Very new to pistols
- Thread starter jon1985
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This. You will progress to a centerfire cartridge (9 is a good, economical first choice with plenty of variety in firearms to choose from) in short order, and the .22 will always be available for plinking. More guns is better.
Assuming you're like most of us, you're going to wind up with a few guns. A .22 may not be your first purchase, but you will likely, at some point, see the benefit of having at least one. Shooting a .22 isn't going to make you go all giggly, or make you grow hair on your knuckles, but they're still fun to shoot and still requires skill to shoot well. Also useful to have if you bring a new/inexperienced person or youngster to the range - despite being a relatively "lightweight" round, a 9 mm is still pretty snappy and can be a bit of a shock to someone who's never shot before.
Well said. The best way to turn off a new shooter, especially someone who is not sure if they are into the whole guns thing, is to give them a hand cannon and laugh when they can't hit anything. Always look for an opportunity to introduce/educate new people on guns and a .22 in your collection could turn out to be the most valuable piece in your collection.
Lots of great opinions. I know exactly what everyone means by not going to big to fast. I went out shooting with my fiancee, a friend and his wife. I handed my fiancee a bolt action .22, his wife got a bolt action mosin. We can all imagine the outcome. My fiancee now enjoys shooting and comes along when the weather is nice, my friends wife, not so much.
Hopefully over the next 4-6 months of waiting I can get some time behind a few different pistols at my local range.
Hopefully over the next 4-6 months of waiting I can get some time behind a few different pistols at my local range.
I don't get this at all...sold both of my .22 handguns cuz it did get boring...but still shoot my 9mm's more than my 1911. Love my 1911 but my go to for competition is a 9mm...so I practice and play more with them naturally. Not yet bored with any centre fire calibre.
I think yes starting your training with a .22 is the best.
BUT, IMHO it's not the most fun.
I would suggest you start with 9mm.
For those saying 9mm isn't that bad, I have seen an awful lot of really bad flinches among people who shoot the "dinky" 9mm. How do you people get bored with any gun? I understand liking the big boomers, I shoot 10mm Auto, .45 Auto and .44 mag regularly. I also shoot rimfire a lot and it never gets boring because they shoot like a laser and hitting what I am aiming at is never boring.
OP, if possible go to the range and try out a few pistols in both .22LR and 9mm before you buy anything. You will then have some idea of what each feels like and can make a slightly more informed decision. I am a fan of rimfire and am biased that way because of it. The only other thing I will say is that you can never go wrong starting with rimfire, while I have seen an awful lot of bad habits in people who started shooting something with more recoil and muzzle blast than they were comfortable with. Yes, you can learn to shoot with a 9mm but it is harder than with a .22LR.
Mark
OP, if possible go to the range and try out a few pistols in both .22LR and 9mm before you buy anything. You will then have some idea of what each feels like and can make a slightly more informed decision. I am a fan of rimfire and am biased that way because of it. The only other thing I will say is that you can never go wrong starting with rimfire, while I have seen an awful lot of bad habits in people who started shooting something with more recoil and muzzle blast than they were comfortable with. Yes, you can learn to shoot with a 9mm but it is harder than with a .22LR.
Mark
AMEN to that! I help out as an RO for all the styles of handgun shooting that I enjoy. So I've had lots of opportunity to see lots of folks with 9mm guns trying to dig ditches with their shots.
OK, so a .22 isn't a REQUIREMENT to learn to banish a flinch. But it sure does help. One can go through a lot of 9mm learning to chase that flinch away. A cost which in a fair number of cases would likely pay for a basic .22 and a couple of bricks of ammo to shoot through it.
And before the pundits all say that it's easy to learn to not flinch with a 9mm many of those with the worst flinches are far from first time shooters.
In the end it's up to each of us individually of course. But I still say that if you enjoy shooting a .22 rifle in some way then you'll enjoy a rimfire handgun for the same reasons. Consider its use as a flinch buster training aid as a bonus.
.22lr to learn and practice cost effectively. Then a nine mike mike. Or if you know you're weird and like the boom, skip the 9 and go to .357 mag and never look back. 
I never me a gun I didnt like. The only ones I Love are.my .357 revolvers.
I never me a gun I didnt like. The only ones I Love are.my .357 revolvers.
Just because you shoot 10,000 rounds of 22 before you pick up a centre fire does not mean you will not develop a flinch. You always have to be aware of this issue. For some reason I have no trouble with 9mm or 45ACP but whenever I shoot 40 I find I have a tendency to flinch and have to be on guard against it. In my experience when people move up to heavy recoil guns there will develop a flinch. Only real way I have found to deal with this is shoot the heavy load and really concentrate on good shooting form. 22 will help at lot with the basics, and I shoot a lot of 22 myself, but in my experience it doesn't really help with the flinch issue or the firmer grip required for heavier recoiling guns.
Sometimes I amuse myself shooting air rifles and pistols. The fundamentals are the same only the cost and recoil level changes.
While I can understand the desire to shoot a 9mm over a .22lr for the bigger boom, the fact is hitting my targets still puts a smile on my face no matter how big the boom.
.22lr's are great way to fill in the time while your center fire rifle barrels are cooling down or just to mix things up a bit if you are getting sloppy with another gun.
They are also great for taking new shooters out to the range with.
I can understand getting bored of shooting a .22lr but I can't understand not having one in your collection. They are inexpensive and once purchased don't take up much room and are cheap to run and easy to maintain.
I figure you will probably end up with more then one handgun over time so start with the best deal you can get right now and accept that there will be more.
While I can understand the desire to shoot a 9mm over a .22lr for the bigger boom, the fact is hitting my targets still puts a smile on my face no matter how big the boom.
.22lr's are great way to fill in the time while your center fire rifle barrels are cooling down or just to mix things up a bit if you are getting sloppy with another gun.
They are also great for taking new shooters out to the range with.
I can understand getting bored of shooting a .22lr but I can't understand not having one in your collection. They are inexpensive and once purchased don't take up much room and are cheap to run and easy to maintain.
I figure you will probably end up with more then one handgun over time so start with the best deal you can get right now and accept that there will be more.
If I could do it all over again, I would suggest you purchase either a 4.2 inch 686 or a GP 100 depending on your preference. I have owned several 22 pistols including the MarkII, Buck Mark, browning medalist, 22 single action and a couple of others. I know longer own a 22. I find reloading 38 as economical and as accurate as shooting rimfire. When I want to shoot something wild I go for some 357 rounds. I have also become proficient enough with speed loaders to compete in Idpa and keep up with many of the autos. I also shoot cowboy in the same caliber. I only wish i could afford a .38 semi.
Turkinator
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Go with a S&W 686, they're a work of art. I love this gun so much I bought it's .22lr twin the 617.
What he said.......
This is correct, but not the point. The point of starting with .22 is to learn fundamentals without having to worry about developing a flinch. I see lots of guys at the range that refuse to shoot .22 for whatever reason. It's boring or not loud enough or whatever. Lots of these guys flinch brutally because they never learned to shoot properly before moving up to bigger calibers.
I also don't understand the comments about a learning a tighter grip for bigger calibers. It isn't hard at all to hold onto a gun more tightly. About 2-3 rounds will remind you what recoil is and then you hang on properly. Recoil management is very easy compared to learning to pull the trigger without affecting your grip and the POI. Everything else pales in comparison to developing that trigger control. Having to fight a flinch while you work on trigger control just makes it harder.
Mark
Yeah, it's not "just" shooting a bunch of .22. It's HOW you fold the .22 shooting into the center fire shooting.
In my case I'd literally shoot a mag of .22 or two then pick up load and shoot the 9mm when I started out. I'd get in the groove with the .22 then switch to the 9. I'd be OK for a few rounds then I'd notice my flinch return. At that point I'd stop, unload and clear the 9 and put it back on the bench and go back to the .22. I think it took me 5 or 6 such sessions to initially ban my flinch. But over the next year or two at different times I'd feel it trying to sneak back. When I found that happening I'd go back to the basics I learned from the .22.
Could I have learned to NOT flinch without any rimfire therapy? I'd like to think so. But it likely would have taken a few thousand rounds and some pretty serious soul searching. For me the .22 therapy was a faster and cheaper option. To each their own though.
In my case I'd literally shoot a mag of .22 or two then pick up load and shoot the 9mm when I started out. I'd get in the groove with the .22 then switch to the 9. I'd be OK for a few rounds then I'd notice my flinch return. At that point I'd stop, unload and clear the 9 and put it back on the bench and go back to the .22. I think it took me 5 or 6 such sessions to initially ban my flinch. But over the next year or two at different times I'd feel it trying to sneak back. When I found that happening I'd go back to the basics I learned from the .22.
Could I have learned to NOT flinch without any rimfire therapy? I'd like to think so. But it likely would have taken a few thousand rounds and some pretty serious soul searching. For me the .22 therapy was a faster and cheaper option. To each their own though.
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Back in the days of the FAC, I belonged to a small club that loaned out ( for FREE!!) K-17 revolvers for new members to shoot. I couldn't afford anything back then but .22 was cheap. I started PPC style one handed at 25yds. for almost a year, learning sight picture, stance, breathing etc. etc. It got boring but the fundamentals were ingrained including trigger control. When I worked at gun store later on, we taught safety courses and I was one of the instructors. We shot at 10yds for the class with Ruger Mk2s. I would demo and tear out the X ring with 50rds all the time. The confidence that brings you is amazing!
You guys would be surprised how training on the lowly .22 can really help your skills with the full bore calibers.
I don't flinch anymore even when shooting .500! as long as it is slow fire. I still jerk the trigger in rapid IDPA shooting under duress and that is something I still work on.
The tip BCRider provided is an excellent one. Shooting is a perishable skill.
You guys would be surprised how training on the lowly .22 can really help your skills with the full bore calibers.
I don't flinch anymore even when shooting .500! as long as it is slow fire. I still jerk the trigger in rapid IDPA shooting under duress and that is something I still work on.
The tip BCRider provided is an excellent one. Shooting is a perishable skill.
I might have mislead. It was never my point to say shooting a 22 is a waste of time. I use a 22 pretty regularly to help with my trigger technique etc. My real point was you can only go so far with a 22. I agree trigger technique, stance, focusing on the front sight etc are the most import but personally I find when I have been shooting low recoil and switch to heavier recoil my groups tend to go off unless I really concentrate on the grip and recoil management. You have to learn recoil management just as you have to learn trigger control and the only way to do that is to shoot a gun with significant recoil.
