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I also had a Walther. Fun to shoot, but I was turned off by the quality, plus all the bad press kept be from trusting it. I intended to give it to my daughter. I have tried her out on every gun in my "cache" and she just can't get past even mild recoil. .22LR she's OK with. So when she asked for a pistol for Christmas, I got her the then-new SR22. I liked it enough that I sold the Walther and bought myself a SR22. It's just a nice gun.
As for defensive use, if that's all the gun you will carry, then carry a .22. I know I feel better knowing my daughter has that .22 than nothing at all. I don't think your average thief is going to gauge the barrel hole accurately in a split second and decide "Can I survive a hole that size?" His thought will be more like "Ooops! Gun!"
Load it with CCI Stingers, as CCI is the most reliable brand in .22LR ammunition.

If you want to consider a mild upgrade, look at the new polymer-frame revolvers from Ruger and others, in .22 magnum. It's only a little hotter, still almost no recoil, but LOTS more noise and flash. If you don't hit the BG, he will be blind and deaf for a few minutes Actually, there are some newer self-defense pistol loads in .22 mag which have reduced noise and flash, and better ballistics from a short barrel.
The Bersa .32 ACP is also worth a look. I have not shot one, but .32 is relatively low recoil, and the Bersas are well regarded. Plus they fit the hand well. My wife has a Beretta Tomcat with laser grips, in .32 ACP. it's also worth a look.

Spend a few hours at a range with one of the local people.

Good luck with your shopping

The more I look at the SR22, the more I like it. Now if the only made a double stack magazine.

WildBill wrote:The more I look at the SR22, the more I like it. Now if the only made a double stack magazine.

Was thinking along the same lines there! I think having to switch out the magazine to get a good amount of rounds through it would be a bother, but hey, that's a good excuse to get extra magazines.

I decided to reply on my thread again, not only to thank everyone for expressing their opinions of the Ruger SR22, but to ask another question.

Does anyone have any comments about the Ruger SR9c ? Link to Spec sheet. : http://www.ruger.com/products/sr9c/specSheets/3313.html
I ask because my hubby decided not to wait to get his 9mm, and today we took it to the range to practice. It is a springfield armory XDS 9mm.


I was amazed at how little the recoil was. I found that it had me less fazed than the kick from (now "my") old Ruger .380. If the Ruger 9mm's will be similar to SA9 then I think I'd be very pleased to own/carry a 9mm vs the 22. (As I'm sure some of you are happy to hear!)
He is in love with the feel of the gun, and tried out many before deciding on it. I really like the safety features, but for some reason I think the Ruger just felt better in the hand. The SR9c seems to have a similar trigger safety, which is nice, and from my quick reading it looks like it might be possible to get a 17 rd magazine for it? The wording on the webpage seems a bit strange to me. I'd love for it to be able to carry more than 10 rds, if for nothing else it'd be nice not to have to reload every two minutes when on the range.

I own a Ruger SR9C. This pistol comes with a 10 round magazine and a 17 round magazine.

With the 10 rounder, you will have 10 + 1 rounds of 9MM.
With the 17 rounder, you will have 17 + 1 rounds of 9MM.

I have been amazed by the larger magazine, since it's not that much longer than the smaller mag,
yet they manage to fit in 7 more rounds. I used to carry it with just the 10 rounder, but now I use
the 17 rounder as the EDC. It's nice to have 18 rounds on tap, even if I don't have the 10 round backup on me.

The SR9C, IMHO, is a better choice than the SR9 because you have the option of shorter grip or longer
grip, based on your choice of mag. With the larger mag inserted, it makes the gun more of a full size.
If you choose the SR9 (full size), it's always got the larger grip.

By the way, if you have, or plan on getting your CHL, your minimum caliber to take test on is a .32.
So you might as well step up to one of the proper self defense calibers (9MM, .40, .45 ACP) and practice with it.

I'm not a fan of .380's since you pay more to get a box of 50 rounds, they are only about 95 grains, and they
don't have the stopping power of the larger rounds. My friend let me shoot his Smith and Wesson Bodyguard
.380. I hated its tiny size since it felt insubstantial in my hands. I looked at the tiny magazine for the .380 rounds
and that didn't appeal to me at all. With so many 9MM choices available, why go .380? YMMV.

SIA

I am NW of Houston. Suggest you try shooting my SR9. PM me if you want to try it.

My wife is not a serious shooter, but she has no problem shooting the SR9.

I just bought a Colt 1911 .22 a very nice gun 12 +1 , it shoot well. I've run about 500 rounds through it will no problems at all. It has a rail for a laser/light. I put a Streamlight TLR-S1 on it. I carry a Ruger SR911 .45 also carry from time to time a Stoeger Cougar 9mm I bought at academy. (it is made by Beretta) Academy has them on sale now for $349.00, it is a very accurate gun holds 15 +1 If you would like to shoot any of them I shoot at Shilo Range on Shilo Church road close to 1960 and Cutten road. Just pm me if you're interested. I shot there on Saturdays at 10 am I do not mind helping anyone to chose a gun.

WildBill wrote:The more I look at the SR22, the more I like it. Now if the only made a double stack magazine.

I thought the same thing as the gun is so much fun to shoot and I was pulling my thumbnail off reloading. I ran across these last week, ordered them and tried them at the range and boy, do they help with the reloading.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/261209783622" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I also have an SR9c (NW Houston). I find it very easy to handle with both the 10 rd and 17 rd magazines. Everyone who has tried shooting it has told me that it was very easy to handle and fun to use. They also said that they preferred it over the other firearms they had tried. YMMV

Here's a youtube review of the Walther and the Ruger. The reviewer liked both, felt the Walther was prettier but said if was going to carry one, it would be the Ruger due to the unreliabilty that he's experienced with the Walther.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-IwY0cxUq4" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

On sale for $299 currently.. not many left:
http://grabagun.com/ruger-sr22-pistol-2 ... bl-as.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I own a SR9C and it is one of the most popular carry guns we own. I have to fight the lovely Mrs. SDT for the thing every time I turn around. In fact I finally had to go get her a S&W Shield 9mm to keep her away from it. I can only echo what others have said here - it is a great gun and easily the performance equal of my Glocks. The only nitpick I had with it was the serrations on the slide were really sharp. A few minutes and some careful work with a jeweler's file took care of that. It is very soft shooting.

Many years ago I used a competition tuned High Standard Victor 22LR for Bullseye shooting. Being a much steadier shot back then, that thing would put ten rounds into the bullseye offhand (one hand hold) at 50 yards and won lots of matches using Match ammo. I haven't been happy with a 22 pistol since.

ShootDontTalk wrote:Many years ago I used a competition tuned High Standard Victor 22LR for Bullseye shooting. I haven't been happy with a 22 pistol since.

I still have mine. I can shoot this pistol more accurately that any handgun I have ever shot. It still shoots better than me.

The High Standard was/is an exceptional pistol probably still only bettered by the exotic Hammerli's and others designed from the ground up for target shooting only. I only gave away a point or two to them though. I tried to find another HSV for a long time and finally gave up. Now I can't afford one anymore. (retired you know) I sent mine to a gunsmith, I forget where, who specialized in them and when it came back it was even more amazing. I could kick myself for selling it to finance a Clark longslide. I used a Ruger after that for rimfire matches and never placed in the top 4 or 5 again.

I like the little SR22, but I would not jump on it today. I still remember the almost magical feel of the HSV for punching out the center of the bullseye.

ShootDontTalk wrote:

The High Standard was/is an exceptional pistol probably still only bettered by the exotic Hammerli's and others designed from the ground up for target shooting only. I only gave away a point or two to them though. I tried to find another HSV for a long time and finally gave up. Now I can't afford one anymore. (retired you know) I sent mine to a gunsmith, I forget where, who specialized in them and when it came back it was even more amazing. I could kick myself for selling it to finance a Clark longslide. I used a Ruger after that for rimfire matches and never placed in the top 4 or 5 again.

I like the little SR22, but I would not jump on it today. I still remember the almost magical feel of the HSV for punching out the center of the bullseye.

Mine is from Giles .45 shop Odessa Florida.

Another 22 to consider is the Ruger LCR which comes in either 22 LR or 22 magnum. There's also the S&W 617, in 22 LR, which is just about the lightest handgun I've ever picked up.