Someone just starting out shooting a handgun, advice needed

karmadoc

karmadoc

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So perhaps some of the knowledgeable and experienced members here could offer some wisdom and advice....
I'm new to shooting. I did a little (very little) target shooting about 25 years ago or so, rifles mostly but a couple of times with a handgun, either in a gravel pit, on someone's property etc. never at a range.
So now I'm in the process of joining a range, waiting for my PAL/RPAL to come through, and in the interim I wile away my time looking at various handguns on various sites trying to decide what to buy for my very first gun...SO exciting:D The excitement is tempered of course by the disturbing reality that I live in BC and wait times for PALs and ATT's seem to be quite....lengthy:rolleyes:
I thought I would fill my wait time by doing something productive, such as asking your advice and then doing more research.

I was pretty set on buying a 9mm semi-auto as my first firearm, then today when I was out at a local shop trying a few out for fit, weight etc and asking the lovely man that was helping me a bunch of questions, he suggested that since I had virtually no experience shooting a handgun that perhaps I should consider buying a .22 pistol out of the gate. He explained that since I was thinking that I would eventually like to get into IPSC shooting that it would be wise to avoid developing any of the "bad habits" that can come from shooting a higher calibre handgun..flinching, closing your eyes etc. He pointed out that .22's are also much cheaper to buy ammunition for.
I looked at a Chiappa 1911-22 and the guy at the store brought out his own S&W M&P .22 for me to take a look at. I really liked the S&W it was light and fit my hand well. I'm not willing to spend a ton of money as my plan is to likely buy a .22, depending on the advice I get and the research I do, spend a ton of time at the range and then hopefully get to know folks there who own 9mm's, get to try a few out and then awhile down the road upgrade to a 9mm.

So, anyone out there have some advice for a newbie? Thanks in advance!
 
If you look around there are some pistols that use the same frame for multiple calibers so you can buy a 22 to start and then buy a 9mm conversion kit. The SIG P226 does this I believe, but I forget which other ones do.

In general 22 is a good start as it does allow you many opportunities to focus on form and technique. I'm doing it backwards, I bought a 9mm and then I'll buy a 22 second.
 
Best advice I got was this: get a .22, shoot the crap out of it. When you're good with that, shoot the crap out of it some more. Then move up. And yes, at $25 for 500 rounds, you can't beat the price of .22 fun.

Welcome to spending way too much money! And the misery that is the BC CFO.
 
Welcome (back) to the joys of shooting. Definitely agree with the person from the store that a .22 would be the best thing to start with for pistol shooting (I started with 9mm through work, and it took me extra time to get rid of the bad habits I learned early on). Stevebot has a good point, get a .22 that either can use a conversion kit to become 9mm or a .22 that has an identical 9mm (M&P I believe is the same feel between 9mm and .22, perhaps someone can verify this). I'd recommend the Sig P226 personally, buy an excellent gun that you can have for a very long time. But if funds are low, I think it's better to get something a little less pricey get out shooting and improve your skills and then upgrade later on. Good luck with your decision
 
Thanks for the advice! I've just been pricing stuff out and it actually makes alot of sense to buy the Sig p226 22lr, new you can get one for $549 and then buy a 9mm conversion kit for it down the road for around $370.
Now another question. What is the difference between a classic and beavertail grip?! And which would you recommend for a person with small hands? Also a few reviews I read said that the Sig 226 22lr seems to have fewer jams with CCI or CGI? stingers? More expensive?
 
Not too sure about the ammo issue, I just have the 9mm version only. I suck at putting up photos, but beavertail sticks out further into the meat between your thumb and pointer finger compared to the classic. You can google sig 226 beavertail, and should (hopefully) understand what I mean. Sorry for the terrible explanation, perhaps someone who is smart enough to attach photos can do so.
 
Depending on where u live.....and the range you join, some of the range clubs have their own "range guns" ....http://vfgpa.org
The Victoria Fish and Game Protective Association the following icon can provide you with information to see if they have range guns so u can shoot feel and ask the members for their opinion...cheers
 
Xeon06 said:
What are these bad habits everyone is talking about? How do you know you're developing one? Any links to places that talk about these?
Click to expand...

flinching, over-anticipating the shot, limp wristing, jerking, squeezing too tight / too soft, mashing / jerking the trigger...etc
 
Nothing against a .22 cal but I just don't see it as the magic cure for "anticipating" a shot, which is what leads to all that bad stuff vermintrex correctly identifies. Its not like 9's and 45 ACP's kick like hell, they're just loud, and they're muzzles flip a bit, and you're eventually going to have to get used to dealing with precisely that.

Pistol shooting is ALL ABOUT THE TRIGGER and dry fire practice with your pistol is the practice you'll need,, that and holster drills. Sorry guys but I just don't buy the idea of .22 cal's being the shooters training wheels for beginning pistol shooters. IMHO, buy that 9, a holster & ammo and split your time between the range and your dry fire sessions at home.
 
Xeon06 said:
Thanks for the details. How can you know whether you are committing these mistakes? How you detect, correct, or prevent them?
Click to expand...

Not to put you off, but you'd probably do well to pick up a book on the topic of Handgun Basics or Google for related articles. There will be willing teachers at whatever gun club you join too. You'll learn about basic presentations like "Weaver" and "Isosceles", basic grip, sight picture and how to press the trigger. Its not complicated once you get someone to show you.

Common instruction with respect to trigger control is that as you maintain your sight picture, you gradually press the trigger until the shot goes off,, "by surprise". This is why I don't get the .22 advice. Learning by this method, what difference does caliber make ? Anyhow, this will seem slow and horribly ineffective at first but it is the way you learn and as you become accustomed to shooting the dozen little steps you practice begin to blend into the smooth shooting action displayed by the experienced shooters you'll meet. Dry fire practice with a coin balanced on the barrel of the pistol is a good way to experience steady trigger control. Hitting the target is all about the trigger. Indexing and drawing exercises, done at home (with an unloaded gun of course) are very important too. Do a little googling and you'll find articles giving some detail.

To answer your question, you detect problems by missing the target. :)
 
HKMark23 said:
Not to put you off, but you'd probably do well to pick up a book on the topic of Handgun Basics or Google for related articles. There will be willing teachers at whatever gun club you join too. You'll learn about basic presentations like "Weaver" and "Isosceles", basic grip, sight picture and how to press the trigger. Its not complicated once you get someone to show you.

Common instruction with respect to trigger control is that as you maintain your sight picture, you gradually press the trigger until the shot goes off,, "by surprise". This is why I don't get the .22 advice. Learning by this method, what difference does caliber make ? Anyhow, this will seem slow and horribly ineffective at first but it is the way you learn and as you become accustomed to shooting the dozen little steps you practice begin to blend into the smooth shooting action displayed by the experienced shooters you'll meet. Dry fire practice with a coin balanced on the barrel of the pistol is a good way to experience steady trigger control. Hitting the target is all about the trigger. Indexing and drawing exercises, done at home (with an unloaded gun of course) are very important too. Do a little googling and you'll find articles giving some detail.

To answer your question, you detect problems by missing the target. :)
Click to expand...

Haha okay that's mainly what I was wondering. I was afraid I could still hit where I aimed and have some problems I wouldn't know about. Thanks, I will look into all of that.
 
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