First Handgun and Training Advice?

Chilidip

Chilidip

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I'm completely green to handguns, I have hunted with several shotguns and rimfire rifles when I was much younger but haven't so much as fired a handgun. I've passed both the Non and Restricted courses and my license app is on it's way to Miramachi as we speak. I'm looking for advice on a few fronts and was a little unsure which forum to place this in so I hope this one is suitable since all topics will be handgun related.

For some background, I see myself as a competitive person and believe that in short order I will want to improve my skills and test them against others so with that in mind, are there any resources to learn proper technique? Having been a competitive golfer years ago I understand the importance of proper technique and would like to avoid developing a lot of bad habits from the start.

I've read some of the other "First Handgun" threads and have gained some good advice from them. Currently I'm considering trying to find a .22 as well as a 9mm that share an identical structure so I can shoot both, but get more trigger time at an affordable cost with the 22. The thinking was given the guns would be very similar, the skills developed and the feel for the gun would transfer back and forth between the two. Is this a good approach? Are there many models with the same setup between their .22 and 9mm? and finally suggestions? Hoping to keep the budget for both, if I go that route under $1500 tax and all fee's in.
 
M&P 9 and 22. A lot of people like them and they both work in my experience. I prefer Glock, but I can't comment on the Advantage Arms conversion kit. I'll try it one day soon.
 
I assume you are going to become a member at a range?

Once a member, it is a good idea to talk to the folks in the various types of handgun shooting; Bullseye, Police Practical Competition (PPC), International Practical Shooting Consortium (IPSC), Cowboy Action Shooting (CAS), etc. You can survey these types of shooting disciplines to determine your specific interest. This initial survey may be the determining factor in what type firearm and accessories you purchase. Once you have settled on a particular discipline, then it is recommended to take the appropriate training courses as required. Each discipline has various training from beginners to advanced. Typically, the lead folks in each discipline can help you with both local, provincial and national training.

Enjoy .....
 
For a first handgun i always recommend a .22lr or 9x19 DA/SA hammer fired pistol with a de cocker or safety. After becoming proficient with that move on to a nice striker fired polymer gun
 
Many of the popular handgun models now have commonly available .22 conversion kits. Sig, Glock, S&W, etc. Many of the site sponsors retail them with the Firearms themselves as a package. Definitely a good way to go for a starter gun.
 
Yes on the range membership. Having never even been to one I wasn't really sure of the environment. The only competitions I have any familiarity at this point is a few IPSC video's I watched on youtube and that looks like it might be fun. As far as conversion kits, I had given that some thought and the advice my instructor offered was for a few bucks more than most conversions you could buy a .22 and carry both to the range and not have to convert when you want to switch, was he off base?
 
The only conversion I am familiar with is the SIG 226. You buy the pistol as a 22 and for about $400, buy the 9mm or 40 conversion kit (barrel and magazine).

I would say a conversion makes sense if it is a quality unit. You need a good trigger and a good set of sights on a pistol of either caliber.

Shooting well starts with the fundamentals of position, grip, sight picture and squeeze. The 22 is best for teaching this because of superior accuracy and no flinch.

When you get into competition, the fundamentals hold, except they go faster.

You are right to want to learn the right way, before you develop bad habits. You need a coach to help you at the range.

I would suggest you concentrate on hitting the bull for a few months, with a 22 and a coach, and then move on to some fun games.

The M&P 22 - 9mm might be a good choice, too, but I have never tried the 22 version trigger. I practice 22 with an old Ruger Mk1 I bought 45 years ago. Still works well. Practiced with it yesterday. I try to shoot 3 times a week.

IMG_0857.jpg
 
Ayup.

As usual Ganderite brings it. Those little Ruger semi-autos are tack drivers right out of the box and even if you are a serious marksman like he is - they can be slicked up and pimped out to compete with the finest target guns out there. I shouldn't read his posts; I need another .22 handgun like I need a hole in the head...but now I want a Ruger semi-auto .22 too!!! Dammit!

Trigger control is absolutely critical for pistolcraft, and even the pros will use the .22's to stay sharp. If you don't like the Ruger look at the Browning Buckmarks too.
 
So what about the theory of getting a .22 that is an identical setup to your 9mm, .45 etc? I was thinking that might be the critical factor in your practice with the .22 paying off on the larger caliber. And thanks for all the advice so far!
 
I've certainly not got the experience Ganderite or OneLungWonder have but I wonder if the whole "9 with .22 conversion kit" thing isn't over rated. I'd say get a good .22 (Ruger or Browning Buck Mark) and a good hammer fired 9 with a decent trigger. (CZ? Grand Power?) That should easily be done for under 1500 all in
 
Sailor723 and Ganderite are on target here. Although there is some merit to having a similar platform set up for handguns, I believe that once you get into the game, familiarity with many types of guns is an important advantage. Knowing how a single action 1911, a DA/SA semi auto and various polymer guns as well as revolvers work not only lets you transfer your skills but also has an inherent safety factor. Get a gun made ground up as a .22 and buy something else for a bigger caliber.
OP, sent a PM to you.
 
Chilidip said:
So what about the theory of getting a .22 that is an identical setup to your 9mm, .45 etc? I was thinking that might be the critical factor in your practice with the .22 paying off on the larger caliber. And thanks for all the advice so far!
Click to expand...

I guess like everything, it depends.

I'm doubtful that if you buy two different guns that they will be identical. Different sights, different triggers, different weights will probably be a necessary compromise. The Basics are the Basics, and learning to apply them across a variety of platforms will definitely make for a broader understanding of them. That said, if you are looking to compete, you will want to get highly proficient with your competition gun, and switching between triggers etc may be more of a distraction than a bonus. That's where a conversion kit will be better, because its literally the same trigger, same sights, etc.

All things being equal, I'd get the two separate guns, as close to identical as possible. That way if you have a spare if one goes down for maintenance.
 
Chilidip said:
So what about the theory of getting a .22 that is an identical setup to your 9mm, .45 etc? I was thinking that might be the critical factor in your practice with the .22 paying off on the larger caliber. And thanks for all the advice so far!
Click to expand...

Further to what Cameron SS said above I also found that a .22 is good for only SOME things. In the end you really end up using the two guns for different aspects of your practice and skills development. So instead of identical platforms I'd say that you can get all you want and need from a rimfire gun that shares the same grip angle and roughly the same size. Having been there and done this I feel that in the end there's no real advantage to a conversion kit or even a same brand and model rimfire. Close enough, in terms of grip angle and grip feel, is good enough for what you'll use the rimfire handgun for practicing.

Besides, I'm going to assume that you'll be like many of us and that your handgun collection will likely grow in size and diversity. And as that occurs the effort taken to match your first rimfire and center fire handguns will soon show itself to have been a little pointless.

Besides, if you do get into competition in a serious way you'll find that for that year or more of shooting that to really come to make the pistol feel like a natural extension that you won't be able to flip from center fire to rimfire a lot. You'll need to focus on center fire rounds through your gun almost exclusively so you learn to work with the recoil for rapid and accurate shooting. And if you do then mixed sessions with the rimfire will put you off your pace and timing. Once focused to that degree if you do shoot the rimfire now and then during that "competition season" it's best if you choose a whole other style and with a different feeling gun so it doesn't reflect back to your focus and timing of the center fire gun.

So, for example, a Ruger 22/45 is going to be a better option for anyone with a 9mm over a Ruger Mk III with the raked back grip angle.

A few different options have been tossed around for suggestions. The biggest difference you're going to find is the one between striker fired guns and hammer fired guns. So before you buy a 9mm I strongly suggest you find a place or arrange an opportunity to get to try out a few of each style. Since you don't indicate where you live it's impossible to suggest more than this.

I'm lucky enough to live near a commercial rental range. So I got to work with about a dozen different brand and models of guns before I narrowed it down to my favourite. I soon discovered that I prefer hammer fired guns over striker fired for the trigger feel. And from there I found that I liked 1911's, CZ's and the IWI Jericho the best of the hammer fired side of things. But this is highly subjective and YMMV. The only way to find out is to get to try a few handguns. Or be prepared to buy and sell a lot on your way to figuring out what you like.
 
I have a Sig P226. I bought the beavertail Classic in .22LR, and the 9mm conversion kit. Ended up with both calibers for under $900 (a few years ago). I started out using the .22 top end a lot, but now rarely use it unless I'm taking a newbie to the range. There are advantages to this though. Same holster, same (more or less) weight, same trigger, same decocker. You can build the muscle memory for a lot less ammo money. Also, the .22s tend to misfire every now then being the cheap bulk crap, giving you lots of tap/rack practice.

If you go this route, start out with hot rounds like mini-mags. After the first few hundred it should digest pretty much anything you throw at it. Mine really doesn't like the LRN Blazers, but the cheap Federal and Winchester bulk run just fine.
 
Chilidip said:
Yes on the range membership. Having never even been to one I wasn't really sure of the environment. The only competitions I have any familiarity at this point is a few IPSC video's I watched on youtube and that looks like it might be fun. As far as conversion kits, I had given that some thought and the advice my instructor offered was for a few bucks more than most conversions you could buy a .22 and carry both to the range and not have to convert when you want to switch, was he off base?
Click to expand...

I have a Shadow 9mm and Kadet .22 kit, it works great, but if I had a choice I would have for sure bought two separate ones. Lets me soften up the main spring for 9mm, the .22 kit will however require returning to the heavier spring again to avoid rtf's due to the hard rimfire primers. It's not that hard to change, but at the range when time is a factor it sucks.
 
Purely from my own experience, as I have similar experience as you, just shot a few times more 20 years ago, I would suggest you to rent/try a few guns from different brands and calibers before making the purchase unless you decide to build a collection anyway. While most people will start from .22 and 9mm due to cost and recoil, I think it all depends on the shooter. In my case, I shoot way better in 45 ACP than 9mm & .40S&W. Never shot it before in my life, only shot it once during probation and eventually passed my accuracy shot with a glock 21(9 out of 10 in the 10 ring, 1 in 7). the 9mm and .40S&W were too shaky for me, maybe because the trigger(eventually my own trigger control issue as a newbie). Anyway, I think it's a good example that there is NO fixed routine for what you should get as a first.



Chilidip said:
I'm completely green to handguns, I have hunted with several shotguns and rimfire rifles when I was much younger but haven't so much as fired a handgun. I've passed both the Non and Restricted courses and my license app is on it's way to Miramachi as we speak. I'm looking for advice on a few fronts and was a little unsure which forum to place this in so I hope this one is suitable since all topics will be handgun related.

For some background, I see myself as a competitive person and believe that in short order I will want to improve my skills and test them against others so with that in mind, are there any resources to learn proper technique? Having been a competitive golfer years ago I understand the importance of proper technique and would like to avoid developing a lot of bad habits from the start.

I've read some of the other "First Handgun" threads and have gained some good advice from them. Currently I'm considering trying to find a .22 as well as a 9mm that share an identical structure so I can shoot both, but get more trigger time at an affordable cost with the 22. The thinking was given the guns would be very similar, the skills developed and the feel for the gun would transfer back and forth between the two. Is this a good approach? Are there many models with the same setup between their .22 and 9mm? and finally suggestions? Hoping to keep the budget for both, if I go that route under $1500 tax and all fee's in.
Click to expand...
 
Switching platforms can help to reinforce basics as well as pick up errors which may not be noticeable on a platform you've built up muscle memory on.
 
BCRider said:
A few different options have been tossed around for suggestions. The biggest difference you're going to find is the one between striker fired guns and hammer fired guns. So before you buy a 9mm I strongly suggest you find a place or arrange an opportunity to get to try out a few of each style. Since you don't indicate where you live it's impossible to suggest more than this.
Click to expand...

Appreciate all the advice in this thread, I could have sworn I set my location when I created my profile but it's edited in now. Sounds like perhaps I was giving too much weight to needing to find identical setups. I'm fortunate enough to live less than a 3 minute walk to Xtreme Shooting Center which I plan to join [edit removed range URL as I think it might be against rules to link] Guess I need to just spend some time there and hopefully they can help guide my choices after trying a bunch. I think I'll still plan on both a .22 and a larger caliber and spend a good chunk of my time early with the .22. I'll try to find training help/options or someone experienced willing to help out locally as well.
 
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So I've been going back and forth on this and I've about worn out the internet searching stuff while I wait for my licence to get approved. The .22 is still a definite but I've started to lean towards going for a cheap 9mm as my first centerfire gun. I'm thinking it get's me in at a budget starting point and if I choose a pistol that I end up not being very fond of I don't have a ton invested and can either sell or keep it so I have another 9mm if a friend joins me at the range. With that in mind I just about ordered the DB9FS deal the irunguns is offering since I figure that will be landed to my door for about $400 and then I would need to buy more mags. Before I clicked buy I started looking at the Ruger SR9 that I can get locally which helps build a relationship with the local range/gunsmith and at $500 + tax I get two mags and a mag loader. I'm also guessing holster options will be more plentiful for the Ruger.

Any thoughts on this idea and any feedback on or advice on either of those two options?
 
Don't buy on price. Don't make a decision until you've handled them. I would also advise that you take a long hard look at the CZ75. In my scholarly opinion it is the cheapest quality 9mm out there.
 
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