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Considering buying Beretta Bobcat. Any opinions?

I have the opportunity to buy a used Beretta Bobcat .22 pistol for a good price (under $150). I'm considering getting it for my wife as a self-defense gun and to take with her on walks in the woods (we have a lot of coyote and cougar in the area). I know that .22 or .25 don't pack that much punch but the Bobcat is small and lightweight which is important since my wife is quite small and hasn't been around guns that much.

I'm looking for opinions about this gun and whether there are others that I should consider. Lightweight and low recoil are important, as well as at least some stopping power or intimidation factor to deter bad guys or scare off animals.

Thanks for your thoughts.
 
Make sure she knows how to use the gun, and practice with it. Bullet placement is more important to me than caliber . I carry a .22 magnum for everyday carry.
 
A mouse gun is better than no gun and a lightweight pistol will not be as likely to be left behind.

Also, long walks require a good comfortable system.

On the other hand, .38's can be found that are lightweight and w/ a little practice they are very manageble. "If" a situation ever arose where she needed the firearm will she be wishing she had something bigger?

I'm a big fan of .22's but they are not the most reliable pistol in the semi-auto format.

A .38 may not be a pocket pistol but should fit in a fanny pack no problem.
Something like this one from Galco.
http://www.usgalco.com/HolsterPT3.asp?ProductID=318&CatalogID=393
 
I followed you right up to the point of "stopping power". At that point, highball's point of bullet placement becomes muy importante. Most any pistol, if brandished with the appropriate authority can be intimidating, but stopping/knockdown are two terms I would not equate with a .22. Gravy's note of a lightweight .38 would be a reasonable suggestion worth further investigation.

On a positive note, coyotes are not necessarily overly aggressive creatures when it comes to humans. Cougars on the other hand, if determined could be a problem. A big enough problem that I wouldn't want to rely on a .22 to deter one.
 
I do own a .38 Taurus, but my wife thinks it's too heavy to carry. I agree with you about coyotes. But if one shows itself, even a .22 fired in its direction should scare it off, I think. My wife walks with our Shiba Inus which are smallish dogs in the 25 pound range. And yes, a .22 would not stop a cougar but maybe the noise would cause it to run away (?).

I'm just trying to find something (anything) that my wife would feel comfortable with carrying. I don't like her walking around in the woods without some sort of protection.
 
I do own a .38 Taurus, but my wife thinks it's too heavy to carry. I agree with you about coyotes. But if one shows itself, even a .22 fired in its direction should scare it off, I think. My wife walks with our Shiba Inus which are smallish dogs in the 25 pound range. And yes, a .22 would not stop a cougar but maybe the noise would cause it to run away (?).

I'm just trying to find something (anything) that my wife would feel comfortable with carrying. I don't like her walking around in the woods without some sort of protection.
IMO, that changes things a bit. As predators, both the coyote and especially the cougar could find a small animal an opportunity for a meal. Depending on availability of food sources in that area, it might take more than a noise to deter them.

If your wife won't consider carrying an effective weapon for her defense, perhaps you should accompany her on these walks.
 
I'm not much on 22s for defense, but get her the Bobcat. It is a LOT better than nothing and it will get her comfortable with carrying. She will then be more willing to get something better.
 
Well, one thing we can say about B&B is that it draws people from across the spectrum. No joke - when I saw "considering buying Beretta," I initially thought it was a thread about the TV series, just misspelled! :lol:
 
I would cast my vote for no to a .22 for self defense.
If your mind is already made up on a .22 then Beretta is a good brand to go with. But remember to buy a second (or even a third) clip for her to carry.
Small critters? I would suggest loading the pistol with "Stinger" ammo manufactured by CCI.
Then go to the range and have your wife practice, practice, practice. She will need to both shoot a tight group PLUS master quickly swapping out a spent clip with a full clip.
 
Since it is used, examine the muzzle end of the gun very closely for wear. Any wear at all will throw off the aim.

Use high powered hollow points for maximum damage on coyote and cougar (still too small a round for them). And be sure to test that ammo in the gun before relying on it! .22 ammo in autoloaders can be very finicky and not perform correctly.
 
That would be a good gun for self defense against a human, just showing a gun can cause an assailant to turn and run. Don't think it would work to well on coyotes and and cougars. Perhaps if possible you could get a .380 for her at a reasonable price.
 
With a 22 she needs to practice until she can do head shots from 20+ feet to 25 yards. Better to be able to place your shots with a 22 than miss with a (fill in the blank).
 
I'm of the firm belief that a .22 is a very poor self defense weapon and there are always better options. There are many pistols in acceptable self defense calibers available in the same or less weight. I'll pick the popular Ruger LCP for comparison purposes, but there are others:

Ruger: 9.4 oz, 5.16" long, 3.6" tall, .82" wide, 6+1 rounds of .380 ACP.
Bobcat: 11.8 oz, 4.9" long, 3.7" tall, 1.1" wide, 7+1 rounds of .22 rimfire.

So, with the Ruger you get a gun 20% lighter, dimensionally almost identical, and in a far more powerful caliber, albeit with 1 less round. I can tell you which one I'd be giving my wife for self defense. The ruger is more expensive, but MSRP is only $330, and the benefits are more than worth the extra cost IMO.

Sources: Beretta, Ruger.
 
For the price I would get it. A. Its better than nothing. B. It will get her comfortable with firearms (Carry/Use) C. It will be easy to learn safety and discipline D. It will emphasize proper shooting. In my line of work, I've seen people survive 10+ rounds from a .223, .40, even .45. I've also seen a single .25 due the job. Its not the size, its how you use it:biggrin: Eventually she will want to step up to something with more stopping power because she will be more comfortable and should have good discipline. You get a snake gun.
 
I'm not much on 22s for defense, but get her the Bobcat. It is a LOT better than nothing and it will get her comfortable with carrying. She will then be more willing to get something better.

I'm doing exactly this with my girlfriend. When we met she was terrified of guns (or rather idiots with guns as I pointed out), and now she's showing an interest in going to the range with me and learning to shoot. That turn around happened in the last 3 months since I bought my SIG, and have been going to the range regularly. I want to start her off with a .22 and teach her to crawl so to speak, instead of starting her off running with a larger caliber.
 
I got a Beretta 22 bobcat, it is only good as a belly gun due to the short barrell it is not very accurate at all over 15 feet but then again as a self defense gun it would most likely never be used at that range. as others mentioned I feel carrying any gun is better then no gun and if your intent is to introduce the wife to guns and shooting etc it is good for that as there is no recoil at all, I have put through 22lr all brands as well as stinger ammo it rarely if ever jams or misfires with any type of ammo a fun gun to shoot and it don't make too much noise, I wouldn't put any faith in it killing anything outside of a tin can but again it's size is ideal and it is easily concealable even if you are already carrying a real caliber :wink:
 
Thanks to all for your comments and suggestions.
I like the idea of going up a little in size to the .380. I hadn't realized the Ruger was so light.

I do go for walks with my wife and dogs often but there are times when I'm not home and she goes out alone. I forgot to mention that we do have a larger dog (Great Pyrenesse) that accompanies her on most of the walks. He's probably the best defense against coyote and cougar - much better than a little .22.

But I think I will get her the Bobcat because it's such a good price and it will be a good "starter" gun for her to practice with and learn how to shoot. And, as many said, it's better than nothing...
 
I think the babcat .22 is a fine choice. Not the best, but what is really?

I have a bobcat and a kel-tec .32 for my wife for this same purpose. She just refuses to carry something bigger or snappy to shoot.

First, my wife loves to shoot the bobcat for fun, which surprised me, but it works and I love that she practices with it.

Second, my wife is an idiot. The safety on the bobcat may be small, but thank GOD it is there. In the early days I checked her purse to find the weapon cocked and one in the barrel. Oh crap.:117: Safety was on. How did it happen, who knows. Yes, she has practiced with it a hundred times and I have given her the safety lecture. But, that safety is a good idea I am convinced.

Get her a snug rug or holster for it if you do chose it.

One last point. She made the transition from a bobcat to a midsize Cougar .40 easily because the controls were the same.
 
The .22LR is a rimmed cartridge designed for use in a revolver that headspaces on the rim. Cartridges designed to be magazine fed into semi-autos are typically rimless and headspace on the cartridge mouth. Any semi-automatic .22LR firearm is an engineering compromise to make a cartidge work that was not designed for the gun.

Engineers have done a great job making it work, as most quality .22LR semi-autos are fairly reliable but, in my opinion, you would be much better served with a gun that fires a rimless centerfire cartridge, such as .25 ACP, .32 ACP, .380. 9mm Luger, .45 ACP, etc.

Also, the .22LR, being rimfire, is manufactured by placing a priming compound in the empty case and spinning the case to get the compound into the folded rim. This technique sometimes leaves small gaps in the priming compound which can result in a failure to fire if that gap happens to be under the striker. You can typically buy higher quality "self-defense" cartridges in centerfire calibers that will have been put through more rigorous quality control. I know of no comparable .22LR ammunition, with the possible exception of Eley or other Olympic-grade ammo.

I have several centerfire semi-auto pistols that I have put tens of thousands of rounds through without a single malfunction. However, I have never owned a .22LR semi-auto pistol that did not have at least one failure in 100 rounds. Murphy says that failure will occur at the worst possible time.
 
One of my favorite guns to carry for defense against wildlife is a Bersa .380. It's not an expensive pistol, so if it gets lost in a creek, I'm not out a wad. It also has a large enough round to stop a cougar(they're terribly aggressive around here) but it's still small enough to slip into a pocket holster.

Whatever the two of you decide on, make sure that she knows how to use it. Owning a gun and carrying it does no good for protection if you have no idea how to operate it.
 
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