Best .22 semi-auto for a 14 y.o. girl

[Ura-Ki]

Hard to fault any one of the .22 pistols mentioned! I would probably go with the new ultra light MK-III or the .22/45! the Buck mark is a bit heavy! another that I didn't see mentioned is the Colt Woodsman! Very accurate, nice size and weight, and reliable as heck! I love mine and have had it since I was 12! Another would be a nice high standard! you can find them used for a pretty decent price! Good for you getting in some quality time with your daughter and being able to pass on this great American right! Doing it the right way right from the start! Well don sir, well don!!!

 

[Ura-Ki]

Why not go whole hawg and get her a nice Ruger 10/22 as well. I had really good luck teaching my younguns to shoot with a rifle first before moving to a pistol! Not saying that a pistol isn't a good start, but a rifle shows improvements in shooting far faster and makes for extra fun when you set up little challenges! Its all about fun and developing skills for later as well as a pro gun culture that sadle needs help! I also agree in letting her pick the one she likes! Chances are she will pick one of the best ones and you will both be happy! get her involved, let her "help" in looking them up for reviews and such! Good on you for doing this for her and your self, This is not just her future, It's all OUR future!

 

[jblake00]

My kids love shooting our Browning 1911-22. It's 75% scaled down version of a full size 1911 makes it perfect for smaller hands.

 

[Joe13]

Why not go whole hawg and get her a nice Ruger 10/22 as well. I had really good luck teaching my younguns to shoot with a rifle first before moving to a pistol! Not saying that a pistol isn't a good start, but a rifle shows improvements in shooting far faster and makes for extra fun when you set up little challenges! Its all about fun and developing skills for later as well as a pro gun culture that sadle needs help! I also agree in letting her pick the one she likes! Chances are she will pick one of the best ones and you will both be happy! get her involved, let her "help" in looking them up for reviews and such! Good on you for doing this for her and your self, This is not just her future, It's all OUR future!

Good point.

Rifles are easier to teach things like muzzle awareness and the kids are IMExp much more accurate with rifles to start with. They can also be shot from a table with sand bags to just work on trigger control.

Personally, depending on the kid/s age, I'd get a cricket or some other 1 shot bolt action or maybe a Henery lever action (my personal favorite plinker) to make them reaquire the target etc vs pulling the trigger until the mag is empty. (Cheaper for the gun and they will go thru probably a 1/10th of the ammo in the same time, so cheaper there too).

I learned at age 4 with a Ruger Original Standard (The MK I) and a crossman (was it a 760? I dunno) pumpmaster, so shooting rifles was point - aim - shoot - hand it to Grandpa to pump 10 times and then he would (and then soon after would let me) load a single BB into the chamber and repeat.

The pistol, he would make me (as best as I could) load my own mags as far as I could get them, maybe 3 or 4 deep at first - maybe lol. 35 years later and I still shoot that pistol and it is still a pain to load but I even have fond memories of sore thumbs from loading mags.

 

[Joe13]

Over the weekend my daughter had the opportunity to shoot her first pistol courtesy of her uncle, and surprise surprise, she liked it! She did say that didn't like the recoil too much, therefore I'd like to get her a .22 semi auto in hopes that she'll maybe-possibly become a little more interested in shooting with her old man.

Models I'm looking at are the Smith & Wesson M&P .22, Ruger SR22, and Ruger 22/45. I'm leaning toward the S&W just because I'm such a fan of their full size pistols, and it would give her the experience of practicing with a pistol that's a good representation of most modern striker fired pistols. I own a Ruger Mark III Hunter, but I believe the weight of that pistol would be a big turn-off for her.

Anyone want to weigh in on this or recommend any other .22 pistols I should consider? Thanks!

If you run into ammo issues then let me know. I will either chip in (I can't help a ton, but I can afford to give a few 50 round boxes to keep it going at the least) or help you find it at a store as I have most weekdays off.

Great deal teaching your daughter to shoot - I was unable to do do for my girl for a number of reasons and now she is old enough to have made the dessicion that she just isn't interested in trying it.

Air soft in the garage at paper cups was the best I could afford when she was younger.

 

[Ironbar]

Well gentlemen, the point of this thread seems moot now. I asked her if she'd like to go with me to try out some different pistols, and she's right back to her complete indifference about shooting and such.

So, although she had fun THAT day, she continues to express virtually no interest in shooting with her dad. Sucks, but I'm not going to press the issue because when I attempt to engage her with anything her dad likes, she pretty much shuts down. Typical teenager.

So I will not be buying a new pistol any time soon, and I will continue my plans to build another AR.

 

[Joe13]

Well gentlemen, the point of this thread seems moot now. I asked her if she'd like to go with me to try out some different pistols, and she's right back to her complete indifference about shooting and such.

So, although she had fun THAT day, she continues to express virtually no interest in shooting with her dad. Sucks, but I'm not going to press the issue because when I attempt to engage her with anything her dad likes, she pretty much shuts down. Typical teenager.

So I will not be buying a new pistol any time soon, and I will continue my plans to build another AR.

I'd send you a like but you have my empathy friend. Mine was daddy's girl till about 13 and then she started doing the opposite of anything I had to suggest.

Closing in on 19 and she is just now starting to show a glimmer of interest in doing anything with her old man. Shooting isn't one of those things though.

 

[SVT-ROY]

Well gentlemen, the point of this thread seems moot now. I asked her if she'd like to go with me to try out some different pistols, and she's right back to her complete indifference about shooting and such.

So, although she had fun THAT day, she continues to express virtually no interest in shooting with her dad. Sucks, but I'm not going to press the issue because when I attempt to engage her with anything her dad likes, she pretty much shuts down. Typical teenager.

So I will not be buying a new pistol any time soon, and I will continue my plans to build another AR.

Same here man, 14 year old girl trained on a sig mosq,now its an SR22.. when she was 7-10. Good kid though, considering how I was. It sucks man...Heck when she was 8 I found her rubber band gun by her head on nightstand, when I asked her about it... She said because that's where yours is....haha cutest thing ever.

 

[KeepnitReel]

You never know , girls of all ages love gifts. New to the scene up here but I vote for the Beretta 950 .25 auto. My girl loves hers and sure is nice to have ammo available for sale when you walk in the store. Hope she has a change of heart for ya.

 

[salmonriverjohn]

All three daughters shoot, hunt and are as pretty as a picture (and that's from a fathers point of view that had to fend off undisirables) so to speak,
and their good at it.

They have kids your kids age.
It just took time my friend.

It seems that the ages between
13~18 are as hard on a young lady as it is on a young man, no?

 

[bennyl]

By the end of the day it doesn't matter how the gun performs, what is going to peak her interest is how it looka. You should go over a couple different styles and colorations and ask which she think looks the "best"

 

[Certaindeaf]

I believe he settled on a Ruger Mark III Hunter.

 

[Pandaz3]

S&W is coming out with a new 22, reminiscent of a Woodsman or Hi Standard, I don't know what the street price will be.

I feel for you Ironbar, not the first, but one of many trial and tribulations of being a dad. They will appreciate you when they are 30.

 

[Alfonse]

S&W is coming out with a new 22, reminiscent of a Woodsman or Hi Standard, I don't know what the street price will be.

I feel for you Ironbar, not the first, but one of many trial and tribulations of being a dad. They will appreciate you when they are 30.

I played with one at SHOT show. It is pretty nice and supposedly easy to take apart.

 

[pioneer461]

Over the weekend my daughter had the opportunity to shoot her first pistol courtesy of her uncle, and surprise surprise, she liked it! She did say that didn't like the recoil too much, therefore I'd like to get her a .22 semi auto in hopes that she'll maybe-possibly become a little more interested in shooting with her old man.

Anyone want to weigh in on this or recommend any other .22 pistols I should consider? Thanks!

Why not take her shopping and let her decide what she likes instead of trying to guess?

 

[Capn Jack]

^^^^ WHAT HE SAID ^^^^^

 

[Joe13]

Why not take her shopping and let her decide what she likes instead of trying to guess?

For the same reason I wouldn't take my daughter car shopping - she has almost zero knowledge about them other then what it looks like; we all know that the coolest looking gun or most comfortable at the table (little mouse guns in small hands) are not always the best shooters.

If she were knowledgeable enough and considering a conceal carry gun my advice would be much different.

 

[Ironbar]

Why not take her shopping and let her decide what she likes instead of trying to guess?

See post #48 above.

 

[mjbskwim]

Same here man, 14 year old girl trained on a sig mosq,now its an SR22.. when she was 7-10. Good kid though, considering how I was. It sucks man...Heck when she was 8 I found her rubber band gun by her head on nightstand, when I asked her about it... She said because that's where yours is....haha cutest thing ever.

Your night stand gun is a rubber band gun?

 

[Mistman]

My daughter is kind of the same way. She likes shooting when there's a gun in her hand but if I ask her if she wants to shoot she gets quiet and smiles a lot. I have 7 yo twins, the boy on the other hand loves to shoot. I wouldn't do a 22/45, I like them, they're fun but my experience has been they're picky and need cleaned regularly to function %100. I HATE taking them down for a good douching. I also have an SR22 and a Victory. My boy loves to shoot his SR22, he also likes the Victory but it starts to get heavy for him before too long. I can get a few hundred rnds through the SR before it starts to get funky, it'll start not returning to battery. If I shoot clean stuff it'll go longer. Cleaning takes about 5 minutes. Another thing, he can't load the Victory mags as the spring is too stiff and the spring depressor is really small. SR is a breeze, he can load it all day long. I used to think the MKIII was the greatest .22 auto about 20 years ago, I like Rugers but there are better options these days.
For a 14 yo girl, SR22 or Victory. Sig .22's are junk in my opinion, not a fan of Walther .22's either. It s/b simple to use, easy to operate and easy to clean.