Suggestions for rentals

[OnceFired]

Hey all

Took my wife to the local range for Ladies Night this past week. She wants to learn to shoot. This was different than her 1st trip to the gun range in California, where I made her go at least once. :) That was 7-8 years ago on a 357 mag shooting 38 rounds. She chose the gun and did fine, but didn't want to repeat it. I think the guy 2 lanes down firing his Desert Eagle was more of a factor than anything else. After that, about 2-3 years ago she bought her own Kahr CW9 but sold it later without ever even firing it. Her gun, her rules and I didn't get in the middle of that.

But, now she *wants* to learn to shoot. Much different experience this time around. We hit the local indoor range which is brand new & quite nice. We picked two 22 pistols we would try out, and then took it slow. We spent about 2 hours shooting - the vast majority of which was her.

The revolver we shot was a 9-shot 22 but I don't recall the manufacturer. It was heavy, big, and had a very long trigger action. Good for recoil management but bad for size of her hands, ability to hold for extended periods, etc. She did like the simplicity of it.

The semi-auto was a Ruger 10-shot 22. Didn't catch the model #. Much smaller & lighter gun, especially since it was polymer. Much easier for her to hold, aim, and fire, but it was of course much more jumpy even keeping within the same caliber.

With that experience she now wants to rent more 22's and/or borrow guns to try them out without buying something she won't be happy with long term. Something that lands her between the two we've tried to get to a sidearm that is small enough to hold but has a bit more weight than the little Ruger did so it's easier to shoot.

We also didn't like the Ruger because it was tending to have magazine feeding issues. Could be that it's just a rental that needs some maintenance love. The rounds kept getting caught in the magazine lips, so my wife ended up practicing her clearing far more often than I initially wanted for her.

All that said - what are good options? We need high quality but common guns - things we are apt to find in rental cabinets.

OF

[country gent]

Normally the rugers semi autos are very dependable pistols. Rent and "test" as many as possible. SOme I wopuld recomend trying if possibe are S&W model 41 a very fine 22 target grade pistol available 7" and 5 1/2 inch barrel length good grips and sights. It is upper end pistol also. The ruger "standard model 22 with 4 3/4" barrel and also the 5" bull barrel model mid range and solid performers. Any original made High standard you can try very solid well built target grade 22. Also especially if you own any 1911s the marvel conversion for such is extremely accurate and gives the same feel as the 1911. In revolvers the single six from ruger is good, The S&Ws are solid performers also.

[flounderman]

Technique is more important than the gun. foot placement, two hands, push with the gun hand, pull with the off hand, wrap the off hand further around and then pull it back. The most fool proof gun is a revolver, and a smith K has a good balance and size for smaller hands

[contender1]

Unfortunately, rental guns do seem to be neglected way too much.
Rugers are pretty reliable, and as such, maybe you can find some friends who have other guns for her to try.

We teach NRA Women On Target clinics. I FULLY understand your issues with her. We use mostly Rugers as our 22 cal training guns, BUT,,,,,,,,,, they are privately owned firearms.
Then we graduate the ladies to a solid 357 DA revolver, with 38 spl loads AFTER they get comfortable with the 22's. The simplicity of the DA revolver, combined with lower recoil of a good STEEL 357 shooting 38 spls, has put MANY, MANY ladies onto a good path of gun ownership.

[big bore 99]

Sounds like the Ruger may have been the SR22. I got one and tried out different ammo for it and the best was CCI Mini Mags. They work great. Everything else was iffy.

[wv109323]

Ruger makes the 22/45. Polymer frame with bull barrel. Browning Buckmark that comes in several configurations with barrel from a thin 4" to 8" Bull. Beretta ?. I would also shoot a S&W 4" revolver.

[Bzcraig]

Ruger makes their LCR in 22LR and 22mag, might fit her a bit better.

[NavyVet1959]

The Ruger Mk-II is a good reliable .22 semi-auto. My experience is that it will shoot any brand .22 ammo that is out there. Anything from the Remington and Federal "promo" bricks to the hyper-velocity rounds like Stingers and such. I don't know about their polymer pistols though. I don't like plastic guns and try to avoid them as much as possible. For that matter, I'm not particularly fond of aluminum alloy framed handguns either, but I own a couple of them.

The problem with the .22 these days is that the ammo is scarce and when you do find it, it's overpriced. The last .22 ammo that I purchased was around $7-8 for a 500-round brick. These days the cheapest you will find it for is $22 at Wal-Mart, but although I see the empty shelf space reserved for it, I have not seen anything in that shelf space in quite a few years.

If I'm going to have to pay that much for ammo, I'll just go ahead and reload my own. I've created rounds for a .357 that were only about 400-500 fps and were even quieter than a .22LR. If you cast your own bullets, you can reload .38/.357 for probably cheaper than you can find .22 ammo these days.

Now, having said that, the next ".22" that I'm wanting to purchase is the Armscor .22 TCM. It's similar to the 5.7x28 that is used in the FN FiveSeven, but with a heavier projectile and from what I've heard, a bit more reloader-friendly. Of course, the primary advantage of the .22 TCM is that it comes in a M1911 variant (although double stack). It also comes with a 9mm conversion barrel so that you can fire 9mm if you so desire.

[Whiterabbit]

Jeepers I wish I had your "problem". :)

My advice? forget anything we say. Start at one rental shop, start at the left side of the cabinet and hit every firearm she feels like till you hit the right side of the cabinet. Then go to rental shop #2, wash, rinse, repeat.

Who cares if that takes 2 years or longer, it's just one awesome date night after another.

[Lever-man]

I agree with Whiterabbit, also wish I had followed that advice with my wife. After buying and having to trade off several guns before she found what she likes! She finally settled on a Ruger LCR in 38 cal. And a North American Arms Pug 22 mag. The Pug is with her 24/7. I made her a holster to fit the Pug which she drops into her purse. The problem I have had with semi-auto 22s is that they are too finicky on ammo give me a wheel gun in that caliber any day.

[JSnover]

Start at one rental shop, start at the left side of the cabinet and hit every firearm she feels like till you hit the right side of the cabinet. Then go to rental shop #2, wash, rinse, repeat.
Yep!
All the advice in the world will only give you a place to start. Try as many as you can, get back us with her recommendation after she finds The Right One.

[Multigunner]

Never heard any complaints about the Colt Woodsman.
Iver Johnson made a replica of the Colt Woodsman that seems to be well made. Only complaints there was that the bluing was a bit blotchy on early production examples.u

[wrench]

The first pistol I hand people I'm teaching to shoot, is a .22lr Browning Buckmark pistol, with a red dot scope on it. It's accurate, fairly light due to the alloy frame, has a great trigger, and is really reliable.
With the red dot, beginner shooters have success right away, then I take the dot off, and they can add sight alignment to the mix.
Even without the scope, that Buckmark will be the last .22 I'd sell. Great gun.

[tja6435]

I've had probably a dozen people learn to shoot with my Ruger MKII Govt Target with 6 7/8" barrel. It used to get ftf(eed) after 300-400rds but I changed out all springs and the firing pin along with the recoil spring assembly and it runs 100% even after 1k+ rounds through it.

It's heavy and easy to shoot well.

My wife learned on it and now claims it as hers. Ive had it since 2001 and plan on passing it along to our boys

[Handloader109]

I'd let her rent anything that she handles and wants to. navyvet1959 mentions a gun I have and makes my wife grin when she shoots it. She can shoot g17 and my PPQ pretty well, but the 1911 is heavy enough recoil evev in 9mm is mild! The 22Tcm is not much more than a 22. Ammo is pretty cheap at less than $20 a box of 50. Just get her shooting

[NavyVet1959]

I'd let her rent anything that she handles and wants to. navyvet1959 mentions a gun I have and makes my wife grin when she shoots it. She can shoot g17 and my PPQ pretty well, but the 1911 is heavy enough recoil evev in 9mm is mild! The 22Tcm is not much more than a 22. Ammo is pretty cheap at less than $20 a box of 50. Just get her shooting

Have you tried reloading for the .22 TCM yet? Tried casting for it?

[OnceFired]

Thanks for all the suggestions. Monday is Ladies Night here, and I'm pretty sure we'll make it there again next week. She's going to be taking classes downtown at night this summer, and I would much prefer that she do so armed. She has already discussed things like "that's too big to be in my purse" etc so I think we'll get there sooner or later.

[Eddie2002]

Try a Colt Woodsman .22 if you can find one. Top of the line.

[2wheelDuke]

The 22/45 light looks like a nice plinker. It'd be even better with some Volquartsen parts inside.

[NavyVet1959]

The 22/45 light looks like a nice plinker. It'd be even better with some Volquartsen parts inside.

It has a plastic frame. I like the Mk-II better.

[Blackwater]

Once Fired, congratulations on her new interest in shooting. FWIW, my wife once kept a then rather new Ruger Mk II w 4 3/4" barrel for defense while I was away. I felt pretty good about it because she was a pretty darned good shot with it, or at least she was for close range defensive purposes. The .22 isn't much of a "stopper" in a fight, but multiple rounds are quick and easily delivered, especially with an auto, and a clip emptied into a chest is about the most certain to kill eventuality I can think of. Being outside lubed, they pick up dirt, lint, etc. and all the attendant nasties that go with it, and pretty much ensure infection, IF they don't bleed out very quickly, which is more likely by a wide margin. The .22 may not be much of a stopper, but it's a danged good killer. It just doesn't do it very rapidly unless placed in the central nervous system, which is a good thing to teach your wife - shoot for the heads on the K-5 targets. It really is doable with any good .22 at normal "encounter" ranges, and a .22 in the head beats the heck out of a .357 that misses or fringes. It also gives her the advantage of looking into the perp's eyes, which is the key to knowing his intent and often signals his next move. These things matter.

Next suggestion is the little Ruger 4" HP 22/45. It's short enough to fit into most purses, heavy enough that it only jumps a little - no real recoil - and given good magazines that haven't been dropped a hundred times and the feed lips bent, they're danged reliable. NO gun (OR magazine!) should EVER be counted on unless it's reliable, and the Rugers tend to be, on average, the most reliable .22 autos I've ever used. Good ones with good mags seem to be monotonously reliable - a critical factor.

Next for consideration is the std. 5 or 6 shot .38 snubs. She can shoot WC's for practice, and then you can load some SWC's for self defense. In the .38, and especially those that won't take +P's like my old Colt DS, I've about settled on the std to heavy (158-173 gr.) SWC's for defensive use. You just never know when an attacker will wind up being some 300+ lb. gorilla that takes a lot of penetration to get to the vitals. The heavier bullets will do that. Lighter ones not quite as reliably. They also make a good sized wound that'll leak blood if it doesn't stop, and the perp should expire or at least cease and desist from dropping blood pressure. I like them cast on the hard side so they cut more cleanly and leak more blood at lower velocities, just like a cookie cutter works better when it's used speedily. Just cuts cleaner and more surely.

Girls tend to like the simplicity of the DA revolver, and the greatest determinant of how well they shoot them (most use instinct heavily in their learning and shooting processes) is getting good grips for the gun that help place the web and fingers in the right and most "natural" position. The trigger finger MUST not be cramped, which means it shouldn't angle downward and rub against the middle finger. This occurs with the std. stocks on a S&W M-35 and the like. Be very sure of this, and she'll possibly wind up shooting better than YOU! No joke! All the women I've ever taught to shoot have been deadly almost from the first few shots. They'll listen, and they'll follow good instructions IF they're told WHY to do it that way. Once you've got them doing it the right way, the rest is just conditioning muscle memory to perform as pre-programmed, since that's what she WILL do when excited, and you may well save her from a horrible end, or one that's at least very traumatic. Custom stocks on her gun really CAN help more than most would ever believe, but they don't necessarily have to be expensive. I'm not a fan of rubber grips, but if she finds a set she likes, let it be, and just get 'em. With girls who have dainty little hands like my DIL, open backstraps on S&W 36's and similar may be in order. If she has larger hands, she'll need a closed backstrap grip. Again, these things DO matter.

In the end, though, it's not the weapon but the mindset that makes for effective defense, though a big caliber weapon may be "better" in terms of having the perp drop at the shot more reliably, especially if the perp is on drugs, like meth, which is so popular now. Getting used to aiming for head shots and executing them speedily really, really helps with the smaller calibers and shorter barrels. Conditioning them to shoot EFFECTIVELY is the key, whatever weapon they choose.