.....to train my wife and kids to shoot handguns. I was hoping for the opinions and suggestions from the forum, please.

Would it not make more sense to find yourself a .22 auto-loader that you like, then use that for training?

As for suggestions: The Ruger Mk X (where "X" = I, II, III, IV and 5) get pretty consistently good mention. Except the older ones some people find difficult to disassemble/assemble.

Some like the Browning Buck Mark.

Walther PPQ 22, perhaps? (Though I cannot recommend Walther at this time.)

I'm a big fan of the Ruger SR22. It's only around $300 and has been rock solid for me with all different types of ammo.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by ensigmatic:
Would it not make more sense to find yourself a .22 auto-loader that you like, then use that for training?

As for suggestions: The Ruger Mk X (where "X" = I, II, III, IV and 5) get pretty consistently good mention. Except the older ones some people find difficult to disassemble/assemble.

Some like the Browning Buck Mark.

Walther PPQ 22, perhaps? (Though I cannot recommend Walther at this time.)[/QUOTE

Good point. I had a ruger mark 2 but like you said, the disassembly and assembly was terrible!

quote:

Originally posted by BennerP220:
.. I had a ruger mark 2 but like you said, the disassembly and assembly was terrible!

*shrug* Reassembly can be a bit tricky.

My Mk I was so tight I had to rest the back of the receiver on a towel on a table and lean on the grip to get it apart. The same, in reverse, to get it back together. Called Ruger. They had me send it in. Came back a couple weeks later all fixed up.

OTOH: Trigger is as sweet as all get out and, providing I keep it clean & lubed, it'll digest anything with nary a hiccup.

I vote for the Buckmark too. Possibly a used one with cosmetic defects (for low price). The Buckmark, too, has a nice trigger. Easy take-down and reassembly. With the barrel off the gun, it's easy to clean from the breech end.

The Mark5's are so incredibly easy to work one, I can't imagine buying an older one for this kind of use. But I don't think they fall in the cheap category. But maybe we can have some idea of the budget, in this area it matters.

Very hard to go wrong with a BuckMark

I have a Smith M&P .22 Compact that I like.

Do you own a Glock? You can get an Advantage Arms .22 conversion kit for ~$250-$300.

SR22. Mine works great.

PPQ and M&P’s in 22LR are both good choices. My PPQ has been solid.

I absolutely love my Ruger Mark IV 22/45. Other than my 10/22, it’s my favorite gun to shoot.

quote:

Originally posted by dry-fly:
PPQ and M&P’s in 22LR are both good choices. My PPQ has been solid.

The M&P 22 Compact is a good approximation of a centerfire pistol. I've been very happy with mine thus far. Not as accurate as my Mk IV, but easy to teach and learn on. Just make sure if you go this route to get the Compact as it's made by S&W. The full size models are/were made by Walter.

Browning Buckmark all day long. Silly accurate and feeds everything for about $300. It is a no brainer.

Beretta Neos is easy to disassemble, clean, and shoots accurately.
It is very low cost for what you get.

Hmmm...so the Ruger SR22 is a DA/SA hammer fired gun (like a traditional SIG)?
While the S&W M&P22 is a striker fired gun like the rest of the S&W M&P weapons and Glocks?
Is that accurate?

quote:

Originally posted by DukeMinski:
Hmmm...so the Ruger SR22 is a DA/SA hammer fired gun (like a traditional SIG)?
While the S&W M&P22 is a striker fired gun like the rest of the S&W M&P weapons and Glocks?
Is that accurate?

Not really. The M&P is actually hammer fired, it's just that the hammer isn't exposed and is hidden in the grip, behind the rear cover of the slide. It is not however capable of restrike. Easiest to treat it like it's a striker fired gun for training purposes though.

The M&P compact 22LR is single action only.

quote:

Originally posted by RonJon:
Beretta Neos is easy to disassemble, clean, and shoots accurately.
It is very low cost for what you get.

I agree. No doubt there are better pistols out there, but I've not found reason to look any further. It doesn't respond well to grease, a bit of oil and it runs like a top.