers but mine are on the longer side, and I never had problems handling it.

@DustyGmt I know they're not cheap, but take a look at the VP9 and VP9SK for those with hand issues. Those slide wings it has apparently make a world of difference from what I've been told.
 
I have a Ruger 22/45 Lite and it is accurate as any gun I have fired. But... I ran into some feeding issues teaching a new shooter. She was discouraged and disappointed when it failed to fire multiple times with good quality ammo. It jammed and failed to eject. It was embarrassing. I handed her my Glock 19 and continued the lesson in 9mm.

I've heard nothing but good things about the Taurus TX-22 and am considering one for my next trainer.
 
There are plenty of quality reliable .22s to choose from, but just as important is to make sure for a young (really, any) shooter that the grip is appropriate and weight is reasonable. If I was teaching /getting a new young shooter involved, I would give serious thought to a small frame .22 revolver like a S&W Kit gun or one of Rugers offerings (Bearcat, Single six or their new .22 ...I forget its name). They will have as much or more shooting accuracy potential than any Glock, be easy to hold and stone cold reliable, not to mention plain fun to shoot.
 
DustyGmt said:
I have made some bad calls in the past, the first gun I got with my wife in mind was an LCP about 10 years ago. Hard to rack, hard to shoot, etc... wrong gun, just wrong, I know that now. My wife is in her early 30's and built like a lil bird, wrists like lil twigs, strong as an ox though. Anyway, once again I left her out of it because she generally defers to me for all gun matters and I got her a G43 for a xmas present, the poor thing can hardly rack the slide. It's a great gun but it's going to be useless to her if in a moment of extreme stress if she cant put one in the chamber. I have to reassess things and take both my wife and daughter out gun shopping and just be there for friendly advice. My wife will never carry on the body which might be a good thing and open up the selection of pistols that could potentially be a match.

I know this thread was initially about my daughter but all of your suggestions have prompted me to start thinking about my wife and her situation.
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I'm at that stage as far as small CCW pistols are concerned. I have arthritis in both wrists.The small pistols like the LCP and Kel-Tec PF9 and smaller are hard to rack. I have found that the Sig P238 (380) and Sig P938 (9mm) are easier to use for me. Another great option is the S&W EZ 380 and EZ9.

I have to agree with others about using a 22 revolver to train new shooters. The best would be to have a semi auto and a revolver for training.

Edited for wrong manufacturer of the EZ
 
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12Bravo20 said:
Another great option is the Springfield EZ 380 and EZ9.
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My wife's and daughter's EZ 380 and EZ9 are Smith and Wesson. I didn't know Springfield made EZs. I like my own Springfield XDS (9mm), but its slide is harder to rack than either my wife's or daughter's Smith EZs.:)
 
.308 Norma said:
My wife's and daughter's EZ 380 and EZ9 are Smith and Wesson. I didn't know Springfield made EZs. I like my own Springfield XDS (9mm), but its slide is harder to rack than either my wife's or daughter's Smith EZs.:)
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I corrected my earlier post. Thanks for catching my mistake. It is indeed the S&W EZ
 
jmohme said:
I really like my Ruger Mark series pistols, but If you really want a reliable and accurate 22 handgun for a beginner, I would look at a revolver.
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22LRs soot up fast, so you need to monitor the child, or do all the cleaning. That said, there are a few nice revolvers out there.
 
For folks with poor hand strength issues, a slide racker might be an option: http://handi-racker.com/

Never used one, but I've seen them in stores. Similar concept to using the rear sight, but without marring up your table, etc.
 
Dibbs said:
22LRs soot up fast, so you need to monitor the child, or do all the cleaning. That said, there are a few nice revolvers out there.
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I'm good with that. Sooting up can be used as yet another lesson in firearms operation and maintenance for the youngster.
If a person is going to teach a child about firearms, the lessons should cover it all!
 
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My daughter started shooting with me the summer that she was eight years old, IIRC. She is very tall and strong, like all of my family, but has never liked recoil.

She shot my 22lr bolt action rifle fine, and did well with good 22 caliber revolvers. Her grandpa's Ruger Mark II was a serious favorite.

When she got bored with 22's, she did well with my Single Six (shooting 32 S&W long) and particularly liked my Colt 1903 in 32acp.

After that she got bold enough to shoot 32 H&R magnum out of my Single Six (NBD) and then tried my Colt Government Model 380.

All of that took a year or two of occasional range visits.

A while after that she shot her grandpa's Star Super B 9mm (a heavy steel pistol similar to a 1911) because she was bored and he had just loaded the magazine. She found it was NBD.

A while after that we were shooting with my friend and his daughter, who is the same age as mine. When the other young lady shot her dad's 38 special, my daughter was not willing to be outdone, shot it, and realized it was NBD.

Now she is 15 years old, 6'2", and can shoot whatever she wants, though she has no interest in 44 magnums.

I am glad that I started her with 22's and let her work upwards at her own pace. She has no flinching and no fear of shooting handguns.

And just think of the cool toys I bought myself in the name of "helping her learn to shoot"! :)

Colt 1903

Colt 1903


Colt Government 380

Colt Government 380

 
IMG_20200305_205715.jpg
Tallball said:
My daughter started shooting with me the summer that she was eight years old, IIRC. She is very tall and strong, like all of my family, but has never liked recoil.

She shot my 22lr bolt action rifle fine, and did well with good 22 caliber revolvers. Her grandpa's Ruger Mark II was a serious favorite.

When she got bored with 22's, she did well with my Single Six (shooting 32 S&W long) and particularly liked my Colt 1903 in 32acp.

After that she got bold enough to shoot 32 H&R magnum out of my Single Six (NBD) and then tried my Colt Government Model 380.

All of that took a year or two of occasional range visits.

A while after that she shot her grandpa's Star Super B 9mm (a heavy steel pistol similar to a 1911) because she was bored and he had just loaded the magazine. She found it was NBD.

A while after that we were shooting with my friend and his daughter, who is the same age as mine. When the other young lady shot her dad's 38 special, my daughter was not willing to be outdone, shot it, and realized it was NBD.

Now she is 15 years old, 6'2", and can shoot whatever she wants, though she has no interest in 44 magnums.

I am glad that I started her with 22's and let her work upwards at her own pace. She has no flinching and no fear of shooting handguns.

And just think of the cool toys I bought myself in the name of "helping her learn to shoot"! :)

Colt 1903

Colt 1903


Colt Government 380

Colt Government 380

Click to expand...
I forgot to add she has also shot both of these, between the two she shot the .38 better. Matter of fact she shot the .38 better than any of my handguns but she likes the Glock 43 better. She likes the "automatic magazine type".
 
sooting is definitely ammo dependent.
golden turds were horrific. same with some mexican CI branded stuff.
Federal 745/750/787/etc. are decently clean.
CCI's stuff is cleaner. and their "clean" branded ammo is legit the cleanest stuff I've shot so far.
I've got a bunch of other flavors I've briefly tested in the M9-22, but not enough to really know if they're dirty/nasty or not.
 
As many others have, I recommend a Ruger MKII or MKIV.

And if you get bored with that, find a nice used Beretta 70-series...finest little .22 pistols ever, in my opinion. They have HUGE fail-safe extractors reminiscent of Beretta's larger .380 sized pistols. They just don't hardly jam or fail to extract. And you can breech load them all day long. The Israeli secret forces were obviously very fond of them, if that says anything.
 
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I like the TX22, both of mine are very reliable and accurate. I have not shot the G44, but admit to being leery from bad press and the negatives might be just that, bad information. I would wait awhile on the G44. I will throw in my SR22 as a good choice, Get the longer barreled model. A lot of good advice here. As has been mentioned, if a .22 is having problems I always look at the ammunition first IMG_3702.JPG IMG_1647.JPG A .22 Pistols.jpg
 
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