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Went shooting for the first time today

#42
I'm gonna put in another vote for a Ruger 10/22. IMHO it's the finest mass produced 22 rifle ever. Very accurate right out of the box, cheap to shoot, cheap to buy...looks pretty nice too. It was the first gun I shot as a kid, my dad handed it on to me when I moved out, and I still shoot it a lot. I've also got a Ruger MKIII Target .22 pistol which is highly accurate. I LOVE that thing....big fan of .22 over here. I have larger caliber rifles and handguns for different purposes but by and large the .22 tops the fun to shoot category, for me.

Sgt. Rock said:
"Punishing" is a matter of perspective. I've yet to shoot a handgun round that I would describe that way.
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Maybe you're tougher than I am but my S&W .357 snubby definitely isn't an all-day-shooter kind of gun...
 
#43
two fingers said:
Shoulder arms is another matter. I had to train with my right eye. After some time it works fine though. Maybe try to train with something cheap like a .22 and work up when you get it figured out. I tried the left shoulder and it never felt even close to "right". My arms just don't aim that way.
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I did the opposite - after a couple years trying to train my right eye, I just gave up and started shooting left handed.

Now I've been shooting left handed for almost 30 years and it seems normal.
 
#44
sloasdaylight said:
True, but the .40 S&W still really isn't a punishing round, regardless of the platform you're firing it from. The .50 AE and the .460 S&W on the other hand... those make a lot of people think twice before pulling the trigger again.
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500 S&W is the worst handgun I've shot.

Nowhere near as bad as my old 7.5lb 12ga slug gun, which wasn't as bad as the .458 Winchester I shot, which didn't hold a candle to a 12ga shooting 3.5" turkey loads.

Stay away from the 3.5" turkey loads... they'll kill ya.
 
#45
pat5150 said:
Maybe you're tougher than I am but my S&W .357 snubby definitely isn't an all-day-shooter kind of gun...
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Back in the early 90's a friend had me test fire his new Contender in .30-06 and that got my attention. I had to work for six months to overcome the flinch I developed from one range session. That's why I stress that recoil is relative. Perception is reality.
 
#46
aborgman said:
I did the opposite - after a couple years trying to train my right eye, I just gave up and started shooting left handed.

Now I've been shooting left handed for almost 30 years and it seems normal.
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Cool. I never got the hang of it. Although I'm left handed and play bass right handed. Shoot handguns right handed. But left eye dominant. Go figure! I'm all kinds of scrambled.
 
#47
aborgman said:
Stay away from the 3.5" turkey loads... they'll kill ya.
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Turkeys probably aren't too crazy about them either. [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Another .22 the OP might want to consider is a Henry lever action. I just picked one up a few weeks ago and my son and I have been having a ball with it. Smooth as butta.

http://henryrepeating.com/rifle-lever-action.cfm

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#49
Ya, I need to get back into shooting regularly. Of course, no matter what you shoot afterwards, once you've put a few thousand rounds downrange using something belt-fed, everything else is a bit bland.

I also recommend going with a .22 for your first rifle, and the Rugar 10/22 is as fine a platform as any: plentiful, reliable, accurate, and TONS of aftermarket toys to farkle it up with. My next rifle is going to be a .22, and locally I've found the H&K 416 for a decent price, but if I found the S&W M&P15-22 I'd definitely consider it as well :)

Peace,
Greg
 
#50
kanonfodr said:
once you've put a few thousand rounds downrange using something belt-fed, everything else is a bit bland.
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My boy brought his .22 to the range with us last night, but when he saw me rent the .45 of course he wanted to shoot that first. I explained that if he wanted to shoot his .22 at all, that he should do that first cause it'll be a lot more interesting before shooting the .45 than after.

He agreed - both before and after.
 
#53
tplyons said:
I may not agree with the stance of the NRA but I love their training and will be going back for more.

Great for you!
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Quite probably what you know of the "Stance of the NRA" is what some guy on the TV told you. Maybe you should actually investigate for yourself what the NRA's stance is? I find it hard to believe any rational human being, particularly a gun owner, could disagree with them on gun issues.
 
#55
I was just texting my brother and he mentioned that my 10 year old niece has really taken to shooting her .22 lately. He's a retired LEO and a firearms instructor so both of his kids got introduced very early. Last time I went out to visit we shot a little bit of everything and she even got to shoot his suppressed SIG Mosquito. Now THAT is a good time.

While I love my tricked out 10/22, I would advise going with a lever or a bolt action rimfire for a first firearm. Keep it simple. And stay away from optics. Learn to shoot a lever/bolt action rifle with open sights over the course of a few thousand rounds like the rest of us did when we had to walk to school uphill in the snow. It makes for a better marksman in the long run.
 
#59
with the low price of the 10-22 and the awesome reviews everywhere, I think that's what I'm sold on. Once I get comfortable at the range I'll see if they have any rentals I can use. I know they carry the S&W M&P .22 pistols for rental but maybe they have some .22 rifles and even some "stepping up" larger caliber rifles. Of course, you have to pay for your ammo and possibly even bring it, which would suck because .22 is gone everywhere.
 

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