KJ48

If you are buying new it doesnt matter, you can buy either any time you have the $$ If you are buying used, then whichever is the better deal

If you go to Coal Creek I think they will let you swap rental guns as many times as you want. Main thing is you show them how to load and safely handle whatever they pick, easy part is pointing it down rang and pulling the trigger. I would let them start with a revolver of some sort, new shooters with weak 115gr 9mm range ammo and semi-autos can lead to limp wrisitng jams and thats pretty frustrating to a new shooter. If it must be a semi-auto ia full size 92 Beretta is always a good start..

I have to agree the 226 is a bit overpriced these days, lot of quality 9mm pistols out there for 1/2 the money that are as reliable and shoot just as well. All three of the OP's choices will function well, all three have good warranty and service, but IMO the Sig is best looking - so thats why I say Sig

You arent a weirdo, its a well made 'classic' pistol and they are popular. Mine shot well, but I have yet to figure out what people do to make them work with cheap bulk ammo, maybe if I never cleaned mine they would have worked lol. The 22/45 is a lot easier to shoot for me, the original grip takes me a few rounds to get accurate, but no doubt they are accurate pistols, but unless you are bench resting the thing 95% of people will shoot any other 4" + barrel .22 as well as the best MK at 50 feet with the same trigger pull. They are not fun taking apart or putting back together, add that with enough sharp edges inside to make a knifemaker proud and I can see why people dont clean them I'm no fan of .22s either, but with two kids on an outdoor plinking range that can pop off 500 rounds in an hour its a necessary thing. I'm not that anal but after 1-2000 rounds those MK pistols get dirty inside, as does any .22. The kids shoot a S&W 22A-1 now that so far in I would say after probably 10000 rounds it has had one FTF using Federal Champion bulk. Not to mention takes 30 seconds to take it apart with no swear words or blood involved, it does have a little buffer that fell apart at the 5000 round mark, pistol came with 2 extra and S&W will send you more for free if you call and ask. I dont slam them too bad because I do kind of like the Rugers, luckily the .22 pistols are inexpensive enough to try them all after a while and draw your own conclusions. Its not like buying a 1500.00 1911 and regretting it.

My last one was badly finished on the inside, usual PITA to take apart, had to go back for light strikes too (replaced mainspring assy). Worked OK with mini-mags and that was about it, didnt care for the loaded chamber indicator, good looking and easy shooting pistol for sure. I had nice MKII I kick myself for getting rid of though, it was a 'good' one and taking them both apart you wouldnt think they were both made by the same company. Hard to go wrong with a MK .22 though, the MKIII I had must have been a Monday gun..

I just sold a 2022, decent gun but only comes with one mag like you mentioned and Sig is proud of those magazines, not the prettiest or the lightest but it has worked 100% for me. Out of the three you listed I would take the sig, granted all three will get the job done. Acadamy sells the 9mm 2022 for 399, just seen one in the Knoxville store, thats a pretty fair price for a decent pistol. Havent looked at sigma and P95 prices lately but I dont think the Sig is that far out of line with those @ 399.00

Not to mention Gen 4s say 'Gen 4' right on the slide

P250 is a decent gun if you (or her) can get used to the trigger, its smooth and fairly light but its long. Also for its size its fairly heavy. But the subcompact has a good grip size for women and the controls are very simple, plus take down and detail strip is super-easy unlike the DA/SA Sigs. Not to mention you can find the 9mm subcompacts w/o night sights for 350 or so new and thats a bargain for a new Sig. I liked the compact size better myself, so I bought a compact large grip size frame for 43.00 and cut down the dust cover to use with the subcompact slide. Took one minute to swap to the subcompact frame if I wanted to carry it, its a very cool concept for sure..

I like Glocks, simple and easy to change trigger pull plus the magazine interchangeability. My wife doesnt like them though, not because she doesnt shoot them well, she is always nervous handling them. Recently picked up an XD9 and she loves that thing. Having a cocking indicator, loaded chamber indicator and grip safety she feels much more comfortable handling it and I think that translates to her shooting it very well also. As stated before let her shoot them, my wife's favorite gun is an airweight J-frame and she has tried everything from 1911s to LCPs, I have no idea why but she actually enjoys shooting it.

+1 on Scott, good guy to deal with. But I have had no problems with anyone there in the last few years. First time I went in there I was a little put off, but thats pretty typical for gun stores until you spend a few bucks and they see you a few times. Like anything else you have to shop around a little on a specific gun, some are priced pretty high and some are very reasonable. Yes they will deal a bit if you pay cash or have a clean, desirable trade. I have also had some night sights installed and some other minor gunsmithing done there and they have always did what I expected at a reasonable price. All in all I'm glad they are there, decent LGS for sure.

One phone call to SA with the serial number and they will tell you what model it started life as and what year it was made. Looks like a mil-spec but if its an older model who knows..

Probably one of the biggest problem areas of 1911s is the internal extractor, I have broken several and tweaked them to make a non running gun work great. Nowadays I see some 1911s using what appears to be MIM internal extractors and I dint think they fare well when some flex is needed like traditional 1911. I like the Sigs myself, but having three good running 'real' 1911s I cant justify buying a S&W or Sig, but if I was going to use one to carry I think I would go with a modern external extractor 1911. As much as I like the look of a plain GI 1911 I think the Sigs look great, the S&Ws I have handled were nice as well. Int he last few years S&W has been turning out some decent priced, quality guns.

I agree, whatever the reason I'm happy they are doing it. I'm sure some will be unhappy but thats the way it is

Once in a while they have some guns on sale at a decent deal, but a few I looked at were at list or a little above. Especially S&W (759 for an AR-15 sport, list is 739), SR1911 I seen there was 799.00, and Glocks are up there, I go to Gander Mtn pretty often and have bought a few handguns on sale from them but they are way above most local gun stores in general. Not just guns either but shooting accessories arent cheap, Bass Pro isnt much better, Academy has pretty good prices though. I find most local gun stores can easily beat Gander Mountain. I'm sure if I averaged all the pistols and rifles on their website and compared them to list they would be cheaper, but overall they are by far not the cheapest around.

Pretty sure the only reason WalMart is doing it is to make money, gun and ammo sales are one of the few things that have been selling well in the last couple years so why not get in on the action. I doubt there is any political motive. They just opened an Academy sports here recently and since the day it opened I havent been able to get close enough to the gun counter to see what they have, they are selling guns like crazy. But no doubt its a good thing if WalMart steps up, it will definitely put a dent in big stores like Gander Mountain that sell guns for MSRP+.

I painted the LCP orange, then white. Doesnt help a whole bunch, at an indoor range the white helps me to see the dark center of the target better.

Love shooting Lugers myself, they need some 124gr fairly hot ball ammo to function well, 115gr range stuff wont do it usually. Plus they are very magazine sensitive, they usually had mags numbered to the pistol for a reason. But to be honest when my 12 year old shoots my FNP9 it wont lock back and will stovepipe often, he shoots my 9mm PT1922 taurus a lot and I have to put a 2# weaker recoil spring in it to even eject. Especially with PMC 115gr, that stuff is pretty weak. That 39 needs to be shot more, I have a 59 with probably 10,000 rounds through it and anyone can shoot that thing. Anyhow, never a bad day when you can shoot three decent pistols.

7 yards I'm happy with 5" groups out of that evil little thing. Laser would help some. Between the trigger, tiny grip and no sights I'm happy with that..

I see a lot of Kimbers with issues at the range, but I think thats because a LOT of people have Kimbers. Few years ago I went to a Glock event and guess what, every gun that screwed up was a Glock I can take or leave a Kimber, myself I like a solid basic gun and upgrading it along the line the way I want it - not the way Kimber (or any one else) wants it. People are passionate about their 1911's, just like cars. In its basic form all a good 1911 has to do is go boom when you pull the trigger, hit what you are aiming at, eject and chamber the next round. The rest is what the buyer likes to look at and can afford. I like the new 70 series repop, its a nice gun, but pricy and basic. The Sig and S&W 1911s are pretty nice as well if you can do the external extractor.

Worse revolver issue I ever had was with a Taurus S&W knockoff .38 snub, if you pulled the trigger just right and let off and pulled again it would lock up tight and until you manually cocked the hammer you couldnt do anything with it. The chances of it happening in real life was nil, you had to try to make it do it, but ti was till there. The semi auto wins on reloading for sure, but how many casual carry people carry a reload for either revolver or semi auto. No doubt something like an LCP isnt a range gun, but an airweight with +Ps isnt a joy to shoot either after some rounds. LCP is a locked breech, but its so small and light it is way snappier than a heavy .380 blowback pistol like a PPK. Plus the grip on the LCP and other micro .380s is so small its hard to handle if you have large hands. But an LCP easily disappears in jean pockets and is so light you forget its there, like the old saying goes a .45 doesnt do you a lot of good if its at home in the nightstand because its too inconvenient to carry. If you have pants you can carry an LCP or similar sized .380. My LCP had stovepiped once in 350 rounds with me firing it, which for a semi-auto that size ans weight is pretty amazing to me. But it will jam every once in a while when my 12 year old shoots it, that means if you limp wrist it during a struggle it may become a single shot pistol, that wont happen with a revolver.

+1 In 30 years I have never had a revolver stovepipe, double feed or fail to eject. But an LCP is just so easy to carry..

Lot of people around here get killed with .22s, mostly rifles I imagine but up close and personal I sure wouldnt want to get shot by a .22 out of anything.

I agree on the trigger, on a 1911 its really a non-issue since most good 'smiths can do one with their eyes closed. Of course a crisp 4lb trigger out of the box would be nice, unless you get into higher end hand fitted 1911s you will seldom find one. I recently picked up a 9mm Taurus 1911 and it has a 3.5lb great breaking trigger. Unfortunately its all wasted on a loose barrel locking lug and bushing fit, I'd rather do a trigger job than barrel/slide fit.

I was in CCA the other day and they had neither a Springfield 1911 or a SR1911, they have been pretty light on 1911s lately, always worth a shot though. May want to check Gander Mountain also, thats the only place I have seen and held an SR1911. Ask before you dry fire and safety check first of course, if the salesman knows about 1911s they shouldnt say no. What I do is take a foam earplug with me when shopping, if they say no I ask if I can put the plug between the hammer and firing pin (they fit nicely in there) and then dry fire it. I dont blame some salemen/stores not letting people dry fire (especially when crowded), but a 1911 should be a non-issue trying it once or twice. I hate waiting myself, usually its best to hold off and buy what you really want. I'm pretty sure the SR1911 will become more available in time. I remember when LCPs first came out you couldnt find them and people were paying over MSPR for them, nowadays you can find them cheap everywhere. But 1911 fever is pretty hard to cure and there are plenty out there to choose from if you need one right now.

SA triggers are all over the place, my RO was 5lbs, had a loaded a few years ago that was 8lbs, 1911 trigger pull is easily fixed though. Try before you buy no matter whose name is on the slide. I would also stick with an NM serial number loaded if possible, I think the loaded comes in both NM (assembled in USA) and 'made in Brazil' and they are priced the same. I have a Brazil assembled GI, thats the only way they come, and its a lot rougher inside than the NM serial number RO. Both Springfield and Ruger have great customer service, I have used them both so thats a non-issue between them. Only thing is Springfield puts their lifetime warranty in writing, Ruger really doesnt have a written warranty but they will fix any issues that were their fault.