Posted on 08/04/2006 9:29:09 AM PDT by 7thson
Thank you. Through the website, I found a range in Upper Marlboro, Md. The only public range closest to me.
Thank you.
Good story.
Thank you.
I know people with large families who use cereal boxes. I found the best target and it's inexpensive. Go to Home Depot and look for the four foot garden fence posts. They're metal, painted green and have small clips to hold the light fencing. A styrofoam plate can be clipped to the top clip. The posts are about 12 dollars for six and the plates are about five dollars for a package of fifty. If you hit the clip, just cut the post down to the next one.
And there are sources on the web that claim pistols and revolvers are different.
This site defines pistols as single-chambered and revolvers as multi-chambered.
The most common definition, however, is that a pistol is any firearm designed to be fired with one hand, and that revolvers are pistols.
You're welcome! An NRA Certified Instructor can help you get started.
Great idea!
Thanks.
In my experience, the revolver is the least mysterious, therefore the most safe and simple. Most people find its operation almost intuitive, which may give you more focus and easier concentration on your drawing, shooting, and learning how to hit things, at various distances.
I think it is also good to begin by owning a pistol you will want to keep, and keep using.
I "recommend" a high quality DOUBLE action revolver as the most useful real gun, and best choice to begin with. A .357. I use and carry an automatic most of the time, sometimes professionally. I also carry revolvers. They each have their place, and lately I have been carrying a Ruger Redhawk .44, backed up by a 9mm auto. It depends upon the circumstance, and presumed need. Automatics are ammunition and magazine sensitive. A LOT has to go on perfectly for them to get to the next shot. I suspect that the old, fat, slow .45ACP works so well because it is so wide, round, and slow, and well, larger diameter bullets, especially .45 caliber just seem to be more effective on living creatures, and the .45 has a heavy bullet too, for deep penetration at its speed. There is an old cowboy axiom, partially true, that a revolver is "six for sure."
Do NOT be put off by the scary word "Magnum." It's no big deal. You can load .38 Special TARGET WADCUTTERS in it too, and have a pleasant time plinking away all day without much noise and fuss, and it is still a respectable self defense load should you choose or need to use it, according to respected forensic pathologist Dr. Martin Fackler, who recommends it for 2" barreled snubnosed revolvers.
Buy SPEED LOADERS. Why spend time reloading when you're really getting into shooting? It is always good to have a full cylinder reload on hand anyway. Some people even leave their revolvers empty, but are prepared to slap a Speedloader into it should the need arise. There are many ways, and one finds one's own, eventually, hopefully. So it is good to begin with a "real" enough and reliable, simple to operate and versatile instrument. Also, a revolver can fire various kinds and "powers" of ammunition. Remember too, that a light-kicking .22 can send a bullet about a mile downrange, so for safer practice in all sorts of places, a .38 or .44 Special is a great choice.
Also, say that you learn to shoot your handgun, then lose interest, and put it away. Then some day you need it, perhaps really need it. It turns out to be underpowered for the job, and it's all that you have. There is a major difference between a "kill" and a "STOP." A larger caliber of heavier weight is generally more likely to "stop" a threat. Larger diameter bullets are more likely to contact a significant structure with a poorly, perhaps hastily aimed shot. Larger wounds bleed more, effecting a more rapid stop in man and beast. Deeper penetration, most easily accomplished by heavier projectiles traveling at moderate speeds have a good chance of reaching significant structures, and often the lighter, faster, rapidly expanding projectiles mushroom rapidly, decreasing penetration, and thereby, effective defensive and/or hunting performance.
Lastly, barrel length. 2" is handy for the pocket. Louder, but handier. It is no sporting or really fun to shoot gun if you really want to reliably hit things consistently. They can be accurate fired single action though, surprisingly so sometimes, especially with a square butt, which most do not have. It is a belly gun, for "card table" distances, generally, if one has the choice. Great backup, easy to conceal.
3" is a great improvement, and rides with more stability in the waistband.
4" is the standard Police length, and of good general utility, and not too long to conceal quite well, and surprisingly so.
If you want to really, easily hit things, and at longer range, get a 6". They pack and conceal better than I for one ever thought possible, and after using a 7 1/2" .44 and an 8" .357, I am truly amazed, and would certainly grab one of these were I to "run out the door and head for the hills." That, and a good 9mm, which I may stand a chance of getting more ammunition for, down the road. My point is that although 4" and shorter handguns look nice, and seem normal, longer barreled handguns actually work better for utilitarian, real needing to hit distant, small, or running things well, as when on a farm or ranch, or wandering the countryside trying to survive. Longer barrels give more velocity, are easier to focus the eyes upon the sights, and perhaps most importantly the added length gives one more barrel to visually align when motor, vision and thinking abilities are stressed, as in an emergency, or even when startled by sudden game. Under pressure, you may not use your sights, but you will do your best to stick that long pipe right at what you want to hit, one way or another.
So I respectfully advise you to buy a premium brand of double action .357 revolver, perhaps a 6" if you can adjust to the look of it. You will learn how to shoot....and HIT really well, easier and faster than with a 4", and you will probably always keep the gun. Having a good one later may be your most important move in the long run!
Have you tried balloons that way?
Easy to tell if you hit at longer ranges!
Use a search engine. Even better, visit a local gun shop to get your answers. That would be allot better than most anything you would get here regarding such questions because you can actually see the firearms.
Balloons leave too much of a mess. They also are a one shot target. Also they take too much time to make and set up.
I have a leased property and a friend and I use clay birds on a dirt bank. We launch the birds with a regular thrower and even if they break, we try to hit the pieces. The bank is between sixty and seventy yards away. My friend doesn't have a problem of hitting the majority with a six inch .454 Freedom Arms. I'm not anywhere that good because I'm still practicing the close stuff for IDPA. That's where the plates come in. Since you can't really tell your misses, it's forced me to slow down and concentrate on that small plate. I have gone through complete matches without missing the "A" zone even once. Unfortunately, I"m a lot slower than some guys who came out of IPSC.
I have a classifier coming up in two weeks. I'm adding a revolver to the match. The primary is going to be a FN highpower and the revolver is a junky looking Ruger Security Six shooting .38's. It's a snub which will be interesting. I haven't shot it in years so I have to practice this week.
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