First pistol and hello, new to the forum.

[Sterg]

Hi everyone. new to the forum. I just got my LTC. At first I was thinking my first firearm was going to be a .357 Vaquero. I really love this revolver.Maybe it will be my second. After looking around ln the web and advice from other people ai have decided to get a Ruger SR22. Looking at my brothers I like the added safety features of it as well as being cheap to shoot being a 22.
I would like to get some opinions if anyone has this pistol. It is small enough to conceal so what do people thing of carrying a 22 for protection, and of course, please post some picturesif you have any.
Thanks

[ShadeWPI]

Sterg,

First, welcome to the forum and congratulations on your first purchase.

My thoughts on a .22LR as a protection weapon?

Carry a .22LR when nothing else will work. It should never be your weapon of choice, it's a weapon of necessity. A .22LR in the pocket is better than a .44 in the glove box.

Carry the heaviest caliber that you can shoot accurately and carry all day without bothering yoursel or drawing unwanted attention. If that's a .308, that's awesome. If that's a .22LR, it's better than nothing.

Personally, I would look for something heavier and faster when you can conceal something larger.

[robe0531]

welcome to the forum
congrats on first buy
i also own a .22 but not my carry gun i carry the m&p 40

[BigMike]

The SR22 seems to be a pretty good little pistol. Gun Tests liked the Walther P22 better if I'm not mistaken, as the SR22 is a copy of the Walther.

I carry a j-frame .38 out of convenience most of the time, but when I can I carry a Glock 27. Aside from that, carry the biggest gun you can.

[Sterg]

Thanks for the replies guys. I just found a thread on CCW with a 22 and tend to agree. In that thread nobody really mentioned a .38. One of the reasons I like the Ruger Vaquero in .357 was that you can shoot .38's out of it. I don't know a lot about firearms and that is why I joined this forum, to learn and make good common sense decisions. Mike, the .38 looks like a good caliber that I would like to carry. What is a J frame?

[JK1320]

I just got the Smith and Wesson M&P .22LR, mainly because it would be my first gun as well so I wanted something cheap to shoot to train with. I went M&P because the reviews sounded like it was less picky on ammo than the Ruger and it seemed a little more similar to their M&P 9mm, which I was planning on buying in a few months but bought at the same time instead haha.

Either way I love the. 22. You can shoot so many rounds to work on grip, trigger control, stance, breathing and sight picture it is awesome. I got it last sat, I bet I already put 1000 rounds through it. $50 haha how do you argue with that.

Cant say I have not loved the shotgun too...might have gone a little overboard with my first purchase. Hate it when $400 turns into $1400.

[DNTTexan]

Only guy I knew who actually ended up using a gun to save his life did so with a .22. That being said, the person he shot (three times in the face from across a counter at a 7-11) ran away without pulling the trigger on the gun he was holding. The robber died about 100 yards away from the building, but all told there was some serious luck involved. If you want a deterrent, any gun may give an assailant pause. If you actually expect to shoot someone and want to knock them down quickly, AFAIK conventional wisdom suggests at least a .38 or 9mm and prefers bigger. I am by no means an expert - most of the people I know who have opinions start from what are you comfortable both carrying and shooting, and at least one of them (neither a small man nor an inexperienced shooter) carries (when he carries) a .32 based on that logic. Whatever you get, get comfortable with it.

[Bill Katt]

Welcome to the forum.

[oniriggers]

Only guy I knew who actually ended up using a gun to save his life did so with a .22. That being said, the person he shot (three times in the face from across a counter at a 7-11) ran away without pulling the trigger on the gun he was holding. The robber died about 100 yards away from the building, but all told there was some serious luck involved. If you want a deterrent, any gun may give an assailant pause. If you actually expect to shoot someone and want to knock them down quickly, AFAIK conventional wisdom suggests at least a .38 or 9mm and prefers bigger. I am by no means an expert - most of the people I know who have opinions start from what are you comfortable both carrying and shooting, and at least one of them (neither a small man nor an inexperienced shooter) carries (when he carries) a .32 based on that logic. Whatever you get, get comfortable with it.

Ouch............

[ShadeWPI]

Thanks for the replies guys. I just found a thread on CCW with a 22 and tend to agree. In that thread nobody really mentioned a .38. One of the reasons I like the Ruger Vaquero in .357 was that you can shoot .38's out of it. I don't know a lot about firearms and that is why I joined this forum, to learn and make good common sense decisions. Mike, the .38 looks like a good caliber that I would like to carry. What is a J frame?

It's a frame size from Smith & Wesson

J-frame, K-frame, L-frame and their new X-frame (from small to large)

I have and occationally carry a J-frame Model 642 "Airweight" from S&W. It's a 5 shot .38 Special (.357 also available) revolver with a 2" barrel (1 3/4 for .357 I believe) and enclosed hammer so there's less to catch on. It makes a pretty small package.

The Kel-Tec P9 is thinner and typically easier to hide polymer framed single stack 9mm as another alternative.

.38 Special is very similar to a 9mm 9mm bullets are 0.355" in diameter and the .38 special is 0.357" in diameter both with similar bullet weights and velocities. As a revolver, the .38 special has a wider range of avaialble bullet shapes for different applications.