advice for breaking in my new (first) gun

T

traitorjack

New member
hey all,
I'm expecting delivery on my first gun, a Steyr M40, sometime this next week. any advice on the do-s and don't-s of handling a gun new out of the box? ammo types, that sort of thing, etc.
thanks,
alex
 
You say this is your first gun, don't state your level of experience. First thing I learned were the four basic safety rules, live by them.

As far as the gun goes; get a bronze brush and clean it before you shoot it, watch out for the crown when cleaning. Use factory loaded ammo and don't shoot FMJ ammo after lead ammo. I like to use a lot of lube b/c I figure it's easier to wipe off dirt than to scrub it off. Enjoy!
 
P-35 -- thanks! yes, I'm a fairly obsessive type about safety. and yeah, I forgot to mention how much experience I have, which is to say, relatively little. I've read a lot and been to the rental range about a dozen or so times since I've gotten seriously interested in all this, which was maybe a few months ago. they're a great bunch of guys at the range there, very helpful and informative, so I've gotten somewhat comfortable with a variety of pistols.

haven't told them that the first gun I bought was the Steyr; I'm sure it's going to raise a few eyebrows and, "Well, you should shoot what you're comfortable with" type comments. (they recommended a wheelgun or glock)

[This message has been edited by traitorjack (edited June 18, 2000).]
 
Traitortack:
I kije to greak in a new automatic pistol by firing 200 to 300 rounds of full metal jaceted bullet (FMJ) ammunition to be sure that everything is working properly. Assuming that you have two or three magazines for your pistol, fire an equal amount of rounds feom each magazine, Good luck!

Hard Ball
 
After you READ the four rules of safety outlined at this board, READ the owner's manual. LEARN the features and controls of YOUR gun. KNOW how they operate and what they do. Then, break down the piece as outlined in the manual, and clean it. EXAMINE every piece and assembly under strong light to make sure nothing escaped the quality checks at the factory(raised burrs in the metal, cracks, barrel obstructions, etc.). Oh, and don't forget to do the same with the magazines too. Get some .40 snap caps from your dealer(if available) to practice loading the mags, chambering the gun, and safely clearing it. Then do some dry firing to familiarize yourself with its trigger. Then READ owner's manual again for good measure. :)
 
I second the suggestion that you spend some time with the gun unloaded. When I buy a new gun, I always field strip it and clean and lub before it's first trip to the range. Then I spend some time dry-firing and handling it, just to get familiar with the operation.
 
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