What is a good gun Caliber to start out with?

[XDGirl]

What is a good caliber to start out with? A good friend of mine is wanting to buy her first gun this weekend. shes wanting to buy a .45. I was told when i bought my first gun that i should start of with a 9mm and work my way up. Do you think this is good advices for my friend?

[southernshooter]

Ideally all shooters need to start off at 22lr just to make sure they don't develop flinch shooting. But a 45 will be a fine choice if that is what she wants.

[Jay]

She should ( in my opinion ) refine her technique with a 22, as southern said. Then she should shop for a handgun just like she shops for shoes. Getting her hands on as many guns as she can, will show her which ones "fit" her hands just right. As with shoes, she'll know when she picks up the "one for her ". The caliber decision should be made after she becomes more proficient, and has had a chance to sample various calibers. I would vote against starting out with a .45 unless she's already fired one, and knows she can handle it.

Welcome to the forum..........

[Ursus]

As said above

[LDBennett]

I agree that she need to start with a 22 and become proficient with it before jumping intot a big, heavy recoiling gun like a 45ACP. Once she is ready for a larger caliber she needs to go to a range that rents guns and try whatever gets her fancy in all calibers. 45 ACP's are big intimidating guns. Trying to learn to shoot well with a 45ACP is an uphill battle and the shooter may not get there before getting weary of the beating and the poor performance of the combo of her and the big gun.

I found while learning to shot well some 20+ years ago that you have to have some level of accomplishment or your focus on shooting is dimmed and you loose interest. Taking a 22 to the range and shooting it well just makes you want more. Taking a hard kicking, heavy 45ACp to the range and getting scatter targets that look like a shotgun pattern is frustrating and you will loose interest.

I shot a 22 and a 9mm and a 38 revolver at first and the accuracy was just not getting there. I put a red dot on the 38 and the accuracy increased but still not fast enough for me. So I bought an adult air pistol (match quality...for about $200) and practiced every day for about 15 minutes in my garage. I read the books and practiced the techniques spelled out there and low and behold my 22, 38 and 9mm scores improved remarkably.

So its practice, practice, practice, that makes for a good shooter. Starting out at 22LR and later moving to bigger cartridges is the way to go and an air gun practiced regularly every day goes even farther!

That's my experience and yours may differ.

LDBennett

[Haligan]

Hold the phone !!! I said Hold the Phone !!
All new shooters need to start out with a revolver.
Single action in 357 is my opinion.

The reason why is it is a much safer firearm to be introduced to and here's why.

When you pull the trigger on a semi, we all know how easy it can be to get a double tap if the recoil isn't what your expecting. The action can be a little confusing. Remember most of us know what the heck we're doing a new shooter doesn't.

A single action gives the new shooter clear 123 step by step this is how to fire a gun safely and purposefully.

Now some may say start out with good ol 22 LR. No and here's why.

357 is a great self defence round for the home and you can practice with 38's till the cow's come home. If 38's are too much for a new shooter than I don't know what to tell ya.

Thank you I yeild the floor and withold the balance of my time.

[Jay]

I've been helping others learn to shoot for many years. I ALWAYS start with .22 LR firearms. It takes much longer to correct the flinch that usually accompanies a new shooter, after the first round they fire comes from a .357, than to teach them without scaring them. That's just silly.

I've spent many hours re-learning wives of friends, who gave were told by hubby, "try this, it's noisy, but it won't hurt ya",

You don't teach a kid to drive using a semi tractor, but there are some who will try it anyway.

[Haligan]

Originally Posted by Jay

I've been helping others learn to shoot for many years. I ALWAYS start with .22 LR firearms.

Jay
Will you at least acknowledge that

1) Not all new shooters are going to have a big collection of firearms so the first should be the most versitile.
2) Revolvers are safer to learn than semi's.
3) I am a genius.
4) The New England Patriots are way overrated.

[Jay]

No sir, I won't acknowledge any of those items.

1. I've never heard of anyone buying an automobile BEFORE they learn how to drive.

2. A revolver being less complex than a pistol does not make revolvers safer. Safety is a function of the shooter, NOT the firearm.

3. It's most often best to keep silent and have folks think you a fool, than to speak without knowledge and prove them right. (not sure who said that, but it's accurate )

4. New England was at the center of a cheating scandal, weren't they?

[Marlin]

For whatever its worth, I would recommend a .22 for starters. In a revolver, the S&W 617 is about the best. In an auto loader, I would lean to the Ruger 22/45 since it has the same feel as a 1911.

A revolver is great for beginners in that it can be used either as a repeater or as a steady single shot. I learned years ago on an old IJ .38 S&W that had been a duty gun for a policeman in Bangor. Wouldn't trade the experience for the world.

Whether one tries or buys first is their choice but it still remains wise to start with a calibre that won't scare them away from our great hobby.

[Pistolenschutze]

Definitely start with a .22. To start a new shooter with anything heavier often results in developing bad shooting habits at the start, mostly due to recoil and noise. I've found that progressing beyond a .22 to a center-fire does not usually take very long, at least for the average adult. I usually progress next to a 9mm with those I've instructed, and then to a .45 auto if the student adjusts easily to the added recoil. Many do. I have no quarrel with a revolver to start out either, though I think a .22 is still the best caliber to use at the beginning, be it a revolver or an auto. The idea at first is to teach the fundamentals of safety and proper shooting techniques such as sight alignment, hold, and stance, not to impress the new shooter with how hard a weapon can kick. Investing in a good .22 is never wasted money in any event, even after one has progressed to more powerful handguns. That .22 will still be just as pleasant and inexpensive to shoot 10 years from now as it was during the learning period.

[PPK 32]

Jumping on the 22 bandwagon as well. For all of the above. Also, since it takes lots of practice its gonna take lots of ammo. The cost of a brick of 22s is way cheaper than the larger guns. I can peel through a brick in two weeks, thats a lot of shooting and it only costs 15 bucks.

[312shooter]

Consider something like this link (.50 cal Desert Eagle ) and listen to why we say a .22 at first

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwLQewe4TrY

[Xaiver56]

I learned to shoot on a 9mm, and I thought it was a good platform for me. I have introduced many new shooters to firearms, often starting them out with a .38 special or 9mm and I have had great results. That being said, I believe the fundamentals of shooting can be taught on many different calibers, but the .22 does have many advantages.

[doug66]

I launched many lbs. of BB's out of a Daisey before I ever touched a firearm. Can your friend afford to buy a 22 for practice? If so look for a Ruger MI or MII they are inexpensive and reliable. If your friend just has the funds for one handgun, then I say let her get whatever the heck she wants.

[artabr]

I'm on the .22 band wagon. Semi-auto or revolver both can be used as a single shot intill the user is ready for the next step in training.



Art

[JLA]

there has been some solid gold advice posted here, and i cannot think of anything to add, except that ear protection in an invaluable training tool, always wear it, it only took 2 days with a compact .45 and corbon loads to completely destroy mine, i was 21 and didnt know crap but how to pull the trigger...

[user]

Why does your friend plan to have a gun? What's it for?

[Popgunner]

I wonder if the .22s are any softer in the noise dept? I can see a case for them if one is available but I wonder if light 38 spl loads in a 6" barreled .357 aren't a little easier on the ear than .22s shot from a handgun with that sharper small caliber report? way louder than a .22 rifle.

Best option I can see & what I've recomended to folks I've taught is to go to a range that'll rent/loan various types of guns & try out a few. Or I let them shoot a few of mine.

The .22 is sure the cheapest for ammo

[JLA]

right on pop, i have a single six that shoots .22 mag, that damn thing is way louder than most of my other handguns, including the .44 mag and the .480 ruger...

[Quadbob]

Hi XD Girl
I'm all for 22's. My kids are all girls (3) and have grandkids. They all love shooting my 22 Ruger semi auto. it's accurate and fun to shoot. Since those days the daughters have jumped to my 357 Taurus revolver shooting 38 ammo. They liked it pretty well and could get good groups. When I let them try my 40 cal. SIG, they wanted to go back to the first two. It scared them a little! My 40 Sig semi auto is jumpy in the hands of the less experienced, but the 45 auto would be way too much in my opinion for a starter.
Quadbob

[DoesItMatter]

50 S&W Revolver...

And of course... make sure the shooter is standing firmly with the back of their feet against a stump...



Just kidding, but man, that would be an experience!

I actually started with a Colt Govt Mk Iv series 70, and while fun, definitely not the easiest
or cheapest to learn on.
From there, I went to a .44 mag, because I planned on reloading and was a Dirty Harry fan.

I stick with the .44 and got good at it, but reloading helps because you can make lighter loads for training/practice, and its much cheaper too.

[user]

Originally Posted by Haligan

Jay
Will you at least acknowledge that

1) Not all new shooters are going to have a big collection of firearms so the first should be the most versitile.
2) Revolvers are safer to learn than semi's.
3) I am a genius.
4) The New England Patriots are way overrated.

I agree with all those things.

I insisted on learning to "shoot golfs" using a 9 iron; I figured if I could learn with that, I'd be able to use anything effectively. So the "easiest approach" is not necessarily the best.

Revolvers are not only safer, but are a lot less likely to have problems that a beginner can't figure out.

And I really despise the .45ACP - I think it was great for its intended purpose when it was first introduced. But modern bullets work so much better and are so much easier to shoot accurately. If you're not certain of the distance to the target, you won't know what to look up in your trajectory tables to be able to lob a .45 over there - you need a forward observer and sweep the bullets in. I'd rather have something with a relatively flat trajectory. Now if all you want to do is kill paper targets at a measured fifteen yards, then a .45 is fine. But if your target is moving, then I'd say you want a .38+P, a 9mm or a .357 magnum.

[mrkirker]

XD Girl,
Let's cut to the chase: "How deep are the pockets?" If this firearm has the possibility of being the 'first of several', mention a good mid-frame revolver in .357. With this firearm, one can fire 'light' .38 spcl, and move up to the heavier .357 rounds as skills progress. A semi-auto might then follow.

There's a lot of talk about 'flinching' as though it's an automatic function of learning to fire a firearm. I disagree. My experiences in instruction leads me to believe that flinching is related to a) poor ear protection, and b) poor grip.
Both can be avoided.

But firearm selection really depends on the shooter! I received the surprise of my life when a little 98 pound lady with little firearm experience selected a SIG 220 as her first gun. True, we had spent two sessions firing everything I and the rental range had, and I was nudging her toward something in .40 S&W, but she fell in love with the .45 acp. I mentioned that her choice was a little unusal for a 'first gun', mentioning the noise and recoil. Her response? "Noise is not a factor, because you've taught me to wear these (ear protection), and the 'kick' isn't a problem because you've taught me to hold it correctly". She purchased the SIG, and because she likes shooting it, practices often.

[Mosin_Nagant_Fan]

My first pistol was a Makarov IJ-70 and it thought me how to adjust to the recoil of an auto, my second pistol was the 1895 Nagant and it taught me to keep a firm grip...even though it wanted to shoot high (that's from the small-ish grip and the fact that the Russkes used gloves during the time they used it) then the FEG AP9 thought me to adjust to an alloy frame (I felt the recoil more). I've yet to use my S&W 10-5.

As for flinching, an example is my M38 and my bro's Marlin 795. I kinda developed some flinching because of the powerful 7.62x54r is far more powerful then the 22lr and everytime I shot either I'd flinch, nothing about ear protection or proper holding, I have one and done the other. It's because my psyche has developed a reaction because of the recoil from the M38. Eventually, after several hundred rounds through the Marlin the flinching stopped because I'm used to both but it would be good start with a .22lr revolver or auto, the ammo is cheap ($9-11 a brick of 550) then go on up to a .38spl/357mag revolver or a 9mm, .40S&W or .45ACP auto, later in life.