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

[salmonriverjohn]

Get 22 that you want, that way you will have it on hand when she does go shooting with you again.

Sage advice right there.

 

[Sgt Nambu]

[QUOTE="Mistman, post: 1404594, member: 39401]

.......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.[/QUOTE]

Those are both great options! I love my Sig Mosquito but the previous owner had issues with it and sent it in under warranty.
Now, since I've had it, never a problem of any kind! Shoots where the sights are, trigger is nice, good to go! It is the only lightweight .22 handgun I own so it fills a niche!
'Course, I get that no one buys a firearm to send it back to have it slicked up!

 

[Mistman]

I tried out a friends Mosquito as I really wanted one. After not being able to get through a magazine w/out failures I figured move onto something else. I know once in a while something doesn't go right from the factory, I too have sent guns in. Anymore it doesn't bother me, I usually send my SA 1911's back to get the warranty service done after the 1st couple hundred rounds, I can always find something I'd like smoothed up or the sights changed out. Last time I sent a Champion back for a little trigger work and it came back w/all new internals and a crispy trigger for free (and new sights). I had a hi-end 1911 gaul on me, it spent a little time back at the mother ship. Works great now.
I like Sig guns (currently lusting over a 220 in 10mm) but that little .22 wasn't worth my time. I read some good reports on them. For me a .22 auto either runs well or it doesn't, they're dirty little rounds and can cause havoc within a short period of time on some guns. I've had MkIII's that were great and have seen and shot others that weren't. 22/45's seem to be even more finicky in my experience. In a day of plinking it's not anything to go through 3-400 rnds I would prefer not to have to clean up a sticky slide/bolt, extractor or bore before the days over. I haven't even cleaned the Victory yet, only had it 2 weeks. I put a couple drops of FP-10 on it every couple hundred rounds. Aside from the slide not locking back a couple times within the 1st hundred rounds it's been flawless, I'm up to 800+ rnds now.

 

[x2ndxall]

Maybe you should just do what I did. Skip the little kid stuff and put something interesting in her hands. My 14 year old shoots a .40. Her and "my pistol Becky" as she calls it, are inseparable. She absolutely loves it. She hounds me to shoot with her every time I make it home.

 

[Joe13]

Maybe you should just do what I did. Skip the little kid stuff and put something interesting in her hands. View attachment 278539 My 14 year old shoots a .40. Her and "my pistol Becky" as she calls it, are inseparable. She absolutely loves it. She hounds me to shoot with her every time I make it home.

Love the post - disagree with the advice.

I take a .22 pistol or rifle (depending on what I'm shooting) to switch too every now and then to keep from developing bad habbits with recoil heavy guns.

The .22 let me verify that and keeps me from getting too tense.

I can't imagine learning the fundamentals with a .40 as a grown man much less a 14 year old anything.

That's just me though.


And yes, I'm jealous as well.

 

[x2ndxall]

Love the post - disagree with the advice.

I take a .22 pistol or rifle (depending on what I'm shooting) to switch too every now and then to keep from developing bad habbits with recoil heavy guns.

The .22 let me verify that and keeps me from getting too tense.

I can't imagine learning the fundamentals with a .40 as a grown man much less a 14 year old anything.

That's just me though.


And yes, I'm jealous as well.

It definitely depends on the person and it may be in her blood. And she does shoot a variety of weapons. The .40 is the one that got, and keeps, her interested. And she's deadly with it.

I'm not sure I understand the bad habits part though? I've heard this before and it may be perfectly valid, but I don't get it.

 

[Mistman]

I also think it's really dependant on lifestyle, where you live and the interest of the child. My son was shooting a .45 @ 4, not all the time but once in a while when I was shooting. I have a couple ranges at my house and shoot all the time, literally everyday when I can (put 50 through the Victory and 40 through the AR after I got home from work today). My son was shooting a 9mm 1911 regularly by 6, we call it his gun. He loves to shoot, is very responsible around firearms, UNDERSTANDS what they mean to us and is a good kid. He's 7 now. I posted some pictures of he and his twin shooting @ the backyard range on another forum. They had ear protection, eye protection and were holding the gun safely w/out fingers on the trigger in the pics. I got a lot of positive comments and some not so positive. They've been around guns since before they could walk, I wouldn't change it, I was shooting by the time I was 8, had my own .22 @ 10 and am still passionate about firearms today. Truth be told he enjoys shooting .22 more than anything else right now, there's no recoil and it's pretty quiet.

 

[Ironbar]

Maybe you should just do what I did. Skip the little kid stuff and put something interesting in her hands. View attachment 278539 My 14 year old shoots a .40. Her and "my pistol Becky" as she calls it, are inseparable. She absolutely loves it. She hounds me to shoot with her every time I make it home.

I wish my kid were like that. Alas, I have a dread feeling that I will never be as close with my daughter as truly I wanted to be. She's too much like I was when I was her age.

I had a somewhat tenuous relationship with my own dad.

 

[x2ndxall]

I wish my kid were like that. Alas, I have a dread feeling that I will never be as close with my daughter as truly I wanted to be. She's too much like I was when I was her age.

I had a somewhat tenuous relationship with my own dad.

Sometimes they just need to mature a bit. It's a tough age, don't give up on her.

 

[x2ndxall]

Than maybe you should reread the OP

Yup, my bad. That was a month and a half ago. Forgot.
Thanks for the reminder.

 

[Joe13]

I'm not sure I understand the bad habits part though? I've heard this before and it may be perfectly valid, but I don't get i

There can be an anticipation of the recoil and accounting for it before it actually fires - milliseconds, so when you go to a very low recoil gun it is very obvious if your brain is unconsciously trying to auto correct. Your shots will be low.

At least that's my understanding of the mechanics.

It is more of a beginners tool (or breaking in a new toy with a Big Bang) but I have always kept .22's around cuz I love them and it gives me a little break from the bigger stuff to make sure I'm breathing and squeezing correctly.

 

[DeanMk]

When I was growing up, my dad had a Ruger Mk.1 that was about the same age as I.
I could shoot it just fine and enjoy it every time I take it out (which is not nearly enough).
However, it is a little light in the front end and I'm thinking a little weight out that way (like a slide) actually wouldn't hurt.
Thus, my vote would be for the SR22.
A slim single stacker that exudes Ruger's legendary QC and fits most hands very well.