Wanting to learn to shoot a gun

[Anonymous 1]

Hi All,

I’ve recently been thinking that I should, now in my 40s, learn how to shoot a gun for two reasons. 1. I am thinking it will be fun to shoot at a range. 2. Seeing as Europe is turning into a terror attack s~~~hole, this skill might come in useful / for home defense.

I have never really shot a gun before (.22 rifle when I was a young, so that doesn’t count). So it’s pretty much 100% new territory for me.

I’m more interested in learning to shoot a hand-gun, and my budget is small (+/- 350 Euros).

I have an appointment at a shooting range on Saturday with a professional gun trainer to learn what to do / not to do / safety (how to hold, fire, clear etc).

In terms of purchasing a gun, I’ve been looking at a Sig Sauer P250 (new), and have read good things about it. I can also buy a Beretta 92s used for the same price as the P250.

But, as I know zero about guns, I would be honoured if some of you could could point me in the right direction for a beginner’s gun? I prefer to stay with 9mm as the ammo is less expensive / more available over here.

Thanks,
H

[Anonymous 6]

Beretta 92 is an amazing gun. Not to heavy, easy to maintain and fun to shoot. Don’t just look at the guns online, go to the store, pick them up and see how they feel in your hand.

Are they too heavy, are they too light, how is the trigger pull, for a beginner i’d go with something with a safety so you don’t shoot your toe off. Get to know every inch of the weapon you’re dealing with. You need to know how to strip it, clean it and put it back together before you shoot it.

Get good quality ammo, don’t be fooled by cheap ammo. Buy some different kinds and see what works best for you. Practice, Practice, Practice. It’s not enough to just be a weekend shooter, you should practice all the time and throw some metal down range. I mean put 1000 rounds through that pistol and break it in. The more you use it, the more you will be familiar with it.

Once you get the basics down, take some advanced firearms classes. Over here in the states we have the NRA and they give classes on Home Invasion, Self Defense, Pistols, Shotguns, and Rifles. Find the equivalent over there and see which would you like to try out.

[StealthParticipant 5340]

There is a surge of retired police Beretta 92s’s coming out of Italy now, if you are looking for a reliable, accurate 9mm at a low cost. They are going for 300 usd in the States.

"Once you’ve taken care of the basics, there’s very little in this world for which your life is worth deferring." -David Hansson. "It’s not when women are mean or nasty that anything is out of the ordinary. It’s when they are NICE to you that you have to be on high alert..." -Jackinov.

[Anonymous 6]

And 9mm pistols that i like are:

Beretta M9A3
Beretta 92
Smith & Wesson M&P 9mm
And believe it or not, the Baby Desert Eagle is crazy accurate!

[PistolPeteParticipant 27143]

Good for you man—take a look at the Astra A-75, A-80, CZ-75. The Beretta is OK but I like these others better.

[RafaelParticipant 115]

If I may ask, which country do you live in?

Don't look back, you're not going that way.

[Anonymous 43]

Taking classes is a good idea.

There are websites and you tube videos to help you decide what to buy. I recommend watching this guy.

https://www.youtube.com/user/hickok45

I went with a very expensive overbuilt .22 revolver. It felt good in my hand, very little if any recoil making tight groupings a confidence booster. .22 ammo is 6 cents a round. After 200 rounds, I’m done.

22 will kill ya just as dead as any other bullet. Be careful. Don’t forget to budget eye and ear protection, a cleaning kit, ammo, a holster, lock, maybe a range bag.

[Anonymous 7]

Anonymous wrote:

I have never really shot a gun before (.22 rifle when I was a young, so that doesn’t count). So it’s pretty much 100% new territory for me.

Why doesn’t it count?
IDK if it is still true but not so long ago more people in the States were killed with .22 than any other caliber.

Hand guns are nice especially for back up but for your home nothing beats a shotgun.

Happy shooting.

[Anonymous 43]

lol 22 doesn’t count…yeah I saw that.

I’ll tell ya what doesn’t count, holding out a fist with the thumb up and pointer out, and ya say BANG and move yer thumb down.

[Anonymous 7]

Back to the .22
The .22 is just as deadly as any other round. You just have to be more skilled. Heck I guess you can say the same thing about a ball peen hammer.

Some people go boar hunting with air rifles. In this vid they are using a Gamo Hunter Extreme Air Rifle, .177 cal

[Anonymous 1]

Anonymous wrote:

Why doesn’t it count?
IDK if it is still true but not so long ago more people in the States were killed with .22 than any other caliber.

Hand guns are nice especially for back up but for your home nothing beats a shotgun.

Happy shooting.

Thanks for the response.

Why the .22 doesn’t count for me: I’m not saying a .22 isn’t a real gun. I was 17, stupid and didn’t know what I was doing. So I want to learn how to properly treat / respect a gun and how to use it properly.

I have a healthy respect for anything that could kill me if not treated with respect, this includes the corrosive chemicals I work with each day, the motorcycles I ride and now guns. Motorbikes are fun, but I ride as if every cage (automobile) is out to kill me (mostly women drivers). This approach has saved my life more than once, both on the bike and in my own automobile. Dressing in full protective gear when using liquid caustic has saved me from what would have been several severe chemical burns.

[Anonymous 43]

I think we were all there once…hell, a bb gun is .177, how much bigger of a jump is a 22?

I learned to shoot a 22 in Boy Scouts for a merit badge, and then never shot again until 2014.

[Anonymous 0]

Before you buy rent several types of handguns if you can. It will be expensive but less then having a safe full of queens. Here is a quick run down of things to think about with different platforms:

Slide mounted safeties– the Beretta 92 is slide mounted, when performing a tap/rack this will get in the way, also I believe the safety disengages by rotating up

Frame mounted safeties– 1911 styles (see my avatar pic) unless the lever is large enough to get a good purchase with your thumb you may not deactivate it, the M&P’s and Ruger’s with smaller safeties have these though they are available without them

Dec~~~ing levers– my Beretta 9000s has one (worst gun purchase I ever made) this is part of the safety; SIG’s also have them, the placement is at the rear just where you thumb will rest

Location of the slide-stop/release– I prefer this lever to be in front of my grip hand thumb, most will have it there and many now are ambidextrous, I has a SIG 220 and this was right at the rear my thumb would consistently hold it down keeping the slide from locking back.

Mag release– since you are in Europe you may only have heal mounted release levers by the magwell entrance, American sidearms are located by the trigger guard

Get a rifle– pistols are great for carrying while out and about, but if shtf in a major way a rifle is the way to go if you can get one in your country. NATO calibers if you can, 5.56 or Eastern Bloc 7.62 x 39

There are plenty of places online to gain more information, stick to the technical forums in the larger websites for better information.

[Anonymous 1]

Anonymous wrote:

Why doesn’t it count?
IDK if it is still true but not so long ago more people in the States were killed with .22 than any other caliber.

Hand guns are nice especially for back up but for your home nothing beats a shotgun.

Happy shooting.

I have nothing against .22s (see my post above).

Shotguns are harder to come by and a lot more expensive. At the moment I’m not that worried about home defense. I’m more interested in learning how to shoot on a range.

Thanks!
Hector

[Anonymous 7]

Anonymous wrote:

I’m not saying a .22 isn’t a real gun. I was 17, stupid and didn’t know what I was doing. So I want to learn how to properly treat / respect a gun and how to use it properly.

Ah, that makes sense.

[Anonymous 1]

Anonymous wrote:

Beretta 92 is an amazing gun. Not to heavy, easy to maintain and fun to shoot. Don’t just look at the guns online, go to the store, pick them up and see how they feel in your hand.

Are they too heavy, are they too light, how is the trigger pull, for a beginner i’d go with something with a safety so you don’t shoot your toe off. Get to know every inch of the weapon you’re dealing with. You need to know how to strip it, clean it and put it back together before you shoot it.

Get good quality ammo, don’t be fooled by cheap ammo. Buy some different kinds and see what works best for you. Practice, Practice, Practice. It’s not enough to just be a weekend shooter, you should practice all the time and throw some metal down range. I mean put 1000 rounds through that pistol and break it in. The more you use it, the more you will be familiar with it.

Once you get the basics down, take some advanced firearms classes. Over here in the states we have the NRA and they give classes on Home Invasion, Self Defense, Pistols, Shotguns, and Rifles. Find the equivalent over there and see which would you like to try out.

Thanks for the feedback. I will see how the guns feel in my hand, watch out of the good quality ammo etc. I agree 100% with the “not shooting my toe off” philosophy, so a safety is obligatory.

At the range, the training package they offer covers a .22, 7.26, 9mm and .50, so I’m guessing we will get to feel the difference using different guns in terms of calibre, kick-back and physical size of the gun.

They also offer self-protection courses, but this is the “initiation” course, so the bog standard basics. There is a more in-depth course that they offer later, including for rifles, self-defense and more.

I don’t think the Alpha brand is available over here. I will check. But entry level seems to be Sig Sauer, CK and the like. A lot of the brands I’ve seen on Youtube videos simply do not exist here.

I will try / handle / feel as many guns as I can prior to buying. I’m a big guy with largish meaty hands (when at school I could palm a standard basket ball) and I prefer larger, more tactile things, so I’ll follow your advice and see what fits my hands and what feels good.

My thanks to you all,

Hector

[NomadicExpatParticipant 1785]

I HIGHLY recommend the Glock 19.

It’s the perfect gun for the guy who only wants to own one gun.

It’s perfect for concealed carry, I carry mine everyday. It’s got plenty of onboard firepower (15+1) it’s dead nuts accurate and utterly dependable.

Best yet, one can easily be had for around $550 at nearly any gun store.

[Anonymous 1]

Anonymous wrote:

Before you buy rent several types of handguns if you can. It will be expensive but less then having a safe full of queens. Here is a quick run down of things to think about with different platforms:

Slide mounted safeties– the Beretta 92 is slide mounted, when performing a tap/rack this will get in the way, also I believe the safety disengages by rotating up

Frame mounted safeties– 1911 styles (see my avatar pic) unless the lever is large enough to get a good purchase with your thumb you may not deactivate it, the M&P’s and Ruger’s with smaller safeties have these though they are available without them

Dec~~~ing levers– my Beretta 9000s has one (worst gun purchase I ever made) this is part of the safety; SIG’s also have them, the placement is at the rear just where you thumb will rest

Location of the slide-stop/release– I prefer this lever to be in front of my grip hand thumb, most will have it there and many now are ambidextrous, I has a SIG 220 and this was right at the rear my thumb would consistently hold it down keeping the slide from locking back.

Mag release– since you are in Europe you may only have heal mounted release levers by the magwell entrance, American sidearms are located by the trigger guard

Get a rifle– pistols are great for carrying while out and about, but if shtf in a major way a rifle is the way to go if you can get one in your country. NATO calibers if you can, 5.56 or Eastern Bloc 7.62 x 39

There are plenty of places online to gain more information, stick to the technical forums in the larger websites for better information.

I can’t afford a safe full of queens 🙂 the shooting range rents out about 40 different hand guns as well as 20 different rifles. I’ll see what fits best.

What is a tack/rap ?

I have seen a mixture of mag release locations, some near the trigger guard, some on the bottom of the heal. I’ve looked at some Walther P38 / P1, I am kind of liking their layout (release on the bottom of the heal).

A rifle: this would be my second purchase. I live in a small multi-room apartment, in a small town with narrow streets. If the “zombies” do come, then maybe a hand gun will be better for closer-in requirements 😉 to be honest, this is a giant learning curve for me. As with guitars, I will try as many different types of gun/rifle as they will let me until I make my decision.

[Anonymous 1]

NomadicExpat wrote:

I HIGHLY recommend the Glock 19.

It’s the perfect gun for the guy who only wants to own one gun.

It’s perfect for concealed carry, I carry mine everyday. It’s got plenty of onboard firepower (15+1) it’s dead nuts accurate and utterly dependable.

Best yet, one can easily be had for around $550 at nearly any gun store.

The range has one of these for rent. I will give it a try.

I have also looked at the Glock 17 and 19 on Youtube, but they are a lot more expensive than the Sig P250 (currently €300).

[Anonymous 6]

NomadicExpat wrote:

I HIGHLY recommend the Glock 19.

It’s the perfect gun for the guy who only wants to own one gun.

It’s perfect for concealed carry, I carry mine everyday. It’s got plenty of onboard firepower (15+1) it’s dead nuts accurate and utterly dependable.

Best yet, one can easily be had for around $550 at nearly any gun store.

Glock is good, but it should probably be his second gun, not his first. Glock doesn’t have a safety. He wants a safety to get comfortable first.

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