My youngest got her concealed carry about 5 years ago. She loves here S&W Model 10 but it's a bit large for everyday concealed carry. So I bought her a Bersa Thunderer in .22 Long Rifle. Yes. A .22! I know all the arguments about stopping power etc. etc. etc. But in real life I have never met anyone who said, "Oh .. that just a .22. Go ahead and shoot me." While I have not been in that many face to face confrontations with armed individuals I can tell you from what little experience I have, I never considered the caliber of gun they were carrying. What I considered was that THEY HAD A GUN!

But enough .. So I gave her the Bersa... small, light, easy to carry .. 2 10-round magazines. And she often did not carry it!

I asked her why and she said she was not comfortable with the semi-auto and its controls and would rather have a revolver! Imagine that!

So I bought a nice small J frame .38 Special and gave it to her and took back the Bersa .22 for myself. She carries the .38 every day and shoots it pretty well.

Fast forward a couple years. I have been carrying the Bersa .22 around the place ... shot 6 raccoons with it. All one shot stops by the way. It was reliable and consistent. My oldest daughter comes for a visit and while here she tells me she don't like the small 5-shot .357 revolver she carries. She wanted a smaller lighter gun. So we went to the shop and I showed her the Bersa .22 and she fired a couple magazines full through it. And loved it!

When she left it was in her possession! And I was without a small pocket .22!

I eventually solved that problem with a Ruger Bearcat Shopkeeper. Neat little sixgun.

But man, I'd hate to add up how much all these transactions have cost! Not that it matters. I want my kids carrying and shooting what they are comfortable with. But it is hard to keep ahead of them. In fact .. I am not sure it can be done!

Shot with CCI Mini Mags at 30 feet