Experienced rifle shooter new to handgun shooting. Looking for some advice.

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Tikka6xc

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I've shot pistol and even owned a .45 in the past. I don't have the skills anywhere near with a hand gun as I do with a rifle and I'm looking to change that.

Due to the cost of ammo would you say a .22 is a better way to start for more trigger time over jumping right in with a 9mm ?

Do you learn the same hand grip and discipline with a revolver as a semi ?

What range is typical?

And what's a respected group size?



When it came to rifle I've competed with good success. Both black rifle and long range sniper matches at 1000y. Furthest shooting I've done is 1845y. Now I would like to get better at close range targets as well lol.
 
A .22 is a nice way to shoot for cheap and get your skills back up to speed.

A good group size for starting out would be 3 inches at around 7 to 10 yards done in slow fire freestyle (two hands, standing, no supports). Later, as you get your skills and technique ironed out, you should be able to duplicate that 3 inch size group at 25 yards. And with a bit more practice and assuming you have decent enough vision and muscle steadiness you might just see the group sizes shrink to around 2 inches.

For many of us the best reason for having center fire handguns is so we can use them in some sort of action shooting. This can be IPSC, IDPA, Steel Challenge or Cowboy Action. You might want to search out what events are hosted by the clubs in your area and attend as a visitor/helper for a day. I added the "helper" on there because by showing a little willingness to help out you'll quickly find that the other shooter's "adopt" you and give you tons of information about the matches and likely you'll get to try a gun or two on the stages at the end of the day or during a lunch break.

The hold techique used for semi autos and double action revolvers is quite different. I'd suggest you check You Tube for videos using "pistol grip technique" as the search terms. It'll produce lots of results that are worth watching.

For double action revolver grip technique none do it better than the master Jerry Miculek;

http://ww w.shootingusa.com/PRO_TIPS/MICULEK2/miculek2.html

And again check You Tube for a variety of videos on how to grip DA and SA revolvers by using similar key words.
 
I once did quite a lot of competetive bulls eye type, one handed pistol shooting, especially with 22.
I started with a big frame S&W K22, before they were called Model 17 and ending with a Browning Medalist semi auto.
Many of the old classic 22 semi autos shoot more accurately than the best of 22 revolvers. One reason is the length of time it takes the hammer on a revolver to hit the primer, as compared to the short, crisp lock time of the semi autos.
Any of the 22s that you hold in your hand, unsupported by any artificial rest, has more potential accuracy than we have.
One handed bulls eye shooting is done outdoors at 50 yards and indoors at 20 yards. This is (was) standard. Standard course of fire was ten shots slow fire, ten shots timed fire (five shots in 20 seconds) and ten shots rapid fire (five shots in ten seconds.)
The black aiming mark for slow fire is about 3 inches across at 20 yards and touching the black scores 7, with the 8, 9 and ten rings inside the black.
A good, average club shooter will keep almost every slow fire shot in the black aiming mark, slow fire at 20 yards.
The timed and rapid fire targest have the same size black aiming mark, but touching the black counts 9, with a larger (than slow fire) ten ring in the black.
I ended my competetive pistol shooting by shooting big pistol, 44 mag, silhouette shooting, where the furthest away target is a a ram at 200 metres.
If you want some tips on actual shooting, PM me.
 
1 eye open for target style shooting, 2 for combat style fire.
Take your time with practice, don't get frustrated too fast.
I started with 9mm, but .22 would be IMO better way to go.
Do some reading - there are some really good articles posted on the net.
 
Start with a 22 cheap for ammo= more trigger time. Get some one that knows how, to give you some pointers. Then practice starting slow till you feel you can go faster. Biggest mistake I see with new shooters is they practice spray and pray and not good skills
 
Both eyes for me too.

Depending on if you have a strongly dominant eye you may see two images of the gun or just one and one target. Folks with very strong vision dominance tend to only see the one image and blank out the one from the other eye.

In my case I don't have a strong or even mild dominance issue so I always see "two guns". I use the one "on the right" which is the image from my left eye because it is slightly more clear due to astigmatism issues. Yep, that means I shoot right handed but using my left eye so my head is turned slightly to the right so my left eye isn't so far over. It only took a short while to get used to it and now I do it all without even thinking about it.
 
sight alinement ! focus 100% on the sights . the rest , breath & squeeze , etc are the same as rifle . if you do not focus 100% on the sights & have a clear crisp sight pic , you'll end up with sh-t . a little trick , IF you can imagine it , tie a string to the front sight & to your trig finger & pull the front sight down the barrel through the back sight .
 
I am in the same boat as you, experienced long gun and new to restricted. I am thinking of a Kimber .45, and then the Kimber .22 conversion kit. It isnt the cheapest way to go, but at least it is a single gun and hopefully gives me both options of what to shoot without the need to get multiple ATT's and firearms.
 
Do you reload? If not, i suggest you reload as soon as you pick up your first pistol.

I will go against the grain and say just skip the .22 semi or revolver. Been there, done that. Instead of shooting .22s, simply dry fire. Major thing different between dry fire and shooting live .22 semis is that you have to #### between shots.

I have seen dry fire practice work when I started with 1911s. Ammo was expensive and we have not yet begun reloading at the time circa 1988. All the shooting techniques are the same with dry fire and live fire, except double taps and change mag/shoot drills. Double action revolvers of course are a natural for dry fire practice.

We dry fired lots at home, and a hundred times before firing the first shot at the range. Even when dry firing, we always followed Col Jeff Cooper's Four Rules of Gun Safety like our life and the lives of our loved ones depended on it.

Now if you want a .22 revolver for plinking or target shooting then by all means, go and get one. But if your desire is to shoot centerfire, then buy a centerfire and dry-fire it thousands of times. Use snap caps if you believe in them. Dry firing is free and it works.
 
I also am a BR shooter thinking of getting into IPSC shooting...
Would love to hear from IPSC shooters on what i should purchase. Was thinking kimber custom in 45ACP 1911 chases.
Can anyone tell me if there are good quality pistol that is IPSC ready?
 
huntonos said:
I am in the same boat as you, experienced long gun and new to restricted. I am thinking of a Kimber .45, and then the Kimber .22 conversion kit. It isnt the cheapest way to go, but at least it is a single gun and hopefully gives me both options of what to shoot without the need to get multiple ATT's and firearms.
Click to expand...

You need multiple ATT's for multiple firearms?

You need one Long Term ATT, is all you need for all your restricteds.
 
kimmer82 said:
I also am a BR shooter thinking of getting into IPSC shooting...
Would love to hear from IPSC shooters on what i should purchase. Was thinking kimber custom in 45ACP 1911 chases.
Can anyone tell me if there are good quality pistol that is IPSC ready?
Click to expand...

You might want to start your own thread on the topic, as plenty of people would LOVE to offer their advice to you.

My recommendation for IPSC-ready 1911: Norinco 5". Yes, I'm serious. I ran one very successfully in my first IPSC season. Zero problems with it, not a single stoppage. LOTS of guys have problems with Kimbers not running right. The Norc is a GREAT way to learn about the 1911 platform, too, since you won't be terrified to work on it. IMO, 1911 shooters should be prepared to be their own armorers.

If you feel compelled to shell out for nice gear, I'd skip the Kimber, tbh, and opt for a Dlask base model / semi-custom. Waaaaay more value, IMO.
 
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