209 replies to this topic

[Knight_72]

Hey guys,

 

A general place to talk about guns and firearms for 2013 ... Not to argue about the gun laws in the US as that already has a thread.

This thread is a continuation of the 2012 Firearms Discussion thread found over here : http://forums.overcl...=193208&&page=6

 

So tomorrow I am going to shoot a gun for the first time at the local indoor firing range with my dad. I am going to be using his Rossi .38 Special (Edit : Its the shorter barrel "Snubbie" and I can remember it throughout my 17 year life so its fairly old but well cared for) 

Any tips for a first time shooter ? I know the basics such as never put your finger on the trigger unless you want to shoot and to never point the gun at something you don't want to shoot at.

Little bit nervous as I have very sensitive ears which is why I hardly ever go to music concerts and even though we use ear protection at the range it is still a bit scary when thinking about the dB levels and the power that the recoil is going to exert on my arms. 

Edited by Midnight Rider, 06 January 2013 - 09:50 AM.

[Andrewr05]

If you have to just double up on ear protection, in-ear earplugs and over the ear muff style ear protection.

[EuroFight]

Learn where the safety is, when you want to shoot, turn it off, but as soon as you stop shooting, turn it on. It offers no guarantee that the weapon won't go off when you don't want it to, but it helps.

[kyfire]

Learn where the safety is, when you want to shoot, turn it off, but as soon as you stop shooting, turn it on. It offers no guarantee that the weapon won't go off when you don't want it to, but it helps.

 

Good advise, BUT the gun he's refering to is a revolver. Revolvers don't have safeties

[Crazy_Nate]

Revolvers won't have safeties typically.

 

Keep the gun pointing downrange, finger off the trigger until you are aimed at your intended target.  Always consider what is behind the target, but at the range this may be overlooked (since there will be a backstop).  When you're carrying it around or handing it to another person, you can do so with the action open (with a revolver, the cylinder is out).  That way you can tell that it is unloaded and safe.

 

As Andrew mentioned above, doubling up on the hearing protection is very useful.  My girlfriend does this at the range.  I'm not quite as sensitive.

 

If your dad is ok with this (and it's ok for the gun), you can "dry fire" it at the range.  This is done without the ammo, or with "snap caps".  Some gun manufacturers like snap caps, others are fine to be fired without them.  You can use this to work on your point of aim on the paper target, and get some practice with the trigger.  If it's a double-action revolver, you can likely shoot it single-action as well, unless it does not have an exposed hammer.  My recommendation would be to try both, but be aware that the trigger pull is much lighter for single action than double action, since it does not have to rotate the cylinder or cock the hammer.

 

But, as mentioned above, just have some fun.  .38 special is pretty mild, even with light snubbies (the first handgun that I fired was a snubnose Taurus).  If you're not having fun or are too nervous, you can always come back later.  Indoor ranges can scare people away if they're really busy with a lot of shooters (since it will be quite loud).

 

Cheers

[Andrewr05]

Learn where the safety is, when you want to shoot, turn it off, but as soon as you stop shooting, turn it on. It offers no guarantee that the weapon won't go off when you don't want it to, but it helps.

+1
Its a good habit to get into.


Admittedly I dont do it most of the time (because when I shoot I always shoot all of the rounds and if I don't I eject the mag and clear the chamber) but its a good habit to always have the gun on safety whenever you're not actively in shooting mode.



Also I know this sounds foolish and I know you know not to point the gun anywhere except down range but its actually fairly common to get over excited and turn around with the gun in your hand.

I've seen a lot of people get excited when they finally hit the target and then spin around looking for congratulations or whatever-the-hell is going through their mind.

Seems ridiculous but it can happen.

Make it a habit to take your fsnger out of the trigger guard immediately after shooting, safety on and either set the gun down (most ranges require this I think, if its a public range) or have the gun aimed towards the ground as you stop shooting and leave the shooting area.

But wait theres more!

Make sure theres a good place to set the gun down too, I've personally dropped a $800 gun off a deck before...



Stupidity happens.

[SpeedCrazy]

+1

Its a good habit to get into.


Admittedly I dont do it most of the time (because when I shoot I always shoot all of the rounds and if I don't I eject the mag and clear the chamber) but its a good habit to always have the gun on safety whenever you're not actively in shooting mode.



Also I know this sounds foolish and I know you know not to point the gun anywhere except down range but its actually fairly common to get over excited and turn around with the gun in your hand.

I've seen a lot of people get excited when they finally hit the target and then spin around looking for congratulations or whatever-the-hell is going through their mind.

Seems ridiculous but it can happen.

Make it a habit to take your fsnger out of the trigger guard immediately after shooting, safety on and either set the gun down (most ranges require this I think, if its a public range) or have the gun aimed towards the ground as you stop shooting and leave the shooting area.

But wait theres more!

Make sure theres a good place to set the gun down too, I've personally dropped a $800 gun off a deck before...



Stupidity happens.

 

As already noted most revolvers don't have a saftey, but still good advice. But i'm in the same boat i generally shoot till empty.

 

The following is general shooting advice garnered from my experiencing working and teaching at a shot gun sports.

 

Very good advice on the turning around, where i work we have a clays course and i have lost count of the number of times i have been covered with a loaded shotgun, brings goosebumps every time, because either some n00b hit a target and turned around to say something to the effect of "did you see that? I hit it!" or someone(including experienced shooters) has a problem with the gun and turns around to ask for help. Keep the muzzle down range at ALL TIMES or pointed at the ground.

The other thing is if you get a mis-fire, hang-fire or whatever else they call them these days, where you pull the trigger and nothing happens, DO NOT TURN AROUND, KEEP THE BARREL DOWN RANGE. One of my shooters blew the heck out of a drinks cooler with his 12 ga cause he got a hang fire and turned around to ask for help, luckily he turned around on the side opposite me and the other shooters.

The other thing to watch out for, though this wont really apply to a revolver, is be careful loading. We had a gentleman shooting a semi-auto shotgun who placed a round in the chamber and slid it forward into the barrel, this was fine but he forgot to close the action so after loading the mag he proceeded to load another round behind the first in the chamber and release the action, the force of the action cycling set off the second round which ignited the second blowing one load of buckshot into the ground and the other through his fingers along with a healthy helping of plastic shot casing, if he had the gun tipped any farther on its side she would have killed his trapper, but as it was he only blew the fella's hat off. That right there is some scary stuff.

 

Oh and don't lean through your shooting station, its there for a reason, to restrict your arc of fire. I can't count the number of people n00bs and 'experts' who i have seen lean through the station and swing their gun across those in stations beside them.

 

Oh and the most important bit is have fun nyt, don't worry to much about accuracy, that comes with practice.

Edited by SpeedCrazy, 12 April 2013 - 07:59 AM.

[Phil]

Don't worry, you've got hearing protection covered and the recoil won't be anything you can't handle.  Just enjoy it.

[Crazy_Nate]

Oh, before I forget.

With a revolver - pay attention to where your fingers are relative to the "danger" end of the cylinder.  Basically the area between the cylinder and the barrel allows hot gasses and other bits of stuff to come out, potentially putting you in harms way if you're not paying attention.

 

It's generally not a problem with the larger revolvers, but smaller frames may allow your fingers near the "forcing cone".  Probably more of an issue with your weak hand when shooting with both hands (strong and weak).

[Andrewr05]

Good info for Nyt and everyone else who wants to get into shooting.

[Scott P]

The wife and I are going to take an intro to shooting type lesson from a good friend who is a firearms instructor.The neighbors on each side of us have armories, so we need to catch up and figure these things out.

[Onion]

 

Make sure theres a good place to set the gun down too, I've personally dropped a $800 gun off a deck before...



Stupidity happens.