Posted on 03/05/2019 5:23:19 AM PST by w1n1
Pick the right entry point and you're already on your way to enjoying a fun, long-term shooting hobby.
For a new shooter, buying their first handgun can be an intimidating experience. What brand, what style, revolver or semiauto, and most of all what caliber?
Most people jump straight into picking out their favorite handgun without thinking about what caliber it is. Caliber choice is critical for new shooters. Too much gun can be a handful; too little and you might be under gunned.
Beginners looking for a firearm gun to do. For example, a new shooter may desire a firearm that is suitable for self-defense; a self-defense caliber has certain criteria to meet.
A shooter looking for a fun range gun has some different criteria to meet. We are going to first look at the best calibers for beginners, and then provide you with a few examples of popular handguns in each caliber that you should consider when you are first starting out.
TRAITS OF BEGINNER CARTRIDGES
In general, beginners should stick to commonly available, well-reputed handgun calibers. Magnum rounds are often too much of a handful for new shooters, and odd balls are often expensive and hard to find.
Commonality and afford ability are very desirable traits for a caliber to have. If you cannot afford to shoot the caliber regularly, the skills you build will deteriorate.
The same goes for trying to find ammunition in odd calibers. Rounds like the .32 Long are still out there, but they can’t be found in most big box stores.
The round should be relatively low recoil. Beginning with powerful, heavy recoiling rounds can actually cause training scars. Training scars are poor habits gathered from poor training and practice.
Magnum calibers in the hands of beginners tend to create an exaggerated and noticeable flinch that pulls a shot off target. Starting with a smaller, lower recoiling caliber and working up to larger calibers is the better way to go. Read the rest of handgun calibers.
I started with a .38 Taurus snubnose 6-shot.
Great gun.
22 is good for a first. Shoot the hell out of it and set your sights on something better.
To start off, nothing comes close to the .22LR.
A Ruger Single Six is about perfect.
This is not even a serious question.
It’s already established 1,000,000 times over.
22LR, in both rifle and pistol.
Wow, you'e outdone yourself with that one. Might as well go back to posting graphic images of gunshot wounds under the category 'humor'.
When we first got CHL in Texas, a bunch of stewardesses at DFW airport asked someone “what is the best handgun caliber?” “Why .44 mag of course!” Hilarity at the range ensued.
Learn the basics with a .22LR. Once that has been mastered get a .38 Special revolver. That’s all most people will ever need (except for a .500 S&W) LOL!
My first was a Ruger Standard Automatic, then a .45 ACP. The Super Blackhawk was next... Boom!
You mean that “afford ability” didn’t do it for you?
BUMP
No, that’s just about average for ‘Am Shooting Journal’.
Thus sayeth struggle “I started with a .38 Taurus snubnose 6-shot.
Great gun”
OK it’s all settled. Everyone new to shooting shall get a “Great gun”, that is a Taurus 38 snubbie.
Thanks so much for removing all the clutter and cutting right to the chase. Question: what should we do with our less than Great S&W revolvers? And our Ruger rimfire pistols?
>Thanks so much for removing all the clutter and cutting right to the chase. Question: what should we do with our less than Great S&W revolvers? And our Ruger rimfire pistols?
Please teach us, oh, fatman.
Caliber Schmaliber, maintenance, practice, and learn how to control the trigger. Most of all, don’t shoot your eye out.
Glock 17 9mm
I started everyone with a safety class and then a class on how pistols work, sight alignment, trigger control, clearing jams.
Then I started them all with a Ruger semiauto .22, the a Walther .380, then a Browning 9mm and then final with a 1911A1 .45. At the end of the session, they could out-shoot most of their husbands (they were Navy, right?).
For ladies, a micro 380 semiauto with a slide that she can work.
Sir, that accomplishment is to your credit as an excellent teacher and coach.
You gave them a foundation and they were able to build on it.
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