• If you enjoy the forum please consider supporting it by signing up for a NES Membership  The benefits pay for the membership many times over.

First pistol and hello, new to the forum.

Sterg

Sterg

Joined
Jun 13, 2012
Messages
3,437
Likes
3,340
Location
Blackstone Valley
Feedback: 0 / 0 / 0
Hi everyone. new to the forum. I just got my LTC. At first I was thinking my first firearm was going to be a .357 Vaquero. I really love this revolver.Maybe it will be my second. After looking around ln the web and advice from other people ai have decided to get a Ruger SR22. Looking at my brothers I like the added safety features of it as well as being cheap to shoot being a 22.
I would like to get some opinions if anyone has this pistol. It is small enough to conceal so what do people thing of carrying a 22 for protection, and of course, please post some picturesif you have any.
Thanks
 
Sterg,

First, welcome to the forum and congratulations on your first purchase.

My thoughts on a .22LR as a protection weapon?

Carry a .22LR when nothing else will work. It should never be your weapon of choice, it's a weapon of necessity. A .22LR in the pocket is better than a .44 in the glove box.

Carry the heaviest caliber that you can shoot accurately and carry all day without bothering yoursel or drawing unwanted attention. If that's a .308, that's awesome. If that's a .22LR, it's better than nothing.

Personally, I would look for something heavier and faster when you can conceal something larger.
 
The SR22 seems to be a pretty good little pistol. Gun Tests liked the Walther P22 better if I'm not mistaken, as the SR22 is a copy of the Walther.

I carry a j-frame .38 out of convenience most of the time, but when I can I carry a Glock 27. Aside from that, carry the biggest gun you can.
 
Thanks for the replies guys. I just found a thread on CCW with a 22 and tend to agree. In that thread nobody really mentioned a .38. One of the reasons I like the Ruger Vaquero in .357 was that you can shoot .38's out of it. I don't know a lot about firearms and that is why I joined this forum, to learn and make good common sense decisions. Mike, the .38 looks like a good caliber that I would like to carry. What is a J frame?
 
I just got the Smith and Wesson M&P .22LR, mainly because it would be my first gun as well so I wanted something cheap to shoot to train with. I went M&P because the reviews sounded like it was less picky on ammo than the Ruger and it seemed a little more similar to their M&P 9mm, which I was planning on buying in a few months but bought at the same time instead haha.

Either way I love the. 22. You can shoot so many rounds to work on grip, trigger control, stance, breathing and sight picture it is awesome. I got it last sat, I bet I already put 1000 rounds through it. $50 haha how do you argue with that.

Cant say I have not loved the shotgun too...might have gone a little overboard with my first purchase. Hate it when $400 turns into $1400.
 
Only guy I knew who actually ended up using a gun to save his life did so with a .22. That being said, the person he shot (three times in the face from across a counter at a 7-11) ran away without pulling the trigger on the gun he was holding. The robber died about 100 yards away from the building, but all told there was some serious luck involved. If you want a deterrent, any gun may give an assailant pause. If you actually expect to shoot someone and want to knock them down quickly, AFAIK conventional wisdom suggests at least a .38 or 9mm and prefers bigger. I am by no means an expert - most of the people I know who have opinions start from what are you comfortable both carrying and shooting, and at least one of them (neither a small man nor an inexperienced shooter) carries (when he carries) a .32 based on that logic. Whatever you get, get comfortable with it.
 
DNTTexan said:
Only guy I knew who actually ended up using a gun to save his life did so with a .22. That being said, the person he shot (three times in the face from across a counter at a 7-11) ran away without pulling the trigger on the gun he was holding. The robber died about 100 yards away from the building, but all told there was some serious luck involved. If you want a deterrent, any gun may give an assailant pause. If you actually expect to shoot someone and want to knock them down quickly, AFAIK conventional wisdom suggests at least a .38 or 9mm and prefers bigger. I am by no means an expert - most of the people I know who have opinions start from what are you comfortable both carrying and shooting, and at least one of them (neither a small man nor an inexperienced shooter) carries (when he carries) a .32 based on that logic. Whatever you get, get comfortable with it.
Click to expand...


Ouch............
 
Sterg said:
Thanks for the replies guys. I just found a thread on CCW with a 22 and tend to agree. In that thread nobody really mentioned a .38. One of the reasons I like the Ruger Vaquero in .357 was that you can shoot .38's out of it. I don't know a lot about firearms and that is why I joined this forum, to learn and make good common sense decisions. Mike, the .38 looks like a good caliber that I would like to carry. What is a J frame?
Click to expand...

It's a frame size from Smith & Wesson

J-frame, K-frame, L-frame and their new X-frame (from small to large)

I have and occationally carry a J-frame Model 642 "Airweight" from S&W. It's a 5 shot .38 Special (.357 also available) revolver with a 2" barrel (1 3/4 for .357 I believe) and enclosed hammer so there's less to catch on. It makes a pretty small package.

The Kel-Tec P9 is thinner and typically easier to hide polymer framed single stack 9mm as another alternative.

.38 Special is very similar to a 9mm 9mm bullets are 0.355" in diameter and the .38 special is 0.357" in diameter both with similar bullet weights and velocities. As a revolver, the .38 special has a wider range of avaialble bullet shapes for different applications.
 
"N" Frame , don't forget the bad boy of the bunch ...

22 auto's are a great gun to learn with , and they are fun. Fun is an underrated factor when people ask " what should I buy ? " I like fun.

And may I have the pleasure of being the first guy to say " Buy a 1911. " ?
 
Thanks Shade.

I should have been more specific Sterg. I carry a S&W 442 most days. It disappears into a front pocket and is easy to carry as a wallet or cell phone: just chuck it in, speed loader in other pocket, and you're good to go.

Vaquero would be a good range gun, but I wouldn't carry it. One reason is that it would require fine motor skills to operate in a very stressful situation. Having to cock the gun for every shot would be tough to do if you were being attacked or being closed in on. I've never heard of anyone CC'ing one before, not sure about holsters.
If you want one, I would still get one as they are good, fun guns.
 
Hi Mike. Yeah I wouldn't carry a Vaquero. It would be for pure pleasure. I wouldn't want to stare down the nose of one though,LOL. I'll have to look at the guns mentioned like the S&W 442. Thanks
 
Having to cock the gun for every shot would be tough to do if you were being attacked or being closed in on.
Click to expand...

Practice pulling the trigger and fanning the hammer instead. Still not my choice or recommendation, but work with what you have.
 
Sterg said:
Hi Mike. Yeah I wouldn't carry a Vaquero. It would be for pure pleasure. I wouldn't want to stare down the nose of one though,LOL. I'll have to look at the guns mentioned like the S&W 442. Thanks
Click to expand...

Snubbies are not the easiest or most pleasant to shoot. It takes practice but they can be controlled and fired accurately. It all comes down to what you prefer to shoot. I love wheel guns and semi's equally. I would like to get a S&W 4" Model 66 or something similar to try to carry.

Without coming on to you, what's your body type?
 
BigMike said:
That had gone through my mind but I imagine there would be a lot of non-resets in there.
Click to expand...

that was actually a common way of shooting at one time. It's not any more and I think some of new single action revolvers have resets on the triggers that preven the cylindar from rotating more than 1 chamber unless the trigger is reset (Safety Feature) but with the older wheel guns it actually works as long as you let the trigger go all the way forward before fanning it again.

Accuracy generally sucks though cause you really can't aim, just level arm and aim with the shoulders.
 
Sterg, welcome to the forums. As a relatively new guy myself the only advice I can give you is to recognize that you're never going to find "the one perfect gun for all occasions and I'll never need another" so just reconcile yourself to the fact that you'll have several very shortly. With that, I'd say get the SR22 for a practice gun as it's cheap to feed (I love my MKIII for that) while working on the basics or just target shooting. I believe the layout and feel of everything is the same as all the others in the SR line (I could be wrong here) so it's easy to then pick up something in a 9mm or 40 (full size or compact) that feels familiar but has the punch to be a reasonable defense weapon. Of course, if all you've got is the 22 when the bad guy comes around, better to have that than just harsh language.
 
Sterg said:
Hi everyone. new to the forum. I just got my LTC. At first I was thinking my first firearm was going to be a .357 Vaquero. I really love this revolver.Maybe it will be my second. After looking around ln the web and advice from other people ai have decided to get a Ruger SR22. Looking at my brothers I like the added safety features of it as well as being cheap to shoot being a 22.
I would like to get some opinions if anyone has this pistol. It is small enough to conceal so what do people thing of carrying a 22 for protection, and of course, please post some picturesif you have any.
Thanks
Click to expand...

Welcom Sterg...new here myself. NES is invaluable to the sport here in mass.

sr22 is perfect for getting range time in, and after spending some time shooting, you'll have a better idea as to what you want next. I have shot the sr22 and highly recommend it due to reliability, build quality, and I'm a huge fan of cheap ammo.

9mm should be high on the list...minimimal recoil and ammo is relatively inexpensive @ $0.20 per round.
 
Recon has the right idea. 9mm is a great place to start for a carry piece. You want something that is fun to shoot too, so I wouldn't get a .40 right off the bat.
 
BigMike said:
Without coming on to you, what's your body type?
Click to expand...

Mike, I'm 5'10 190 lbs. I have a small gut but I run regularly so I,m in decent shape for 56. My nephew's telling me to shoot some different guns before I buy, but I'm still stuck on the SR22 to get some shooting in.

Recon, what you say makes sense. I wouldn't mind a 9mm for a CCW. My original thinking of buying a hand cannon for shooting was that it would be fun. Maybe not so after a few hours of shooting at the range and wasting money on rounds.
One of the reasons I wanted the Vaquero in .357 was that it could shoot .38's so it wouldn't be too painful on my wallet. It is a beautiful gun for sure, so maybe some day.
Thanks for all the welcomes and replies guys. The initial excitement of getting my class A and a gun has worn off a bit and now so I feel I can make a common sense decision. How's this sound? A 22, most likely the Ruger SR, and a decent sized caliber centerfire like a 9 or a .38 for CCW. There are some courses that specialize in just conceal carry practices I thought I saw somewhere. That wouldn't be bad to take.
 
Mike, you were posting while ai was writing. I agree about the 9 also. The hand cannon fun factor has worn off as I read more, and I have to get out there and shoot.
 
BigMike said:
9mm is a great place to start for a carry piece. You want something that is fun to shoot too, so I wouldn't get a .40 right off the bat.
Click to expand...

Sterg said:
9MM sounds good to me. Now I have the fun to look at what brands and type to buy.
Click to expand...

This couldn't be anymore accurate. I would suggest the SR9c or having a look at our classifieds they have great deals on a lot of awesome carry pieces. i.e. Khar's, XD's and HK's. But before buying a handgun I would put the time and effort of looking around and doing your homework. It will pay off big time in the long run. Give everything a look and make sure you know what feels best for you and make sure you take in to account the state compliancies. That can be a big deal if you live in Mass.
 
Last edited:
Welcome to NES. There are a bunch of very smart guys here with lots of experience on the new firearms out there.

My favorite CCW is a S&W model 60 Chief's Special in SS. It is 38 Special and dead nuts on at 20-30 feet.....with practice.

Also have a Ruger P85 in 9mm, two-.357s by Ruger and a .22 Ruger MARK II ; these keep the the eyes and fingers in sync and the ammo manufacturers happy.

I had a Walther PP in .22 and loved it.....but it wouldn't shoot hollow points.

My son has a Steyr in 9mm; this is an excellent CCW too.
 
Welcome to the group. There is a lot of great advice given here. Just remember it will boil down to what feels right in your hand and how well you handle it. My first, was a SR9c. The 9mm ammo is reasonably priced so I knew I could practice a lot with it. I also have a 22 so that I can shoot even more without killing my wallet.
 
Just looked at the ma. compliant page. Looks like Taurus isn't legal or approved here?

Thanks xris. Looks like the 22 and a 9mm seems right. When my wife goes for her LTC she can shoot the 22. She is taking a safety course soon and I have a funny feeling she will get hooked
 
Last edited:

Similar threads

Smart gun will put fingerprint, facial recognition technology to work: Biofire has called it the 'first and only biometric firearm on the market'
2
Replies
40
Views
582
42!
42!
New to this whole forum and thread
2 3
Replies
85
Views
3K
LT5
L
This month’s Ford Hall Forum.
Replies
1
Views
113
MAGA99
MAGA99
Went to purchase first firearm and got delayed from NICS
2 3 4
Replies
95
Views
2K
upcountry
upcountry
New Canik TTI combat failure to fire.
2
Replies
30
Views
792
jkelly1229
J
Back
Top Bottom