Lookin to start shooting (newbie in Toronto!)

K

kai-wun

New member
EE Expired
Location
Toronto, ON
Hey All,

Great community here, love it! I'm looking to do my CFSC and get my PAL/rPAL soon.

I'm looking to pick up a bolt-action .22LR for range shooting. Just shooting for fun, hoping to shoot a brick a week if possible. I'm looking at the Savage Mark II for a dependable entry-level rifle.

Perhaps to pick up a 9mm pistol to shoot too - maybe a Glock or similar, but that's down the road.

My questions are as follows;

-Where are the best places in/close to Toronto to do the course(s)/exam?

-Where are the best places in/close to Toronto to grab a membership for range shooting? I'd like to shoot 1-2x/week if possible, so proximity to the downtown core would be preferable. Oh, and not too expensive either lol.

-If my girlfriend wants to try shooting with me (sharing the rifle), but she's unsure if she'll be going often - will she need to do the CFSC and get her PAL too? How about range membership? Is this a legal matter, or a range-specific one?

-Where are the best places in/close to Toronto to pick up a Savage Mark II? I don't mind used either, I suppose I should poke around the exchange forum here?

-Which model of the Mark II should I get?

-What scope should I get for the Mark II?

-For storage/security, what's recommended/required? Would a trigger lock in a gun case be adequate? Storing ammo in a separate locked safe? We don't have much space so I'm curious as to how its done. :)

Thanks so much!

cheers
k
 
Can't help you with location specific info but I can help with some generic.

-Your girlfriend can shoot without a PAL as long as she's supervised by someone with a PAL. Guest rules at ranges vary so just inquire. Usually if they come more than two or three times a year they are requested to buy a membership.

-I suggest getting the MkII that comes with fiber optic sights. My wife has one with them and they are pin point accurate. Other options are about how it feels in your hands and your budget. Buy what feels right to hold.

-Learn to use iron sights first. It will help you a lot overall when shooting any gun. As for a scope pretty much any 22lr scope will be adequate unless you want to start shooting competition. At that point you should know what you want.

-Easiest and cheapest storage is to use a soft case with a trigger lock(only the trigger lock is required). Get a combination lock for any gun you buy as keys add up fast and it sucks when you forget them at home. Ammo doesn't have to be locked, just stored 'separate'.
 
I did my courses at http://guns.to/
It was a good experience. I can recommend them.

You pretty much can't do anything IN the City of Toronto.

For handguns, The Grange club, which runs out of Target Sports in Gormley, is probably the easiest to get started with. But it's $$$

You can use your 22 in their indoor range, but it's only 25 yards, which for shooting a rifle is a like having ### with 6 condoms on. You can also go to Target to try various types of guns and no PAL is required. But $$

A full range of shooting activities can be had at Sharon gun club, but it's hard to get a membership, and it strikes me as more a place for fairly serious gunnutz who plan to spend a lot of time, and a lot of money.

There's a gun club in Oshawa which is nearly full service, but all outdoors.
There's one in Burlington which is indoors, but pretty hard to get into.
There's a great club between Hamilton and Niagara falls, Silverdale, with all firearm types supported. Friendly range officers, guests can go on weekends. If you have a PAL, you can take your GF even if she doesn't have a PAL.

All in all, for someone in Toronto looking to see what's out there, I'd definitely recommend Target. It's remarkable, and sad really, that for the whole city of Toronto this is pretty much the only choice for a genuine newbie who does not have a friend or family member that already belongs to a gun club.
 
Wow! Thanks! :cheers:

Freyr_255 said:
Can't help you with location specific info but I can help with some generic.

-Your girlfriend can shoot without a PAL as long as she's supervised by someone with a PAL. Guest rules at ranges vary so just inquire. Usually if they come more than two or three times a year they are requested to buy a membership.

-I suggest getting the MkII that comes with fiber optic sights. My wife has one with them and they are pin point accurate. Other options are about how it feels in your hands and your budget. Buy what feels right to hold.

-Learn to use iron sights first. It will help you a lot overall when shooting any gun. As for a scope pretty much any 22lr scope will be adequate unless you want to start shooting competition. At that point you should know what you want.

-Easiest and cheapest storage is to use a soft case with a trigger lock(only the trigger lock is required). Get a combination lock for any gun you buy as keys add up fast and it sucks when you forget them at home. Ammo doesn't have to be locked, just stored 'separate'.
Click to expand...

Thanks for all the great info!

I'm looking at the Mark II-F since I like the synthetic stock (looks cool/more durable?). It says "Drilled and tapped for scope mounts, open sights". Does this mean it already has iron sights? If this will suffice, I'll definitely be shooting it for a year before looking into a scope.

BlaqueJacqueShallaque said:
I did my courses at http://guns.to/
It was a good experience. I can recommend them.

You pretty much can't do anything IN the City of Toronto.

For handguns, The Grange club, which runs out of Target Sports in Gormley, is probably the easiest to get started with. But it's $$$

You can use your 22 in their indoor range, but it's only 25 yards, which for shooting a rifle is a like having ### with 6 condoms on. You can also go to Target to try various types of guns and no PAL is required. But $$

A full range of shooting activities can be had at Sharon gun club, but it's hard to get a membership, and it strikes me as more a place for fairly serious gunnutz who plan to spend a lot of time, and a lot of money.

There's a gun club in Oshawa which is nearly full service, but all outdoors.
There's one in Burlington which is indoors, but pretty hard to get into.
There's a great club between Hamilton and Niagara falls, Silverdale, with all firearm types supported. Friendly range officers, guests can go on weekends. If you have a PAL, you can take your GF even if she doesn't have a PAL.

All in all, for someone in Toronto looking to see what's out there, I'd definitely recommend Target. It's remarkable, and sad really, that for the whole city of Toronto this is pretty much the only choice for a genuine newbie who does not have a friend or family member that already belongs to a gun club.
Click to expand...

Bahahahahaha I actually laughed aloud at the 6 condoms comment :) We've actually been to Target and shot a couple 9mms, that's what got us (well me, at least) hooked!

Thanks for the recommendations for the ranges, I'll definitely do some more research!

Has anyone here heard anything about Toronto Sportsmen's Association? It's quite close and inexpensive, though they're only open Wed/Sun and limited to pistol rounds for their rifles. I'm fine with that, since I'll be shooting .22LR for now.
 
I suggest that you take a trip out to Silverdale. It's $20 for a day pass, and annual memberships are affordable. It's a pity to have to take the hour and twenty or thirty minutes each way, but two or three Saturdays a month should be doable, and if you want to shoot centrefire, pistol or shotgun, the club has all that you need.

The Savage Mark ll is a good choice, especially since they come with the Accutrigger, whether or not you stick to iron sights or get a scope. You might also want to consider adding an SKS and crate of ammo to the mix, especially if you're going to travel far to shoot.

If you know friends who have cottages or country properties, it might be possible to find a relatively out of the way spot where you could practice regularly with a .22, but as many threads on the topic would attest, trying to find a place within reasonable drive from Toronto without knowing any locals who could steer you in the right direction could lead to noise complaints and/or draw unnecessary attention to your activity.

Best of luck with the hobby and welcome to the site.
 
Beadwindow said:
I suggest that you take a trip out to Silverdale. It's $20 for a day pass, and annual memberships are affordable. It's a pity to have to take the hour and twenty or thirty minutes each way, but two or three Saturdays a month should be doable, and if you want to shoot centrefire, pistol or shotgun, the club has all that you need.

The Savage Mark ll is a good choice, especially since they come with the Accutrigger, whether or not you stick to iron sights or get a scope. You might also want to consider adding an SKS and crate of ammo to the mix, especially if you're going to travel far to shoot.

If you know friends who have cottages or country properties, it might be possible to find a relatively out of the way spot where you could practice regularly with a .22, but as many threads on the topic would attest, trying to find a place within reasonable drive from Toronto without knowing any locals who could steer you in the right direction could lead to noise complaints and/or draw unnecessary attention to your activity.

Best of luck with the hobby and welcome to the site.
Click to expand...

Thank you.

You're definitely right, Silverdale looks great. I mapped it from my location; it's a good 150km one way. But the price is definitely right!

I'll eventually want to pick up some Norinco pieces like:

-SKS (we are Chinese afterall :D)
-M14-S
-870
-1911A
-M-93

But that's getting ahead of myself! First we're just going to shoot .22LR to get a hang of things :)
 
kai-wun said:
Thank you.

You're definitely right, Silverdale looks great. I mapped it from my location; it's a good 150km one way. But the price is definitely right!

I'll eventually want to pick up some Norinco pieces like:

-SKS (we are Chinese afterall :D)
-M14-S
-870
-1911A
-M-93

But that's getting ahead of myself! First we're just going to shoot .22LR to get a hang of things :)
Click to expand...

Funny enough, I own one of each of those firearms! You'll probably want to get into reloading for the M14 and perhaps 1911A1, but that list would cover all sorts of shooting applications. Though the Norc/Grizzly shotguns are fine, a Remington or Mossberg shotgun package with standard, slug and turkey barrel along with the other guns would cover almost every hunting scenario you'd come across in this province.

Regards,

Frank
 
kai-wun said:
Wow! Thanks! :cheers:



Thanks for all the great info!

I'm looking at the Mark II-F since I like the synthetic stock (looks cool/more durable?). It says "Drilled and tapped for scope mounts, open sights". Does this mean it already has iron sights? If this will suffice, I'll definitely be shooting it for a year before looking into a scope.
Click to expand...

Yes the open sights are you basic iron sights. The drilled and tapped means the holes are already there to mount the rails for attaching a scope. The holes will be plugged with screws until you decide to mount a rail/scope.

So ya, this is the one you want to start off with. Basic, cheap, and bloody accurate if the one my wife has is any indication(she has I believe the Mk II FSS model...its stainless).
 
Beadwindow said:
Funny enough, I own one of each of those firearms! You'll probably want to get into reloading for the M14 and perhaps 1911A1, but that list would cover all sorts of shooting applications. Though the Norc/Grizzly shotguns are fine, a Remington or Mossberg shotgun package with standard, slug and turkey barrel along with the other guns would cover almost every hunting scenario you'd come across in this province.

Regards,

Frank
Click to expand...

They're all gorgeous firearms. I'd love to have one of each, even if it's just a "copy".

Hunting, wow. That's a totally different story! I'm not sure if I'm ready to even think about that at all, but I'm sure I'll get around to it :)

Freyr_255 said:
Yes the open sights are you basic iron sights. The drilled and tapped means the holes are already there to mount the rails for attaching a scope. The holes will be plugged with screws until you decide to mount a rail/scope.

So ya, this is the one you want to start off with. Basic, cheap, and bloody accurate if the one my wife has is any indication(she has I believe the Mk II FSS model...its stainless).
Click to expand...

Sweet! F is carbon steel while FSS is stainless. I'm doing a bit of research on both of em. I like the look of stainless, but is it worth the (small) premium? Durability, etc?

Oh - one question I forgot to ask earlier:

Maintenance! I imagine I will need to clean/service the firearm after every range day? What do I need to do so? What tools/solvents/etc?

Thanks!
 
Check the web google gun clubs there is; HAHA in Ancaster also; WSSC in Hamilton and Guelph has a club as well. Silverdale is nice as well not to nock them but the drive just some added info good luck play safe and have fun.
 
x2 for York Region Firearms Academy.
I did mine there and the people and course are great. Lots of firearms to get hands-on with and the coffee place across the street serves good coffee.

I think I paid $160ish for my non-restrict only but, they offered both at nearly the same price. Google it.

As for ranges, Silverdale near Welland is THE range to shoot at. They have everything a shooter needs to have a good time at a fair day pass price. It is however a bit of a drive. Almost sounds like a carpooling opportunity for torontonians...
 
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