1st Gun: .22 but which one?

[jackpine]

If your going to spend 400 or 500 bucks get a glock and then buy a 22 conversion kit in a month or two (or CZ or 92FS)

[Hal]

OP already nixed the idea of a semi auto, so a CZ or Glock is off the table.

It looks like the Single Six or Single Ten is the way I'm leaning. I also love that it will be a gun I can pass down for generations

Very true/wise outlook.
Quality always remains long after the initial sting of the purchase price has passed - is what they say.
Single sixes aren't rare on the used market, but, considering the huge numbers of them sold each year....most people hang onto them for a long time.
The S&W mod 17 and 18 are similar. They will usually be at the upper limit of your price range ($500).

Another dark horse in the D/A market is a used Dan Wesson.
Every once in a great while, one pops up for an affordable price.
Dan's have been rediscovered in recent years though and prices on older used one's have shot up.
If you run across one in your looking, $300 for one in like very good to excellent condition that has the barrel wrench and feeler gauge is a steal.

Dan's use a D/A trigger system with an extremely similar feel to that of a Ruger, only (usually) much smoother and more "refined".

[johnwilliamson062]

If I could do it all over I would probably choose a Single-Six as my first gun.

If you know what centerfire you want you can try to buy an 22 copy of it.

AarondGraham started a great thread on center/rim pairs.

[gators52]

Yeah Single Six it is!

Just trying to decide between SS and Blued as well as barrel length. All the replies have been helpful so far

[jlove1974]

SR-22. What's not to like, it's the poor-mans DA Sig Mosquito that fixed all the problems of the Mosquito, comes with two sets of floorplates, two grips, and two mags + a Ruger gun case and padlock. All for the low low price of $300.

Try getting a new Single Six for that

[JWT]

The Single Six is an excellent choice. You'll be happy with it.

[johnwilliamson062]

I used to think a MK II and I will tell you why I changed to single six. I take the Single six to the range as a "back-up" so I don't waste the trip if something goes wrong with what I intend to shoot. Such as the scope was so far off I need to remount it b/c it is outside the adjustable area.

I end up shooting it at least a little no matter what.

The guns I take the most are my Marlin 22 bolt gun and my Glock. If I shoot the glock for an hour I do not want to then shoot a MK II semi-auto 22. A single action 22 always seems like enough of a different flavor that it is a fun way to wrap up a range trip.

[HisDudeness]

I'm set on a revolver because that's what I like to shoot and until I'm around semi autos for many years I just don't believe that me or my GF would feel comfortable in a stressful situation using a semi automatic.

Before I had a few guns at my disposal I was in the same position. I bought a Ruger GP100 thinking it would be ideal as our home defense handgun. That is until I had noticed my slight of build wife struggling with the D/A trigger one day at the range. It also acted as a glorified .38 special because she was fearful of the magnums. The GP100 has since been replaced with a Glock 17 which I found fits our purpose much better.

If you're worried about the semi's because of complexity, there's not much to a gun like a Glock. In a stressful situation the worst thing I could foresee happening is a failure to fire. This is a bad thing because with a Glock you have no second strike capability unlike hammer fired semi's. Luckily if you practice how to alleviate this the problem is solved rather quickly.

Obviously everyone has an opinion and I'm merely giving you mine, but I feel like a semi-auto can be a great choice for beginners. I am of the opinion that if you can shoot a revolver well, you can shoot just about any pistol well. Practice, practice, practice is a must either way.

And as others have said, you do not want to be thumbing that hammer at 3:00AM. Just ask the NYPD...