Tips for a first time gun owner?
- Thread starter PatrickBateman
- Start date
Captains1911
New member
1000 rounds of 9mm and at least 5 more mags would be a good start. Also some decent training as others have suggested (concealed carry class doesn't count).
SauerGrapes
New member
tip for 1st time gun owner?
Don't shoot yourself in the foot.
Don't shoot yourself in the foot.
Prof Young
New member
GyMac . . . yes and no.
GyMac
I have to agree and disagree with you.
In my safe I have guns I'm sure I'll have forever. They do what I want them to do well and serve an on going purpose. Most of those guns in the keep-forever category are the work horses of the gun world. A Beretta 92fs for home defense, a Winchester pump 12 ga for hunting, a Ruger 10/22 for hunting and fun etc.
But I also have some guns that are just a hoot to shoot and when the hoot wears off I'll find something new. In that category would be the Mosin Nagant and the Henry in 45colt. Both are great guns and I'm not ready to pass them on just yet, but I might some day.
I own six handguns and 11 long guns at the moment. If I'd kept every gun I've every owned it would be a total of 32, and there is certainly nothing wrong with that. But I can only shoot one at a time. More guns means I need more safe room and more ammo storage and Etc. So for me anything that stays in the safe and rarely sees the light of day gets sold and I find something new for the simple fun of shooting.
Live well, be safe
Prof Young
GyMac
I have to agree and disagree with you.
In my safe I have guns I'm sure I'll have forever. They do what I want them to do well and serve an on going purpose. Most of those guns in the keep-forever category are the work horses of the gun world. A Beretta 92fs for home defense, a Winchester pump 12 ga for hunting, a Ruger 10/22 for hunting and fun etc.
But I also have some guns that are just a hoot to shoot and when the hoot wears off I'll find something new. In that category would be the Mosin Nagant and the Henry in 45colt. Both are great guns and I'm not ready to pass them on just yet, but I might some day.
I own six handguns and 11 long guns at the moment. If I'd kept every gun I've every owned it would be a total of 32, and there is certainly nothing wrong with that. But I can only shoot one at a time. More guns means I need more safe room and more ammo storage and Etc. So for me anything that stays in the safe and rarely sees the light of day gets sold and I find something new for the simple fun of shooting.
Live well, be safe
Prof Young
Prof Young
When you sell a gun, how do you know you won't miss it later? When I got married in 1968, I traded a single shot 22 I had gotten for Christmas and a 12 gauge single shot to my little brother because I moved to a city where I couldn't shoot it. I figured I didn't and would never want those simple guns. Now that I'm in my 3rd year on Medicare, I with I had the 22 back. Have you tried to buy a nice full sized single shot 22? I spent months trying to find a nice and reasonably priced one for a grandson and finally gave up. I couldn't justify paying $150-200 for a rough rifle that my Dad paid $10.88 for new at Sears (J. C. Higgins). My brother did say it got to where it wouldn't stay cocked before it got burned in a house fire. I don't miss the 12 gauge because of its kick. Nobody ever shot it more than once.
When you sell a gun, how do you know you won't miss it later? When I got married in 1968, I traded a single shot 22 I had gotten for Christmas and a 12 gauge single shot to my little brother because I moved to a city where I couldn't shoot it. I figured I didn't and would never want those simple guns. Now that I'm in my 3rd year on Medicare, I with I had the 22 back. Have you tried to buy a nice full sized single shot 22? I spent months trying to find a nice and reasonably priced one for a grandson and finally gave up. I couldn't justify paying $150-200 for a rough rifle that my Dad paid $10.88 for new at Sears (J. C. Higgins). My brother did say it got to where it wouldn't stay cocked before it got burned in a house fire. I don't miss the 12 gauge because of its kick. Nobody ever shot it more than once.
Prof Young
New member
Good question.
Good Question Osbornk
I have never truly missed a gun. I have memories of just about every gun I've owned. I've never owned a gun I didn't enjoy. But I enjoy the guns I have now and there is nothing the guns I've owned before could do that the guns I own now can't. In fact owning and selling a variety of guns has helped me figure out what I really want in a gun.
For example, I enjoy squirrel hunting. The area where I hunt the most is just too near people to be shooting squirrels out of trees with a rifle so it's all about having a .410 shotgun. However, for squirrels down low on trees or on the ground a 22LR rifles is fine and the most fun. The dilemma is which gun to take, the 410 or the 22. My first solution was to take both. Been on a couple of squirrel hunts with a 410 mossberg pump on one shoulder and a Ruger 10/22 on the other. Then I bought a Super Comanchee Pistol. That little single shot bugger chambered a 45colt or a 410. It a rifled barrel, but there was a sort of choke tube with straight "rifling" you could screw on the end to stop the 410 from spinning before it left the barrel. So I started taking the Comanchee and the 10/22 to squirrel hunt. Then I found the over/under Savage 42. I have a 22 mag on top of a 410. It's a single shot but that's okay. Now it is the only thing I take into the woods to squirrel hunt. I've sold the Comanchee as it sat in the safe for longer than a year without being used, but the 10/22 is just too much fun to shoot and I'm sure I'll keep it until I pass it on or it wears out.
So, yeah I have good memories of a lot of fun guns I used to own, but I can't say I miss them.
Live well, be safe
Prof Young
Good Question Osbornk
I have never truly missed a gun. I have memories of just about every gun I've owned. I've never owned a gun I didn't enjoy. But I enjoy the guns I have now and there is nothing the guns I've owned before could do that the guns I own now can't. In fact owning and selling a variety of guns has helped me figure out what I really want in a gun.
For example, I enjoy squirrel hunting. The area where I hunt the most is just too near people to be shooting squirrels out of trees with a rifle so it's all about having a .410 shotgun. However, for squirrels down low on trees or on the ground a 22LR rifles is fine and the most fun. The dilemma is which gun to take, the 410 or the 22. My first solution was to take both. Been on a couple of squirrel hunts with a 410 mossberg pump on one shoulder and a Ruger 10/22 on the other. Then I bought a Super Comanchee Pistol. That little single shot bugger chambered a 45colt or a 410. It a rifled barrel, but there was a sort of choke tube with straight "rifling" you could screw on the end to stop the 410 from spinning before it left the barrel. So I started taking the Comanchee and the 10/22 to squirrel hunt. Then I found the over/under Savage 42. I have a 22 mag on top of a 410. It's a single shot but that's okay. Now it is the only thing I take into the woods to squirrel hunt. I've sold the Comanchee as it sat in the safe for longer than a year without being used, but the 10/22 is just too much fun to shoot and I'm sure I'll keep it until I pass it on or it wears out.
So, yeah I have good memories of a lot of fun guns I used to own, but I can't say I miss them.
Live well, be safe
Prof Young
PatientWolf
New member
In addition the the top 4 already listed,
Remove all ammunition from the gun (including the chamber) when cleaning. Check at least twice to make sure the gun is clear and remove the ammo from the cleaning area (preferably to another room.
Remove all ammunition from the gun (including the chamber) when cleaning. Check at least twice to make sure the gun is clear and remove the ammo from the cleaning area (preferably to another room.
Aguila Blanca
Staff
Are you saying that people who ARE "up to speed" on being pro 2A don't object to being swept?chris in va said:
I don't see how or why anyone's 2A views have anything to do with whether or not it's okay to point a firearm at them. Colonel Cooper expressed the second rule a bit more forcefully than "Never allow the muzzle to point at anything you don't want holes in." What Cooper taught was, "Never let the muzzle cover [sweep / point at] anything you are not willing to destroy."
Putting a hole in a sheetrock wall isn't the end of the world. If your girlfriend, wife, or child happens to be on the other side of that sheetrock, then you've got a more serious problem.
I think your girlfriend was completely justified for giving you an earful if you swept her. IMHO you are fortunate that she's still your girlfriend (if she is).
Bentonville
New member
When I bought my first HK I discovered the HKpro.com forum and I learned a lot from the guys who deal specifically with HK pistols. I am still learning a lot about my new VP9 and my HK45c. I love this website for the cumulative knowledge and the very positive attitude towards helping others. For specific guns I try to find specific forums in addition to the Firing Line. Just my opinion. Yours may vary.
chrisintexas
New member
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Le-q6IHMGqI
what do you think about this?
what do you think about this?
Thanks!
Only 2?
I'm afraid I don't understand the question, Bentonville ..... How is the Berretta "THE firearm"? Besides the fact that Beretta makes many models of firearm, one is not limited to any one of them, or even to a Beretta, or even a Collection of Berettas ...... Hooray for Diversity!
You'd have to check out the range rules of the range in question, though I'd bet against it, due to the hazards of bullet fragments/splash coming off the targets in random directions ...... Commercial indoor ranges are probably very interested in risk management, and controlling variable that increase risk .......They also make money selling paper targets ....... I would think that both of these things would probably cause them to not allow people to be brining in outside targets that could possibly damage the facility, decrease safety for (other) patrons, increase liability issues, and cut into sales (of targets).
To the OP:
I'm going to take serious flak for this, but here goes. (For the record, I've been shooting handguns for more than 50 years, and I've been an instructor (of both newbie civilians and commissioned professionals) for more than 30.)
Given that your first purchase was a 9mm autoloader in a concealed carry format, my recommendation for your second purchase would be a good .22 auto (I happen to like the Ruger SR-22) and as much .22 ammo as you can find.
1) Proficiency with a handgun requires a number of skill sets, including but not limited to simple marksmanship. A good instructor is very useful in guiding you (my view is that you don't so much "teach" as it is you help someone to "learn"), but ultimately acquiring and perfecting the skills is a function of practice.
2) As a rule, .22s tend to build skills, while center fire pistols tend to diminish them (by stimulating bad habits).
3) My experience over the years is that most folks who start with big bores develop a minimal skill set and then never get any higher. There are exceptions, of course, but not many. Counting on being an exception is not a percentage play.
Good luck. Now I'm heading for the bunker!
I'm going to take serious flak for this, but here goes. (For the record, I've been shooting handguns for more than 50 years, and I've been an instructor (of both newbie civilians and commissioned professionals) for more than 30.)
Given that your first purchase was a 9mm autoloader in a concealed carry format, my recommendation for your second purchase would be a good .22 auto (I happen to like the Ruger SR-22) and as much .22 ammo as you can find.
1) Proficiency with a handgun requires a number of skill sets, including but not limited to simple marksmanship. A good instructor is very useful in guiding you (my view is that you don't so much "teach" as it is you help someone to "learn"), but ultimately acquiring and perfecting the skills is a function of practice.
2) As a rule, .22s tend to build skills, while center fire pistols tend to diminish them (by stimulating bad habits).
3) My experience over the years is that most folks who start with big bores develop a minimal skill set and then never get any higher. There are exceptions, of course, but not many. Counting on being an exception is not a percentage play.
Good luck. Now I'm heading for the bunker!
chrisintexas
New member
why Ruger SR22? Is vp9 a compact cc?
spacemanspiff
New member
Tip - No matter what the ATM says, do NOT feed it a kitten!
Brotherbadger
New member
Depends on the usage. I'd say a good holster and range time should be up there in your priorities. Learn all the ins and outs of the gun before shooting it. Learn how to break it down, read the manual forward and back. Keep the gun stock until you shoot several hundred rounds. You may think you want to add a few things(extended mag releases, slide releases, etc.), but after shooting it, you may find it isn't necessary.