good first pistol for range shooting?
- Thread starter rewd82
- Start date
Pietro Beretta
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Ontario (G.T.A.)
No offense, but Don't start with a .22lr is your a big guy, or can handle a little Omphf. When I fist got my RPAL at age 19 my instructor urged me to get a .22 also, but ever since I was a small child I knew my favorites were the full size black Beretta 9mm and the legendary Colt 1911 .45 Automatic
My first 2 pistols I ever bought was a Smith&Wesson 2204 semi auto .22 stainless with and a 1911 .45 ACP ......that 1911 was the first of 7 I've owned over the years
Hands down get a pistol chambered in 9mm Luger.
Glock 17
HK USP 9
Sig P226
Beretta 92FS/M9
I'd go with the Glock 17 however....NIB $799 and was the most accurate 9mm I've ever owned
Cheap on ammo....accurate....fun to shoot.....and still a REAL caliber (unlike that little .22 cap gun)
Get a GLOCK 9X19
My first 2 pistols I ever bought was a Smith&Wesson 2204 semi auto .22 stainless with and a 1911 .45 ACP ......that 1911 was the first of 7 I've owned over the years
Hands down get a pistol chambered in 9mm Luger.
Glock 17
HK USP 9
Sig P226
Beretta 92FS/M9
I'd go with the Glock 17 however....NIB $799 and was the most accurate 9mm I've ever owned
Cheap on ammo....accurate....fun to shoot.....and still a REAL caliber (unlike that little .22 cap gun)
Get a GLOCK 9X19
100 rnds of .22 is 10$~
50 rnds of 9mm is 25$
50 rnds of .357 is 30+$
50 rnds of .45 32+$
While everyone will agree you get harder wood shooting the bigger bullets, 22 is still the cheapest, and honestly everyone who doesn't shoot and tries it will agree they really like it.
just come to terms with the fact you will eventually own multiple guns in multiple calibers lmao, the only way to go
50 rnds of 9mm is 25$
50 rnds of .357 is 30+$
50 rnds of .45 32+$
While everyone will agree you get harder wood shooting the bigger bullets, 22 is still the cheapest, and honestly everyone who doesn't shoot and tries it will agree they really like it.
just come to terms with the fact you will eventually own multiple guns in multiple calibers lmao, the only way to go
Anyad Pitchaya
CGN Regular
- Location
- Witness Protection
i started out with a Tokarev, then bought a couple of 9 mm's, one steel, one plastic. I went to the range once, and sometimes twice weekly, rarely shooting less than 200 rounds per trip.
I found I had hit a wall. At 10 m, I could shoot 6" groups fairly consistently with my hi-power. My m&p was worse...10" groups. The Tokarev was a two or 3 out of ten will miss the paper.
I decided to get help. I went to a local instructor who is an IPSC legend, and spent 4 hours with him. I took my m&p with me because I figured I should have something more modern to learn on, and I needed more help with that gun...or so I thought.
He got me to shoot 10 rounds at a pretty large paper target at 15 meters. We had a look at the results, and he told me a lot of things I was doing wrong.
I was closing one eye when aiming, and using the wrong (non-dominant) eye. My grip was biased towards the wrong hand, allowing the recoil to push the barrel upwards. Plus, I was jerking the trigger. It turned out that I had a well developed flinch.
He got me to put my pistol away, and gave me a ruger mk II .22 to shoot. He started on correcting all of the problems that I had developed on my own. He suggested that had I started out with a .22, I would likely have not developed the flinch.
After a few years of practising dry firing with a laser attached to my m&p (almost every tv character would have been dead, lol), my flinch is gone, and I am now shooting 8" groups at 25 yards consistently, a bit less with the Tokarev.
I have a lot of handguns. 5 of them are .22s, and I must admit, I really enjoy shooting them. The reward of improved accuracy, and cheap to shoot, relatively...put a big smile on my face.
Whenever I take a new shooter to the range, I always start them off with a .22, and give them a few basic tips. They develop good habits right from the start, and really enjoy the rewards that a nice tight grouping gives you.
Just my 2 cents, for what it's worth. Your mileage may vary.
I found I had hit a wall. At 10 m, I could shoot 6" groups fairly consistently with my hi-power. My m&p was worse...10" groups. The Tokarev was a two or 3 out of ten will miss the paper.
I decided to get help. I went to a local instructor who is an IPSC legend, and spent 4 hours with him. I took my m&p with me because I figured I should have something more modern to learn on, and I needed more help with that gun...or so I thought.
He got me to shoot 10 rounds at a pretty large paper target at 15 meters. We had a look at the results, and he told me a lot of things I was doing wrong.
I was closing one eye when aiming, and using the wrong (non-dominant) eye. My grip was biased towards the wrong hand, allowing the recoil to push the barrel upwards. Plus, I was jerking the trigger. It turned out that I had a well developed flinch.
He got me to put my pistol away, and gave me a ruger mk II .22 to shoot. He started on correcting all of the problems that I had developed on my own. He suggested that had I started out with a .22, I would likely have not developed the flinch.
After a few years of practising dry firing with a laser attached to my m&p (almost every tv character would have been dead, lol), my flinch is gone, and I am now shooting 8" groups at 25 yards consistently, a bit less with the Tokarev.
I have a lot of handguns. 5 of them are .22s, and I must admit, I really enjoy shooting them. The reward of improved accuracy, and cheap to shoot, relatively...put a big smile on my face.
Whenever I take a new shooter to the range, I always start them off with a .22, and give them a few basic tips. They develop good habits right from the start, and really enjoy the rewards that a nice tight grouping gives you.
Just my 2 cents, for what it's worth. Your mileage may vary.
