How many loungers got guns for Christmas?

I wonder if I could hold this comfortably. How hard is the slide to pull back?

Mom had her heart set on this PINK .22 Taurus semi-auto that she saw at the gun show where Dad picked up his Judge & my Mossberg but Dad wasn't having it. First of all it was smaller than my iPhone & Mom already has a .32 semi that fits in her purse; second Dad said "I'm not buying a PINK handgun unless Jesus himself is standing next to me on Judgement Day and he says I have to!"

I am actually hoping to purchase my first one this year, but I dont know what I will get. I need something for smaller hands (so for ladies), that can be concealed in a purse or maybe on a leg/ankle strap. I will be going back to the range soon to try stuff out I guess. I dont even know where to start.

My Christmas present to myself

There are lots of reasons NOT to get a Taurus Auto, but the two you listed are not among them.

In general , Taurus makes acceptable wheel guns, but their autos are crap.

Eh, Mom thinks she's a crack shot but I feel better knowing she has a .380 in her purse than I would if she carried a .22. She might as well get a Derringer at that point IMO.

This is what I'm lusting after but they're (a) hard to find right now; and (b) expensive as hell because of (a).

I guess I could consider this my christmas present to myself:



It's a Sig 522 with a Trijicon ACOG Reflex optic... Damn optic cost about as much as the rifle.

There are lots of reasons NOT to get a Taurus Auto, but the two you listed are not among them.

In general , Taurus makes acceptable wheel guns, but their autos are crap.

I personally love the way this gun feels in my hand compared to many others but of course that is an individual thing. The slide is relatively hard to pull back compared to some others but I have read that it does get better after a putting a few hundred rounds through it.

Supposedly this compact version is intended as a carry gun but I'm pretty sure it won't be my first choice when I eventually do get my CPL. I just like it because it is fun to shoot and should be pretty reliable.

I was agonna recommend either an XDM or the SR9C. I see one of the other lounge ladies got themselves one of the SR9C's for Xmas:

I need to see if a show is coming around anytime soon so I can try a bunch. I know that the 9mm I tried of a friends was a little too big for me to hold so I wasn't comfortable

I really need to do good research. I dont know nearly enough about a handgun.

FD,

Some gun ranges rent guns for you to try, for not much money. If a 9mm is a little too big, I suggest you look at a .380ACP caliber pistol, such as ...

Walther PPK/S (mfg. by Smith & Wesson)
Bersa Thunder CC
Colt Mustang
Sig Sauer P238
Ruger LCP

At the range I went to I used a Ruger .22 and loved it.

For $800, why not get a Kimber?

At the range I went to I used a Ruger .22 and loved it.

Well notice I didn't say I'd bought the Ruger yet. I expect they'll come down in price when Ruger gets off their ass & starts producing more of them.

A .22 is great to get your technique honed - aiming, firing, you can even practice drawing (I mentioned I'd bought myself a 1911 in .22 caliber - ultimately I want to buy a .45 1911 but my purpose in buying the .22 is to practice shooting and correct any bad habits while I'm firing cheap ammo instead of the considerably more expensive .45). But as tresanus mentioned, a .22 is not optimal for self-defense or really much more than hunting small game, like rabbits and squirrels.

Everyone should have a .22 but I don't think people should rely on one to defend their home or their person. You can kill a man with a .22 but you'll need a lot of luck or pretty good aim. A .22 round isn't going to stop an attacker and while you may be able to put multiple bullets into someone, the point of close-in self-defense is to put someone down right away - not to shoot them a bunch of times and wait for them to bleed out, or to count on being able to hit them in a vital spot when the pressure's on.

That said - anyone I take with me to the range who's never fired a gun before? I give them a .22 and let them get used to it first. Then we move up to a heavier .38 revolver with a long barrel (and by "heavy" I mean weight-wise - a heavier gun isn't going to kick as hard in general) to get them used to how that sounds & feels.

You'll get good advice here as it appears that many of the ladies in the Lounge carry firearms for self-defense. You might even post a thread about it...

While I agree that a .22LR isn't the best HD/SD round by any means, it will still work. It's certainly better than nothing. There was an incident not too long ago here in GA, where a dude snuck into a woman's house while she was showering and started attacking her when she stepped out to dry off. She convinced him to let her go to her room to get money out of her nightstand, and wound up shooting him with her .22. He did make it all the way outside before he collapsed on her lawn and died, but I'm also not sure how many people will stick around once you pull a gun on them and start shooting, .22LR or .45 ACP. I know I wouldn't.