Posted: 12/9/2025 11:02:47 PM EDT
[Last Edit: armoredman][Edited]
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But my wife does. I like it when she comes shooting with me, but after 30-40 rounds of 9mm, she's usually done, plus arthritis is starting to creep in, so sometimes shooting is not so much fun. So I decided to try something. I bought her a KelTec P17 .22LR pistol for Christmas, and because she doesn't do the whole decorating or tree thing, she got it yesterday when it came in to town. A quick clean up, (field strip is taking the slide off and that is it), and we went out this afternoon.  I took out some Stingers, Mini-Mags, and by accident, 22 Longs. Oops. Oh, lemme back up - she likes it, likes how light it is and asked me to order her a holster. I'll be honest - I'd rather have her carry a .22LR than harsh language. Breaking in was not bad, but we didn't stay out long. We used mostly MiniMags, which experienced more than one failure to fire. Stingers had some actual recoil and belch, being such a lightweight pistol, and oddly enough, it fed and fired the 22 Longs without an issue, even with the short bullet.  First, I was so dumb I didn't realize it is a hidden hammer single action pistol, not a striker fired. So, if she carries it, she will have to carry cocked and locked. I foresee many more rounds expended for her to get familiar with this. I had one failure to go fully into battery with a Stinger, slapped the back of the slide and cured that nonsense. We had, IIRC, 5 failures to fire with the Mini Mags, rims hit well. The 22 Longs, all five of them, functioned perfectly. The pistol is accurate, no problems at all in that regard, but holy HANNAH that trigger is LIGHT! When you snap that safety off do NOT have your finger on the trigger! I did order her a Rounded IWB holster, (I do not like the way their website keeps trying to up-sell you every time you try to check out, very annoying), and we will have to work on her using the very easy ambidextrous safety and trigger discipline. She is certainly not unfamiliar with sidearms, so with a bunch of ammo, I don't think this will be a problem. I know she likes it, and that makes me happy. I will also try the famous Uppercut ammo, and more Stingers to see if we are just having break in jams. I haven't had a 22LR in a long time, so I don't remember what the average break in round count is nowadays, 200? 300? 178 and the last three have to be fired upside down while nose humming the National Anthem? II want it to be well worn in before she decides to strap it on. Now, having said all that, what do you guys think? Personal experience? The price tag was really nice on sale for under $200...at Palmetto State Armory, of course.  Attached File |
| I honestly consider it one of the best deals around. I love mine, it's also had zero failures in a couple thousand rounds. I shoot it suppressed 99% of the time and mostly mini mags. I tried the CCI defensive rounds and it does feel like more "punch". Funny enough Velocitors have more recoil than stingers to me . |
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Good job getting her a great gift! CCI mini mags were at one time considered the gold standard for high velocity 22 rimfire reliability but in the last couple years seem to have a slip in quality. I have myself experienced some misfires with more recent production mini mags. Stingers are expensive and not all that great ( the hyper velocity marketing and speed shows up in rifles not so much in pistols, and the 25% or so lighter bullet) for my money for serious use ( carry) either CCI velocitor (still might have a lagging doubt about misfires as it is still CCI ) fastest domestic made 40 grain bullet, or for top reliability Eley force ( European ammo is still king of the hill for rimfire quality) And one more thing do not insult your wife or the gun by trying to shoot anything made by Remington or Winchester - worst quality on the market currently ! ( browning and cabela’s herters brand is just Winchester in a different box) |
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Copy, no Remchester ammo. I have been considering some Uppercut stuff, CCI again. I will see if I can find some of that Eley ammo, thank you for the suggestion! I already warned her before we went to the range that if I liked it enough, I might get two more, one for me and one for Da Boy. |
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So, update. We went out with CCI Stingers, Mini Mags, Uppercuts and Eley HP ammo. We had just one more jam, right at the beginning of the session, failure to feed with a Mini Mag, and that was it, that little gun was all done being stubborn. Everything we fed after that, even some CC 22 Longs, fed and fired just fine. It was a wee bit colder than last time, but we had a good time. At 7 yards it was easy to tear out the center of the B-27.  Da Boy shot it at 25 yards at the Cowboy Steel gong. This gun refused to miss...like it had something to prove.  I also shot the gong with it, and it was just like I couldn't miss. The ONLY mis-aimed round was the very FIRST one - I forgot how insanely light this trigger is, and my first round went high on the silhouette target. I need a snap cap, if they make one for 22lr, so my wife can practice extensively on draw/wipe off safety/fire. She is used to striker fired for the last 26 years, gonna take some time, but she likes shooting this little gem She liked the Eleys the best...of course...  Only complaint was mag loading, and that super light trigger. All in all, I think it's broken in just fine, and is now a member of the family. 
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