First handgun for my daughter

Hello dajowi,,,

You're correct about the tip-up barrel being very nice,,,
Several people here have touted all of the tip-up barrels models,,,
They seem to be a viable option for older folk who have weakened hands.

I have two of the Taurus clones of that gun,,,
The 25-PLY and the 22-PLY models.
MouseGuns.JPG

Their triggers are DAO and have long pulls,,,
That doesn't bother me but my little friends don't like them much.

I have fired most of the Beretta versions,,,
They also have that long trigger pull.

All in all they are very nice little mouse guns,,,
I just don't think I would use one as a first gun for a child.

Aarond
 
Just got home, and wanted to add something to the mini-discussion between jimbob86 and myself.

(And yes, jimbob86, she is as good an instructor in person as the website would cause one to expect. A few of us also got together after the last day of class and did some retention and takeaway drills - she's pretty good at those, too. Edit1: Mas asked us to wait until the end of the course because he didn't want anybody to injure hands, wrists, etc and lose out on training. We thought that was a good idea - luckily, no injuries.)

But anyway, going back to the overhand technique - there was one thing that Mas Ayoob and Kathy demo'd as far as What Not To Do when performing the overhand. I used my Block for the demo photo, as I don't like doing the What Not To Do with an actual gun. (You can get blue guns at your local police supply stores - they are great for retention and takeaway drills.)

Picture 1: Reasonably good overhand positioning, enabling shooting hand to punch through. Keep muzzle downrange for safety; slight downward angle may help for power.

Better%252520overhand%252520technique.JPG


Edit2: Just thought I'd point out that while I'm holding the Block, I have a Buck 110 in a horizontal belt sheath, as well as a 14rd Beretta .40 mag on the left, and a PX4 .40 in a Talon Tactical Kydex OWB on the right. Who says you can't easily conceal large items?

Picture 2: What Not To Do. This can happen when people, particularly people who aren't that strong, bastardize the overhand and try to push on the slide instead of the frame; gun often gets turned, not only away from downrange, but also....

Improper%252520overhand%252520technique.JPG


This is one reason why professional instruction is a good idea. (There are lots of reasons, but this one is nice and graphic.) Edit3: Good idea to continually emphasize finger outside the trigger guard, in case they do manage to pull this one off.
 
Last edited:
I showed this thread to a friend of mine,,,

She related the story of her first handgun.

Her Dad was an avid shooter,,,
So she and her younger brother were introduced at early ages.

Her Dad took her to a gun store around her 10th birthday,,,
He had already picked out a nice selection of suitable handguns,,,
Then he told her she could choose any one of them that she wanted.

Maybe her choice was just dumb luck,,,
But she said she handled several different guns,,,
She also said she picked the one that "just felt good to hold".

It probably didn't hurt that it was shiny and pretty,,,
She chose a 4" barrel, nickel plated S&W Model 34 revolver.

She still has that gun and brings it out every time we go shooting,,,
PAX always says to let the ladies choose their own handguns,,,
Maybe this would work for your daughter as well.

Who knows?

You pick an appropriate selection,,,
Let the young lady choose the one she likes best.

Aarond
 
Concur with AaronD.

This is one thing I really like about my LGS - they have a HUGE rental selection, and all their rentals have siblings in the sales racks. Great place to take a new person, to let them get hands-on before they buy.

Now, if they'd only get their ventilation system renovation complete... Range is temporarily closed. Hopefully, though, the OP has a functional range at a friendly LGS in his area.
 
I think revolvers are always a good choice for new shooters.

Remember, there is a whole world of small frame revolvers out there.

My favorite 22s are my Harrington and Richards. 9 shot, small frame, fun to shoot. Most of mine are older than I am and shoot just fine. Generally pretty cheap too. You have to do some looking. More of a "pawn shop" gun than a "gun shop" gun.

Just a thought.

Maybe take her with you and have her look.
 
Browning Buckmark ...the camper model, is the least expensive ...and I picked up one with a Browning red dot sight on it ...and the younger granddaughters down to 9 yrs old ....all like shooting it.

The trigger pull is good / they can load the mags without any issues - and put the mags into the gun without any issues. They all seem to have issues with dropping the slide ..but with guidance, they grasp it pretty quickly. Having 2 or 3 extra mags is a good thing...so you can supervise, and load mags....they have more fun shooting than loading mags...

The .22 revolvers like the S&W model 18's ---are just too heavy for little hands...and the younger kids in my family, all want to shoot sem-autos - like the older kids.

.22 conversion kits on a 1911 ...are just too heavy for them to manipulate / the guns are pretty heavy ...
 
Hello BigJimP,,,

I agree that my Model 18 is too heavy for the little ones,,,
But the J-frames like the 34, 63, & 317 seem to be okay for them.

Chrisa does surprisingly well with a Model 34 snubbie I own,,,
The smallish Compac grips I put on it help a bit.

But my experiences are pretty much the same as yours,,,
My little shooting buddies all like the semi's better.

The Browning Buckmark is the only common target .22 that I have little experience with,,,
I've fired a few rounds through one that a range acquaintance owns,,,
I should probably look to put one in my safe someday,,,
Just so I can say, "Hey, I have one of those." ;)

Aarond
 
I've read (so far) mostly good things about the Rough Rider. Is there something in particular I should know about that model?
Click to expand...

Unless you specify (and pay extra for) a "steel frame" gun, you are going to get a revolver that is made with an "alloy" frame. Since virtually all manufacturers will specify "aluminum" if that is the alloy used, I can only assume that the Heritage guns are Zamak "alloy," i.e. "pot metal" (the same alloy that your window cranks are made of). This is borne out by the fact that, per their website, the steel frame guns are made for shooters in states where "alloy" (i.e. pot metal Zamak) frame guns are not legal. I know of no state where aluminum frame guns are illegal.

Since the steel frame Heritage is $299.00 retail, you're not saving that much over the Ruger Bearcat. Like I said, you get what you pay for.
 
I bought my sons heritage arms rough rider .22 revolvers to learn the basics with. I plan to give them each a S&W 5906 to go with the Camp 9 carbines I gave them as their first centerfire rifles.

It'll be a bit of a ceremony.
 
I apologize for weighing in a little late (a series of family matters have kept me from having the time to get online for a couple of days) but OP is leaning towards a Neos, and it has some good things going for it. A good handful of 20s young ladies, friends of my daughters, have gone to the range for the first time in their lives with my Neos, and have all had fun and found it easy to shoot well; those are important factors for someone learning. The grip is very slender and the trigger reach fairly short, making it easy and comfortable for small hands to get a proper grip. The gun is fairly heavy, so the already-puny recoil of the .22 cartridge is reduced to nearly nothing. The top rail mounts any red dot sight with a Weaver base, and due to the minimal recoil you can get away with a very inexpensive sight without hammering it to death. And even with all these features that make it more than acceptable for young and inexperienced shooters, it is plenty accurate enough for experienced shooters to enjoy, so it will do double duty for a plinker for Dad.

So I for one am not going to try to talk you out of the Neos that is your first instinct. Some of these smaller guns would certainly be better if concealed carry was part of the equation, but since its not, I fear that the increased recoil (although still small) and decreased accuracy of the shorter barrels and sight radii might make them less enjoyable at the range for you and your daughter. Since this is to be solely a range pistol, I don't think you can do a whole lot better than your first choice of the Neos.

OP, you are doing a good job as a father to be including your kids and teaching them with apparent patience and success. My bet is that you are taking other aspects of fatherhood just as responsibly. Please accept my thanks for taking parenthood so seriously. A bunch more like you will improve our country.
 
Not to be morbid, but in addition to the larger pistol being easier to learn on, the larger pistol is also harder to inadvertently point at one's own body parts. While proper training should eliminate that problem, new shooters have been known to do some odd things.

For that matter, so have some theoretically experienced ones.

A full-sized .22 seems like a great starting point.

Then again, I'm of the school that says it's easier to teach a new driver on an automatic, so he can figure out parking, merging with traffic, etc with minimal mechanical hindrance. After that, it takes less than an hour to teach how to work a standard.
 
Chack, the 5906 your giving your sons is an excellent semi auto. Accurate and built like a tank.
 
I just got my daughter her first pistol, she is 12. We walked through the local gun stores and I showed her the ones I thought woul;d be best and let her decide on the exact one, and after a little bit, she decided on the S&W 469 in 9mm. It ended up being a great choice, she shoots it like a champ, and as an added bonus, it shares magazines with her rifle.
 
If small hands is the case, the P-22 is tiny. The trigger is very easy to reach but the trigger itself is not so great. Its pretty reliable, you have the occasional FTF but it was not a carry gun. However, it does have a short life, somewhere between 3-5 thousand rounds you'll start running into some issues. Somewhere between 3-5 mine was showing serious wear in the rails and frame and basically stopped working.

I called S&W and was told the P-22 goes to poo after 3000 rounds and to send it in for a replacement gun. One week later I had a new gun at my FFL which I promptly traded. Don't get me wrong I loved the gun. It was an excellent training tool for my wife and little bro and very fun to shoot. I understand everything had it's limitations and S&W excellent service and transparency made replacement process quick and painless... On another note, you might consider a Kahr K9 or if she can stand it, a CW/P9. They are thin and have a easy to reach trigger. I'm basing these recommendations on guns my wife likes as she is tiny....

ad65a5ff-fb8f-9687.jpg


ad65a5ff-fbc1-815f.jpg
 
One of the best 'kid training' guns I ever ran across is the H&R Model 999 Sportsman revolver.

They are accurate enough for basic instruction and not hopeless at 25 yards, once the novice is up to that distance.

You just break them open when the kiddo ain't shooting, which is about as safe as you can get. Once loaded, they hold enough ammo for three, three-shot strings and that is plenty while you're teaching the basics.

The 999 is big enough to be controllable yet the grip and trigger reach are usable for pre-teens in single-action mode. Their SA pull, BTW, is sorta two-stage, which helps novice shooters ease into trigger control.

Only fault I can find with them is that the're only available in the used market, which means you have to wait until you find one that the seller isn't trying to pass off as a rare, discontinued 'collector's item' LOL.
 
My choice would be the Browning Buckmark. Fun for *both* of you and will last forever. She won't outgrow it.

If you are not a revolver fan, it would be the one I'd go with. Nice single action and "space age" gun look which would probably help if you had a boy. 'Most likely a net zero for a girl.

It's also fairly easy to clean.
 
Shadi, I think you attached the wrong picture. You are discussing a Walther P22, but you posted a picture of a SIG P239.
 
Not to detract from anything, but I'd hesitate to buy her a Kahr K9. I have one. It is a B**** to rack the slide back-FOR ME! I think I'd be ok for emergency drills, but I wouldn't think that is easy for a 12 year old with weak fingers.

Size and trigger though are GREAT! It is the issue of clearing misfires that causes hesitation about recommending it to someone with weak upper body strength.

Carry on....
 
MLeake said:
Shadi, I think you attached the wrong picture. You are discussing a Walther P22, but you posted a picture of a SIG P239.
Click to expand...

The op mentioned he has a P239 and it works well for smallish hands. I was talking about the p22 but also of guns my wife (with very small hands) enjoys shooting both the guns pictured. Thanks for pointing that out though. You've been staying on top of my post for some reason lately, like my own personal editor.
 
Nothing personal, Shadi; but maybe a picture of the 239 next to the Kahr (in the same frame) to show the OP the relative sizes would be better.

I'd do it, but I no longer have a Kahr.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top