Any advice for a first time gun owner? I have a springfield XD 9mm sub compact on hold. I know my daughter would never be able to shoot that thing (16 yrs old) I saw a .22 ruger pistol I liked but the gun salesman said it’s not good for home defense. I think it would do just fine and she would be able to handle it if needed. My wife and son and I have shot a 9mm but i want something everyone can be comfy with.
Any thoughts?
There is no reason your Daughter should not be able to handle the XD just fine. Start her out with mild loads if you can find them and be sure and wear eye and ear protection.
If you have a relative who is gun savvy and trustworthy have him help her shoot to start with. The recoil is actually not bad at all but most people get a mental block when it kicks them and they remember it is supposed to kick hard they just assume they really got kicked bad.
If you go with a Ruger, I would start with one of the standard models with a 6 inch barrel. They are reliable and have almost no recoil. They are also more accurate than average. There are plenty of other guns which will do as well including Ruger .22 Revolvers. Just always remember the hearing protector. The noise is most of what seems intimidating to a beginner.
Get the 10 commandments of Gun safety and obey them.
The most important one is to always keep the muzzle pointing in a safe direction, Never let it point at anything you would not want to be destroyed.
All guns are powerful. No one is going to volunteer to be shot, even by a .22 short.
Some guns are more powerful than others, but almost every story I have heard about a .22 shows that it is often more than enough to win a fight.
The ability to practice frequently and build up proficiency is a great virtue.
Many of us will practice frequently with a .22 and carry something more powerful.
Most 16 year old girls can easily master a 9 mm, but starting with a .22 and only picking up the 9 mm after a fair amount of practice is a very sensible thing to do.
When in doubt as to which gun to buy, get both of them.
There are plenty of show and tell videos of the Ruger Sr22 on YouTube and any other weapon you can think of. Plenty of Pro comments on the SR 22 it would not be the first choice of most, but they don't downplay the effectiveness of the 22. There
is effective and more effective, but effective is better than none. I picked up one for my wife yesterday, haven't been to shoot it yet, but it feels great in the hand, much smaller than a nine or 45. I did almost buy a Tarus nine for $350.00, the Ruger should come in at about $325.00 new or $500.00 used not kidding look on eBay :)>