Setting Newbs off on the Right Foot.....

A Smith K or L frame, 4" gun loaded with 38SPL ammo. They can spend HOURS dry firing, opening and closing the cylinder, and in a day or so, have the operation of the gun figured out with ease. That's the first CONFIDENCE BUILDER. Then we go on to loading and live firing while focusing on fundamentals. Trigger pull/press, front sight, nice and slow and easy. Once the are comfy with the 10-12 LB DA trigger pull, we can move onto other things.

Once they know the smell, the recoil, the noise, the use of sights, all the stuff they need, those are no longer "unknowns" and they aren't so intimidated when they branch off into guns with more moving parts.

To someone who has never fired a handgun, giving them an auto loader with buttons and levers and removable magazines and moving slides is intimidating. Their focus on fundamentals is lost in the worry of pushing a button or flipping a lever they're not supposed to.
 
heritage roughrider 22, or better yet a ruger single six 22. single action 22lr/wmr convertible revolvers teach the manual of arms in a safe, simple, slow and steady manner. the extra 22wmr cylinder is effective for protection when using handgun specific defense rounds.
 
a newbie may also shoot infrequently. what cleaner lubricant would you say would be great so if a gun is shot say once every 3 months or every 6 months, would keep it lubricated, rust proof and well preserved?
 
Any of the off the shelf stuff should work fine. Breakfree CLP is what I use for longer term storage. Seems a bit thicker and stickier. "Zero Friction" from One Shot (I think it's One Shot) is what I use on my daily carry stuff, mainly because it has a needle oiler tip on it so I don't over do it.

As far as cleaners, I use copper fouling remover from One Shot after shooting copper jacketed rounds and the red looking cleaner from One Shot for all other cleaning needs.

EDIT - As I think about it, it could be Pro Shot...........
 
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What I have done is to start with a Ruger MKII. This eliminates intimidation from noise, flash, recoil, etc. Almost everyone can acquire skill and decent marksmanship. Then I do what Bob W suggested - have them shoot a K- or L frame type DA revolver, shooting SA first, then DA. One tends then to get the same result - skill, SAFETY, and acceptable marksmanship. Then they are on their own with respect to personal preferences.
 
a newbie may also shoot infrequently. what cleaner lubricant would you say would be great so if a gun is shot say once every 3 months or every 6 months, would keep it lubricated, rust proof and well preserved?
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2 things to answer this. I always strongly suggest a newbie look to making a bulk ammo buy. Maybe not right away, but after they decide they like their new gun. My reasoning is that I tell them, they need a good 1000 rounds of practice to get to know their gun. I add that a 300+ round class is a good way to us 300-500 of those rounds.

Also, I recommend Breakfree CLP. Sure there are other wonder lubes and motor oil works too, but Breakfree and the method of putting more on to wipe the dirt off is a good gun cleaning method. I never teach folks to spray solvent to clean and oil to relube. It is too easy to leave a gun dry. Just add CLP and wipe off!
 
Semi auto .22 to start.

Cz75 with powder puff loads(just enough to cycle the gun)

Then full power 9mm loads.

After that play with the compacts, subcompacts, and pocket guns.
 
would you recommend the aerosol version or liquid bottle version of CLP? by wiping you mean the barrel and interior parts correct?
can you also wipe the exterior of the gun with CLP?
 
Liquid. NEVER an aerosol. I put a few drops on my fingers before cleaning the gun. The amount on my hands while handling the gun during cleaning will protect the finish. The external finish is the last thing I wipe with a dry rag when I put the gun away. As far as internals, I seldom ever lube the "guts", but feed ramp, barrel hood, rails, barrel bushing areas get just a drop............
 
Well, I'd say, get them an airgun pistol in addition to whatever newbie friendly pistol they want. Together with a few thousand pellets it won't cost much to get and costs next to nothing to run, and you can practice at home, in the back yard, wherever and whenever you have time.

Won't teach you much in the way of recoil management or intricacies of operating this and this type of action, but everything else carries over, and regular practice with it, in combination with range time with a normal pistol will yield results.
 
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