[mchldelf]

Thoughts ? I have many female friends that carry a .22 pistol for self-defense . I'm considering getting one for my wife. She has some wrist issues and I figured the low recoil would help. The question it's which one? Walther P22 seams to be a good choice.

[MilProAkron]

Originally Posted by mchldelf

Thoughts ? I have many female friends that carry a .22 pistol for self-defense . I'm considering getting one for my wife. She has some wrist issues and I figured the low recoil would help. The question it's which one? Walther P22 seams to be a good choice.

The Walther seems like a nice compact package. Beretta makes some compact ones as well. Some of my issues with .22 pistols is that many are too large for their caliber because they are meant for target shooting, not concealment.

You'll probably hear a lot of people saying "nobody carries a 22..." blah blah blah lol. Any gun is better than no gun.

[Overkill0084]

I'd have you look at a .25 acp (or better yet, a .32 acp.)
With the .25 at least, you have a cartridge that was designed with semi auto use in mind, thus much more likely to function reliably. Also, I'm no ballistics expert, but I suspect that the .25 may have a slight performance advantage out of a short little barrel.
Check the .32 as well, it's not exactly a punishing cartridge and will be superior to either of your smaller options.

[potentialglock]

North American arms they make tiny. 22 revolvers.

[mchldelf]

All great points, but I also want a gun that is cheap for her to shoot.

[danf_fl]

If a pit-bull sized dog was coming at you, would you feel confident with the .22 to put the dog down?
If a 160# wild pig was coming at you, would you feel confident with the .22 to put the pig down?

If the answer is "No", then why are you confident that the .22 will stop the worse two legged animal?

[eldarbeast]

I would only carry .22 for self defense in a revolver due to the chance for a misfire.

Wth a semi auto, you'd have to clear the weapon to continue shooting. With a revolver, you could continue firing merely by continuing to squeeze the trigger.

.22 Mag over .22 LR.

eldar

[potentialglock]

Originally Posted by mchldelf

All great points, but I also want a gun that is cheap for her to shoot.

I understand but if her life depends on the caliber of weapon wouldn't you want something proven to stop an assailant?

[CrazedJava]

Check out the Bersa Thunder in .22 LR. Gets solid reviews and is more reliable than the Walther.

Avoid the Walther and SIG .22's for personal defense. These are actually made 3rd party by a company called Umarex and have spotty reviews. Fine guns for plinking but not guns I would rely on.

If the Walther P22 size is good, check out the Ruger SR22. Can be found for the same price or cheaper and is also well reviewed. For concealed carry I would personally prefer the Bersa.

.25 ACP may not be cheap, but it is more reliable than .22 LR. That is the other issue. The best .22 auto will still have a problem with bad ammo. I would recommend CCI Mini-Mags exclusively if you're using an automatic.

Another recommendation is to check out some 9 shot compact revolvers. Harder to reload but if you come across a bad round you can just pull the trigger again. If you have a misfire due to a bad round in an auto it could cost you.

I would HIGHLY recommend a .32 ACP. Only because of the wrist issues, typically I would recommend higher. I get that cost is an issue but for self defense I think you should always chamber the biggest round you can carry.

[manta]

They used to issue a .22 here for personal protection.