New Shooter Checklist (& "what do i buyy??" thread)

A

Advoc

Regular
EE Expired
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Location
Lethbridge Alberta
Finally got my RPAL in this week. Received at CFC April 29th, Issued June 8, card in hand June 16, so not bad.
Long story short:
Had my minors FAC at 14. Expired at 18. Never applied for a full license, and I'm 30 now. Have lots of long guns in the family, primarily hunters.
My guns:
- Remington 788 in .243
- Stevens 820B Pump 12 Gauge

I plan to confiscate my dads old Cooey and fix it up if I can, not working currently.

I want to add a pistol to the mix and get out shooting ASAP. All of our family guns are stored at Dads place, including mine, but while he wants to get his restricted to shoot with me, he hasn't done it yet. So if I buy a pistol, I'm on my own and I need all my own stuff. I've never done the cleaning myself, my dad always did.

I'm not a new to shooting, but I don't exactly have a lot of range time. Majority of my shooting has been at stuff I put in the freezer and those pesky clay pigeons that always seem to get away.

I'm on a tight budget. ~ $600 for Gun, Ammo, and essentials.

I Have:
Cleaning Kit - I bought it yesterday. It has brushes and cloth for the gamut. .22lr to 12 ga. So that should be good.
Safe - A little digital Hotel style safe from XS Cargo. ( I don't intent to use the keypad, I'll just use the key)

I Need:
Cleaning/Maintenance consumables: Cloth patches, rags / shammy. Other stuff I don't know about.
Oils, solvents, etc. - I don't know anything about this side of things. I need suggestions from you veterans about getting the right stuff.
Carry case + cable/trigger locks. (is it legal to just use a steel cable with loops and a small padlock you have lying around? or does it have to be an actualy branded/marketed "cable lock"?)
Any other tools to do the job that I've missed.

I want all this stuff in hand first before I go buy my pistol. And then that's where the real dilemma starts. I've done tons of research, been on the forum here for the last 10 months reading everything that comes across, and I've debated and debated and debated and inquired and finally decided that yes.. my first official purchase will be a pistol and here are my top contenders.

S&W MP22. good to learn with, same ergonomics as its parent pistols in 9 .40 and .45, $475 - $500 range. Cheap ammo.
GSG or Chiappa 1911 .22 All the same benefits as the M&P, I looked at the 2/3 scale Browning, and felt it would be useless as a training tool for something larger, and its expensive to boot. Feels like a toy.
Ruger MKIII or Buckmark or 22/45. A real dedicated .22lr pistol, not a 22 replica adapted from a larger bore pistol. A bit more expensive for the gun, but still cheap ammo.

TT-33 in 7.62. Cheap gun, popular, novelty, surplus ammo is cheap when available. WS has them in stock right now locally for $9.99 / 40rds. This is probably the cheapest option to just get me out to the range. And I am heavily considering it. But i'm not an expert on the TT-33. Held one the other day, feels alright aside from the ergonomics of the trigger guard and rubbing on the middle finger, but I'm liking the idea of having one of these now that the option is there, when before I never cared to own one.

Norc NP-29. $380 gets one in my hand right now (CFO notwithstanding) and canammo is selling their steel case stuff at $180 / 750 rds. All together that's a bit more than the TT-33 and I have to get the ammo all at once, but this one might just be at the top of my list for the moment. I'd rather go with a 9mm 1911 than a .45 for the moment because I'm not rich enough to shoot .45, and I don't want to learn any bad habits on such a big gun before getting some trigger time in. I understand that Steel Case ammo isn't easily reloadable, which kidn of sucks, but at 23 cents a round, I'm not all that worried about it.

Girsan M9 clone. A local shop says he can sell me one of these for around the same price as the norc. I'm not a huge M9 fan, but its an option.

FEG Hi-Power. My ultimate goal is get a nice Hi-Power. I want an Inglis MK1* that doesn't look like its been stored in a bag of nails, and I've seen one or two, but a MK3 or a Standard would do me fine, thing is I don't have that kind of money right now. There is an FEG on the EE right now, but the seller has 0 posts and no feedback, which makes me a bit leery, but I'll at least feel it out. It's about 100 bucks out of my budget when it comes to a pistol that isn't a .22, but I would spend the time to save up a bit more for it if it means I get to practice on a Hi-power before being able to buy the one I really want. I don't know if anybody else is selling these but they seem to be hard to find in Canada. gunbroker.com has tons, but the $200 fee at irunguns for brokerage makes the bargain price pointless for such a cheap gun.

I'd love some practical help with the maintenance materials and anything I hadn't thought about as far as the tools and oils and stuff goes.
And of course I'd love to hear your comments about my list of pistols, I'm on the fence right now ..... :/

Thanks folks!
 
If your total budget is $600, then you've pretty much got to go with an M&P or the GSG. They are both good pistols. You just need to decide which one feels better in your hands.

By the way, anything that locks the gun and prevents use is a legal lock. But you can get a three pack of Master Lock trigger locks (keyed alike) when they are on sale at Canadian Tire for $19 plus tax.
 
The TT-33 shooting the surplus ammo might not be the best handgun for a beginner, the small gun and snappy ammo could cause you to develop a flinch or you may find it unpleasant.
The 22LR pistol may be the cheapest but the lack of recoil will not prepare you for bigger calibres, I started with a 22LR pistol (Buckmark) and got pretty good with it but had to start over when I moved into 45ACP. I was fortunate that another shooter showed me a few things about shooting the bigger guns or I could have wasted a lot of ammo.
I would recommend a 9mm of some sort, I have a Norc 213 Tokarev clone in 9mm and an M9 Beretta. The Norc 9mm's can be had for +- $200 on the EE and mine is fairly accurate, it jams every now and then so I have learned how to clear jams. The Beretta is double action which I like and the fat grips seem to add stability, it is very accurate and I think it is a good looking gun but it is a lot more money.
 
Advoc said:
Finally got my RPAL in this week.
....

I'm on a tight budget. ~ $600 for Gun, Ammo, and essentials.

I Have:
Cleaning Kit - I bought it yesterday. It has brushes and cloth for the gamut. .22lr to 12 ga. So that should be good.
Safe - A little digital Hotel style safe from XS Cargo. ( I don't intent to use the keypad, I'll just use the key)

I Need:
Cleaning/Maintenance consumables: Cloth patches, rags / shammy. Other stuff I don't know about.
Oils, solvents, etc. - I don't know anything about this side of things. I need suggestions from you veterans about getting the right stuff.
Carry case + cable/trigger locks. (is it legal to just use a steel cable with loops and a small padlock you have lying around? or does it have to be an actualy branded/marketed "cable lock"?)
Any other tools to do the job that I've missed.

....

I'd love some practical help with the maintenance materials and anything I hadn't thought about as far as the tools and oils and stuff goes.
And of course I'd love to hear your comments about my list of pistols, I'm on the fence right now ..... :/

Thanks folks!
Click to expand...

Welcome back!

You must be fully compliant with the safe storage and transport laws, in addition to any particular house rules for peace of mind.

I agree that ear and eye protection the most important items. Most ranges have some sort of standing rules about these so shouldn't even have to debate any budgeting. I find Princess Auto is a good place for functional equipment for most of my outdoor or heavy-duty hobby needs.

I would start gathering the shooting equipment in one place or bag. Some full length cases have enough exterior pockets to carry enough junk to have a satisfying range trip.

I'd have some handtools, screwdrivers, fine lubricating oil and wipes. Almost any T-shirt cotton will do for wiping, but the only patches I use in the bore are white flannel 4x2s I scrounged from the Army. A newly discovered source for flannel on 100' rolls is nonsponsor International Military Imports dot com in the US. You can immobilize a firearm with tiewraps, or a long hasp padlock (also from Princess).

My preferred brand for oils, grease and solvent is Hoppes Number 9. Although lately I've found some of the foaming bore cleaners give me the results the others don't. As a rule, I try to avoid any cleaner that claims to do more than one thing at a time. Powder fouling is chemical build up on the surface, with carbon particles finding grip in the pores of the steel. Copper jacket fouling is metal that has been scraped off the passing bullets, and it can be dissolved with good chemical compounds. After that, almost any oil that creeps across the bare naked steel will keep the moisture off and rust from starting.

I keep an Arrow staple gun, a baggie of more staples, some masking tape and black tape, a felt pen, and few lengths of white plotter paper for target backers, and paper targets. I like bullseyes vs Zombies.
 
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Yeah I have enough safety glasses around that I can keep 3 or 4 pairs in a gear bag. I'm an avid paintballer so I have my toolkit for shooting already lined up, that's a good bit of advice right there too. I'm actually going to a range with very little in the way of amenities. It's the range that belongs to the Rod & Gun club where I grew up. In the middle of nowhere, you can shoot any time you want so long as the sun is up with no need of a range officer. Maybe big enough for 3 lanes total, not that there are lanes per se. 125 yards max. I can't complain for 45 bucks a year membership, and its cleared for restricted use. Despite that I certainly plan to be as safe as possible.
 
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IMO….every cabinet should have a 22lr HG. One of the first HG's I bought was a 4.25" MK3 22/45 Slab side (many years ago). Ran like a Timex but the grip was too thin so it got sold.
Had a few other 22lr's come and go (MK3 Target, S&W41, Sig1911-22, Bearcat, conversion kits) over the years. I only have one 22lr now…. a MK3 Standard 4.75" and its staying put with my centre-fires.
My advise…save your $$ for what you want and don't cheap out when it comes to buying a quality HG's. (Pay once cry once) Ammo is the costly part.
Good luck and don't forget to post pics of your "toys".
 
ear protection,eye protection, A STAPLER, multi tool and a small container of CLP to keep in your new range bag.
Check out the S&W M&P range kit for the price it is hard to beat IMO
 
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