Thought I might mention, in congress with my other post...
I bought that Ruger SBH .44mag as my first revolver when I was still in high school, and learned how to flinch REALLY fast. Hated shooting it, but was too stubborn to sell it. Hated practicing with it, couldn't hit much with it because I couldn't take the time to learn how to shoot it.
Then about a year later I came across a Ruger Mark II .22lr 6 5/8" stainless pistol for a steal from a buddy that couldn't keep it ($90). My pistol shooting career officially started. For $15 for 500 rounds, I could practice all day long every Saturday. By that deer season, after 3months of practicing with the .22lr, I had made more progress shooting the .44mag than I had in the entire year before that with the .44mag alone. Without exaggeration, I'm almost tempted to have that .22lr pistol buried with me when I go.
HIGHLY recommend the Ruger Mark III pistols (Mark III replaced the Mark II). I have a lot of .22lr pistols, none that I like as much as the Rugers, and none that shoot as well on average. Let alone reliability - the Ruger's set the bar for reliability (most other brands get pretty picky about being wet lubed or having dirty chambers). I have 2 Mark I's (just got a "new" one last week!!), 4 Mark II's, and 3 Mark III's these days, really can't say a bad thing about them. Only other model I'd recommend as runner up (long ways between 1st and second for me) is the Browning Buckmark.
Still looking for one of the Ruger Mark I faux ivory grip blued ~4" barrel, with the ORIGINAL phoenix grips instead of the aftermarket ones... In case you run across one that isn't $400 or more while you're looking for your own .22lr pistol, let me know...