So I'm finally sending in my PAL app on Monday. It's taken months to finally get both of my tests done and I'm going through with it.
What I really want most is 2 things. I want to own pretty things, and I think pistols can be a work of art. And I want to be good at shooting them. I don't know what the initiation into competition shooting is like, but for all intents and purposes I'm a complete newb, and I'd love to get seriously into it.
I've read in many places on here, get a .22 first, and learn to shoot well before learning all the bad habits with a bigger gun.
Originally my plan was to get a Walther P22 or an M&P22. I'm also poor, so I started thinking about a Norc M93.
The dilemma is, A decent .22 seems to go around here for a bit more than some of the larger pistols that might still be good as an entry level gun. Like the Norc 1911s or a TT-33.
Since I missed the Canammo deal by about 5 months, the .45 is kind of right out anyway, since I can't get the sweet deal on the ammo. The TT-33 is a cheap ass gun with a bit of character (and I do love the Red stuff) but the ammo is a lot more than I thought it would be at $25 for a box of 50 at canammo. I was expecting crates of cheap surplus for that one. I could go with the ubiquitous 9mm since ammo is rather nicely priced, and my ultimate goal is a nice brand new Hi-Power Standard, but saving up for it when I know I could have an NP-29 and a case of 750 for just over $500 will be a test of endurance.
I'm in that financial situation where I can really screw myself by buying a gun and not having the money to fire it. Which makes a 22 very appealing even discounting the good advice to start with one for the sake of mastering skills.
So since you can't reload a rimfire anyway... why not go for a .22 magnum? Give myself a bit of extra snap to learn with, and maybe go with something a bit more unique?
I thought about a PMR-30 maybe. I like the Kel-Tec designs, but I did see a thread on here not to long ago where somebody had theirs blow up in their face. I honestly don't know of any other automatics that are .22 WMR, but the price is still a bit high for what I'd want to spend on a .22. Would any of you decide to use a .22 WMR over a .22 LR?
My experience with handguns is negligible to non-existent. I have fired an entire cylinder from a .22 revolver (the loudest damn gun I have ever heard in my life) and a total of 3 whole shots from a .38 Special into a 8.5 x 11 sheet of white paper stapled to a tree at about 30 yards. Hit twice. Both of these instances were over 15 years ago. I'm not a big fan of Revolvers, I may be one day, but right now I'm not interested in them, so I'm certainly looking for an automatic. I don't have much experience shooting with open sights even, I can hit a mule deer right behind his shoulder blades at 400 yards with a 60 year old bolt, and a 4x bushnell, but I'm not as great with irons, because I've rarely shot them. I want to be good, and not learn bad habits. That's my story.
Help?
What I really want most is 2 things. I want to own pretty things, and I think pistols can be a work of art. And I want to be good at shooting them. I don't know what the initiation into competition shooting is like, but for all intents and purposes I'm a complete newb, and I'd love to get seriously into it.
I've read in many places on here, get a .22 first, and learn to shoot well before learning all the bad habits with a bigger gun.
Originally my plan was to get a Walther P22 or an M&P22. I'm also poor, so I started thinking about a Norc M93.
The dilemma is, A decent .22 seems to go around here for a bit more than some of the larger pistols that might still be good as an entry level gun. Like the Norc 1911s or a TT-33.
Since I missed the Canammo deal by about 5 months, the .45 is kind of right out anyway, since I can't get the sweet deal on the ammo. The TT-33 is a cheap ass gun with a bit of character (and I do love the Red stuff) but the ammo is a lot more than I thought it would be at $25 for a box of 50 at canammo. I was expecting crates of cheap surplus for that one. I could go with the ubiquitous 9mm since ammo is rather nicely priced, and my ultimate goal is a nice brand new Hi-Power Standard, but saving up for it when I know I could have an NP-29 and a case of 750 for just over $500 will be a test of endurance.
I'm in that financial situation where I can really screw myself by buying a gun and not having the money to fire it. Which makes a 22 very appealing even discounting the good advice to start with one for the sake of mastering skills.
So since you can't reload a rimfire anyway... why not go for a .22 magnum? Give myself a bit of extra snap to learn with, and maybe go with something a bit more unique?
I thought about a PMR-30 maybe. I like the Kel-Tec designs, but I did see a thread on here not to long ago where somebody had theirs blow up in their face. I honestly don't know of any other automatics that are .22 WMR, but the price is still a bit high for what I'd want to spend on a .22. Would any of you decide to use a .22 WMR over a .22 LR?
My experience with handguns is negligible to non-existent. I have fired an entire cylinder from a .22 revolver (the loudest damn gun I have ever heard in my life) and a total of 3 whole shots from a .38 Special into a 8.5 x 11 sheet of white paper stapled to a tree at about 30 yards. Hit twice. Both of these instances were over 15 years ago. I'm not a big fan of Revolvers, I may be one day, but right now I'm not interested in them, so I'm certainly looking for an automatic. I don't have much experience shooting with open sights even, I can hit a mule deer right behind his shoulder blades at 400 yards with a 60 year old bolt, and a 4x bushnell, but I'm not as great with irons, because I've rarely shot them. I want to be good, and not learn bad habits. That's my story.
Help?