First handgun for my daughter

T

tp1l

New member
This is forked off another thread because it was more relevant here.

My daughter is turning 11 soon and has been practicing with BB/pellet rifles and some .22 rifles for the last few months. Her first actual firearm will definitely be a Cricket Jr, but she's interested in handguns as well, and I want to encourage that.

It's also worth noting that she has tiny hands, just like her father. This is good in that I'm already familiar with many of the small frame options out there, and have a P229 that I can just barely operate comfortable with a standard trigger (short trigger is ordered) and a P239 that's very comfortable to use.

She got a chance to fire my new Sig Mosquito last night for the first time. Her grip was ok, but she was only able to pull the trigger (in SA mode) once before her finger started to hurt. Granted, the Mosquito has a much heavier trigger than either of my other Sigs, and she's still very new at this.

All that said, as much as I personally love the Mosquito, it's not looking like it will be an ideal first handgun for her to use, so I've started looking for options once she's ready (3-6+ months) to move from rifles to pistols.

As much as I've not been a revolver guy (for what I will admit aren't necessarily good reasons) I'm thinking that the best bet may be the Ruger Bearcat if I want to spend the cash, or a Heritage Rough Rider for a "poor man"s version. Both are nice Single Action revolvers, about as safe as a handgun could be for a child and appear to have very nice, light triggers.

Also on the list is the Beretta Neos (big gun, but comfortable grips), Browning Buckmark (haven't fired one yet) and the Walther P22 (never even touched one). The Roger MkIII went back onto the list after I came to the conclusion that the problems I had with my MkII were not typical of the line.

The Browning and Ruger I know will have pretty decent triggers, and I've heard good things about the Neos and P22 as well in that regard.

In the other thread, someone mentioned a GSG 1911-22lr. I'm not sure it will be something she can comfortable hold (especially not for a first handgun) but I'm certainly going to look into that for myself.

What I'm wondering is whether or not I'm missing any particularly good .22 LR handgun that I should be considering alongside these others? Budget is in the sub $400 range (ideally much less, but I'll pay for quality) and I have to keep in mind grip size here as above.
 
My niece went shooting with us when she was 13 and really shot well with both a Browning Buckmark and a Ruger Mark II. She got so confident she was ready to try the Beretta 92FS in 9mm, but one shot and she was back to the .22s. I am not sure about the Browning, but I know the Rugers have tons of aftermarket stuff, so you should be able to come up with a pretty good set up.
 
You can't beat the Bearcat for a young, beginning shooter, not the least of which is for safety reasons.
 
The Beretta is not a bad choice at all,,,

If it were me, I would get her a 4.5" model,,,
Drop a holographic sight on it,,,
And let her go to town.
22-neos.JPG

I put one of the sights I linked to on my 6" model,,,
It's a clay pigeon killer at 50 yards now.

If you wanted to get her something more in line with a combat pistol,,,
Consider a Bersa Thunder 22. for her small hands.
31-vanessa.JPG

They run about $265.00 at Buds Gun Shop,,,
Mine is in it's 6th bulk pack of Federal,,,
It's been a flawless performer for me.

Aarond
 
The walther p-22, while a hunk of poop, would be perfect for her. I used them for my boys until they became strong enough to handle their S&W 41's, Beretta 87, and Beretta 76.
 
The Ruger ...

...Bearcat is a fun .22.

Fun should be real high on the list of criteria for a very young shooter - plus of course Safety.

I think 'Minute of over-ripe tomato/orange/coke can' is a very reasonable level of accuracy, for the first couple hundred rounds, for an eleven year old.
.
 
Lots of good replies so far here, thanks!

For my 7-year old son, anything reactive is the key to keeping him from getting bored or frustrated. For my daughter, who spent about 100 rounds with her Daisy Grizzley this weekend meticulously cutting a coke can in half at ~10 yards, I'm less worried. :-)

I probably should have entitled this "Second handgun for my daughter" as I'm nearing certainty that the only decision to make is whether I go cheap and buy a Rough Rider instead of the Bearcat. I've got time to think about it, but a SA revolver does seem safest, and gives me something to use for my son as well.

Still, I'm seeing things here I hadn't considered. The Chipmunk looks really interesting as a target model, and the Bersa looks like it might be a really comfortable gun for her to shoot overall (even with higher recoil tradeoff from a smaller frame).
 
Bearcat if you want a revolver. The P22 is a decent choice for a semi auto at an affordable price. Have my 12 year old grandson shooting mine. He likes it more than the Bearcat.
 
The Bersa has very light recoil,,,

the Bersa looks like it might be a really comfortable gun for her to shoot overall (even with higher recoil tradeoff from a smaller frame).
Click to expand...

It has almost no recoil to speak of,,,
Certainly no more than my Ruger 22/45,,,
(Another very fine pistol for beginners by the way).

As much as I talk about Vanessa (that's her name),,,
You would think I was getting a kick-back from the company.

It's simply that it's a very nice pistol.

It's one of the guns I use to introduce newbies,,,
Everyone who shoots it likes it very much.

Aarond
 
I'm nearing certainty that the only decision to make is whether I go cheap and buy a Rough Rider instead of the Bearcat.
Click to expand...

Please DO NOT "cheap out" and get the Heritage Rough Rider. The Bearcat will be a lifetime investment; They are well made and built to last for decades. You get what you pay for.
 
Another vote for bearcat and p22(not a piece of junk) over 2500 rounds through mine and not one single problem. My niece shoots both well! Started her at 12!
 
While I know the Bearcat is a far better gun, I've read (so far) mostly good things about the Rough Rider. Is there something in particular I should know about that model?

Mind you, I was pretty much deciding to get the Bearcat anyway. I don't really like to screw around with the cheap stuff when it comes to handguns. It was only the good reviews and thought that this was likely to be a transition gun that got me interested in the Rough Rider.

As for the Bersa. That little guy is definitely going on my list to research.
 
I'm quoting a reply by jmstr from the other thread, as it's probably more appropriate here...

I had two new thoughts based on your most recent post.

The first was because of her difficulty in pulling the trigger. I know from experience that the Ruger Mark III [either the 'luger-esque' version or the 22/45 version] can get reliable trigger pulls down to around 2lbs for less than $40. I would suggest a .22lr revolver but the good ones are more expensive than the ones we've already discussed in this thread. The Single Action trigger pull on a .22lr revolver should be light enough for her, or it can be tuned that way.

You said she was interested in defensive handguns. Does she think that means semi-autos only? Or is she open to revolvers for defensive purposes?

If she is interested in semi-autos, I had another thought. Have her hold a Glock or a 1911 and see if she likes the look/feel. You can buy either one of those and a .22lr top end for it. She can train on the same frame while shooting .22lr that she'll use later for defensive purposes in 9mm or .45acp.

The disadvantage is that Glocks have thick grips, so the 1911 design might fit better now, but her hands will grow. And 1911s are 'cocked and locked', which may be intimidating to her.

Just random thoughts as I wait for my next class to begin.

Whatever you do, have fun and keep her involved! We need another generation, and we need more women, in the shooting life.
Click to expand...

She's got an avid interest in martial arts, and seems to be thinking about handguns in the same way right now (learning about them in case she had to, but with not real plans to carry). She's not necessarily interested in revolvers right now, but that's probably as much due to my unintentional leading by example than anything else. My very first handgun experience was a .357 hand cannon (and I was even more of a little guy back then) and my very second was a Makarov. That dichotomy pretty much cemented in my mind that I never wanted to deal with revolvers again. This is slowly changing, and I'm at the point now where I respect revolvers and could even consider owning one someday, I still have a preference for autoloaders for a variety of reasons, both objective and subjective.

I should also probably clarify here what I mean about "tiny hands." My wife is 5'2" and her hands are larger than mine. I can comfortably wear my 7-year old son's gardening gloves, much less women's sizes, and I'm not even sure *I* could actually hold a Glock comfortably.

My P229, which is one of the thinnest double stacks I've held (admittedly a small sample set) is still too big for me to really reach the trigger correctly. I'm going to be installing a short trigger probably by this weekend, but I'm much more comfortable with my P239.

Mind you, I have a Glock 19 on my "try and buy" list for the longer term, and I really like the idea of a potential carry piece with a .22 LR conversion kit. But given the trouble she had with the Mosquito, I'm thinking we're going to need to build up some strength before moving to anything that big, and I'm not sure she'd ever be comfortable with a double stack. I love my 229 and don't think I'd ever sell it, but it's really still too big for me.

The 1911 frames I've had a chance to actually hold were a long time ago, and may have mostly been Para Ordnance double stacks as well. I'm pretty sure I could comfortable handle a 1911A1 single stack, and one of those is even higher on my "try and buy" list than the Glock. But both of those are I think down to 2nd or 3rd gun choices for her.

Right now I'm starting to solidify towards a Bearcat first (even if we have to save up) then one of the autoloaders in the list above, depending on how well she does. We'll keep practicing and occasionally dry fire the Mosquito, not to mention the CO2 Makarov bb pistol I got for home practice.

We'll see where all of this goes, but this thread has been incredibly useful so far, if for no other reason that I have a whole new list of things I might want to buy for myself, regardless of anything else. :-)
 
Folks, if she is having problems with a p22 trigger, do you really think another DA trigger, either revolver or semi flavored, is going to be a good answer?

Put down the fan boy hats a moment and think!

Single action, either in the Bearcat or one of the autos (Ruger III or .22/45, Buckmark or some kind of .22 cal slide for a 1911) will be the ticket.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top