Best 22lr pistol for a kid/teen

Post by **Mikeyboy** » Wed Nov 21, 2012 4:29 pm

I'm looking at a getting my girls a .22lr pistol, so they have something to shoot at the range and to be passed down to them when they are adults. I'm looking for something that its durable, that will stand the test of time, but not break the bank. It also needs to be a decent trainer for a centerfire gun, and something they could use in self defense or ZPAW if its the only gun they got. So far I noticed they don't like heavy trigger pulls and heavy pistols with long barrels.

Here are some guns I'm thinking about.

Ruger SR22
Decent size, Decent weight, the DA trigger pullis a little heavy but SA is OK, but will it stand the test of time?

Ruger 22/45 or MKIII
Great trigger, a little heavy, a royal PITA to re-asssemble after cleaning, rugged.

Beretta Neos.
Decent size, a little heavy, weird, easy to disassemble, has that carbine kit to make it a rifle, will it stand the test of time?

Browning Buckmark Micro or Camper
Heavy, a little big at the grip, good trigger, easy to break down.

I skipped the Walther P22 because of the zinc slide durability issue. The Bersa Thunder .22 because the DA trigger pull is 14lb, and the S&W MP22 because its too big. I love the Browning 1911-22 but at $600 is a little too expensive.

What do you guys think or do you have any other suggestions?

Post by **austin93906** » Wed Nov 21, 2012 4:48 pm

I love my Ruger MkIII hunter with the longer of the two barrels. That thing is a darned laser! So accurate that its scary.

I dont see why people have an issue with disassembly/reassembly. Its easy to me.

It is a tad bit hefty though.

Post by **Boondock** » Wed Nov 21, 2012 5:04 pm

You could check out the Ruger Bearcat, shouldn't be too hard to find a decent used one.

http://www.ruger.com/products/newBearcat/models.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Post by **PistolPete** » Wed Nov 21, 2012 7:26 pm

The Bearcat is designed for kids, it's easy to load (if a bit time consuming) and had a small grip. The Ruger MK III's are easy to use by people with small hands as well. Stick with one that has a short standard barrel. Avoid the heavy barrels or the longer ones. The 22/45's are a bit bigger in the grip, as are the Buckmarks. The SR22's are small through the grip as well. Any of those three choices would be a good choice for a kid.

Post by **ultra magnus** » Wed Nov 21, 2012 7:42 pm

They have a light weight 22/45 now I think. Dis assembly does suck, but you don't really need to after you disable the mag safety.

Post by **swany66675** » Wed Nov 21, 2012 8:06 pm

I bought 22/45 lite for my daughter to use and its a great gun she love shooting it. We put a bushnell trs-25 on it and a Vq trigger and sear, along wither a bam bushing. I might have to get one for myself at some point.

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
but I have promises to keep,
and miles to go before I sleep,
and miles to go before I sleep.

Post by **crypto** » Wed Nov 21, 2012 9:24 pm

Dont forget the Ruger Single Six! I dont like SA pistols myself but they're dead simple and will last forever.

Dude, the Ruger MK-series pistols, which I love and haved owned several of, deserve every single bad thing people say about their disassembly process. field stripping should not require 3 pages in the manual, and involve removing, then re-inserting, then re-removing the mag. Nor should it require a fuckin mallet. It's a great pistol but disassembly/reassembly is a clusterfuck.

ETA:

The Ruger Hokey-Pokey

You put the magazine in!
you take the magazine out!
You turn it upside-down and then you shake it all about.
You say some motherfuckers then you throw the pistol down
THATS WHAT ITS ALL ABOUT!

Post by **Doctorr Fabulous** » Wed Nov 21, 2012 9:27 pm

crypto wrote:Dont forget the Ruger Single Six! I dont like SA pistols myself but they're dead simple and will last forever.

Dude, the Ruger MK-series pistols, which I love and haved owned several of, deserve every single bad thing people say about their disassembly process. field stripping should not require 3 pages in the manual, and involve removing, then re-inserting, then re-removing the mag. Nor should it require a fuckin mallet. It's a great pistol but disassembly/reassembly is a clusterfuck.

Single Ten. Fewer reloads, all the fun, not much more weight.

~sent via spacearmadillogram~

Post by **lowjohn19** » Wed Nov 21, 2012 9:43 pm

I really enjoy shooting my mkiii. It is heavy and a pain to disassemble, but I love it. They can be had fairly inexpensively.

Post by **olbaid_dratsab** » Fri Nov 23, 2012 11:55 am

The Ruger hokey-pokey for real had me laughin out loud.

Look at the things you need to teach new shooters; trigger press, sight alighment, sight picture, grip, stance, and breathing.

And most importantly, safety.

Then look for a gun that can cover all of those.

I like shooting my Single Six, but its kind of hard to teach grip on because it doesn't really translate well to most other guns unless they plan on sticking to single actions only, but its fine for teaching trigger and sight alighment. I'd love a Bearcat, but it has shitty sights.

The Walthers or SR22s are decent, but now you're explaining two different trigger pulls on a gun with a short sight radius. You want your new shooters to make hits. Same with double action revolvers. Useing the pad of the finger probably suits more guns, but its not really applicable to double actions with teenage girls. Their fingers just don't have the leverage, and the crease ussually makes a better trigger pull. But the crease ussually doesnt make a good press on guns with a lighter trigger.

The .22s made to mimic fighting pistols, though ussually decent guns, just don't offer the shootability best suited for new pistol shooters. You can still hit all the points though and somethign like the M&P22 may serve your needs in other areas as well. Thats your call.

I'd say look at the Ruger 22/45 LITE. It is light, the grip panels can be changed and even so, its still a thin grip. I happen to be a BuckMk fan myself. The Neos has a weird grip angle to me, but it is thin. S&W 22As, I'm just not a fan of, but now we're just getting really subjective to me and I'm not the shooter in this case. Everything else I tried making as objective as possible.....if that can be done with guns which it really can't be.

Just remember with new shooters, safety first.

Post by **afsere** » Fri Nov 23, 2012 12:40 pm

I bought my six year old an M&P 22, and although it is full size, it doesn't seem to matter. He and his ten year old friend can do shoot and move drills all day with that gun and zero problems. The trigger is nice and light and easy to control. The size is all in the look of it, and doesn't translate to extra weight. I think not looking at an M&P is a bad move.

Video of him shooting. Before I hear anything back, correct, he wasn't wearing glasses. They were slipping so I told him to take them off so he wasn't distracted by them.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=31 ... =3&theater

Post by **RickOShea** » Fri Nov 23, 2012 1:05 pm

http://www.impactguns.com/sig-mosquito- ... 12839.aspx

* My (non-girly pink) Sig Mosquito has been pretty reliable....But I've only ever shot CCI brand ammo through it.

Post by **crypto** » Fri Nov 23, 2012 1:10 pm

My old 'training new shooters' MKIII was an all-steel brick with a 5.5" barrel. While heavy, it was excellent because it had no recoil whatsoever and would allow you to teach fundamentals to new shooters without any chance that they'd start flinching.

I eventually traded it to a guy for one of the pre-threaded 22/45's because I had a can on the way, but I still miss that all-stainless beast.

Post by **Doctorr Fabulous** » Fri Nov 23, 2012 1:22 pm

If you take a couple hours to unfuck the Ruger with the Majestic Arms Speed Strip kit, delete the magazine safety, and while you're in there polish the internals, and you'll love it.

Post by **Belair56** » Fri Nov 23, 2012 1:35 pm

How about the SigSauer Misquito????????????????? Takes premium ammo to be sure but IVE never had any trouble with mine.

Post by **Jeb_66** » Fri Nov 23, 2012 8:17 pm

I'm a big fan of the Neos. But the Ruger Mk series are excellent pistols.

Post by **ashwednesday** » Fri Nov 23, 2012 9:44 pm

I do think that the Buckmark is pretty hard to beat. I have a Ruger 22/45 now and like everything but the disassembly. I had a Sig Trailside which shot great and was a breeze to disassemble, but the guts of the safety basically went bad, I think theyall do.

Post by **firestorm** » Sat Dec 22, 2012 11:07 pm

I've been teaching my 7 year old on a mark III 22/45 stainless bull barrel. I found he would get fatigued and stop working on fundamentals because of the weight.I just got him the ruger sr 22 and he can shoot that all day. Because of the light spring he can work the action safely. He did anticipate recoil at first. I decided to only teach him SA to not confuse him. Also it shoots the cheap stuff my 22/45 won't

For our needs it covered them all.

Post by **minnesotashooter** » Tue Dec 25, 2012 5:29 pm

I would highly recommend NOT getting the Neos. Mine was the biggest POS I have have bought and shot.

Post by **graybeard1000** » Mon Dec 31, 2012 1:04 pm

well I have go with ruger charger target pistol . I have shot mine out to 100n yard was holding 6 inch group. it is ruger 10 22 in pistol form. I owhed bear cat not bad lil guns at close range that my 2 cents

Post by **maxxb** » Mon Dec 31, 2012 1:27 pm

The first semi auto I ever shot was a Beretta 71 and I would love to get another one. I have a Single Six that I just about never shoot and I have also shot the Bear Cat as well. BOth are good guns but I am growing away from single actions. I currently have a Buckmark and I couldn't be happier with it.

Post by **Dawgboy** » Mon Dec 31, 2012 1:31 pm

Taught my boy with a Mark III Love everything about it but taking it down. It replaced an old Mark I that was stolen many years ago...

Post by **berettaman** » Wed Jan 02, 2013 4:34 pm

so my 8 yearold shoots my wifes pistol its a beretta 948. italian ww2 service pistol got it for $210 in great condition. holds 9+1 rounds never jams really small fits his hands perfect also very accurate. large safety so he knows when he can shoot. out of all the 22lr pistols for kids its my top pick and his. he has shoot the 1911, sig misquto, a few revolvers he likes it the best.

Post by **Merovech** » Wed Jan 02, 2013 5:10 pm

Ruger MK 2 or 3 longer barrel.

The only better 22 pistol is an old Colt Woodman for sheer cool factor.

Zombie Squad