Just Got My PAL/RPAL, What Now?

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MattG666

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I have just received my dual PAL/RPAL license in the mail. I am very inexperienced (hence the newbie section :p) and I will admit I am a bit intimidated by the whole process. I unfortunately procrastinated several months before sending in the papers and I have to brush up on a few laws again.

First off, I am looking for a bolt action .22 to start things off nice and easy. The place closest to my house has a variety of bolt .22 between $200-$300, including Stevens, Savage Mark IIs, and Mossberg Plinksters. Are any of these good starter guns or should I look for something else?

What else does a beginner need? I got a safe for Christmas, but that is it so far. I would imagine I need is cleaning kits and ear safety, anything else?

Is it a good idea to join a club or get an assoicate membership with Silvercore and pay drop in fees? I live in the Kitchener/Waterloo (Ontario) area if that helps any.
 
A bolt action .22 probably is a good spot to start possibly even a semi auto .22. I am pretty new too and I love my .22 they are cheap to shoot as ammo is only around $25 for 500 rounds. I'm sure a lot of the guys are going to ask you what you are planning on using the gun for ie. small game hunting, or just target shooting/plinking. Just target shooting for fun I would definately say get some sort of .22 even if its just to get your foot in the door and you can go from there.

Yes a cleaning kit will be needed as well as eye and ear protection to start. The guys at the store you buy from should be able to point you in the right direction there.

As far as a club goes I have no idea what clubs are near you as I'm in BC. But if you are just planning on getting non-resticted for the time being theres really no need to join any club as you dont require an ATT(autorization to transport) those are only needed for restricted.Also you can shoot on private land/crown land with non-restricted so long there are no municiple laws in the area prohibiting discharge of firearms. I understand there isnt much crown land out in Ontario so that might be hard for you, BC there is tons. However if you plan on doing a lot of shooting at a range it might be cheaper to become a member of a range rather than pay drop in fees.

Hope this helps a bit
 
Ruger 10-22, awesome little .22 in semi, and you can tacti-cool it up to look like almost anything (tommy gun, anyone?) That was the first gun my bro bought when he got his PAL, and I think it was a great choice.

As for a safe, if you buy one, you gotta fill it up! :D
 
What is a point of having RPAL and not having range membership to enjoy shooting sport?

Join Colby Shooting Club, purchase firearms and enjoy yourself.

Welcome to the sport!
 
I'd recommend a Savage Mark II F, around $250 taxes included. Great to learn with iron sights, and scope potential for later on.

For ear safety, I'd suggest going to home depot and picking up a 100 pack of the disposable ear plugs, $20 tops. They do a good job of blocking out noise, particularly loud or high pitched sounds.

You'll need a cleaning rod and some gun oil as well. Can't really go wrong with those.

Cheers,
Sand
 
I would recommend joining a range. Most of them will have different days / nights for different things, trap, .22's, IPSC etc. If you were to show up most people are pretty friendly and would probably let you try thier some of their guns before you go out any buy something.
 
I am a little turned off of the Colby shooting club due to it's high price point and was possibly considering Wellington (I think...). Is it true that you need to have the signatures of two other members to get a membership?

Does the Colby range allow rifles indoors? I know I eventually want to get a handgun, but rifles are top priority.

P.S. I saw a Cooey Sureshot and a 75 used for only $75. I have heard Cooeys are neat little guns, but this price seems to be a little TOO cheap. What do you guys think?
 
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Twin City Rifle Club

MattG666 said:
I am a little turned off of the Colby shooting club due to it's high price point and was possibly considering Wellington (I think...). Is it true that you need to have the signatures of two other members to get a membership?

Does the Colby range allow rifles indoors? I know I eventually want to get a handgun, but rifles are top priority.

P.S. I saw a Cooey Sureshot and a 75 used for only $75. I have heard Cooeys are neat little guns, but this price seems to be a little TOO cheap. What do you guys think?
Click to expand...


Colby range is only 20 meters, not so great for rifles.

Try Twin City Rifle Club in Waterloo.
 
MattG666 said:
P.S. I saw a Cooey Sureshot and a 75 used for only $75. I have heard Cooeys are neat little guns, but this price seems to be a little TOO cheap. What do you guys think?
Click to expand...

I have a Cooey model 39 and despite being an old cheap gun (cheap as in price) I love it. Its my favorite of my .22 bolt actions. And its a pretty good shooter really accurate. I would say $75 isnt too cheap. They are fun guns and again its a good way to get yourself in the door with out droping a lot of dough on something you mind end up not liking. For $100 you got yourself a gun and 500 rounds I dont think you could get anything much cheaper.
 
Thanks for all of the info so far, good to know.

I do have a question, as there are 2 rifles I am looking at purchasing right now:
-A used Cooey (sureshot or 75, both are the same price. anybody know which is a better idea?) for $75
-Savage Mark II , my local store is having a 25% off sale on their new rifles

Also, does anyone know a good website where I can brush up on my gun laws regarding transportation and general safety stuff? It has been a while since I have been to the course and I don't think I wrote everything down in my notes.
 
I would highly recommend a Ruger 10/22 for a first rifle. They are cheap, reliable and probably the most customizable firearm ever made. You might not find anything cheaper than an old Cooey but is an old fashioned bolt action single shot .22 where you want to start? The price difference is minimal if you look around for a 10/22, and at least you will have something you can build on later.
 
I was in your shoes about 1 1/2 years ago. I know exactly how you feel.


Having a club is vital. If you have an RPAL there is no reason to join a club that doesn't permit handguns.

Second, have you thought about what you will do? Punching holes in targets 100 yards away gets old pretty quickly. Something that involves performance and competition will keep your excitement up much better.

Trap/Skeet and IDPA/IPSC are very accessible to starters. Unless you know you definitely DON'T want to do either of these, I would strongly favour a club that has one , or the other, or both (less likely, though there are some). And good facilities.

Do you have any friends who shoot? Going out to a range where you know no one week after week also gets old pretty quickly. It's not that easy getting to know people beyond the casual "hello". Going with a buddy makes it much more fun.

Worrying about the cost of the club seems pretty pointless to me. If you go to your club more than once a month you probabl will end spending far more money on ammo, cleaning supplies, gear, and gas than you ever will on the club. So going to a club that isn't accessible in the winter, or has crazy policies, or doesn't let you do have of what you want, is pointless.


One more thing. Most important of all.

Join the CSSA and the NFA, and if you plan to hunt - OFAH.

For the price of once day's shooting in ammo you will support the single most important thing that will permit you to keep shooting in the future. There are some insurance benefits too, but the most important thing is NUMBERS. When these organizations have hundreds of thousands of members, they will wield cloud on the national and even international stage. They have done very good work for shooters in Canada during the time that I have been a shooter.

Join. Seriously. Without constant political action to support it, shooting in Canada is under constant threat.
 
One other thing to consider, and it was on my mind when I bought what I have.

Inevitably, the CPC will be out of power some day. No party governs forever. When that day comes, the assault on gun ownership will begin anew. There will be more bans. It would not be entirely impossible to have a handgun ban, or a ban on semi-auto rifles that many people now own. The government will be faced with choice between confiscation and banning new owners. The former will be politically very difficult if a particular gun or class of firearm is owned by many thousands of Canadians, though it can be done. The latter, though, is what they did with the prohib class, and I judge it more likely to happen.

If that day comes, are there going to be things that you wish you would have had your hand into before the ban.

This is probably a topic for a whole different thread, but I can tell you it's something that weighed on my mind when I started out, and influenced my purchasing decisions, which then influence what kind of club you want to join.
 
I visited my local store today and found out that the sale they had extended to Ruger 10/22's as well. So for $290 for the basic model (I like just plain wood) with a 25% discount seems like a no brainer. All the talk I have seen of Ruger 10/22s have been very positive, but is there any weaknesses I should be aware of?
 
I have had no issues at all with my 10/22 with over 3000 rounds down the pipe. Its a fun gun, lots of bang for the buck. (pun intended :D)
 
Good call ! I own a Ruger SR-22 (essentially a 10/22) with some dressing...and it is a great rifle..fun to shoot..cheap to shoot and very reliable...I have put aroun 5,000 rounds thru mine in the last few months...and never had an issue (just need to clean it every time I put 500 thru it)
 
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