Guess that arguments can be made either way - start with a .22, or start with the 'carry caliber'. You MUST get proficient with the 'carry caliber', but you also want to learn proper shooting techniques. For most, it's easier with a .22, for others it doesn't matter.BlackWidow wrote:...3) Which .22 pistol would you recommend and why? I'm only interested in hand guns to practice quick drawing, concealing, cleaning, hitting the targets, basically getting my feet wet. (I'm on a tight budget).
TIA
The .22's are lot's of fun and are great tools for teaching/re-enforcing proper sight alignment, trigger control and follow-through.
Those folks 'brand new' to pistol shooting and those that are recoil sensitive to 9mm or .38-Special loads should probably start with a .22 caliber pistol.
It is most important to instill good shooting habits at the beginning of the learning cycle (so you don't have to unlearn bad habits later).
That said, 9mm is where I started 'a few moons ago' and then later on bought a separate .22LR conversion unit for my primary 9mm pistol.
Using a conversion unit has the advantage of allowing you to stay with a single type of trigger, sights, grip, etc.
After getting used to shooting 9mm, I found that I used the .22LR conversion unit primarily for introducing my kids to the shooting sports, and not really to just shoot my same gun with 'lots cheaper' ammo.
One option to consider is to invest in the 9mm ($400-$700), get professional training ($75-$150), buy lots of ammo ($$$), and start a live-fire, and dry-fire($free) practice regimen.
Dry-fire is your friend and is a great tool to build your skills with regard to the draw, the reload, sight alignment, trigger control.
Live-fire - there is no substitute - as it is where you will learn how the gun reacts and how you handle/adjust to the gun during the firing cycle.
Take what you learn in your training sessions and work on it in practice.
And remember, it's never a bad thing to have more than one gun, so if you can, acquire a separate .22 pistol (the Ruger MK II/III or Browning Buckmark) in addition to your carry gun.
And welcome to the shooting addiction.