Shot a pistol for the first time yesterday...

A buddy of mine (let's call him M) took me to a shooting range in Lake County yesterday. This was the first time I'd shot anything besides a .22 rifle, and the first time in nearly 6 and a half years I've shot anything at all. There were three of us, my friend and I in one lane with a Glock 17 on the theory that that's a good teaching pistol, and the other guy (let's call him S) in another with a SIG-Saur P226, and 3 boxes of 9mm between us.

A good time was had by all, although I had issues with leaning back when firing, and M said I was leaning back at the waist and leaning forward at the chest. Oops. Changing which hand was doing what made some difference. Also, both M and S said I was prematurely dipping the barrel to compensate for recoil faster than any beginner they'd ever seen. There was some merit to that; my first 5, I put 4 within the 9-X rings, and then one off the target completely, low and to the left. Firing 5 dry every so often helped with that quite a bit, but still, for a while, I'd have 4 great and 1 terrible shot, or 2 great, 2 good, and one bad shot.

The whole trip there, S was saying how much he disliked the Glock, and how glad he was that he would be shooting the SIG-Saur. Of course, Irony (with a capital I) fed him those words. Coming to the end of M's and my second box, I asked to try the SIG-Saur. First two shots made a slightly elongated hole through the right '9', which was where I was aiming - M had basically shot out the entirety of the X, and put quite a few large holes in the 10 ring. I finished the 5, with the next 2 shots in the 9 ring just an inch or so down, and then one winger way out to the bottom left in the 7 ring. Still not sure how that one happened. Meanwhile, S was shooting the Glock, and, hey, instead of a smallish scatter plot, he was making largish jagged holes in the target. Suitably chagrined, he agreed to switch weapons for the duration.

For the last box, M bought 2 targets and we each took 25 shots each. M made the entire X one big hole. . My first shot was somewhere in the 10 ring. My next 2, however, were unmitigated disasters, way low and left, off the target, just an inch or so from the edge of the paper. Stretching and relaxing for a minute, I tried again, and proceeded to put every shot for the next 22 on target, 2 in the 7 ring, 1 in the 8 ring, 5 in the X, and the rest in 9 and 10. 2 genuine elongated holes, and an additional 4 areas where the paper tore all the way though between 2 shots (3, in the case of 1 of them).

Pretty good for a first-timer, or so I'm told. I'll probably be going back again in a few weeks. The shop there has all manner of targets, including zombie Nazis. I figure I should get in some practice before the zombie hoards invade.

Any recommendations for anything else to try shooting? Preferably that takes relatively cheap ammo. (at $19/box, 9mm is about the most I'll be able to afford)

If you want really cheap shooting, there's always a .22 pistol

That's fantastic that you had a good time! Also, glad to hear that you did well. I'm not a Glock man myself, but I respect the platform. They make a better gun than I ever have, after all.

Some pistols have special slides and magazines that you can buy which convert the gun to a .22, which is the king of cheap. I've considered buying one for my Kimber.

Before we direct you, it might be helpful to know what your shooting goals are. Pleasure? Self defense? Practicing to carry?

Are there any that don't look like a miniature water gun?

All three, in roughly that order. Right now, I'm just having fun and looking to continue doing so - this would be greatly enhanced by actually hitting the center of the target with some regularity. Later, once the zombie hoards invade, I'd like to be able to hit what's after my brain, even if I have to pick up an entrail-covered weapon from a fallen comrade. In case they don't, or once civilization is rebuilt, carrying would be a good goal, I suppose, although I'm not likely to be living anywhere that'd be necessary.

Get a Ruger. I've got a Mk I that is fine. The Mk II was around forever. I think they are up to the Mk III by now. They look a little like a Luger and they are a blast to shoot, are affordable, and shoot very accurately.

just whatever you do, stay away from the browning buck mark pistol

There's always the assassin's favorite, the Ruger Mk II....

Fun ain't it?

Yeah, the Ruger Mk II is an awesome .22. The grip feel just right. Get the bull-barrel target model. It's got great heft to it. And makes a good lead pipe when it's empty.

http://www.ruger.com/Firearms/FAProdView?model=10103&return=Y

Me still want Walther P22 with sound suppressor.

Congratulations. Don't worry, those hairs on your chest are normal.

That's awesome. Sounds like you're already a better shot than me. I may need to take lessons or something. I'm tired of seeing people next to me on the range, shooting the exact same weapon and making two inch groups at 15 yards while I'm lucky to make a 10 inch group. It's damn depressing.

You're to far away. The vast majority of self-defense shootings happen at arm's length. Practice at 3 yards until you're a full master of every detail. Then move to 5 yards and start over. Then move to 10 yards and start over. Then move to 15 yards and start over. You can do 20 and 25 yards, but I don't train past 25 yards and the time I do spend at that distance is very small.

Every January, I start over at 3 yards. Sure, I plink because it's fun. Sure, I shoot all over the place because I have to know how when we qualify. But, when I'm just doing my regular training, start close and move out only once you've mastered your skills at the current range.

Just out of curiosity, how to you practice your pulls? At what point in your pull do you start firing?

The indoor ranges I've been to don't let you have the target any closer than 10 yards. It'd probably be best to check the range rules before trying something like that.

I wish I knew of an indoor or outdoor range within thirty miles from me. Makes it tough to find time to practice.

:jackmum:

At my range, the closest I can get is 7 yards and I have shot at that distance. The problem I have is that I'm just as inconsistent there as I am at 10 or 15 yrds. It's pretty rare for me to get through a whole clip without a couple of fliers. It's nothing simple like a bad trigger squeeze either.

Define your terms. Unless it's a point shooting drill. Every shot is an aimed shot. So, I start firing after I've aimed.

I did not know that, having only been to one range where I wasn't the Range Master.

I guess they wouldn't like my point shooting drill.

Your range doesn't have moveable targets Tex?

And Elwood, I am talking about a point and shoot drill. I figure that if I have to pull it's normally gonna be with little warning. The classes I've taken have taught me to stop "pulling" as soon as my barrel clears the holster and beginning a rotation at hat point, firing as soon as rotation is anywhere on target.

Heh. It's funny, because everyone has their specialty. I'm a mediocre shot with a rifle, at best. Mostly just not enough practice. But with a pistol I'm deadly.

I've said if before, but shooting targets, I'll do an Isosceles stance. Be sure to roll the shoulders forward a bit so you have a little bit of a hump in your back. Get forward with maybe 92% of the weight on the balls of your feet, decent crouch, and lean slightly into the gun. As you manipulate the trigger, imagine the front sight is attached to the trigger, so as you sweep the trigger back you are pulling the front sight backwards. You focus on "pulling" the front sight back through the back sight.

I'll do some snap drills with a coin on the rail to help control flinching.

The final--and huge--thing to do is to "load" the pistol into your hand. Get as high and firm a grip as you can with your dominant hand. Then wrap your supporting hand tightly into position. Then, without looking, snap the pistol up onto the target. Freeze. Without moving the gun, get your eyes onto the sights and see where the pistol is pointing. Carefully reposition the pistol in your hand to fix the aim. Repeat this process until the pistol is exactly in your hand so that it aims at the bullseye without you actually aiming it.

If you do this, then you don't need to "muscle" the gun onto target. It will naturally point at the bull.

Eh, I suspect that has to do with years of practice years ago. As a kid at summer camp, I got up to 4 points away from a Marksman rating, and at the target "shooting" at Disneyland, I could use up a couple bucks in quarters without missing a shot. Once you've got the breathing and aiming down, the rest is just adapting to a new weapon's feel and a new stance.

I'm best when I move...

got my .357 back, or should I say my NEW .357...trigger still sticks

Went out to the range again Saturday. A group of 10 this time. It was a little bit chaotic, but there were a wider variety of guns to try. I started out shooting an American Classics .45 Colt 1911 kock-off. That thing's got enough kick that I basically can't use it. 5 rounds nowhere near where I wanted them to be, and that was enough for me. Shot the Sig for a bit, but with so many people, I couldn't do it for long. Eventually I went out and rented the only Ruger they had, a Mark III Target Edition. That thing is REALLY heavy for its size, but it can be fired consistently, and the ammo is cheap. Unfortunately, it must have been brand new, because it wasn't sighted properly, and everyone's shots were low and left. Still, I was making very tight groupings at all ranges, just not at all at the center of the targets.

Oh, the highlight of the afternoon: one guy in our group rented at 12-gauge shotgun and a zombie Nazi target, for which we each paid a buck to fire a round through. Now that's got KICK... and I still can't shoot right-eyed worth a damn. [-]I don't remember the exact model of it, but it was some[/-] Remington 870 law enforcement tactical edition... anyway, all was good with that... until about halfway through the box of buckshot. Somehow three shells of birdshot had got into the box. I think each shell was labelled buckshot, so someone screwed up somewhere loading the shells. In any case, the dispersal at that distance was great enough that by the third birdshot shell, the pull string severed, shutting down two lanes and then half the range while the string was repaired.

Anyway, much fun was had, but I think next time I'll stick exclusively with the Sig until I'm really good at it; the lack of recoil on the Ruger was really bad for muscle memory on the larger guns.

Sir, I respectfully submit you are not shooting properly if a 1911 has too much recoil.

Actually, that's a good thing. You don't want to anticipate recoil.

^Not so much in the recoil itself, more the fact that I didn't need a death grip on the Ruger; my wrists are rather small and not very strong.

Gotcha. I would think that would caust you to love the 1911's, which are traditionally great for people with small hands.

Elwood shoots a 1911, IIRC.

You're better off shooting well with a .22 than poorly with a .45, whatever the reason.

I'd say: never choose a gun based on what others think you can or should shoot; choose what YOU can shoot well with.

I'm just trying to spread the Gospel, 1911 style.