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Welcome to the forum Dragon!

TexasGal wrote:The main issue with the .22 caliber is it is a rimfire vs a center fire. Rimfire cartridges are less reliable to go bang and cycle the gun every time.

I am not saying that the .22LR is a good defense caliber, but I don't agree with this statement. I have shot tens of thousands of .22LR and had fewer misfires and failures to cycle than with any centerfire cartridge.

Of course the choice of guns is critical. IMO, many of the .22LR pistols aren't made as good as centerfire pistol. I don't think people are willing to spend as much money on a .22LR pistol as they would on a centerfire pistol. I think that is the problem with the gun rather than the ammunition.

Another option for Dragon is an 8 shot revolver. Unfortunately the choice is limited. I would go for a S&W.

I love my M&P shield 9mm, and my wife learned on it too, but after trying many she just chose a Sig Sauer p238 380. It set me back more than the Shield, but felt best in her hand. Hope you enjoy the hunt for yours.

WildBill wrote:Welcome to the forum Dragon!

TexasGal wrote:The main issue with the .22 caliber is it is a rimfire vs a center fire. Rimfire cartridges are less reliable to go bang and cycle the gun every time.

I am not saying that the .22LR is a good defense caliber, but I don't agree with this statement. I have shot tens of thousands of .22LR and had fewer misfires and failures to cycle than with any centerfire cartridge.

Of course the choice of guns is critical. IMO, many of the .22LR pistols aren't made as good as centerfire pistol. I don't think people are willing to spend as much money on a .22LR pistol as they would on a centerfire pistol. I think that is the problem with the gun rather than the ammunition.

Another option for Dragon is an 8 shot revolver. Unfortunately the choice is limited. I would go for a S&W.

Wild Bill, you are far more knowledgeable than I and I see your point and realize it did come across as maligning the cartridge when it has a lot to do with the guns involved that shoot that round. I was going with my own personal experience with several .22 semiautomatics I have tried that were picky about ammo and would have stoppages. In a self defense situation, that would not be a happy moment.

TexasGal wrote:I was going with my own personal experience with several .22 semiautomatics I have tried that were picky about ammo and would have stoppages. In a self defense situation, that would not be a happy moment.

I agree with your assessment about many of the .22 semiautomatics. In my opinion the 22s that have the right size and shape that might be good for concealed carry are knock offs of popular selling center fire models. I think that the manufacturers are more concerned about the appearance and not the reliability.

Maybe a bigger factor is the cost of producing and sales price. I have noticed that many people will spend $600+ for a 9mm or 45ACP, but not for a 22LR. For example a Browning Buckmark sells for about $360. This handgun is very accurate and reliable but isn't the proper shape, size and configuration for concealed carry. An CC version might cost let's say $500. I don't believe they would sell very many.

My ideal 22LR for CC would be a double stack magazine carrying 14+ rounds and have a magazine release on the side, just like most higher caliber pistols.

Howdy and Welcome! The previous posts are all great, I just had to add my 2cents.

We are on the north side too and you are lucky in that there are some great ladies' groups where you can go try many different things before you decide. You can learn from other women first hand what they like and don't like, learn from their trial and error, take what you like and learn in a fun, safe environment. We gals have some things to consider that our dear male counterparts do not. Some of these groups are great opportunities to practice in defensive type situations.

Personally, I carry one of several sidearms. M&P 9c, P238, M&P Shield 9mm, Colt Cobra 38 snubby, and on rare occasion I have carried my full size M&P 9mm. I look at a side arm as a very personal choice. rather like that of underwear and shoes. There is no one that works for everyone. It depends on your comfort level, body size, lifestyle, and method of carry. This is the cool thing about the ladies groups is you can try many of these things out.

I would be happy to share this information with you if you are interested, PM me.

Welcome again!

Based on the OP, I would recommend the OP try a snub nosed 38 with a bobbed or concealed hammer. Otherwise, a 22 is better than nothing. I would encourage OP practice as much as possible with whatever she ends up with to get as comfortable as possible with whatever age chooses.

mojo84 wrote:Based on the OP, I would recommend the OP try a snub nosed 38 with a bobbed or concealed hammer. Otherwise, a 22 is better than nothing. I would encourage OP practice as much as possible with whatever she ends up with to get as comfortable as possible with whatever age chooses.

Due to the short sight radius, snub nose revolvers are difficult to shoot accurately. Practice, practice, practice. I would buy a S&W because I believe they would have a better trigger than other brands.

Further, My wife has a Taurus snub. It works great and is heavier than the new lighter alloys that are availably. Due to the weight, it's perceived recoil seems to be less. However, the less than stellar trigger makes it a gun for up close personal work. It's definitely not a target gun.

Lionman13 wrote:I love my M&P shield 9mm, and my wife learned on it too, but after trying many she just chose a Sig Sauer p238 380. It set me back more than the Shield, but felt best in her hand. Hope you enjoy the hunt for yours.

A P238 is my wife's preferred carry gun and she now enjoys our range time together, I love it when she asks "are we going to the range tomorrow?" She has settled on appendix position for carry in a Betty holster - it's very comfortable for her and she now carries everywhere it's legal, I'm very proud of her .

Everybody had great advice, just a couple of random comments - I will say that for a very small gun, the recoil is very gentle with the P238, but larger frame guns shooting larger caliber ammunition can also have manageable recoil. My wife's favorite gun to shoot is our large frame Ruger SR40 (.40 caliber.)

I have an M&P 22 pistol and from my experience 22 handguns can be picky about ammo, once in a great while the M&P won't cycle (eject the discharged casing and load an unfired round.) There are probably 22 pistols that are 100% reliable (like an old Walther), but I certainly wouldn't trust my defense to a rimfire round (my wife's cousin worked undercover as a Border Patrol agent doing drug busts in southern California a few years ago and carried a small .22 derringer as a last resort weapon.)

johncanfield wrote:

Lionman13 wrote:I love my M&P shield 9mm, and my wife learned on it too, but after trying many she just chose a Sig Sauer p238 380. It set me back more than the Shield, but felt best in her hand. Hope you enjoy the hunt for yours.

A P238 is my wife's preferred carry gun and she now enjoys our range time together, I love it when she asks "are we going to the range tomorrow?" She has settled on appendix position for carry in a Betty holster - it's very comfortable for her and she now carries everywhere it's legal, I'm very proud of her .

Everybody had great advice, just a couple of random comments - I will say that for a very small gun, the recoil is very gentle with the P238, but larger frame guns shooting larger caliber ammunition can also have manageable recoil. My wife's favorite gun to shoot is our large frame Ruger SR40 (.40 caliber.)

I've had a P238 for a few years now and I agree. After reading that many .380s are hard recoiling due to their small size, I was pleasantly surprised how gentile the P238 is to shoot. It's actually fun to take it to the range.

With that in mind, I bought a used P938 (9mm version of the same pistol) and it is a whole new world. The P938 is NOT fun to shoot. It's a real handful at the range. It's not painful to shoot, but it's recoil will quickly induce a flinch. The worst part though is that the mags are very stiff. My fingers give out trying to lad them after a while.

Nevertheless, I will practice at the range with the P239 and carry the P938. I'm pretty sure if I ever need the P938 in real life, I'll be much too focused on the real problem to notice the recoil.

First off, welcome.
Hope you can find a range to try different pistols. Maybe even a women's group.

The newer guns have better springs that help tame the recoil.
And usually, the larger the gun, the softer the felt recoil.
Make sure it fits your hand too.

Make a list of what you want it to have and go from there.
Good luck.

Wow! I wasn't expecting such a large reply! Thank you all for taking the time to give me your opinions. I will look into going to one of the ranges that allow one to rent different types of guns. I've been doing a bit of extra reading and found a few 9mm that look like something I might enjoy. My husband would like to get a 9mm for himself soon, so he'll enjoy the experience as well.

Whatever I choose, I will say that I plan to practice with it often. I would feel uncomfortable carrying anything that I didn't have a full knowledge of using. So I plan to shoot it as often as I can, Ha. I still need a lot of practice, but I am happy to say that I've got the bug.

It is amazing what "the bug" can do. My wife went from not comfortable with a firearm (squirrelly) in the house to blowing up tannerite with an AR last weekend. Have fun with it.