BEGINNING



PICKING YOUR FIRST GUN

Ahhh yes, your first trip to the Gun Shop!! What a day! Keep one thing in mind. Gun Shops are in the business of selling guns. The more expensive guns they sell; the more their boss will like them. So if the salesman gets you to buy a .500 Smith and Wesson with a 2 3/4" barrel "because it will kill anything in North America"; your shooting experience will die like last year's tax return. If you've never shot a gun, chances are good that the major recoil from said gun will either break your wrist or the gun will fly back and hit you in the head/face permanently changing your topography. 22 caliber firearms are popular for a reason. MOST people probably start out shooting a good ol' .22. They have no recoil or as close to no recoil as you'll ever get. This is my recommendation considering I don't know you and how you feel or "perceive" recoil. Having a .22 for defense is better than no gun at all. I should also mention here that CCI mini-mag (.22 LR) rounds will punch holes completely through a modern hard drive. Standard Federal ammo will just dent it.

Your best bet would be to go shooting with someone who has some experience. Then if you find you really like what he/she is shooting you'll at least have some experience when shopping for your first. If it's a 9mm, most 9mms will feel somewhere in the same ballpark depending on design/make. Back to .22s. They are really cheap too and so is the ammo. When you find yourself really enjoying the .22 and think you're ready to move up a notch, then a .38 Special would be a good second choice. I'll step out on a limb and say that a 9mm semi-auto is easily handled by most folks though some of the sub-compact models can be a little snappy.




This is how I start out with each new gun. Make sure you have read the Owner's Manual and can properly load and clear your weapon and are thoroughly familiar with it. VERY, VERY important. I can't say that enough. I always go with someone since I can't drive myself so when one person is shooting, the other is keeping an eye on the roads to make sure a truck or horse doesn't sneak up on us. The shooting table is designated as the "firing line". The weapon in use will stay on the table pointed at the target unless it's being fired. The shooter will ensure the gun is clear after firing and announce "CLEAR". If a single action revolver the loading gate is left open. If a double action the cylinder will be left in the swung out position. If a semi-auto pistol the mag will be removed and the slide locked in the open position. If the weapon has a safety it will be put on. Guns are never handled or loaded while someone is swapping out targets downrange. These are good practices to use, ESPECIALLY if you're new to shooting.

My first trip out to the wide open BLM spaces consists of simply bringing some semi-large objects to shoot at. No targets. Pumpkins or other gourds work really well and you can set them at different distances. I usually put the first at around 7 yards, another at 10, another at 15, etc. Depends on how many pumpkins or other objects (like water bottles or soda cans) I bring. Unless you're a seasoned shooter you'll probably need to experiment with your grip and stance. My favorite stance is the modified Weaver. Do a web search and you can find out what others use. Try 'em all to see which works best for you. So anyways, I'm plugging pumpkins or whatever and trying different ammo. If your gun is a semi-automatic, it may have it's own "favorite" ammo. Try different types (JHP, FMJ, LSWC, etc.) and even different makes of the same type. The big hints will come if your gun fails to feed or not and how accurate you can get. After about 3 outings I pretty much know which brands/types a particular gun likes the most. This is really important when deciding on concealed carry ammo.

The next trip I'll try to find out just how accurate the gun is to make sure it isn't firing at a 45 degree angle. Of course after the first trip you'll have a vague idea about this. 7 yards is what I start out on using slow fire pistol targets and a rest. If you can keep most in the 8,9, or 10 circle you're doing ok. Move it back to 10 yards once you feel comfortable. Then 15, 20, and 25 yards after that. If I can hit a paper plate at 100 feet I feel good about it. Of course I'm older and have vision issues. You may hold yourself to a higher standard. Keep in mind that most self defense shootings occur at less than 10 feet. I'll take my time doing this and usually stick to one brand of ammo.

THINGS NOT TO DO

Just because you've figured out how to pull the trigger on a gun without shooting yourself does not make you Wyatt Earp. Bouncing around waving the gun all over the place and playing cowboy is not only stupid but very dangerous. This is not a slam against Cowboy Action Shooting, which is well regulated. I wish I were mobile enough to join in with the Cowboy Action crowd myself. I mention on the Safety page what a bad mix booze and guns are. Believe it! If your idea of fun is getting drunk and trying to hit beer cans thrown in the air your days are numbered. If you accidently shoot yourself while participating in any such actions and it isn't a kill shot, you'll never believe just how stupid you could actually be once you sober up. If you're lucky you'll have no permanent damage. Your friends will probably never want to be around you with a firearm present.




Next worst case you will kill yourself so the former sentence won't apply. If you accidently shoot someone else you better hope it's someone who loves you a LOT or you'll be spending a lot of time in court as said victim takes you to the cleaners for medical expenses, etc. Worst case you accidently kill someone you love. Of course killing or injuring anyone accidently will pretty much put you in a "can't buy guns anymore" status if not in prison until you can't remember what a gun looks like. Stupidity with guns IS NOT WORTH THE PRICE YOU WILL PAY! Just imagine how retarded you will look explaining to a Judge that you were just trying to be "cool".

Never hand anyone a loaded gun unless it is their turn to shoot it and they verbally acknowledge that it is loaded and ready to fire. Most of the population doesn't know about the 4 Rules of Gun Safety and assume if you hand them a gun it is empty. They will also immediately put their finger on the trigger. You see where this is going.

Never leave your gun laying around, loaded or unloaded, where someone can find it who isn't supposed to. If you don't use your gun for self defense, after your shooting session is over and you've cleaned your gun; install the locking device that came with it and hide the key. Lock your firearms and ammo separately.

Shooting can be a lot of fun. Kinda like diving. Stupid divers usually don't last long. Same for stupid shooters. Stay safe!!