I figured I would throw this out to see what ya'll think. I am thinking of buying a handgun and have narrowed it down to 2 guns. The Phoenix Arms HP22A, a .22lr semi auto and the Taurus PT111 Millenium G2, a 9mm semi auto. Both are relatively inexpensive and both seem to have pretty good reviews online and both have an original purchaser lifetime warranty. I like the idea of the .22 because the ammo is cheap but then I like the idea of the 9mm because of its stopping power. Comments? Oh by  the way, I am a tight wad!

9mm is the best mix of "controllable and non-punishing" in a light auto pistol -- and modern expanding 115 grain ammo has "good enough stopping power" in a 9mm out of a short barrel.

You must practice with the gun constantly and ongoing to keep your ability to shoot it accurately -- you must build up muscle memory and practice to keep it current.

Women tend not to shoot a 9mm well as it has sharp recoil unless they practice, practice, practice.  

This applies to small framed men (like me) too.   My bones are small, anyway.

Both me and my daughter both tend to shoot a 40 cal Glock 22 better than a 9mm Glock 17.   Longer, slower recoil snap.  She inherited both of the Glocks and the high cap magazines when she got married.  

I suffer along with other stuff ....

If you're new to handguns,.. I like a .22...
You can afford to practice a lot with a .22...

A hit with .22 is better than a miss with 9mm...
People may say they have no stopping power, but nobody wants to get hit with one...

For your first gun - buy the .22.  You need to shoot thousands of rounds through it.......it should become as familiar to you as a a tennis racket or ball glove.  You need to develop the muscle memory and skills required to shoot without thinking or aiming - you need to be able to point and shoot.....in an emergency there won't be time to use the sights.

Then later on you can decide what you want for a "defense" weapon....and decide if that is something you keep on your nightstand - or in your pocket (it makes difference what you will choose).

My neighbor says the absolute best "concealed carry" gun.......is the one you will carry with you all the time.  There is no reason to get a .45 if it is just too big to carry and you leave it at home.

I have a Ruger LCP that is a .380 and it fits in my back pocket......it may not have the stopping power of a larger gun - but I am a smallish person and I just can't conceal a larger gun.  I have an ex-law enforcement friend that always carries a big gun - he wears loose clothing and shirts that allow him to hide his cannon......I am just not willing to make that dress code shift to allow me to carry a big gun.

(The interweb never ceases to surprise and scare me.  After posting this reply to this thread.......the banner ads at the top of my screen begin to play NRA advertisements!) 

A  22 well placed between the eyes is what, a migraine?  

Not a shooter myself, but I think what Dave says makes a lot of sense to my virgin trigger finger  

Youzguyz:

I agree that you do need to practice with what you are going to be using - but even Formula 1 drivers likely started out on go-carts and worked their way up with lot and lots of practice.

Once you have become a "whiz" at shooting the .22 - learning to shoot a larger gun will be far easier.  My little .380 isn't fun to shoot as it is small and light and hard to hold onto - it is definitely not something you want to shoot or a regular basis......a 9mm will be worse if it isn't a large frame gun.  And I haven't priced 9mm ammo as I don't own one - but I would guess the stuff is a 10 times as expensive as the .22 is.

Thanks for the input. I have seen that the .22lr ammo can be obtained at a cost of approximately .05/round on up. The 9mm seems to be available at around .16/round with steel casing (Tulammo) but apparently it has a steel core also which some ranges do not allow. 9mm with brass casing seem to start at around .22/round or so. So, basically the 9mm ammo is 4 to 5 times as expensive as the .22lr.

I am leaning towards the .22 as a fun plinker and maybe eventually getting a 9mm. It is just that this particular 9mm is on sale at a ridiculously low price ($199.00 + tax) at a local dealer.

A .22 handgun is less noisy then a 9mm, but much louder then a .22 rifle. It still requires hearing protection.