My Husband's First Time Shooting

[Lynn LeFey]

My friends got new guns recently, and we all finally had the time to take them to a range. My husband had never shot a gun before, so we wanted to make sure we had time for reasonable instruction. I hadn't fired a pistol in so long I can't even recall.

My husband and I rented a Ruger MkIII, and our friends had a 1911 and a SIG P226. This was mostly shooting at 7 yards in an indoor range (with a few targets shot at 15 yards). My husband managed about 4" groups with both the MkIII and SIG at 7 yards. We were all pretty happy with his groups for this being the first time he'd ever shot a pistol. Neither my husband nor I fired the 1911. It is uncomfortably large in either of our hands (and suffers more from a double-stack mag).

There's only so much we wanted to do the first time out. I didn't want to overwhelm my husband with stuff to try to keep straight, so on future outings there will be more instruction and hopefully we'll see his groups improve.

My groups at 7 yards were about 2 inches, and about 4 inches at 15 yards. Not bad for 20 years of rust (on me, not the guns).

[Grant Lamontagne]

Good to see you still enjoy it and your husband is involved too.  Sounds like you had a great time!

Def

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[nuphoria]

I love it - wish we could do it here

[captain spaulding]

The shooting sports are great for family and friends. I'm glad your husband had a good time and was doing well. It sounds like you both shoot fairly well and if you keep practicing shooting at 7 and 15 yards it will be easy for you and you can start moving the target out further. The Mark III is a great gun for new shooters as well as veteran shooters. With the low recoil and very inexpensive ammunition you can teach a new shooter "The Basics" without them developing a flinch. Let us know how it goes next time you get out to the range. 

[demonoflust]

P226, that was one of my personal weapon for many years when I was in service. Great pistol, very powerful recoil action. Miss it, have fun.

[AimlessWanderer]

Being in the UK we can't have that kind of fun quite so easily. I've been having a couple of evenings pest control with my 22 air rifle at work (dirty little smurfs keep crapping on eveything ... the pidgeons, not the machine operators  ) , and I did go clay pidgeon shooting once (and won  ) on an activity day with shotguns for a mates birthday, but that's as close to firearms as I've ever got 

[Lynn LeFey]

I grew up in rural Ohio, where shooting was a pass-time. I've put so many rounds down-range I couldn't even begin to estimate, but that was all years ago. I'm glad to see I'm still pretty good, even with no practice in forever. I qualified Expert in Basic Training on the M-16, and would have qualified Sharp-Shooter if the Air Force had that ribbon.

Captain Spaulding: I LOVE the Ruger pistols. I've fired a ton of rounds through mk IIs in my youth, and the mk 3 is so close as to be basically the same gun. Love it, and yeah, everything you want to have in a gun for a first-timer: low recoil, smooth action, inexpensive to shoot. I hated the jerks that'd take someone out for their first time shooting and hand them a .44 magnum. Mostly unrelated to this, but the Ruger 10/22 is also one of my favorite rifles, for many of the same reasons. You can plink away all day very cheap with .22s.

The range max was dictated since we were in an indoor range that maxed at 15 yards. Our friends occasionally go to an outdoor range, and we might try that one some time soon.

We both found the P226 a bit 'jumpy'. It had a lot of recoil. It didn't bother me, but made my husband a tad nervous (afraid he was going to smack himself in the face with the gun after each shot). My husband wants to try other 9mm's to see if he can find one that has less recoil, and of course wants to try other .22s. I might try renting a .357 the next time we go out, see what he thinks of that. I find for smaller hands, revolvers are sometimes a good solution. Less capacity, but ya can't win 'em all (And... I really like the .357s I've fired).

[captain spaulding]

Pertaining to the P226 being "jumpy" it might be in part that his/your grip was not as good as it could be. When I say this I am not referring to your actual grip strength, but grip technique. You can reduce a significant amount of recoil by a proper grip alone. You said you grew up shooting so i'm not doubting your grip/technique, but your husband might need some help. Another reason a gun might feel "jumpy" is if it is a light or Polymer Frame gun. The light guns tend to have more recoil than a full size pistol or a non polymer frame pistol.

If you rent a .357 next time out I would suggest buying some .38 special rounds as they will offer less recoil for your husband. I would not suggest giving him a .357 out of the gate if he thinks the P226 feels "jumpy," but I have no idea how comfortable he was when he went shooting. Just a though. Either way let me know how it goes.  On a side note the 10/22 is a great rifle. 

[Lynn LeFey]

I got a lot of instruction from my brother, who was on the Marine Corps pistol team (and as a side-note, if you want to feel like a crappy shooter, compare yourself to someone who does competition shooting. Ugg.), so I feel confident in saying my grip is good. The P226 is a light gun, so I'm pretty sure that's the issue.

And yes, .38s for the 357 on the first time out. Again, I'm not trying to spook him.

[Chain Gang]

Hey Lynn,I see you like Ruger 10 22s.Me too.My latest build.

[Gryffin]

Neither my husband nor I fired the 1911. It is uncomfortably large in either of our hands (and suffers more from a double-stack mag).

Double stack 1911? The only one I'm familiar with is ParaOrdnance, and yeah, it's like trying to grip a 2x4. Gotta have hands like a first-baseman's mitt to fire that one comfortably.

Like the Good Captain said, grip makes a big difference. So does grip geometry; I've found certain guns that have the boor centerline higher above your hand seem to kick waaaay more, and SIGs seem to ride a bit high for my taste.

[jwh]

For 9's that shoot with less felt recoil you may try the CZ 75 or a favorite of mine the Browning Hi-Power. The ol Beretta 92 isn't bad either. I have a Sig 226 in .40 and find it recoils less than my wife's S&W Highway Patrolman in .357. I would not put a .357 in the hands of someone who is recoil sensitive. Good luck.

jwh

[borgwarrior]

My GF's first time with my Marlin Camp 9.

[captain spaulding]

You don't see a Camp 9 every day. 

[WiSAKfan]

everyone should own a 10/22

[Ashley]

I bought my partner a ruger 22 pistol for this coming Christmas and she got me a rugar .380 for this Christmas. I've never shot a handgun so this will be a first. Growing up with no dad or male figure I was taught by mom guns were no good. Well I've always been interested and me selling at a gun/knife show almost every weekend has not helped at all. Well the rugars will be are first handguns and we ared both so excited. I will def take pics. We both plan to get our concealed carry permits!

A girl packing heat, OHO knife, sak, multi tool, couple flashlights, tactical pen, and fixed blade (sometimes) slippy (sometimes) equals  See you soon

[stealth007s]

You'll like that .380 Ash. I got my wife the Ruger .380 LCP for Christmas last year and she loves it.

[Lynn LeFey]

Crap. I don't think I followed up on this. We ended up buying a Ruger SR22 pistol after going shooting a few times.

I got it the same day my Spirit X came in the mail, so they shared a pic.


A friend of mine has a Ruger Mk III that was having problems from having never been cleaned. We took it apart and cleaned it thoroughly... and couldn't get it reassembled. This is NOT a problem with the SR22. Dissassembly and reassembly is SUPER easy. I think due to its mass or possibly barrel position, there is a surprising amount of felt recoil in it for being a .22. It kind of makes it fun and snappy.

The only problem I've had with the pistol is that the second round in each magazine is not chambering properly. I'm guessing it has to do with spring tension in the new magazines and will work itself out after some time to break in. If I only load 9 rounds into the mag, chamber the first, then everything's fine.

The BIGGEST advantage I've seen in the SR22 is that virtually all functions are ambidextrous. Which was something we wanted, since I'm a lefty.

I think we walked out the door with it, and a cleaning kit (and taxes) for something like $360. And, of course, every time we buy a box of bulk ammo, we laugh at the cost... something like $20 for 525 rounds. So, just under 4 cents per shot. As with the Mk III, my groups are holding steady at about 1 1/2" to 2" at a range of 7 yards. I just don't think I care to put the time and money (in range fees) to improve beyond that.

[Mr. Whippy]

That cluster is just about sighting in the gun.  It's pretty tight really.

I have my Dad's Ruger MkI, long barrel version.  It looks almost exactly like this:

[Medic82]

I also have a mk III but the Hunter version, it's so nice with the fluted barrel, and I love it. The problem with Ruger 22. Pistols is that unless you clean it regularly you will most likely struggle putting it together, I had a hard time last time since it was ages since I did it last but now it's easy.

Sent from my Galaxy S3

[New_World]

Neither my husband nor I fired the 1911. It is uncomfortably large in either of our hands (and suffers more from a double-stack mag).

Double stack 1911? The only one I'm familiar with is ParaOrdnance, and yeah, it's like trying to grip a 2x4. Gotta have hands like a first-baseman's mitt to fire that one comfortably.

Like the Good Captain said, grip makes a big difference. So does grip geometry; I've found certain guns that have the boor centerline higher above your hand seem to kick waaaay more, and SIGs seem to ride a bit high for my taste.

yeah double stack 1911 is nuts.  lol


love all the pistols you shot.
I need to go shooting again soon once I'm done tricking out my AR15