My first pistol

[Eosyn]

I picked up my very first pistol today and had a fun time checking it out. Getting the feel for racking a pistol, field stripping it and just learning about it as I read the manual. As you may recall, I posted last month about a first pistol (22 LR vs 9mm) to purchase to learn with my 13-yo daughter who dislikes loud noises. I took some of your advice and got a 22 LR pistol, the Ruger SR22. I'm so excited I wanted to share a pic of it and the carrying case I got to go along with it.

Next up is to take safety and defense courses with the wifeypoo and daughter. Are there any great benefits in joining the NRA?

 

[ZeeOSix]

Originally Posted by Eosyn
I picked up my very first pistol today and had a fun time checking it out. Getting the feel for racking a pistol, field stripping it and just learning about it as I read the manual. As you may recall, I posted last month about a first pistol (22 LR vs 9mm) to purchase to learn with my 13-yo daughter who dislikes loud noises. I took some of your advice and got a 22 LR pistol, the Ruger SR22. I'm so excited I wanted to share a pic of it and the carrying case I got to go along with it.


Nice .22 ... and I assume you all wear ear protection when shooting? If so, there isn't much difference in noise level between a .22 and 9 mm if you have good ear protetion.

 

[Revving2Redline]

Only shoot copper plated .22lr. Lead nose fouls up too quickly

 

[HangFire]

The copper plating on 22's is cosmetic only and can be defeated with your fingernail, unlike copper jacketed centerfire bullets.

It may be some nose profiles feed better than others, but looking for the copper color alone to solve fouling issues probably won't work.

Remington Thunderbolts have a very high incidence of outright failure to fire, and high and low velocities. My personal experience, and many others. I own a cronograph. I had to stop measuring tbolts because some were so slow they threatened to drop into the crony. Not counting the many duds, they still have the largest range of velocity.

Start your daughter off right with some quality ammo. Save the Thunderbolts for later when you are doing clearing drills.

 

[billt460]

If you are purchasing .22 ammo for long term storage, or "hoarding" for lack of a better word, then copper plated bullets have a definite advantage. Because they prevent oxidation of the exposed lead bullet. I have some 40+ year old non copper plated, lead target .22's that are covered with a layer of white oxidation. This is spite of what is supposed to be a wax coating that was applied to them when they were made. That same age ammunition with copper washed bullets is still bright and shiny.

 

[Eosyn]

That 50-round pack of ammo was given to me from the dealer. I don't know much about ammo, yet. I bought 4 of these Federal 525s.

 

[joekingcorvette]

Rugers are awesome and American made congrats on the new gun.

 

[Bobaloo22]

Very nice!

 

[Cujet]

I've been wanting to get one of those. I truly enjoy shooting the 22's. I have an older Mark II target pistol that is downright amazingly accurate. And of course my trusty Ruger 10-22.

The federal ammo always works well for me. However, I just don't go through all that much ammo. So I purchase the Velocitor ammo for my 22's. It's got a bit more umph (velocity and energy) without being underweight or in a different sized case. I find that Velocitor is about the highest quality 22 ammo, and among the most reliable rimfire available. I find it to be the best option for 22's. Would it be the best in a pistol for self defense? Not sure.

What I am sure of, is that it's additional power reliably cycles 22 actions of all sorts of different guns.


https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/cci-velocitor-rimfire-ammo

 

[maxdustington]

Nice! My next gun is going to be a pistol for sure.

My first gun was a Henry Golden Boy, and BPS would only let me buy a single 500 round box of .22. I said I wanted 1000 rounds or so and the salesman was a little concerned at that. Canada sucks!

 

[Boomer]

In my experience, .22s are very sensitive to ammo. What shoots well in mine maybe won't shoot well in yours. With all my .22 rifles and pistols, I fire a range of brands into targets at a fixed range, 25 yards for rifles and 7-8 yards for pistols/revolvers. I label each target as to the type of ammo used and the weapon. After you shoot a variety of ammo and have a target for each type, spread them out and you will see which your gun likes best. I find that the hyperveolcity stuff does not shoot well in my two rifles compared to standard CCI LR ammo which does really well. But Thunderbolt ammo is all over the place.

This is a great way to help your daughter to understand some of the principles of firearms while giving her practice at firing the weapon.

 

[Astro14]

I've had mixed results with Winchester .22 and Remington .22 ammo in that pistol. CCI has always been excellent. Never tried the Federal.

My neighbor has a Ruger SR22, though I remember the barrel being a bit shorter. I've taken her (78 year old woman, the Ruger was her first gun) to the range several times and cleaned her Ruger for her.

An excellent choice for your situation. It's ergonomic, shoots well, and is reasonably priced.

It, like my neighbor's, may not like some brands of ammo, and I would recommend the CCI if you find that to be the case.

 

[CourierDriver]

great purchase, lots of fun to...................

 

[sw99]

The SR22 and the M&P22 are the top of my next pistol list for sure! Please post a range report.

 

[spasm3]

CCI is excellent. My walther p22 is picky about higher velocity ammo to cycle the slide. I also have had good results with winchester m*22. Functions reliably in my walther so should be good in your ruger.

Definitely the safety courses. Establish set routines that everyone with access to the gun is familiar. I.E. the gun is ALWAYS stored empty, or the gun is ALWAYS stored hot and ready to go.

Consistently handle it the same, never hand a loaded gun to each other, set it down, the other person picks it up. Clearing routines followed by everyone. Its considered loaded until proven other wise.

 

[Triple_Se7en]

CCI is all I buy.

 

[Leo99]

I've had good luck with that Federal ammo but not with the Winchester white box in my pistol. My S&W .22 AR looking rifle shoots anything well.

 

[xxch4osxx]

Originally Posted by maxdustington
Nice! My next gun is going to be a pistol for sure.

My first gun was a Henry Golden Boy, and BPS would only let me buy a single 500 round box of .22. I said I wanted 1000 rounds or so and the salesman was a little concerned at that. Canada sucks!


Concerned about what? 500 round boxes? I used to buy crates of 1200 rounds at a time when Ontario Sporting Goods was in business, nobody thought anything of it.

 

[Eosyn]

Just got back from the range, shooting my new pistol for the first time. What I experienced:

• Started to get blisters on my middle and ring finger, more so the middle finger. Either the handle is too small (using the larger adapter) or I'm holding the handle incorrectly.
• 3 jams using the Federal ammo, all while loading the magazines. The round did not make it into the chamber. I think this is operator error rather than ammo or gun.
• Double action on first Trigger pull is heavy. Subsequent trigger pulls are much easier.
• Couldn't hold pistol steady when aiming. contributing this to my excitement and nervousness.
• Thumb got sore pushing the lever while loading magazines.

Over all, not a bad experience. I'm okay with everything I listed (as they can be corrected) except for the blisters.
Here are my two targets. I think I shot about 100 rounds today (not all on the 2 targets). The other targets, I'm too ashamed to show.

 

[Eosyn]

Astro14, I purchased the 4.5" barrel version. Total length is 7.5" I think. All other SR22s are 3.5" barrels, an inch shorter than mine.

Thank you for the CCI ammo info. I will purchase that brand next. Anyone have experience with Aguila ammo?