What gun would you recommend given my tastes?

Question

I am looking for a small gun maybe a Walther P22?

These are my guidelines in choosing my gun.
-Small like a P22 or comparable
-"High Tech looking" like the P22 or any that looks modern
-"Enough"just "enough" Stopping power (not looking for a deagle or 45)
-"Accurate" at long distances
-Not a lot of recoil or noise (as in the bang)

I am a first time buyer and have shot 45 38 super 9mm i really like the 9mm but a 22 would be nice cause its small and the P22 is what i am aiming for with the 5" barrel...but i also want your opinions on other guns i have never heard about

here is a link of one that i really like searching trough gun broker it fits what im looking for.....

i will also use it for long range shooting and self defense at home i dont intend to kill someone at home i just need to shoot them and they feel it and hear it...the rest my fists can handle, the odds of me winning a fight between a person i just shot with a .22 or a 9 and me are great.....

HELP

http://gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=67745649

oh yeah my price is no higher then 500

Answer 1

First, for target practice there is nothing cheaper than a 22. The Walther P22 is a great gun, very accurate and fun to shoot. It would be a good choice. Get the two barrel edition as it gives you a little more for dollar as you can switch to the shorter barrel when you get better.

For home protection, a gun is the LAST resort. Consider layered defense. Motion lights outside. Good locks on the doors. Signs that say you have a security system (even if you do not), a dog that barks, and a battle plan for inside the house. For example, putting the kid's bedroom between your bed room and the stairs is not a good idea as the kid is now between you and the intruder.

Now, as far as an intruder inside the house, three ways to really scare someone and hopefully they run away before you have to shoot.

SOUND. Nothing scares intruders more than the sound of a pump action shot gun being racked. It is pretty hard to miss someone at close range with a shot gun and the shot is not as likely to go thru the wall and hurt your kid or wife.

LIGHT. Put a laser sight on the gun. That little red beam can not be mistaken and if an intruder sees the beam on his chest, he most likely will run. Unless your house is dusty or foggy, he will not able to "trace" the beam back to you.

DOG: Most intruders scope out the target. If they see you have a very big dog, they probably will look elsewhere. But if they do come in. Make sure the dog can get to them before you do.

COMBINATIONS:

Put a laser sight on a pump shot gun. RACK RACK!. Then laser beam them.

Use the laser beam and the dog. This is fun! I have a 90 pound Rhodesian Ridgeback (The Lion Dog) that loves to chase laser beams. All I have to do is use the laser sight on my hand gun and lead the dog ahead of me down the hall and stairs. If anyone is there, I probably will not have to shoot them as the dog will eat them. If they shoot the dog, that makes it pretty clear they are not in the house for a social visit and I would have no problem emptying my magazine on someone who shot my dog!

TACTICS: DO NOT go turn room lights on! Your biggest advantage over an intruder is you know the lay of the land. You do not want him to see you, or worse yet, you do not want to be back lighted by your own bed room light. Leave the lights off. Of course, as you advance on the intruder, your wife is calling 911 on her cell phone. (Professional burglers cut the phone lines!)

CHOICE OF GUN: The 22 is a great target gun, but for home defense it stinks. Either go with a pump action shot gun or a semi-auto pistol in 40 caliber or bigger. The Springfield Armory XD in 45 ACP is a good gun. 45 ACP is cheap to buy and has enough stopping power for anything. It also has more than enough rounds in the magazine you do not have to worry about reloading. If you got kids in the house, keep the magazine loaded and no round in the chamber. Most kids can not figure out how to rack the slide and if they do, they most often do not have the strength to do it. Revolvers are a NO NO when kids are around. They put their thumbs on the trigger and their hands around the grip and shoot themselves in the head. Makes for a very bad day.

Answer 2

Congratulations on the decision to buy a first gun. There is a big difference in stopping power between a .22 and a 9mm. The .22 is great for target shooting, but it is a bad caliber for home defense weapon. The bullets are so small that they travel through the person and overpenetrate without knockdown power.

There are many 9mm is calibers as small as the Walter. Try the Glock 26 subcompact in 9mm. Here's a picture with some links.

Also, "long" ranges for a pistol are usually 15-20 yards. Maybe 25. However most conflicts happen in 7 yards or less. You trade accuracy when you go with a smaller gun, but not enough to make much difference for defense.

Answer 3

The Walters P-22 is nice, modern pistol. Two things:

1. It is NOT a long distance shooter (even with the optional 5" barrel).

2. It is NOT an adequate defensive weapon except as a weapon of opportunity.

Elaborating on #2: The .22 will kill and will kill dead, but not quickly enough particularly if dealing with determined or drug-crazed aggressors. Problem #2, you maim someone in self-defense and you will be sued and may lose everything you have. A guy shot in Houston in the gut with a .22 had the slug removed from his scrotum. Twenty-twos fired from the short barrel of a pistol or revolver tend to possess just enough 'umph' to enter the human torso area and then bounce around in there (rather than exiting cleanly) wrecking all kinds of havoc with the internal organs.

On the upside the P-22 is a handsome, accurate, fun to shoot plinker. Mine works best with the hottest .22s I can find like the Stingers and the like. It definitely does not like the subsonic .22s.

For a home defense pistol I recommend the Glock Model 19 .9mm with nightsights and hi cap magazines. Use a good personal defense ammo or even the pre-fragmented slugs.

For home defense always be aware of your surroundings as bullets (even .22s) will shoot through drywall. Or simply use the pre-frag ammo which is NOT available for the rimfire .22s.

Good luck.

H

Answer 4

What you are asking is not realistic. If you choose to own a gun for self-defense, you have to be willing to use it. Shooting someone in the leg can be as fatal as COM, if you it the femoral artery. A .22 can kill just like the bigger rounds. If you want to own a gun great and welcome to the club, just be aware that ANY gun is considered lethal force. Shooting 'long range' with a handgun? 100 yards? 200 yards? 100 feet?
At $500 you can afford a lot of quality guns. A quiet load in .357/.38 revolver is the 148 grain wadcutters in .38 special. I also like the option you listed with the walther a fun little .22

Answer 5

Welcome to the world of gun ownership.

First off, you need to reexamine your position on using deadly force. I'm not saying one or the other side is right....each must choose for himself.

Before you put a loaded firearm in reach in time of a possible threat, you need to have in your heart the will to take a life.

There is no middle ground here. Either you have the will to take a life that is threatening you and your loved ones or you do not.

If you do not, you have no business planning on threatening someone or wounding someone with a firearm. It is a deadly weapon, period. If personal defense is going to be part of this pistol's duties, let me strongly suggest you get a larger caliber such as the 9mm.

That said, the Walther P22 is a sweet .22 pistol at an attractive price. It's fixed barrel and action should make for an accurate target pistol at medium ranges. Make sure you don't dry fire it a lot, as the inertial firing pin would be prone to getting damaged. Reviews on this relatively new model are good.

While it does not have the modern 'tactical pistol' appeal, you may also wish to look at Ruger's .22 semi-auto pistol lineup. These are ledgendary .22 target pistols that have proven their worth for decades.

WHERE DID YOU GET THAT PRICE? Look at my last link below. $360, new in box, both barrels. Add $20 shipping and $25 for a local dealer to do the legal transfer....$405.

Answer 6

The first two people are correct. The .22 is a bad choice for self-defense. I read in a magazine that the Bersa Thunder .380ACP (like a 9mm short) was a good small gun. That or the Taurus Millinium pistol in 9mm are priced around $300 new. The Walther is overrated because of the James Bond movies.

Answer 7

I dont wish to rain on your parade, but a 22 is not a good choice for protection. It lacks power, many people have been killed with this caliber but, dont get me wrong. Plus I have had way to many 22 shells misfire (hammer or striker hits the rim but round fails to fire). The smallest cartridge I trust my life with is a 32acp using mag-safe or corbon cartridges. But this is just times when what I'm wearing dictates a very small handgun to conceal. I'm my home, I and my wife depend on a 9mm glock 19 and a 12 ga. Remington 870 and a AR-15 on stand-by.
A 22 is great for honing your shooting skills but a last choice at defensive work.
Id look for a good used 38/357 sub nose revolver or compact auto in 380,9mm or 40cal first.

good luck and happy shooting

Answer 8

I am a huge fan of the Springfield Armory XD series. I have the full size XD 45 with 14 rounds of 45 ammo there, you stop most problems in their tracks.
As for the 22 caliber round, I am not saying I would volunteer to be shot by one, but I'd pass if I had other choices.
The only time I was involved in a deadly force situation, the 45 round was a totally effective 1 shot stop on a knife wielding nut job. I can imagine no finer normally available round than the 45.

Answer 9

"self defense at home i dont intend to kill someone at home i just need to shoot them and they feel it and hear it...the rest my fists can handle,"

That is dangerous thinking. Let your fists handle things while your wife watches? What if something goes wrong with your plan? Now you watch the bad guys take turns with your familiy. Rethink your Security Plan.

I recommend getting the latest copy of Combat Handguns. This will help you with your self-defense mindset and legalities.

As for a pistol. I carry the Kimber RCP in .45 ACP. If this is too much gun for you, check out the 9mm Glocks. My wife carries the Glock 26 subcompact and loves it. Not too much recoil or flash and loaded with Cor Bon bullets it provides plenty of stopping power.

Answer 10

A .22 has negligible stopping power.

Friends of mine are "breaking in" a new P22 and encountering a lot of malfunctions right out of the box.

Recommend: find a Walther product since that suits your aesthetic, but no smaller than .32 and better a .380 or 9mm.